At a base station apparatus, known pilot signals for use in channel estimation are transmitted, and in addition thereto MCS pilot signals that are used to perform adaptive modulations respectively corresponding to a plurality of modulation schemes are multiplexed and output. A mobile station apparatus dispreads the respective MCS signals out of the multiplex signal, compares these to known symbols patterns, and sends the MCS pilot signals that show a matching relationship to the base station apparatus as a mobile station reception result. Upon receiving the mobile station reception result from the mobile station apparatus, the base station apparatus selects the modulation scheme of the optimum modulation level for the downlink signals. This configuration makes it possible to switch the modulation schemes in an accurate and simple way.

Conventionally, the methods of packet scheduling have been under discussion with adaptive modulation selection methods in relation to HSDPA (High Speed Down-link Packet Access) under 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project: Standardization organization for technical specifications for 3rd generation mobile systems").
A 3GPP technical report, namely "12.3.5 Packet Scheduler" (3GTR V0.1.0), proposes a technique in relation to packet scheduling where signals transmitted and received on wireless channels are seen as packets. According to this method, the CIR (Carrier to Interferer Ratio) or the SIR (Signal to Interferer Ratio) is measured at a mobile station end, and the result is reported to a base station, and at the base station end, the mobile station is assigned its priority in packet transmission based on the scale of the CIR or SIR level. By this priority assignment, after a mobile station with high priority finishes communication, the mobile station of the next priority is able to perform communication.
In addition, the idea of achieving optimum transmission rates by changing the modulation scheme in accordance with measurement results of the CIR level or SIR level is under discussion. By giving priority to communications by those mobile stations of good channel conditions, the overall throughput of the communication system can be enhanced.
Meanwhile, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No.HEI8-274756 discloses a prior art technique for changing the transmission symbol rate of the downlink. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of the conventional wireless communication system disclosed in the above publication. Referring to this figure, base station 1 comprises antennas 2 and 9, receiver 3, demodulator 4, signal detector 5, controller 6, modulator 7, and transmitter 8. Mobile station 10 comprises antennas 11 and 18, receiver 12, demodulator 13, estimator 14, controller 15, modulator 16 and transmitter 17.
In base station 1, receiver 3 receives a radio signal transmitted from mobile station 10 and inputs the received signal into demodulator 4. Demodulator 4 demodulates the input signal to the original baseband signal, and inputs this into signal detector 5. From the baseband signal input, signal detector 5 extracts a signal that requests a change of the signal transmission rate (i.e. transmission rate of the downlink signals for when signals are sent from base station 1 to mobile station 10), and then inputs this into controller 6. This signal in request of a change of the signal transmission rate is transmitted from mobile station 10.
In response to the signal transmission rate change request signal extracted in signal detector 5, controller 6 generates a signal transmission rate change signal, and inputs this into modulator 7. Modulator 7 modulates the input, signal transmission rate change signal by a prescribed modulation scheme, and inputs this into transmitter 8. Transmitter 8 amplifies the input, modulation signal and transmits it from antenna 9.
Mobile station 10 receives the signal from base station 1 in receiver 12, which is then demodulated to a baseband signal in demodulator 13. From the baseband signal demodulated in demodulator 13, estimator 14 estimates the propagation path between base station 1 and the mobile station, and inputs the result in controller 15. Based on the input, propagation path estimation result, controller 15 decides whether or not to change the transmission rate of the downlink signals. If a change of the transmission rate is to be made, a change request signal is generated and input into modulator 16. Modulator 16 modulates the input, change request signal and generates the modulation signal, which is then input to transmitter 17. Transmitter 17 amplifies the modulation signal from modulator 16 and transmits it from antenna 18. By the above configuration, the transmission rate of the downlink signals from base station 1 to mobile station 10 is changed.
FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating the process of changing the transmission rate between mobile station apparatus and base station apparatus under conventional wireless communication system. A unique word (i.e. known pattern) for propagation path estimation is inserted on a given interval in the downlink signals from base station 1 to mobile station 10. Mobile station 10 performs propagation path estimation that estimates the correlation with these unique words. Propagation path estimation utilizes output from a correlator which is not shown and output from a received electric field strength measurer which is not shown. More specifically, the transmission rate is changed taking into account (1) the received electric field strength, (2) I-pattern variance, (3) known pattern detection, and (4) the error rate in the mobile station after reception.
Results of propagation path estimation are reported from mobile station 10 to base station 1 on a regular basis in accordance with the performance of propagation path estimation. Base station 1 receives the propagation path estimation results from mobile station 10 and decides whether or not to change the transmission rate of the downlink signals (i.e. determination for transmission rate variation (42)). If the transmission rate of the downlink signals after the determination result in base station 1 regarding transmission rate change (42) is the same as at present, base station 1 reports only the transmission rate of the downlink signals to mobile station 10 (transmission rate report (43)). If the result of transmission rate variation (42) proves a need to change the transmission rate, base station 1 informs mobile station 10 to the effect that the transmission rate will change and the transmission rate to change to, and the change timing (44).
If a report on the propagation path estimation result (41) from mobile station 10 reaches base station 1 during the time after base station 1 informs mobile station 10 to the effect of a transmission rate change (44) and the signal transmission rate changes, base station 1 dismisses the result (45).
Propagation path estimation is performed on a regular basis in mobile station 10, except immediately after the transmission rate of the downlink signals has changed (46). When a result of propagation path estimation is reported from mobile station 10 after an interval, base station 1 validates this report and determines the transmission rate (42). Then, if the transmission rate proves the same as at present, the transmission rate alone is reported to mobile station 10 (43). When the transmission rate of the downlink signals changes, at this point, mobile station 10 is reported to the effect that the transmission rate will change and the transmission rate to change to, and the change timing (44).
The above prior art provides the following two methods of changing the downlink transmission symbol rate.
(i) Method of FIG. 3
Base station 1 transmits (downlink signals) unique words (known patterns) that are time divided for every prescribed period To and that have varying transmission rates. Mobile station 10 receives the unique words corresponding to the respective To's, determines the maximum receivable transmission rate, and reports the result to base station 1 (uplink). By this means, the transmission rate of the downlink can be set at optimum.
(ii) Method of FIG. 4
During the prescribed period To, base station 1 switches the transmission rate for the transmission rate for the downlink signals from high-speed to low-speed in sequence from prescribed transmission rates. Mobile station 10 performs the parity check of the signals transmitted from base station 1 at rate 4 (rate 4), and, only when they are receivable, reports the transmission rate to base station 1. Upon receiving this report on the transmission rate from mobile station 10, base station 1 switches to this transmission rate. According to this method, reception is at the optimum transmission rate, and this makes it possible to quickly set the fastest transmission rate for the propagation path condition at the time of communication.
Incidentally, the symbol rates of the unique words of varying transmission rates include 10 Msps, 20 Msps, 30 Msps, 40 Msps, 50 Msps, 53.24 Msps, 60 Msps, and 70 Msps.
However, conventional wireless communication systems have the following problems.
(1) Given that there is no one fixed SIR (or CIR) measurement method for individual mobile stations and that the elements that configure the circuit for SIR (or CIR) measurement are inconsistent, a base station is unable to accurately compare the downlink signal reception qualities from the respective mobile stations. Due to this, selecting the modulation scheme in consideration of SIR (CIR) measurement result is mediocre in accuracy, and achieving the communication quality above a certain level is difficult.
(2) The wireless communication system disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No.HEI8-274756 changes the symbol rate, so radio bandwidth must always leave some room for when using the optimum speed rate. As a result, when a low-speed rate is selected, the rest of the radio bandwidth becomes a waste (that is, a waste of radio resources).

Base station apparatus, mobile station apparatus, radio communication system, and radio communication method


A method, system and computer program product for communicating requests to multiple destinations in a business transaction are disclosed. A mass request is communicated to a processing center, the mass request including an identification portion and a content portion. The identification portion is used to obtain a parent attribute common to requests to all destinations. The content portion is parsed to generate multiple content strings corresponding to the multiple destinations. The parent attribute and each content string is combined to generate an individual request to a respective destination.

In a typical electronic business (e-business) transaction, a transaction initiator, e.g., a buyer, may have to contact multiple suppliers. Traditionally, the multiple contacts need to be performed manually and separately by the buyer. For example, the buyer may have to manually input the requisite information specific to each of the multiple suppliers in the respective unique formats. Such manual inputs may make an e-business transaction very inconvenient such that the full potential of e-business cannot be achieved.
Based on the above, there is a need in the art for a new solution to populate multiple requests to respective multiple destinations in an e-business transaction.

Populating requests to multiple destinations using a mass request

International Business Machines Corporation


In a method and system for offline content playback, a first plurality of portions of content streamed from a content sharing service for presentation by a media player is received. A request from a user to make the content available for offline playback is received, and in response to the request, a second plurality of portions of the content streamed from the content sharing service for presentation by the media player is stored. The first plurality of portions is requested and received from the content sharing service. The received first plurality of portions is stored, such that the first plurality of portions and the second plurality of portions are available for offline playback.

On the Internet, content hosting websites or other applications, e.g., content sharing servers, allow users to upload, view, and share digital content. Such digital content may include audio clips, movie clips, TV clips, and music videos, as well as amateur content such as video blogging, short original videos, pictures, photos, etc. A viewer can then view the content that is streamed from a content sharing server to a viewer device for playback, where the quality of the streaming content can vary depending on the network connection of the viewer device. For example, the viewer device can request lower quality content if the connection speed is slow to prevent buffering that disrupts the playback of the content.
However, viewers may desire to have the content available, e.g., temporarily available, for viewing offline, e.g., without a connection to the Internet or another network. For example, a user may determine during the playback of certain content that the user would like to play the content again later or share the content with someone else when the user does not have access to the content sharing server. Further, a user would likely desire to have the highest quality content available for offline playback, because network conditions are not an issue when the content is not being streamed.

Method for improving offline content playback


A method of controlling a plurality of crafts in an operational area includes providing a command system, a first craft in the operational area coupled to the command system, and a second craft in the operational area coupled to the command system. The method further includes determining a first desired destination and a first trajectory to the first desired destination, sending a first command from the command system to the first craft to move a first distance along the first trajectory, and moving the first craft according to the first command. A second desired destination and a second trajectory to the second desired destination are determined and a second command is sent from the command system to the second craft to move a second distance along the second trajectory.

Robotic reconnaissance operations are called for in potentially hazardous and/or inaccessible situations such as exploration of remote planetary surfaces, military operations, cleanup, mining, rescue operations, oil drilling, and natural terrain or resource exploration. One approach to such operations is to use a few sophisticated, expensive, highly capable and reasoning surface-based reconnaissance crafts (e.g., rovers). In this case the reconnaissance mission is lost or adversely affected when one of the few robotic reconnaissance crafts is damaged or destroyed because there is no redundancy.
In addition, rovers are spatially constrained in that they may only view a small portion of an explored area at a time, they are limited to traversing certain terrains, and they have limited lifetime expectancy in extreme conditions. For example, as most rovers are tracked or wheeled surface-based craft, their elevation above the ground provides only a limited viewing range, and they cannot traverse over topographic highs such as sheer slopes of prominent mountains, canyon walls, cliffs, and topographic lows surrounded by near vertical slopes. Therefore, it is difficult for a rover to view a large enough area to make an intelligent decision about what features in an operational area are worthy of additional investigation, or the rover is constrained to certain terrains that may have limited return of information of special interest, e.g., scientific, industrial, military, rescue, etc.
The spatial constraint of a rover also causes difficulties when planning a path for the rover to follow when traveling through the operational area. As such, the rover may construct a locally optimal path through an operational area but not a globally optimal path because the rover may not be able to view a large enough area. Therefore, the rover may not be able to perform optimal reconnaissance of the features, areas, characteristics, or anomalies of interest.
As an intelligent rover is expensive, both from the perspective of the capital cost to build and the resource cost to deploy and operate, only a single rover is typically deployed within an operational area. This means that any operational area is constrained to an area no larger than what a single rover can explore.
Finally, because the loss of a single rover during an exploration mission may be catastrophic from the perspective of accomplishing the mission goals, there has been reluctance within the robotics community to allow a rover to be truly autonomous. True autonomy means that a rover would be able to make its own decisions about where to go within an exploration space. If the logic controlling the operations of the rover is faulty, and the rover makes a decision that causes it to become inoperable, the mission may be lost. As such, most currently deployed rovers are not truly autonomous as they are at least partially controlled by teleoperation by a human, and thus they conduct point to point reconnaissance rather than investigating and formulating hypotheses while en route, likely missing invaluable information along the constrained path.
Therefore, a need exists for a robotic reconnaissance system that uses various crafts and sensors that are inexpensive enough, both in terms of capital cost and operational resources, so that multiple crafts and sensors can be deployed during a mission. Multiple crafts and sensors provide redundancy in the event a craft or sensor is lost. In addition, multiple crafts and sensors may explore a larger area than a single craft. Finally, as loss of one or more of the multiple crafts or sensors will not destroy a mission, the robotic reconnaissance system may be allowed more autonomy in making decisions about what paths to take while exploring an area.
Algorithms for determining paths for a robot in an accurately characterized environment are well known in the robotics industry. Using these conventional means, the issue of simultaneously commanding and moving even a few deployed reconnaissance agents to their designated destinations becomes exceedingly complex. Each additional simultaneously moving agent increases geometrically the chances of collisions as well as the processing power required for computing and managing the agent trajectories.
Additional complications arise when the operational area in which the agents (e.g., crafts) are moving is not accurately characterized. Even slight errors in slope, mapping, positions and orientation of the agents, or changes in the terrain may result in the agent reaching an entirely different destination than intended. As agents may be moving simultaneously, these changes may also result in collisions that may damage or destroy expensive equipment and lose valuable data collections.

Multi-agent autonomous system and method


An electric-over-hydraulic braking system for trailers and towed vehicles is disclosed. The system comprises off-the-shelf components, such as a standard linear actuator and master cylinder, for reduced cost and greater reliability. In a dual master cylinder configuration, the braking system controller calculates an average pressure across each channel, and compares that value to a control signal from an in-cab controller. The linear actuator is extended or retracted in response to a signal proportional to this difference. The system may include break-away functionality, as well as diagnostics to indicate low pressure and transducer circuit malfunction conditions.

The present invention relates to vehicle braking systems, and in particular to braking systems for trailers and towed vehicles.
Although it is common for vehicles to pull light trailers without the addition of a brake system to the trailer, heavier trailers and other towed vehicles generally require a separate braking system due to their inertia. These heavier trailers and vehicles include, by way of example, house trailers, recreational trailers, horse trailers, car trailers, and the like. (All such trailers and other towed vehicles will be generally referred to henceforward simply as "trailers.") Without supplemental braking systems for heavier trailers, it may be difficult or impossible for an operator to maintain control of a vehicle-trailer combination during braking. This problem is particularly acute with respect to recreational trailers, since they may be pulled by non-commercial vehicles with less-capable braking systems, and because recreational trailers are commonly pulled through steeply inclined mountainous areas that are popular destinations for recreational vehicle owners. In addition, various state laws contain minimum requirements concerning the braking ability and functionality of recreational trailers and other trailer types, generally requiring supplemental braking systems once a trailer surpasses a certain weight.
Supplemental trailer braking systems are generally operated either by an independent control system located in the towing vehicle, or by actuation of the towing vehicle braking system through a coupling of the towing vehicle braking system with the trailer brakes. A coupled braking system is highly desirable because it may function in an essentially automatic mode, freeing the operator of the towing vehicle from the requirement of independently operating two separate braking systems. The resulting ease of operation is particularly important in applications such as recreational trailers, where the operator is generally not a professional driver and may spend a relatively small amount of time driving a vehicle with a heavy trailer. In order for the operator to maintain control of the vehicle-trailer combination, however, precisely coordinated braking is required. If, for example, the trailer brake system should brake harder than the towing vehicle, the trailer may begin to skid and the operator may lose control. Conversely, if the towed vehicle brakes harder than the trailer, the trailer may jackknife, again causing loss of control that may lead to vehicle damage or serious injury. Even if control of the vehicle is not fully lost due to uncoordinated braking problems, the inertia of the heavy trailer may cause the stopping distance of the vehicle/trailer combination to be greatly increased, which also raises a serious safety concern particularly with respect to a relatively inexperienced operator.
A typical supplemental trailer braking system applicable for use in connection with recreational trailers and the like is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,370,714 to Rettich et al. This system is an "electro-hydraulic" or "electric-over-hydraulic" braking system, that is, a system that uses electrical control signals in order to operate hydraulically-powered brakes. Hydraulic pressure to the trailer brakes is controlled by selectively opening and closing solenoid valves in the trailer hydraulic system. The hydraulics are self-contained within the trailer, so that no interconnections between the towing vehicle and the trailer are required other than electrical connections. The trailer brakes are operated by means of a signal from a pressure transducer connected to the master brake cylinder of the towing vehicle. A pressure transducer in the towed vehicle provides an electrical feedback signal. The control signal and feedback signal are compared to produce an error signal. The brake system coupling is achieved by the effort of the trailer brake control system to minimize this error signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,138 to Barnett describes another electro-hydraulic, self-contained brake system for trailers. Hydraulic pressure in this system is provided through the operation of an electric motor in a complex arrangement involving a gear and threaded rod. The electric motor operates in response to the signal from a pressure sensor in communication with the master cylinder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,035 to Zbinden describes another electrical control system for hydraulic brakes on a trailer, which includes an electric motor for controlling pressure on a pressure accumulator. The pressure accumulator feeds a fluid control circuit including a pressure-limited valve, which controls a braking jack that actuates the trailer brakes.
Each of these systems suffer from important disadvantages. First, each of these systems are complex, involve a significant number of moving parts, and require the fabrication of customized mechanical components in their construction. Each of these factors increases the cost associated with these brake control systems, and reduces the likely reliability of these systems. What is desired then is a simple, inexpensive control system for a trailer braking system that may be constructed from "off the shelf" mechanical parts, and which is operable to reliably brake a trailer in coordination with and in proportion to the braking applied by the operator of the towing vehicle.
In addition, the systems described above inherently exhibit a brake release signal response time that is slower than the response time to a signal indicating that brakes should be applied. It would be desirable to develop a braking system that can respond very rapidly to both a signal to apply the brakes and a signal to release the brakes.


The present invention teaches a remote starting control system having a simple construction and being low in cost, that can be mounted on a vehicle having an immobilizing function. The system, which is mounted on a vehicle equipped with an immobilizer for capturing a code output in response to an insertion of an ignition key into a key cylinder and permitting an engine start when judging the captured code to be a unique code of the vehicle so as to control engine starting according to an instruction from a portable transmitter, comprises a device for storing a code in an EEPROM each time the code is supplied to a signal line, and a device for supplying the code stored in the EEPROM to the immobilizer when receiving a start instruction of the engine from the portable transmitter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote starting control system and, more particularly, relates to a remote starting control system to be mounted on a vehicle having an immobilizing function.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Recently, the number of vehicles having an antitheft function called an immobilizer has been increasing. The implementation of the immobilizing function (for engines), as shown in FIG. 8, requires an ignition key 1 having a chip 3 which stores a specific code and has a transmitting feature built into its grip portion 2, a key cylinder 4, a transponder 5 installed on the key cylinder 4, an immobilizer 6 which stores a unique code of a vehicle and shows its antitheft function, and an engine controller 7 to control engine starting and the like.
When the ignition key 1 is inserted into the key cylinder 4 by a vehicle driver (or the ignition key 1 is turned to the ACC output position or the IG output position of an ignition switch), a key insertion detection signal becomes high. When receiving the signal, the immobilizer 6 sends a startup signal through a signal line L1 to the transponder 5.
When receiving the startup signal, the transponder 5 conducts radio communication with the chip 3 of the ignition key 1 inserted in the key cylinder 4 to acquire the specific code stored in the chip 3, and outputs the acquired specific code with a clock signal through a signal line L2 to the immobilizer 6.
The immobilizer 6 judges whether or not the specific code sent from the transponder 5 matches up with the unique code of the vehicle previously stored. When these codes are judged to be the same, the driver who inserted the ignition key 1 into the key cylinder 4 is considered as an authorized driver, so that a permission signal for permitting an engine start is given to the engine controller 7.
The engine controller 7 conducts engine control such as fuel and ignition timing, when receiving a starter signal output from the key cylinder 4 after receiving the permission signal. On the contrary, the engine controller 7 does not conduct the engine control when receiving the starter signal without receiving the permission signal.
As described above, unless the code stored in the chip 3 of the ignition key 1 is the unique code of the vehicle, it is impossible to start the engine. Therefore, the engine cannot be started with an improper ignition key or direct coupling of the ignition switch, so that vehicle theft can be prevented.
Meanwhile, remote starting control systems for starting a machine such as an engine by remote control have been in the actual use. As shown in FIG. 9, a remote starting control system 18, after receiving a signal instructing an engine start from a portable transmitter 19 a driver carries with him/her, provides false signals corresponding to an ACC signal, an IG signal and a starter signal output when a proper ignition key 11 is turned to the starter output position to a signal line L3 of an ignition switch so as to send these false signals to an engine controller 17.
Thus, without inserting the ignition key 11 into a key cylinder 14 and turning it, the engine can be started only by sending the signal instructing an engine start from the portable transmitter 19.
However, in cases where the remote starting control system 18 is additionally mounted on a vehicle having the above-described immobilizing function, the engine cannot be started even if the false signals (false signals of an ACC signal, an IG signal and a starter signal) are sent to the engine controller 7, since matching of the unique code of the vehicle stored in the immobilizer 6, or an insertion of the proper ignition key 1 into the key cylinder 4 is required.
In order to solve such problem, two inventions have been known: Japanese Patent Kokai 1998-176642 (Publicly-known Example 1), wherein a remote starting control system, previously storing a unique code of a vehicle, sends the unique code of the vehicle to an immobilizer after receiving an instruction of an engine start by remote control, and the immobilizer gives the permission signal to an engine controller; and Japanese Patent Kokai 2001-270424 (Publicly-known Example 2), wherein a small transmitter removed from a proper ignition key (which stores a unique code of a vehicle, corresponding to the above chip 3) and a transponder installed on a key cylinder are electrically connected through an antenna, and when an instruction of an engine start from a portable transmitter is received, the transponder is activated to send the unique code of the vehicle transmitted from the small transmitter through the antenna to an immobilizer.
However, in the invention described in the Publicly-known Example 1, mode conversion (selection of a preset mode) is conducted in storing the unique code of the vehicle in the remote starting control system, and an operating part for the mode conversion is additionally required, resulting in a higher cost. On the other hand, in the invention described in the Publicly-known Example 2, another proper ignition key must be prepared, resulting in an increase in cost, similarly to the above Publicly-known Example 1.


Each of the plurality of generators is configured so a relationship of frequency with respect to a generator active power output by each generator to the corresponding alternating-current wiring unit has a predetermined first drooping characteristic. The plurality of power conversion devices is configured to convert alternating-current power input through each alternating-current wiring unit into direct-current power, and to convert direct-current power input through the direct-current wiring unit into alternating-current power. The control device is configured to determine a target value of a control element such that a relationship of frequency with respect to a power conversion device active power output by each power conversion device to the corresponding alternating-current wiring unit has a predetermined second drooping characteristic, and is configured to generate a drive signal for each power conversion device by correcting a target value of the control element in response to direct-current voltage at the direct-current wiring unit.

A power supply system used for, e.g., an aircraft and the like that is provided with a plurality of generators has been known. Such power supply systems are roughly classified into a split method, a parallel operation method, a BTB (back to back) method, and the like.
The split method is configured such that a plurality of generators are connected to alternating-current (AC) wiring units (power supplies BUS) independent of one another, and one generator supplies power to loads connected to the respective power supplies BUS. In the split method, since only one generator is connected to one power supply BUS, when one generator is stopped for some reason such as a failure, a load (wiring system) to be connected to the corresponding power supply BUS enters a temporary power outage state. In the split method, when one generator is stopped, a switching process is performed to connect the corresponding power supply BUS to another power supply BUS or an auxiliary power unit (APU), and this allows power supply in the corresponding power supply BUS to be continued, but the temporary power outage state is inevitable. Accordingly, depending on the load connected to the power supply BUS, the operation can not be continued, and a process such as restart may be required.
On the other hand, in the parallel operation method, a plurality of generators are connected to one power supply BUS. Accordingly, even if one generator is stopped, other generators continue to supply power, and it is thus possible to avoid the wiring system including the power supply BUS from entering a power outage state. However, in the parallel operation method, when a wiring abnormality such as a short circuit or a ground fault occurs in the wiring system, the influence spreads over the entire wiring system, and the entire wiring system is in a power outage state until the part where the wiring abnormality occurred is removed, resulting in failure of performing normal power feeding. In particular, in a power supply system mounted on an aircraft, it should be avoided that power is all lost even temporarily. It is necessary to take additional measures such as combined usage of another power supply system such as a direct-current (DC) power supply system.
In the BTB method, a power conversion device is connected to each power supply BUS in the split method. Each power conversion device is configured to convert alternating-current power of the power supply BUS into direct-current power, and direct-current units of the power conversion devices corresponding to respective power supply BUSes are connected to one another. In the BTB method, each power conversion device performs power adjustment to the power supply BUS based on the alternating-current voltage of the corresponding power supply BUS, and a predetermined one of the plurality of power conversion devices connected to one another in the direct-current unit performs power adjustment to the power supply BUS based on the voltage of the direct-current unit.
As described above, in the BTB method, among the plurality of power conversion devices, the power conversion device that performs power adjustment to the power supply BUS based on the voltage of the direct-current unit is predetermined. Accordingly, when a power outage state occurs in the power supply BUS corresponding to the power conversion device that performs control based on the voltage of the direct-current unit, it becomes impossible to perform power adjustment among the plurality of power conversion devices. In other words, the BTB method is not a system for which occurrence of a power outage state is assumed.
Furthermore, there is a proposed configuration where a plurality of power conversion devices such as those of the BTB method are connected by a direct-current unit, the configuration where occurrence of abnormality in the generator is detected, and when occurrence of the abnormality is detected, the control mode is switched before a wiring system including the corresponding power supply BUS enters a power outage state, and hence the wiring system is prevented from entering a power outage state (for example, see Patent Literature 1).


A pneumatic tire is provided including a multiplicity of land portions 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E formed by main grooves 2 extending linearly in the tire width direction partitioning the tread surface 1, and having a designated mounting direction on a vehicle. Among the multiplicity of land portions 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, and 3E, lug grooves are not provided in a ground contact region R of the land portions 3A and 3E positioned on both shoulder sides. Lug grooves 4 inclining in the tire circumferential direction that have terminating parts in the land portions and opening to the main groove 2 on the vehicle inner side are formed at specified intervals in the tire circumferential direction in the land portions 3B and 3D inwardly adjacent to the land portions on both shoulder sides.

In recent years, along with advances in road maintenance and enhanced performance of vehicles, improvement in noise performance while achieving a high level of both dry performance and wet performance when driving at high speeds has become strongly desired for pneumatic tires.
Guaranteeing drainage by forming, on a tread surface of tires, main grooves extending in a circumferential direction as well as lug grooves and sipes extending in a width direction is normally performed as a method for improving wet performance. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to guarantee steering stability on dry road surfaces by such a method since the rigidity of land portions formed on the tread surface decreases. Moreover, there is also a problem that this decrease in rigidity simultaneously results in the deterioration of noise performance.
Many conventional measures for improving noise performance while achieving a high level of performance in both dry performance and wet performance include specifying the shape and position of lug grooves after specifying a mounting direction of a tire on a vehicle have been proposed. However, among these proposals, some of the tires have a problem of insufficient running performance when turning on dry road surfaces since the lug grooves formed in the land portions are positioned in the ground contact region open to the main grooves on the vehicle outer side. These lug grooves formed in the land portions positioned in the ground contact region opening to the main grooves on the vehicle outer side also simultaneously cause the problem that it is difficult to control noise performance as a result of the emission of pattern noise to the vehicle outer side. Other tires have difficulty in suppressing the generation of pattern noise or the dispersion thereof to the outside since the lug grooves are provided in the land portions on both shoulders in the ground contact region. There is thus a problem that noise performance deteriorates.


An image processing method and apparatus includes a color space conversion unit arranged to convert pixel data scanned by a line sensor of each color component into first chromaticity data and second chromaticity data, and an achromatic color determining unit arranged to determine whether or not the pixel data is achromatic. The achromatic color determining unit includes a comparison unit arranged to compare an achromatic color determination area with the pixel data in a color space defined by orthogonal coordinates having each chromaticity data as a coordinate axis. The achromatic color determination area is an elongated area that includes a coordinate origin of the color space, that is set based on a coordinate position of a false color acquired by using a size and position of displacement of the scanning position of each color component generated in accordance with the scanning speed, and that extends in an opposite direction from the coordinate origin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method using the image processing apparatus, in which a plurality of line sensors corresponding to different color components simultaneously scan different scanning positions that are arranged on an original document at intervals predetermined in a sub-scanning direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image processing apparatus, such as a scanner device and a copier, scans an original document printed on a sheet of paper, for example, in order to convert the document into digital data, store the image data, and output the stored image data. The image processing apparatus receives, by using line sensors, reflected light that has been irradiated onto the original document, and performs image processing on the generated scanned data based on an amount of the received light.
The image processing apparatus includes the line sensors arranged to separately scan a red component (R component), a green component (G component), and a blue component (B component). The image processing apparatus generates the image data based on a voltage value acquired from the line sensors.
Each line sensor of Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) is arranged at predetermined intervals in a sub-scanning direction to scan a different scanning position of the original document. Therefore, each line sensor simultaneously scans at different scanning positions on the original document. Normally, the scanned data acquired by each line sensor is sequentially accumulated in a scanned data memory. The scanned data acquired by each line sensor at the same scanning position is read out from the scanned data memory and combined to generate RGB format pixel data of each line. Furthermore, by combining the combined RGB format pixel data, the image data of the original document is generated.
When a sampling period of the line sensors is constant, a magnification at which the original document is scanned is determined in accordance with the relative scanning speed in the sub-scanning direction of the original document and each line sensor. For example, when enlarging the original document, the scanning speed is decreased, and when reducing the original document, the scanning speed is increased.
Thus, since the scanning speed is changed in accordance with the magnification at which the original document is scanned, depending on the scanning speed, each line sensor may not scan an image on the same line of the original document. Accordingly, when the scanning position of each line sensor is displaced, and the pixel data is generated by combining the scanned data acquired by each line sensor, a false color is generated at a boundary where the pixel data changes from black to white, thereby deteriorating the quality of the image. A technique for correcting the pixel data when displacement of the scanned line is generated due to a change of magnification (i.e., because the magnification is changed from 100 percent magnification) is well known.
As for a determination of an achromatic color and chromatic color, a first well-known method determines the achromatic color by acquiring a maximum value and a minimum value from a signal of each color on which analog/digital conversion has been performed, and by acquiring a threshold value based on two-dimensional distribution of the maximum value and the minimum value. When the maximum value equals the minimum value, the first method determines the achromatic color. Therefore, in the two-dimensional distribution of the maximum value and the minimum value, a range surrounded by an experimentally acquired threshold curve and a straight line of "maximum value=minimum value" is set to be in a range of achromatic color.
Based on scanned data scanned by a line sensor that scans a G component, a second well-known method performs linear interpolation processing on the scanned data of an R component and B component scanned by other line sensors. The linear interpolation processing is performed when the R component scanning line sensor and the B component scanning line sensor scan by using the number of offset lines that includes a decimal, in other words, when the intervals at which each line sensor scans are not equal to the intervals of an integer number of lines. More specifically, the linear interpolation processing is performed on the R component scanned data and the B component scanned data by using the two pieces of scanned data acquired by scanning by using the integer number of offset lines that is close to the number of offset lines including the number of decimals. Then, the R component scanned data and the B component scanned data on which the linear interpolation processing has been performed and the G component scanned data on which the linear interpolation processing has not been performed are combined.
At this time, since the linear interpolation processing is performed on the R component and the B component, but is not performed on the G component, a contrast difference of the R component and the B component with respect to the G component becomes large. Moreover, since the G component becomes magenta when converted into the three primary colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), the magenta of the G component having a large contrast becomes intense when the scanned data is combined.
Accordingly, when setting an area for determining the achromatic color in a saturation distribution diagram that is based on color difference data, the color is determined by enlarging the achromatic color determination area in a magenta direction.
However, in a case of an achromatic color determining method of either the first method or of the second method, the false color cannot be sufficiently restrained.
Moreover, in the achromatic color determination of the first method, since the threshold curve experimentally acquired in the two-dimensional distribution of maximum value and minimum value is changed in accordance with a change of magnification, various problems can occur. For example, in the case of an image processing apparatus that can change the magnification by one percent, the experimental number used to acquire the threshold curve increases and the type of the threshold curves also increases, thereby increasing a data amount of the threshold value stored in the image processing apparatus.
Additionally, the achromatic color determination of the second method requires a cumbersome process of performing the linear interpolation processing on the R component scanned data and the B component scanned data in accordance with the change of magnification based on the G component scanned data.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method


Systems and methods for synchronizing data between a customer data management system and a data warehouse system. A data warehouse server may constantly monitor a dynamic metadata flow from the customer data management system, compare it with the metadata in the data storage device, and dynamically update the metadata in the data storage device. The data warehouse server may track activities over time and accumulate a long running history, which may include multiple versions of accounts in the customer data management system, e.g., the account as of today, the account as of yesterday, and another version that was the account two weeks ago.

The subject technology relates generally to customer data management, and more particularly to synchronizing data between a customer data management system and a data warehouse.
In the pharmaceutical sales industry, sales representatives are required to use call reports to record meetings and other interactions with doctors, including face-to-face meetings and discussions via phone or the Internet, and the call reports need to include the doctors' professional information, the medical products discussed, the materials shown to the doctors, the samples left, etc. Non-compliant call reports may expose company employers (e.g., a pharmaceutical company) to regulatory penalties or other legal liabilities. Call report information may be managed by a customer relationship management ("CRM") system. Call report information may also be stored in a data warehouse. It is desirable to provide a method for synchronizing data between the CRM system and the data warehouse.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for synchronizing data between a customer data management system and a data warehouse


An apparatus for loading lumber onto pallets so as to provide a stack of lumber layers separated by pallets for drying in a kiln, and for dismantle after drying includes a first elongated lumber-carrying conveyor, an elongated pallet-loading structure positioned in parallel with the first lumber-carrying conveyor, and an elongated stile-loading and unloading conveyor located between the first lumber-carrying conveyor and the elongated pallet-loading structure and positioned in parallel therewith. A frame structure over the first lumber carrying conveyor, the elongated stile-loading and unloading conveyor and the pallet-loading structure supports a lumber reciprocating drive element for moving aligned lumber between the lumber-carrying conveyor and the stile-loading and unloading conveyor, as well as a pallet reciprocating drive element for moving pallets between the pallet-loading structure and the stile-loading and unloading conveyor.

When lumber is dried, it is desirable from the viewpoint of efficiency that as much lumber as possible be dried simultaneously in a drying kiln, and a variety of loading devices for that purpose are now in use.
When the drying process is finished, however, there is still another process needed; that is, getting the pallet supporting the lumber out of the kiln and unloading the dried lumber off the pallet. This operation is in most cases manually performed, since the lumber is much lighter after drying. Still, much labor is needed for doing the job. Hence, the unloading process is also desirably to automated. However, installing an unloading machine in addition to a loading machine in a factory will cost an additional amount of money, and factory owners will have to make excessive investment in facilities.

Devices and methods for loading and unloading lumber for drying


A method of suturing patient tissue together is provided. The method comprises positioning a suture placement device adjacent patient tissue, the suture placement device having a body and a suture holder releasably attached on the body. The method further comprises actuating the suture placement device, causing the suture placement device to pass an end portion of at least one suture element through patient tissue in response to actuating the suture placement device and causing the end portion of the at least one suture element to be held on the suture holder of the device after the end portion has been passed through the patient tissue. The method further comprises detaching the suture holder from the body of the device while the end portion of the at least one suture element is held thereon. A suture placement device and a suture placement system which can be used in the method of the invention are also provided.

The invention can be used advantageously to suture vessels, ducts, and the like, in a patient body. The invention can be used particularly advantageously in suturing blood vessels together during cardiac surgery, for example. Accordingly, the invention can be used during coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), and the like. However, it is to be appreciated that the field of the invention is not to be limited to such uses only, but extends to suturing patient tissue together in general. For example, the invention can be used also to form sutures in bowel connections, femoral-popliteal artery anastomoses, and the like. It can also be used in the field of trauma closure, and the like.
It is often required to connect a vessel, duct, or the like, such as a hollow organ, or blood vessel, or the like, to a target piece of tissue, such as another vessel, duct, or the like. This is especially true in the case of certain types of cardiac surgery, such as CABG surgery. Often during such CABG surgery it is required to connect, or join, one blood vessel to another so that the vessels are joined together to be in fluid flow communication with each other. A joint formed between blood vessels in this fashion is often referred to as an anastomosis.
As is well known, the heart pumps blood through the body. The heart comprises a plurality of muscles which cooperate with one another to cause contractions of the heart thereby to provide a pumping action. The heart requires blood flow to its muscles to provide its muscles with the necessary oxygen, nutrients, and the like, necessary for muscular contraction. It often happens that one or more of the blood vessels which feed the heart muscles becomes diseased and develops a blockage, or becomes occluded, or the like. When this happens, a region of the heart normally fed by that diseased blood vessel can experience a depletion; or interruption, of blood supply. If such a condition is not treated in a timely fashion, the patient may suffer a heart attack with often fatal results.
CABG procedures are often performed to circumvent such a blockage, or occlusion, in a diseased blood vessel, thereby to provide the region of the heart normally fed by the diseased vessel with blood. This procedure normally involves tapping blood from an appropriate blood source, such as a donor blood vessel such as, for example, the aorta, saphenous vein, mammary artery, or the like, and routing the tapped blood to the diseased vessel downstream of the occlusion or blockage. A variety of procedures are currently employed to provide tapped blood downstream of an occlusion, or blockage, in a diseased blood vessel. One procedure involves making use of a graft. In such a case, an end of the graft is typically sutured to an appropriate blood source to be in fluid flow communication therewith and an opposed end of the graft is typically sutured to a side of the diseased vessel to be in fluid flow communication therewith downstream of the occlusion, or blockage. Another procedure involves suturing a side of a healthy vessel to a side of a diseased vessel downstream of the blockage, or occlusion, so that blood can flow from the healthy vessel to the diseased vessel. A joint between an end of a vessel, or graft, and a side of another vessel, or graft, is often referred to as an end-to-side anastomosis. A joint between a side of a graft, or vessel, and a side of another graft, or vessel, is often referred to as a side-to-side anastomosis.
During CABG surgery, a patient is often connected to a cardiopulmonary bypass machine so that the heart can be stopped temporarily, thereby to ease the task of suturing the various grafts, and/or vessels, together. Furthermore, blood vessels, such as the aorta, for example, are often closed, or clamped, so as to interrupt blood flow through that vessel when that vessel is to be used as a donor vessel or blood source.
When CABG procedures are performed on a patient, the patient normally suffers a great deal of trauma Accordingly, it would be beneficial if such CABG procedures could be improved so as to decrease patient trauma. In conventional CABG surgery, there are at least three factors that affect the degree of trauma suffered by a patient. These factors include: (1) the time the patient spends on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, (2) the time the patient spends with a clamped blood vessel, such as the aorta, or the like, and (3) the quality of the anastomoses formed between the blood vessels and/or grafts. It is generally recognized that the risk of patient morbidity rises significantly after the patient has been placed on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine for a period of about one hour. Passage of blood through a cardiopulmonary bypass machine tends to damage blood cells consequently causing degradation in blood quality. Accordingly, the longer a patient is subjected to cardiopulmonary bypass, the more the blood cells become damaged and the higher the degradation in the quality of the blood. A complication often associated with prolonged placement on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine, is distal thrombosis. Distal thrombosis can give rise to embolization in the neurovasculature and can lead to the patient suffering a stroke. Accordingly, it would he beneficial if the period a patient spends on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine during CABG surgery could be reduced.
A factor by which the amount of time a patient spends on a cardiopulmonary bypass machine can be reduced is by reducing the time taken suturing the vessels and/or grafts together to form anastomoses. The average time taken to suture two vessels together to form an anastomosis in accordance with traditional suturing methods, is typically about seven to ten minutes. An average CABG procedure can involve the formation of about five anastomoses. Accordingly, the time spent on suturing during an average CABG procedure can be between about thirty-five to fifty minutes. Therefore, since the task of suturing can constitute a major portion of the one hour period, it would be advantageous if the time spent on such suturing could be reduced. By doing so, the time a patient is subjected to cardiopulmonary bypass would also be reduced, thereby reducing patient trauma and the risks of morbidity.
In so-called "off-pump" procedures, patients are not placed on cardiopulmonary bypass machines. Accordingly, the negative effects associated with cardiopulmonary bypass mentioned above are inhibited. However, the task of suturing is made more difficult since the task of suturing is normally then performed while the heart is beating. This can lead to the formation of anastomoses with reduced integrity. Improperly suturing blood vessels and/or grafts together may lead to post operative complications. Incorrect suturing during surgery requiring correction during the surgery, may unnecessarily extend the time taken to complete the surgery.
Suture placement devices have been proposed which enable a surgeon, or the like, to place suture elements in patient tissue without manually holding and manipulating a suture needle, as has traditionally been the case. It has been found that the management of opposed ends of suture elements after having been placed in patient tissue with such a device can be rather tedious. This is especially true where the device is arranged to place a plurality of suture elements in patient tissue simultaneously. In such a case, opposed portions of each individual suture element are typically secured together to form a suture. It has been found that the opposed portions can become mixed up, or entangled, with one another, thereby unnecessarily complicating the suturing procedure and delaying its completion.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide systems, devices and methods for enabling suturing operations to be conducted with greater accuracy and in a shorter period of time. This is especially true if several vessels and/or grafts are to be sutured together during a CABG procedure.

Systems, devices and methods for suturing patient tissue


A firestop sleeve suitable for both concrete floor and gypsum wall-board assembly including a layer of intumescent composite forming a moldable putty with a restraining layer, for wrapping around a pipe extending through the concrete floor or through the wall-board, along with a plurality of bendable tabs for depression into the wrapped layer to hold the restraining layer in position during installation.

As is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,466, an intumescent firestop device is used to prevent fire from spreading from one room to another through an opening or aperture in a wall, floor or ceiling through which a pipe runs. As is there set forth, a conventional firestop device is typically wrapped around a pipe adjacent to the wall, floor or ceiling opening. If a fire then breaks out in the room, the intumescent material within the firestop device is intended to intumesce (i.e., expand) when the temperature reaches a certain level. With the expansion of the intumescent material being directed inward by the outer restraining layer of the firestop device, the result is a crushing of the pipe by the intumescing material--following from a softening of the pipe by the heat of the fire. The end result is described as a closing-off of the opening in the wall with a hard char, which is simultaneously fire resistant, thermal insulating, smoke depressing, and able to withstand the forces exerted by a stream of water from a fire hose.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,466 goes further in describing a preferred intumescent composite to produce these results, in which the composite is a moldable, non-curing putty. Also described there is a firestop device (incorporating the intumescent composite), which is installed around a pipe near a wall opening through which the pipe runs, with the intumescent composite exuding into the annular space between the pipe and the wall, floor, or ceiling opening in forming a cold-gas seal.
Experience has shown that such firestop device works quite well where the wall, floor or ceiling is of a concrete construction, where it is necessary only to firestop on one side. As FIG. 2 of that patent illustrates, for example, several screwing attachment tabs secure the device to the wall, floor or ceiling. In the embodiment there described, four attachment tabs are employed, pre-bent away about 90.degree. from the layer of intumescent composite. Although performing quite well, installation of such firestop device entails a certain degree of labor intensiveness in attaching the tabs employed--but offers the further limitation in that when dealing with a gypsum wallboard assembly, for example, the installation needs to be repeated on the other side of the wall as well, thereby repeating the process and adding to its installation cost. Obviously, furthermore, if a construction requires firestopping on both sides of a concrete wall, floor or ceiling, the installation process needs to be duplicated on the opposite side as well, in similarly adding to the overall costs.


The invention provides a fluid retaining assembly. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the fluid retaining assembly may include a base assembly including a cavity and a reservoir assembly disposed in the cavity of the base assembly. The reservoir assembly may include a body portion having a well in which fluid is retainable and a membrane covering the well. The reservoir assembly may further include an absorbent strip disposed in the well and covered by the membrane. The base assembly may be provided to include at least one attachment member. The attachment member serves to attach the reservoir assembly to the base assembly. A plurality of reservoir assemblies may be retained by the base assembly.

Various systems are known that dispense fluids for purposes of inoculation. For example, such a system includes the Biological Point Detection System (JBPDS) as produced by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products. Such an inoculation dispensing system typically dispenses the inoculation fluid using a set of needles. In operational use, such a system dispenses the inoculation fluid into an assay strip carrier card to determine the presence of biological agents.
As can be appreciated, it is very important that the appropriate volume of fluid being dispensed is accurately validated to ensure the proper operation of the biological detection system. To insure the appropriate volume of fluid is dispensed by the inoculation dispensing system, testing is conducted. Such testing includes the use of a test card that is inserted into the inoculation system in place of the operational assay strip carrier card, i.e., the test card is inserted for testing. The inoculation dispensing system dispenses inoculation into the test card, and the test card is removed. The volume of inoculation is then tested, i.e., how much inoculation did the inoculation dispensing system dispense.
However, the known test methods and other known test cards are lacking in the ability and ease by which this testing is performed. The invention addresses this need and others.

Fluid retaining assembly and method of using the same


A PAMELA-type of composite power amplifier is configured in such a way that a single power amplifier is operated at low output voltage amplitudes by prohibiting a pair of outphasing power amplifiers to produce any current. Preferably, at output voltage amplitudes above the maximum voltage of the single power amplifier is to be reached, the pair of outphasing power amplifiers is taken into operation providing currents phase shifted by substantially 180 degrees. When also the outphasing power amplifiers reach their maximum voltages, an outphasing operation is performed.

In many wireless communications systems, the power amplifiers (PA) in the transmitter are required to be very linear, in addition to being able to simultaneously amplify many radio channels (frequencies) spread across a wide bandwidth. They also have to do this efficiently, in order to reduce power consumption, need for cooling and to increase the lifetime of the amplifiers. The linearity is required to be good since non-linear amplifiers would cause leakage of interfering signal energy between the channels.
The amplitude probability density of a mix of sufficiently many independent radio frequency (RF) channels, or of a multi-user CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) signal, tends to be close to a Rayleigh distribution having a large peak-to-average power ratio. In order not to compress the waveform the amplifier must be operated with the average power backed off from the peak power of the amplifier. Since a conventional RF PA (Power Amplifier), especially class B, generally has an efficiency proportional to its output amplitude, its average efficiency is very low for such signals.
Several methods to increase the efficiency of the RF power amplifiers when transmitting signals with large amplitude variations have been proposed. Composite power amplifiers are common solutions. Two widely used methods are Chireix outphasing and the Doherty technique. Both of these well-known methods are emanating from the 1930's and are briefly presented in basic power amplifier literature, e.g. [1]. In more recent years, Meinzer has proposed another solution sometimes referred to as PAMELA, see e.g. [2].
In Chireix outphasing, amplitude modulation is obtained by combining two phase-modulated constant-amplitude signals through a combiner network (c.f. e.g. FIG. 1). The efficiency of a Chireix amplifier can have two peaks at different output voltages, compared with one for a conventional class B amplifier. The location of the extra peak is selected by the design of the combining network.
The Doherty amplifier (c.f. e.g. FIG. 2) basically consists of two amplifying elements, where the first one operates linearly through the entire range, while the second only operates during signal peaks. The efficiency curve exhibits an extra peak as compared with a conventional class B amplifier. The voltage of this extra peak is determined by the relative sizes of the amplifiers together with the output network.
The PAMELA technique (c.f. e.g. FIG. 3) uses an uneven number of amplifiers connected to a load via impedance conversion circuits. The sum of the currents will generate a voltage over the load. The voltage on each amplifier is kept constant and as high as possible, except possibly at very low output voltages. By selecting compensation reactances of pairs of amplifiers, an extra efficiency peak (as compared with class B amplifiers) can be achieved at a chosen output voltage.


An object of the present invention is to efficiently improve uniformity of energy lines to be irradiated. A method of determining nuclear fusion irradiation coordinates according to the present invention is a method of calculating irradiation coordinates when energy lines are irradiated onto a nuclear fusion target, and comprises an initial arrangement step S202 of virtually arranging electric charges Qi at initial coordinates of the number of irradiation coordinates NB on a spherical surface S0 set by using random numbers, a coordinate analysis step S203 of analyzing coordinates ri of the electric charges Qi in time series based on coulomb forces acting among the electric charges Qi by constraining the coordinates ri onto the spherical surface S0, potential evaluation steps S205 and S206 of determining a timing at which potential energies of the electric charges Qi were stabilized based on the coordinates ri, and an irradiation coordinate deriving step S207 of deriving coordinates ri at the timing at which potential energies were stabilized as irradiation coordinates of energy lines in a case where a nuclear fusion target is arranged at the center of the spherical surface S0.

Nuclear fusion is expected to become a future energy source as an alternative to fossil fuel, etc. In particular, in the field of laser fusion that is a system of inertial confinement fusion, since a fast ignition system using peta watt (PW) laser light with ultrahigh power was proposed in the early 1990s, it has been energetically developed by various research institutes, and the fundamental study thereof is being rapidly developed.
In laser fusion using direct irradiation represented by a fast ignition system and a central ignition system, by irradiating laser light onto a nuclear fusion target (pellet), fuel is compressed (imploded) to the central portion of the target, and an ultrahigh-density state is created. At this time, for stably causing inertial confinement fusion, high-density compression of fuel is essential, and for this, the nuclear fusion target must be irradiated and compressed as uniformly as possible. For example, a conventional configuration for obtaining uniform irradiation of laser light, a nuclear fusion device in which irradiation coordinates of 60 laser lights are set to be spherically symmetrical is known (refer to Non-Patent Literature 1 listed below).

Method of determining nuclear fusion irradiation coordinates, device for determining nuclear fusion irradiation coordinates, and nuclear fusion device


In an approach for determining relative positioning in a multiple display grid, a processor receives positioning information from sensors operably affixed to at least a first display and a second display. A processor analyzes the positioning information to determine a relative positioning between at least the first display and the second display. A processor generates an extended display on the at least the first display and the second display, based on the analyzed positioning information.

The present invention relates generally to the field of display grids, and more particularly to dynamically determining the relative positioning of a multiple display grid and adjusting the images transmitted to the displays of the multiple display grid.
A display device is an output device for the presentation of information in visual or tactile form. When the input information is supplied as an electric signal, the display is called an electronic display. Common applications for electronic visual displays are televisions and computer monitors. Originally, computer monitors were used for data processing and television receivers were used for entertainment. As time progressed, computers, and computer monitors, have been used for both data processing and entertainment, while televisions have implemented some computer functionality.

Identifying the positioning in a multiple display grid


A checking device of an SMT placement machine for checking positions of LEDs mounted on a circuit board includes a shell, a light source and an imaging module. The shell is used for covering the LEDs and the circuit board to be checked. The shell includes an opening and an atomized reflecting layer facing the LEDs. The opening is defined for exposing the LEDs through the shell to the imaging module whereby images of the LEDs can be taken by the imaging module and positions of the LEDs can be checked thereby. The atomized reflecting layer is formed on an inner surface of the shell. The light source is covered by the shell and faces the atomized reflecting layer. The imaging module is aligned with the opening.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to checking devices, and particularly to checking devices of surface mount technology (SMT) placement machines for checking positions of light emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted on a circuit board for constructing an LED light bar.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, LED light bars are widely used for illumination and backlight display. Generally, LED light bars are constituted of a plurality of LEDs soldered on a circuit board and aligned in a straight line. Due to that the LEDs are firstly placed on the circuit board by an SMT placement machine and adhered to the circuit board by solder before the reflow soldering process, the LEDs are easily shifted from the predetermined positions when the solder is molten into liquid state during the reflow soldering process. Thus, it is an important issue to check an alignment of the LEDs on the circuit board after the SMT machine has placed the LEDs on the circuit board.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a checking device of the SMT placement machine for checking an alignment of the LEDs mounted on the circuit board for constructing an LED light bar.

Position checking device of LED of LED light bar


A method for fabricating a conductive bump structure of a circuit board is disclosed. The circuit board with a plurality of electrical connection pads is provided. An insulating protective layer and a resist layer are successively applied on the circuit board, wherein openings are formed in the layers at positions corresponding to the pads to expose the pads. Then, a conductive layer is formed on surfaces of the resist layer and openings, and a metal layer is formed on the conductive layer via electroplating and filled in the openings. Subsequently, the metal layer and conductive layer formed on the resist layer are removed via thinning, so as to form metal bumps on the pads. After the resist layer is removed, the metal bumps are covered by an adhesive layer to form a conductive bump structure for electrically connecting the circuit board to the external electronic component.

The flip chip packaging technology was introduced by IBM in the early 1960s, and this technology differs from the wire bonding technology in that the electrical connectivity between the semiconductor chip and the substrate is achieved by the solder bumps instead of the ordinary wires. The main advantage of the flip chip packaging technology lies in its capability of elevating packaging density, thus the size of the packaged components are reduced; on the other hand, the flip chip packaging technology does not require wires of longer length, and hence the electrical functionality can be improved. As a result, the industry has been employing high-temperature soldering on ceramic substrates for years, and this technology is termed as control-collapse chip connection or 4C technology. Because the demand for semiconductor components of high-density, high-speed, low-cost has increased dramatically, and a trend that calls for smaller electronic products has emerged; it has become common to place the flip chip components on a low-cost organic circuit board (for example, a printed circuit board or a substrate board), then followed by the filling of epoxy underfill resin underneath the chip in order to minimize the thermal stress resulted from the differences in thermal expansion between silicon chip and organic circuit board structure, and the phenomenon has grown exponentially.
In the current flip chip packaging technology, the surface of semiconductor integrated circuit chip is disposed an electrode pad thereof, and its corresponding connecting pads are disposed on the organic circuit board; solder bumps or other conductive solder materials are filled between the chip and the circuit board, so that the chip is disposed on the circuit board with its electrical connecting side facing downwards. The solder bumps or the conductive adhesive materials used in this technology provides for the electrical input and output, as well as the mechanical connection between the chip and the circuit board.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the flip chip packaging technology, a plurality of metal bumps 11 are formed on electrode pads 12 of a chip 13, and a plurality of preset solder bumps 14 made of solder are formed on electrical connection pads 15 of a circuit board 16, then solder joint 17 are formed by reflowing preset solder bumps 14 to the corresponding metal bumps 11 under the condition of having the temperature sufficient for melting the preset solder bumps 14. In the next step, the chip and the circuit board are coupled by using the underfill material 18, so that the integration and the reliability of the electrical connection between chip 13 and circuit board 16 can be ensured.
Moreover, when the circuit board and the semiconductor chip are to be packaged, a plurality of solder balls are required to be implanted on the bottom surface of the circuit board, so that it is possible for the circuit board to electrically connect to external electronic devices. In order to allow the solder balls to connect to the circuit board effectively, the electrical connection pads of the circuit board that are to be used for the disposition of solder balls must be formed with the solder materials for connecting the solder balls first.
Currently, the method that is most commonly used to form solder material on the electrical connection pad of the circuit board is the stencil printing technology. As shown in FIG. 2, a solder-mask layer 21 is formed on a circuit board 20 that has been wired with circuits, then a plurality of electrical connection pads 22 are exposed, so that a stencil 23 with a plurality of openings 23a are placed on the solder-mask layer 21 of the circuit board 20; solder deposition can be formed on the electrical connection pads 22 by the openings 23a (not shown in the figure). A roller 24 or spray mode can be utilized to allow the solder to accumulate in the openings 23a, and once stencil 23 is removed, the solder deposition is formed in the openings 23a. This is followed by the reflowing process, which allows the solder deposition on the electrical connection pads 22 to solidify into the solder structure.
However, the developmental trend of miniaturization for semiconductor chip is driving changes in the semiconductor packaging technology, in order to allow the ever-shrinking chips to have more input and output terminals. But the change also shrinks the total area of carried components in a chip, which in turn increases the quantity of electrical connection pad on the carried components; as a result, the demands for the development of chip can only be satisfied by shrinking the size and the pitch of electrical connection pad. But the shrinking of electrical connection pad also makes the openings on the stencil used in stencil printing technology smaller as well. As a result, the smaller openings on the stencil not only increases the cost for producing the stencil, which is resulted from difficulty in stencil production; but also hampers the later production process because the smaller opening on the stencil can be impervious to the solder material. Furthermore, apart from the requirement of accurate size of stencil in order to ensure the precision in the shaping of solder material; there are the problems of the number of times the stencil has been used and cleaned. Since the solder material is viscous, it can stick to the inner wall of openings in the stencil and accumulate as the stencil is used to print many times, and this can give rise to incorrect quantity and shape of solder material from the design specification when the stencil is used next time. Therefore, when the stencil is put to actual usage, it must be cleaned after a certain times of printing, otherwise problems like conflicting shape and size of solder material can arise and result in the production process being impeded, which lowers its reliability.
To solve the above disadvantages, the method of electroplating has been employed to form solder material on the circuit board. FIGS. 3A to 3D are figures showing the procedural steps in the method for electroplating preset solder bumps on the circuit board. As shown in FIG. 3A, a solder mask layer 31 is formed on the circuit board 30 that has electrical connection pads 300, then openings 310 are formed on the solder mask layer 31 to expose the electrical connection pads 300 of the circuit board 30. As shown in FIG. 3B, a conductive layer 32 is formed on the surface of solder mask layer 31 and its openings 310, then an electroplated resist layer 33 that is to be electroplated and formed with openings 330 is formed on the conductive layer 32, so that the conductive layer 32 covered on the electrical connection pads 300 is exposed. As shown in FIG. 3C, the electroplating process is carried out, which utilizes the conductivity of conductive layer 32 as the electrically conductive pathway during electroplating, so that solder material 34 is formed by electroplating in the openings 330 that are to be electroplated. As shown in FIG. 3D, the resist layer 33 and the portion of the conductive layer 32 covered by the resist layer 33 are removed, then followed by solder reflowing so that preset solder bumps 35 are formed on the electrical connection pads of the circuit board.
Although the above procedures can solve the problems of stencil printing described previously, the difficulty of electroplating can be increased due to minimal area for electroplating, because solder materials 34 is formed in the openings of resist layer by direct electroplating. Moreover, when solder material is formed on the electrical connection pads in the openings of solder mask layer by direct electroplating, it becomes difficult to control the height of solder material on the electrical connection pads, which can lead to problems like uneven height of conductive bumps on the surface of circuit board, and this will have serious impact on the reliability of the electrical connecting process of later circuit boards and external electronic components (especially semiconductor chips).

Method for fabrication of a conductive bump structure of a circuit board

Phoenix Precision Technology Corporation


A flash memory system may include a flash memory and a circuit for performing operations of the flash memory. The circuit may be configured to estimate slope information of a plurality of threshold voltage samples based on soft decoding errors in connection with a first read operation on the flash memory. The circuit may be further configured to generate estimated soft information based on the estimated slope information. The circuit may be further configured to decode a result of a second read operation on the flash memory based on the estimated soft information.

As the number and types of computing devices continue to expand, so does the demand for memory used by such devices. Memory includes volatile memory (e.g. RAM) and non-volatile memory. One popular type of non-volatile memory is flash memory or NAND-type flash. A NAND flash memory array includes rows and columns (strings) of cells. A cell may include a transistor.
During a read operation, an entire row/page of the NAND flash memory array may be read. This may be done by applying a bias voltage to all rows not being read and a reference voltage to the row that should be read. The bias voltage may allow the transistor of the NAND flash memory array to fully conduct. The cells lying on the row being read will conduct only if the threshold voltage is sufficiently high to overcome the trapped charge in the floating gate. A sense amplifier may be connected to each string which measures the current through the string and outputs either a "1" or a "0" depending whether the current passed a certain threshold.
Due to different stress conditions (e.g., NAND noise and interference sources) during programming and/or read of the NAND flash memory, there may be errors in the programmed and read output. Improvements in decoding capabilities in such a wide span of stress conditions for NAND flash devices remain desired.

System and method for decoder assisted dynamic log-likelihood ratio (LLR) estimation for NAND flash memories


‘UCD Moxie’ is a day-neutral cultivar of a strawberry plant that provides high yields, has resistance to Fusarium wilt and Verticillium wilt, and produces fewer runners than many high-yielding day-neutral cultivars.

This invention relates to a new and distinct day-neutral strawberry cultivar designated as 'UCD Moxie', which originated from a cross performed in the winter of 2011 between parent 08C123P001 ('UCD Royal Royce', U.S. plant patent application Ser. No. 16/501,374) and proprietary germplasm parent 07C092P003 (unpatented). Seeds of the cross were harvested from greenhouse-grown plants in the spring of 2011 and germinated in June 2011. Seedlings were transplanted to a greenhouse in July 2011 and transplanted to the field in October 2011. 'UCD Moxie' was selected and clones were first harvested in 2012. 'UCD Moxie' has been asexually propagated since 2012.
The plant of this selection was originally designated '11C141P001' (also represented as 11.141-1) and later called '16DN012' or 'UC12' for evaluation in field trials. 'UCD Moxie' was also called '15 MBA-4' for certain testing trials.

The Regents of the University of California


A 3D memory device includes a multi-layer stacks structure having a plurality of conductive strips and a first, a second, a third and a fourth ridge stack; a first SSL switch, a first GSL switch, a second SSL switch and a second GSL switch respectively disposed on the first, the second the third and the fourth ridge stack; a first U-shaped memory cells string connecting the first SSL switch with the first GSL switch; a second U-shaped memory cells string connecting the second SSL switch with the second GSL switch; a first word lines contact in contact with the conductive strips disposed in the first ridge stack; a second word lines contact in contact with the conductive strips disposed in the second ridge stack; and a third word lines contact in contact with the conductive strips disposed in the third ridge stack and the fourth ridge stack.

Technical Field
The disclosure in generally relates to a memory device, and more particularly to a three dimensional (3D) memory device.
Description of the Related Art
Non-volatile memory (NVM) which is able to continually store information even when the supply of electricity is removed from the device containing the NVM cell has been widely adopted by bulk solid state memory applications in portable audiovisual entertainment devices, cell phones or digital cameras etc. Recently, various three dimensional (3D) memory devices, such as a 3D flash memory device having a single gate, a double gate or a surrounding gate, has been provided in order to accommodate the rising demand for superior memory.
A typical 3D memory device includes a 3D memory cell array having vertical channels formed in a multi-layer stacks. To take a single-gate vertical channel (SGVC) NAND device for example, a plurality of stacked poly-silicon conductive stripes are applied to serve as the gates of the memory cell involved in the 3D memory cell array. The poly-silicon conductive stripes should be divided to several portions for connecting to a plurality of metal word lines disposed on the cell memory array through a plurality of staircase-shaped word lines contacts.
However, the word lines contacts occupy the areas of the SGVC NAND device, and the space over the memory cell array for arranging the word lines is rather limited to allow additional word lines passing there through. As the memory density of the SGVC NAND device is increased, the levels of the conductive strips can also be increased, and more word lines contacts and word lines are required for the added levels of the conductive strips. Currently, there are two ways to solve these problems. One is to increase the physical size of the SGVC NAND device, the other is to shrink the pitch of the word line for allowing the added word lines contacts and word lines arranged therein.
But, the process window and the yield for fabrication the SGVC NAND device may be decreased, and oxide breakdown may occur due to the shrunk pitch of the word lines. The production cost thereof may be thus increased. In contrast, increasing the physical size of the SGVC NAND device does not meet the current trend of being lightweight and compact in memory device.
Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved 3D memory device to obviate the drawbacks encountered from the prior art.


A battery capacity monitoring system readily indicates the remaining capacity of an uninserted battery pack upon an operator's request. Such request may involve the touching of one or more contacts disposed on the battery pack. The battery pack also includes a display and a communication means for communicating capacity information to the device in which it may be installed. The communication means may also be used to display status when the battery pack is not inserted. When inserted a device, the battery pack and device participate to determine time estimates for remaining battery life based on known device loading characteristics and current battery capacity. An operator viewing such information may more adequately determine the usage value of the current battery charge. Moreover, the battery pack and corresponding device are configured to detect the beginning of the process of removing a battery pack. In response, the device saves operational states and data before losing power. Such stored information may be restored upon insertion of another battery pack into the device, permitting the operator to continue where they left off.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to battery packs utilized in portable battery powered electronic devices, and, specifically, battery packs which monitor capacity and indicate pre-removal. Electronic devices may respond to such pre-removal indications to, for example, save operational state information prior to power loss.
2. Related Art
Portable electronic battery powered devices have made great advances in increased power and utility in furtherance of achieving reductions in costs and size and increases in portability. Applications of portable electronic devices such as portable data collection and processing terminals often require the operator to be mobile and roaming. As such, portable electronic devices are generally powered by a reusable, self-contained power supply. In particular, portable electronic devices are usually configured with rechargeable batteries, often disposed in some form of battery pack.
Quite often, an operator of a portable electronic device does not know the present state of charge of a battery pack, unknowingly setting off with insufficient battery resources to complete an extended task. In many circumstances, monitoring circuitry which determines the state of charge only exists in associated charging docks. However, if the charging dock is not readily available to the operator, partially and fully discharged battery packs are unfortunately often relied upon. Although monitoring circuitry may also exist within some portable electronic devices, the operator is still forced to install each battery pack into such portable electronic devices to determine the present charge. This process often proves tedious and time consuming, especially when multiple battery packs are needed to complete the task.
For example, when a portable electronic device does provide monitoring circuitry, the operator must: 1) open the battery compartment of the portable electronic device; 2) insert or replace the installed battery pack; 3) close the battery compartment; 4) evaluate the charge level from some type of user interface; and 5) repeat the entire process for each battery needed for a given task and for each battery that proves to be undercharged. To be safe, this process must be carried out each time the operator prepares to leave the vicinity of other available battery packs. Otherwise, the operator is forced to take along many additional battery packs that will typically not need to be used.
Additionally, it is well known that batteries are somewhat ohmic, and battery charge levels generally decreases linearly over time. Thus, the charge state of a battery can be determined by examination of the output voltage of the battery. Various methods of detecting when battery voltage rises or falls below a threshold level are also well known in the art. However, the various methods typically place an additional load on the battery to accomplish such detection. Similarly, displaying any information to an operator causes further battery loading.
As evidence that battery pack charge status via docking and insertion is an insufficient solution to their problems, operators have adopted and rely upon rudimentary, unreliable methods to attempt to determine charge status. For example, many operators short battery pack terminals together with a wet finger or tongue in order to judge the battery pack charge status by the imparted "shock." The use of saliva in such instances is unsanitary, unpleasant and may cause corrosion or otherwise result in resistively coating the battery pack terminals. Such rudimentary techniques are inherently unreliable, suffering from error in human judgment.
Moreover, if an operator removes a battery pack for any reason during the operation of the portable electronic device, the portable electronic device immediately loses its current state of operation including all data associated therewith. Such loss also occurs when a battery pack accidentally pops out of the slot, for example, when a portable electronic device is dropped. With most portable electronic devices, to avoid loss, the user must save, gracefully exit all application programs and turn off the portable electronic device before removing and replacing the battery. This entire process is very time consuming, annoying and unavailable upon accidental battery removal.
Thus, there lies a need for the operator of a portable battery powered electronic device to be able to readily determine the present state of charge of a battery pack. The operator needs to be able to readily compare the present state of charge of a battery pack to the states of charge of several rechargeable battery packs at once, and to be able to make quick, simple and accurate determinations of remaining battery capacity. Further, there lies a need for the operator to be able to exchange battery packs during use of portable electronic device without being burdened with a time consuming, preparatory shutdown process.

Battery pack with capacity and pre-removal indicators


The filing device in which a binding fastener 2 fixedly attached to a folder body 1 can be demounted from the folder body 1 with accompanying plastic deformation or destruction of the parts of the filing device, and is characterized by that the binding fastener 2 is fixedly attached to the folder body 1 by a binding mechanism 3 which fastens the binding fastener 2 to the folder body 1 and which enables the binding fastener 2 to be released from the folder body 1 with a relative movement of the binding fastener 2 to the folder body 1, and an engaging lock mechanism 4 which prohibits the relative movement.

The filing device of this kind conventionally comprises a folder body having a front cover, a back cover and a rear cover, and a binding fastener fixed to the inner face of the back cover by, for example, rivets. The folder body is made of rigid sheet material such as cardboard or synthetic plastics and the binding fastener is of a sheet metal or rigid synthetic plastics. The binding fastener made of metal is fixed to the folder body made of paper or synthetic resin by means of a rivet made of metal and is so structured not to easily be demounted from the folder body by the weight of the bound papers.
Concern over the global ecological issues has recently been growing. Considering such a social trend, when products are to be disposed, the products are beginning not just to be incinerated but treated as follows; first broken apart into each parts of the same material, then collected according to the parts classified based on whether the material is reusable or not, or whether the material should be burned or not, and finally provided with a treatment according to each of the material for the reuse of the material of the products.
For the above-mentioned filing device when it is to be disposed, the binding fastener and the rivet made of metal is reusable if collected and melted, and the folder body made of paper is reusable as a recycled paper if collected. However, if the binding fastener is securely fixed to the folder body by the rivet, the filing device may not be divided into different material on the spot where the filing device has been used, thereby to cause difficult collection of the parts according to the material. That is, there is no other way but to plastically deform the rivet by means of a tool such as a drill or the like for demounting the binding fastener from the folder body. In offices where the filing devices are used or kept it is rare to ordinarily be furnished with the above-mentioned tools so that it may be costly to purchase the tool just for the disposal of the filing device, which makes it difficult to separate and collect the filing device according to the material as mentioned above. In addition, if the operation to separate the filing device accompanies too much trouble, it may not be conducted because it is not obligatory to separate and collect the filing device. There is also a problem that it involves risks to separate the filing device by using the tools like a drill.
The present invention has been accomplished to solve the above-mentioned problems. The object of the invention is to provide a filing device having such a structure that the binding fastener can be separated from the folder body without using a tool which is not ordinarily furnished.