A semiconductor device includes: multi-layer interconnection substrate having signal distribution interconnection and power supply line; and semiconductor circuit blocks installed on the multi-layer interconnection substrate for performing required operations. The multi-layer substrate includes: a third interconnection layer having interconnections extending in a first direction; a second interconnection layer having interconnections extending in a second direction which is different to the first direction; and a first interconnection layer having interconnections extends in a direction orthogonal to the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit and a semiconductor device having multi-layer interconnection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, the functions and processing speed of semiconductor devices have been enhanced so that the number of signal lines included in a multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit contained in the semiconductor device has been increased. The number of interconnection layers in the multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit may be added for increasing the number of signal lines in the multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit. However, for suppressing the manufacturing cost, the number of the interconnection layers to be added is desired to be small.
In the case that an interconnection layer is additionally laminated (stacked) on a conventional multi-layer substrate, if the added interconnection layer has interconnections extending in the same direction as the interconnections formed in the interconnection layer laid immediately below, an interconnections formed in the added interconnection layer and an another interconnection formed in the interconnection layer laid below may overlap with each other in vertical direction, such as a first interconnection layer 10 and a second interconnection layer 20 as shown in FIG. 1. If the overlapping area between the interconnections in the interconnection layers adjacent to each other in the vertical direction is large, the coupling capacitance between the interconnections is also large, and the signals flowing through the respective interconnections have the effects of the couplings (electromagnetic couplings) on each other. As a result, noises are added to both of the signal lines, and erroneous operations are occurred in the semiconductor device having the multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit.
For suppressing the coupling capacitance as mentioned above, a method is proposed in which the interconnections in an upper interconnection layer is arranged to be shifted by a half pitch from the interconnections formed in the lower adjacent interconnection layer. FIG. 2A shows the schematic sectional view of the interconnections, and FIG. 2B shows the planar view of the interconnections formed in the upper and lower interconnection layers from the top surfaces of the overlapping interconnection layers. In this method, since the coupling capacitance between the upper and lower interconnection layers are reduced, the noise contained in the signal transmitted through each interconnection is relatively reduced. However, even in the case of this method, as the length of the interconnection in the transmission direction of the signal is increased, the coupling capacitance as the multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit becomes larger.
So, in order to further reduce the coupling capacitance in the multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit, a method that enlarges the design value of the pitch between the interconnections formed in the same layer for both of the adjacent interconnection layers is proposed. FIG. 3A shows the schematic sectional view of the interconnections, and FIG. 3B shows the planar view of the interconnections formed in the upper and lower interconnection layers from the top surfaces of the interconnection layers. In this proposal, the coupling capacitance per unit length between the interconnections is further reduced as compared with those shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B. However, it is difficult to avoid the fact that as the length of the interconnection in the transmission direction of the signal is increased, the coupling capacitance of the multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit becomes larger.
The following techniques are also disclosed.
In Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-A-Heisei, 3-19257), a semiconductor integrated circuit device, in which a plurality of circuit blocks whose signal amplitudes are different are installed in a same semiconductor substrate is disclosed. In this semiconductor device, among signal interconnections for connecting between the circuit blocks, at least a part of the signal interconnections to transmit electric signals of small signal amplitudes is extended obliquely for the interconnection channel direction of the signal interconnection to transmit an electric signal of a large signal amplitude.
Also, a multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit is disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application (JP-P 2001-168195A). The multi-layer interconnection semiconductor integrated circuit has an interconnection structure of at least 6 layers, wherein the interconnections of the first and second layers are formed on an orthogonal grid so as to be orthogonal to each other. Assumed that the unit pitch of the interconnections of the first and second layers are a, b, respectively, and n, m are even numbers of 2 or more, respectively, and an angle equal to arctangent (na/mb) is θ. Then, the interconnection of the third layer is formed on the oblique grid so as to be inclined in a +θ direction with respect to the interconnection of the first or second layer, and the interconnection of the fourth layer is formed on the oblique grid so as to be inclined in a −θ direction with respect to the interconnection of the first or second layer. And assumed that the unit pitch of the interconnections of the third and fourth layers are c, d, respectively, c=d=na×mb/{(na)2+(mb)2}½, and all of the intersections of the interconnections of the third and fourth layers are located at the positions overlapping with the intersections of the orthogonal grid of the interconnections of the first and second layers, and the interconnections of the fifth and sixth layers are formed on the roughly orthogonal grids constituting the partial sets of the orthogonal grids of the interconnections of the first and second layers. And assumed that the unit interconnection pitches of the fifth and sixth layers are e, f, respectively, e=na and f=mb, and all of the intersections of the interconnections of the fifth and sixth layers are located at the positions overlapping with the intersections of the inclination grids of the interconnections of the third and fourth layers.

Semiconductor integrated circuit and semiconductor device having multilayer interconnection


A method for producing ferrite hollow particles having a hollow structure formed by mutual sintering of ferrite powder, including: a) a step of mixing a resin powder and a ferrite powder of a particle size smaller than that of the resin powder under compaction thereby forming ferrite powder-coated particles in which ferrite powder coats, in a partially embedded state, surface of the resin powder; and b) a step of heat treating the obtained ferrite powder-coated particles thereby removing the resin powder and mutually sintering the ferrite powder.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing ferrite hollow particles having a hollow structure formed by mutual sintering of ferrite powder.
2. Related Art
For example in an electromagnetic shielding material, it is being executed to disperse a ferrite powder in a lightweight material such as a plastic material, in order to achieve a lighter weight and an easier molding. Also for achieving a further lighter weight, there is already known an electromagnetic shielding material utilizing ferrite hollow particles.
For obtaining ferrite hollow particles, there has been employed, for example, a method of dispersing a resin powder in a slurry containing a ferrite powder to obtain a resin powder coated with the slurry containing the ferrite powder, heat treating such resin powder thereby removing the resin powder and forming a hollow interior in the particles as shown in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Hei. 10-182264, or a method of dispersing a resin powder in a solution containing a metal or a metal compound (for example a metal oxide or a metal hydroxide) for constituting a component of ferrite, such as iron oxide, thereby obtaining a resin powder coated with the solution containing the ferrite constituting component, and heat treating such resin powder thereby removing the resin powder and forming a hollow interior in the particles for example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Hei. 7-237923.
However, in either of these methods, an insufficient dispersion state of the resin powder results in a mutual binding of the resin, whereby the obtained ferrite hollow particles tend to assume non-spherical distorted shapes and non-uniform particle sizes. Also since the resin powder is dispersed in the slurry containing the ferrite powder or the solution containing the ferrite component then taken out and dried, the amount of deposition of the ferrite powder or the ferrite component often becomes uneven or insufficient in many cases to lead to an uneven thickness in the ferrite shell obtained after the heat treatment, frequently providing thin-walled shells. Therefore, the electromagnetic shielding material prepared with such ferrite hollow particles may show an inferior strength because of a stress concentration on the particles of such distorted shapes or thin shells.

Method for producing ferrite hollow particles


A small-sized motor includes a field magnet attached to an inner circumferential surface of a metallic motor casing and having four or more magnetic poles. The field magnet is formed of a single ring-shaped magnet member having a predetermined thickness with respect to the radial direction and a predetermined length with respect to the thrust direction. At each of portions between the magnetic poles formed through magnetization, the magnet member has a thin portion having a reduced thickness with respect to the radial direction, the thin portion being formed by cutting the magnet member from the radially outward side. The magnetization is performed in the radial direction so as to alternately form S poles and N poles in the circumferential direction. At each of portions between the magnetic poles, the magnet member may have cut portions formed at opposite end portions of the magnet member with respect to the thrust direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a small-sized motor for use in, for example, power tools and electric equipment for vehicles such as door locks and seat adjusters, and more particularly to a structure of a magnet for stator magnetic poles attached to the inner circumferential surface of a motor casing.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a conventional small-sized motor as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. H10-201206. This motor includes a rotor having three magnetic poles; a yoke disposed to surround the rotor; and two stator pole magnets attached to the inner surface of the yoke and each having an arcuate (C-shaped) cross section. Each of the magnets has such a shape that the gap between the magnet and the outer circumferential surface of the rotor gradually increases from a central portion to opposite end portions along the circumferential direction of the rotor.
Moreover, in each of the illustrated magnets, the back surfaces (outer surfaces) of the opposite end portions are cut so that cut portions are formed there. By means of changing the shape of these cut portions, magnetic flux density at the opposite end portions of each magnet can be adjusted.
In general, each stator pole magnet is formed such that the radial distance between the magnet and the outer circumferential surfaces of the rotor poles gradually increases from its circumferential center toward the opposite end portions so as to gradually weaken the magnetic field. This configuration makes it possible to avoid abrupt changes in the magnetic field, which would otherwise occur upon rotation of the rotor. Thus, generation of cogging torque can be mitigated.
However, since the illustrated motor requires an operation of assembling a plurality of (two) C-shaped magnets into the yoke, particularly when four or more magnets are assembled into the yoke, their positioning and fixing are difficult. That is, the structure of the illustrated motor is disadvantageous in terms of production cost and quality. Further, in order to reduce the magnetic flux from the central portion toward the opposite ends thereof, the illustrated magnet is formed in such a manner as to gradually increase the gap between the magnet and the outer circumferential surface of the rotor from the central portion toward the opposite ends thereof. However, such a shape reduces the magnetic flux generated by use of an excessively large magnet by widening the gap, and therefore is not efficient.

Small-sized motor having ring-shaped field magnet


An efficient cache allocation scheme is provided for both uniprocessor and multiprocessor computer systems having at least one cache. In one embodiment, upon the detection of a cache miss, a determination of whether the cache miss is "avoidable" is made. In other words, would the present cache miss have occurred if the data had been cached previously and if the data had remained in the cache. One example of an avoidable cache miss in a multiprocessor system having a distributed memory architecture is an excess cache miss. An excess cache miss is either a capacity miss or a conflict miss. A capacity miss is caused by the insufficient size of the cache. A conflict miss is caused by insufficient depth in the associativity of the cache. The determination of the excess cache miss involves tracking read and write requests for data by the various processors and storing some record of the read/write request history in a table or linked list. Data is cached only after an avoidable cache miss has occurred. By caching only after at least one avoidable cache miss instead of upon every (initial) access, cache space can be allocated in a highly efficient manner thereby minimizing the number of data fetches caused by cache misses.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to caches of computer systems. In particular, this invention relates to the efficient allocation of cache memory space in a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a simple cache space allocation scheme for a multi-level-cache computer system having a small first-level cache and a larger second-level cache, all data structures are automatically cached in both levels of caches. If the size of a data structure is larger than the smaller lower-level cache, i.e., the data structure does not fit into the lower-level cache, the data structure is replaced from the lower-level cache. Hence, if the data structure is smaller than the larger higher-level cache, most of the content of the data structure will remain in the higher-level cache.
Unfortunately, while some data structures are accessed frequently, other data structures are accessed only once and it is not easy to predict future access(es) of a particular structure without some statistical analysis and/or knowledge of the computer program which owns the data structure(s). For example, a computer program may use a large array by accessing each element of the array once. Each element is then used in a fairly complicated computation involving temporary variables. In this example, caching every element of the large array will not substantially increase the computational speed. In contrast, caching the temporary variables will result in a faster execution of the program.
Hence, although the above-described scheme for allocating space in a multi-level cache is simple, the scheme is based solely on the size of the data structure, and hence is inefficient because a substantial number of data structures are unnecessarily cached. Excessive caching causes other useful data structures to be replaced prematurely, i.e., ejected from the cache(s) before subsequent accesses.
Since cache memories are not infinitely large, efficient allocation of limited cache resources is needed in order to maximize usage of the caches and minimize overall access time to data. Thus there is a need for an efficient mechanism to select data structures for caching which also optimizes the allocation of cache memory space in a multi-level-cache computer system.

Efficient allocation of cache memory space in a computer system


A gas turbine engine includes a main compressor section for compressing air, a main combustor section positioned downstream of the main compressor section, a main turbine section positioned downstream of the main combustor section, and a spool extending from the main compressor section to the main turbine section. A second turbine is fluidically connected to the main compressor section by a bleed passage. An electrical generator is mechanically driven by both the spool and the second turbine.

The present invention relates to gas turbine engine bleed air, and in particular to the use of air bled from a gas turbine engine compressor.
In a typical gas turbine engine, a compressor compresses air and passes that air along a primary flow path to a combustor which mixes fuel with the compressed air and combusts the mixture. The combusted mixture expands and is passed to a turbine which is forced to rotate. When used on an aircraft, the primary purpose of this system is to provide propulsive force for the aircraft.
In some gas turbine engines, a portion of the air compressed by the compressor is diverted from the primary flow path to a bleed passage of a bleed air system. This bleed air is typically used for a variety of purposes, such as to de-ice a wing or to provide pressurized air to a cabin of the aircraft. Because the bleed air is often at an undesirably high temperature, a heat exchanger is used to cool the bleed air. Bleeding off and cooling compressed air typically does not generate thrust or useful work, thus reducing the efficiency of the compressor and the entire gas turbine engine. Moreover, the heat exchanger takes up a relatively large amount of space and undesirably increases the overall weight of the bleed air system.

Gas turbine bleed energy recovery via counter rotating generator


A plunger switch comprises a switch body housing a first contact element, a second contact element and an elongate plunger. The first contact element is partially housed in the switch body and extends out for operative communication with a circuit. The second contact element is movable along a longitudinal axis of the switch body and is aligned to contact the first contact element through movement. The elongate plunger is movable along the longitudinal axis of the switch body, and is able to be completely recessed in the switch body. Movement of the plunger in a first direction facilitates contact between the first and second contact elements. The contact elements contact at contact portions. At least a pair of the contact portions may have ridged surfaces that are oriented so as to have intersecting points at contact and configured to perform oxidation cleanup. At least a pair of the contact portions may include silver nitride.

Plunger switches for indicating the position of a door are generally well known. For example, in home appliances such as ovens, a door is configured to press against a plunger when the door is shut and to release the plunger when the door is open while the plunger transmits each position through an electrical signal. One problem experienced by conventional plunger switches is that the plunger switch can break and become unusable if the door is slammed shut and the plunger strikes the bottom of the switch housing. Another problem is that, when the switch operates at low voltage and low amperage, oxidation cannot be burned off at the electrical contacts as well as at high voltage operation and the operation of the switch might be hindered by the oxidation and the position of the door can be incorrectly indicated. Thus, the switch must be equipped with features that can clean up the oxidation.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved plunger switch with features to guard against these problems.


The present disclosure provides a curing agent comprising a polyetheramine, a tertiary amine substantially free of an aromatic tertiary amine and glycerin. The curing agent may be combined with an epoxy resin to form a curable composition which is capable of being applied to a substrate and cured to form a cured article.

Curable compositions based on epoxy resins and various curing agents are used in the industry on a large scale to produce cured epoxy resins. As typical representative examples of curing agents, there are, for example, diethylenetriamine, triethylenetetramine, isophoronediamine, diaminodiphenylmethane, diaminodiphenylsulfone, polyamides, dicyandiamide, hexahydrophthalic anhydride, methyltetrahydrophthalic anhydride, methyl nadic anhydride, imidazoles, and amine complexes of boron trifluoride.
Polyetheramines have also been used in the curing of epoxy resins to provide cured articles that exhibit superior physical properties in many applications, such as composites, castings, adhesives, etc. (see, e.g., WO 2016/089663; U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,012,020; 8,399,577; US Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2013/0012669; U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,816,481; and 3,654,370, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference to the extent that they do not contradict the present disclosure). However, the cost of such polyetheramines may be considered too high for use in some applications (e.g. floor coatings) in which the cured article exhibits physical properties much better than generally required. Accordingly, it would be desirable to develop new polyetheramine-based curing agents having a reduced usage level of polyetheramine thereby reducing raw material cost yet are still effective in curing epoxy resins to produce cured articles having acceptable physical and thermal properties.


Systems and methods for redirecting Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages in a wireless system that uses Central Unit (CU)/Distributed Unit (DU) splitting and either network sharing or network slicing are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method performed by a shared Distributed Unit (DU) comprises receiving a RRC message from a User Equipment (UE) and sending a first DU-to-Central Unit (CU) message to a first CU, where the first DU-to-CU message comprises the RRC message. The method further comprises either obtaining an indication that the first CU is a wrong CU for the RRC message or determining that the first CU is a wrong CU for the RRC message. The method further comprises sending another DU-to-CU message to a second CU, where the other DU-to-CU message comprises the RRC message or a RRC message related to the RRC message.

FIG. 1 depicts the current Fifth Generation (5G) Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture (also referred to as the Next Generation (NG) RAN, or NG-RAN), as described in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 38.401 (see e.g., V15.3.0). The NG architecture can be further described as follows. The NG-RAN consists of a set of NG Node Bs (gNBs) connected to a 5G Core Network (5GC) through an NG interface. A gNB can support Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) mode, Time Division Duplexing (TDD) mode, or dual mode operation. gNBs can be interconnected through an Xn interface. A gNB may consist of a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) and one or more gNB Distributed Units (gNB-DUs). A gNB-DU is connected to a gNB-CU via an F1 logical interface. One gNB-DU is connected to only one gNB-CU.
NG, Xn, and F1 are logical interfaces. For NG-RAN, the NG and Xn-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs terminate in the gNB-CU. For Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) New Radio—Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), the S1-U and X2-C interfaces for a gNB consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs terminate in the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU and connected gNB-DUs are only visible to other gNBs and the 5GC as a gNB.
The NG-RAN is layered into a Radio Network Layer (RNL) and a Transport Network Layer (TNL). The NG-RAN architecture, e.g. the NG-RAN logical nodes and interfaces between them, is defined as part of the RNL. For each NG-RAN interface (NG, Xn, F1), the related TNL protocol and the functionality are specified. The TNL provides services for User Plane (UP) transport and signaling transport. In NG-Flex configuration, each gNB is connected to all Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMFs) within an AMF Region. The AMF Region can be as defined in 3GPP TS 23.501 (see, e.g., V15.3.0).
The general principles for the specification of the F1 interface are as follows:                the F1 interface is to be open;        the F1 interface supports the exchange of signaling information between the endpoints, in addition the interface shall support data transmission to the respective endpoints;        from a logical standpoint, the F1 is a point-to-point interface between the endpoints (a point-to-point logical interface should be feasible even in the absence of a physical direct connection between the endpoints);        the F1 interface supports Control Plane (CP) and UP separation;        the F1 interface separates RNL and TNL;        the F1 interface enable exchanges of User Equipment (UE) associated information and non-UE associated information;        the F1 interface is defined to be future proof to fulfill different new requirements and to support new services and new functions;        one gNB-CU and a set of gNB-DUs are visible to other logical nodes as a gNB, where the gNB terminates X2, Xn, NG, and S1-U interfaces; and        the Central Unit (CU) may be separated in the CP and the UP.
In regard to network sharing, according to 3GPP TS 23.501 (see, e.g., V15.3.0) § 5.18, the 5G System (5GS) supports a Multi Operator Core Network (MOCN) scenario, where several operators share RAN resources. As compared to MOCN defined for Third Generation (3G) and Fourth Generation (4G) (up to Release 13), there are two kinds of MOCN configurations:                1. single Cell Identity (ID)/Tracking Area Code (TAC) cell configuration, and        2. multiple Cell ID/TAC cell configuration.
Single Cell ID/TAC cell configuration refers to the "classical" MOCN configuration, which was defined up to Release 13 for 3G and 4G. Such configuration foresaw to share not only cell radio resources but also Cell IDs and TACs, i.e. the same value for a Cell ID/TAC was used by all operators, the cells and Tracking Areas (TAs) could be only distinguished globally, i.e. as Cell Global Identities (CGIs) or Tracking Area Identities (TAIs), with the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) ID prefix. This required operators to coordinate those IDs. Multiple Cell ID/TAC cell configuration is able to overcome those restrictions, and broadcast information associated with a single physical cell resource is able to indicate more than one Cell ID/TAC pair, each of which is associated with an operator's network.
The only deployment scenario for the single Cell ID/TAC cell configuration required and supported was the case where the RAN was owned by a single operator and offered to other operators. The resulting architecture was a single RAN connected to several core networks.
The multiple Cell ID/TAC cell configuration offers several possibilities, but the most common is one where several separate operator networks logically operate their own networks. This is very much in line with the intention of this configuration option. Operators have the benefit of configuring and operating their own network, independent from configuration and operating strategies of the networks of the other operators. Actual sharing of physical cell resources would work as for the "classical" MOCN scenarios, where fixed or dynamic quotas would regulate the usage radio resources.
3GPP is currently working on standardization of 5G CN and New Radio (NR) access. In this work there is a lot of focus to support network slicing. Below is a short description of network slicing.
The support for network slicing is an important part of the vision for the 5GS architecture. As stated by different forums, such as Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) Alliance, network slicing consists of deploying multiple end-to-end logical networks in support of independent business operations. In contrast to deploying an independent network infrastructure, each instance of a slice (blueprint) should be possible to realize as a logical network corresponding to a shared infrastructure (including shared processing, storage, transport, radio spectrum, and hardware platforms), where it co-exists with other slices having potentially different characteristics. FIG. 2 depicts an example of multiple slice instances deployed in the same network infrastructure. In this way, the infrastructure and assets utilization will be much more cost and energy efficient, while the logical separation allows for a flexible and independent configuration and management of the slices without compromising stability and security. Enabling slice realization over a common physical infrastructure would of course not prevent the realization of a slice instance by means of dedicated resources and assets.
In 3GPP, the notion of network slicing has also been introduced as a way to address the needs for the different vertical industries, translated into a wide range of use cases for the NG architecture. Network slicing is an end to end concept, where a given network slice could be made up of different dedicated or shared sub-network instances. For example, it is possible to deploy network supporting two slices using a shared RAN sub-network instance used by both slices and two dedicated core network sub-network instances for each slice. In this case, the RAN would have a selection function connecting UEs of one slice to the correct core network instance.

Redirection mechanism to support network sharing/slicing with CU-DU split


The present invention provides a locking system that is more secure and theft resistant than traditional key and cylinder systems. A hidden locking system is provided where access to the locking mechanism is hidden from view and cannot be rotated or engaged by screwdrivers, pens or other common tools. In another aspect the present a primary and all related secondary locking systems on an object such as a bicycle. In a further aspect the present invention provides lockup in applications where large and bulky key and cylinder systems are not possible or practical.

Various key and cylinder locking systems are known where the locking cylinder is exposed so that a key can be inserted to unlock the device. Such systems can be relatively easily picked or tampered with by inserting a slender object into the cylinder opening. Recently it has been shown that even a pen can open some known locking systems.
Forcing a sharp-pointed object into the cylinder opening can also easily damage Key and cylinder systems. Key and cylinder systems are large and bulky and are not practical in many applications where space is not available such as bicycle wheels.
There is a need for a locking system that is more secure and theft resistant than traditional key and cylinder systems.


A method and system for providing location-based user information using a map is disclosed. The method includes displaying a plurality of local areas on a map. If one of the plurality of local areas is selected, user information corresponding to the selected local area is loaded, where the user information contains a name of a user, a phone number of the user, a subscribed local area where a wireless communication network service to which the user subscribes is provided, and a current local area where the user is currently receiving a wireless communication network service. The selected local area is displayed by distinguishing the selected local area from non-selected other local areas, a local time of the selected local area, and the user name from among the loaded user information. When displaying the user name, the phone number, the subscribed local area and the current local area are selectively displayed in addition to the user name.

With the development of wireless communication network technology, wireless communication networks have been established in most countries around the world and are used to provide wireless communication services.
In recent years, the number of opportunities for people to communicate with each other irrespective of where they are located, such as a local area, a country, and so forth, has been increasing. This causes an increase in the number of international calls.
A roaming service refers to a service that lends another communication service provider's network and provides a communication service to a portable terminal user when the portable terminal is moved from one communication service provider's area to another. That is, the roaming service allows the portable terminal user to enjoy a communication service irrespective of where he/she is located.
Portable terminal users that subscribe to wireless communication services store user information including other users' contact information in their portable terminals, such that they can subsequently search for corresponding contact information or contact a called user corresponding to the information. In conventional technology, the user information is configured to contain simple information, for example, a name, a phonebook, and such. When a user searches for another user's name from his/her portable terminal, the portable terminal displays another user's phone number.
Therefore, a system is required to efficiently provide a variety of user information, based on local areas and countries where users are located and their movement.

Method and system for providing location-based user information via a map


Molded block optics system (10) writes and reads data from an optical storage medium and includes first molded optics block (12) for receiving reference beam (60) and original object beam (46) that contains a predetermined data set. First molded optics block (12) includes reflective surfaces (18, 20, 22, and 24) and spatial light modulator (50). Reflective surfaces (18, 20, and 24) include reference beam surfaces (24) and object beam surfaces (18, 20, and 22). Reference beam surfaces (24) direct reference beam (60) to optical storage medium (16) at predetermined location (54). Spatial light modulator (50) modulates object beam (46) and directs modulated object beam (46) to predetermined location (54). Reference beam (60) and object beam (46) form an interference pattern that writes data on optical storage medium (16). First molded optics block (12) also directs reference beam (60) to optical storage medium (16) for generating reconstructed object beam (64). Second molded optics block (14) receives reconstructed object beam (64), and includes reflective surfaces that direct reconstructed object beam (64) to detector array (32).

A volume holographic storage device writes and reads data in an optical form. See, for example, S. Redfield and L. Hesselink, "Data Storage in Photorefractives Revisited," Optical Computing 88, Proc. SPIE, Vol. 963, Toulon, France, pp. 35-45 (1988), which reports investigations of a holographic data storage technology (hereinafter Redfield). The technology of Redfield encodes the information to be stored in an optical recording medium as a two-dimensional array of spots called a "page." The optical recording medium for a write/read subsystem may be a photorefractive crystal. Pages are stored as patterns in the distribution of donor electrons of the photorefractive crystal which locally affect the index of refraction of the material. The pages are actually stored as a hologram of the Fourier transform of the spot array. The Fourier transform is a convenient way to obtain a small recording size and provides some immunity to crystal material defects. Pages are placed in the photorefractive crystal as a two-dimensional array of stacks of pages.
By storing the pages in stacks and having an array of these stacks, a holographic storage system achieves three-dimensional use of the recording media. Another advantage of using pages of holographically stored information is that read access times may increase to be 100 to 1,000 times faster than those obtainable with magnetic or optical disks. This is because readout of information can be done by simply directing light beams. This may be done with no moving parts. Further, this accessing involves reading out images, instead of single bits serially as is the case with magnetic recording. The result is a significant improvement in bandwidth. The holographic storage technology leverages the imaging properties of light and the ability of light to be launched.
While holographic storage technology has been investigated in the past, its use has not been generally accepted. One significant reason has been the immature state of the art of related technologies such as two-dimensional spatial light modulators (SLMs) or page composers, laser devices, beam deflectors, optical recording materials, and detector arrays. While considerable advances in recent years in all of these components make volume holographic optical storage an attractive technology, as Redfield explains, a significant limitation still remains in this technology with regard to the size and complexity of the optical configuration necessary to holographically store a large amount of data in an optical storage medium.
The example of a holographic storage system that Redfield describes includes an object path along which light travels from a laser through a shutter and on to an X-Y deflector system and a beam splitter. From the beam splitter, the light first encounters a device called a flys eye which corresponds to an array of small lenses, one for each stack. Next, the light passes through a transform lens and SLM. The transform lens is placed immediately in front of the SLM. It focuses through the SLM onto the region in the optical storage medium, where a page is to be written, and forms the Fourier transform of the SLM pattern at that place in the holographic storage medium. The optical storage medium is mounted to a holder which has a thermoelectric cooler/heater at its base for heating and cooling the storage medium. On the output side of the crystal is an imaging lens which images the output pattern onto the detector array. The detector array then performs high speed optical-to-electrical conversion of the data. The internal sequencing of the Redfield device may be accomplished by a microprocessor which controls exposures, loads the SLM, deflects beams, sequences reads and writes, and shifts data off the detector array.
The configuration of Redfield requires a multitude of optics devices for creating the necessary interference pattern from the reference beam and object beam, the movement of any one of which could adversely affect the overall result. Moreover, the Redfield configuration requires an optical path that covers typically 14 optical diameters. This inherent complexity and the associated size requirements yield a number of limitations. For example, this system demands a long narrow form factor which does not conveniently fit in a computer chassis. In addition, each of the optical elements requires individual placement. This placement requirement makes high manufacturing costs for a such system unacceptably high. The configuration of Redfield also requires an additional beam deflector for the reference beam. This adds further to the expense of the device.
In Redfield, as is the case with other holographic recording configurations, the device holds the read/write media fixed while reference and object beams are positioned to angle multiplex pages at different stack sites in the medium. The reference beam and object beam are first moved to a stack site in tandem, then an angle is placed on the reference beam. This means there are a very large number of possible beam positions. This large number of possible beam positions makes reading and writing data extremely complex. These systems also possess a limited recording medium window, i.e., the area on the optical medium on which data may be recorded without moving the medium.
Consequently, there is a need for an improved holographic storage system that does not require long distance or large spaces to write and read holographic images.
There is a need for a holographic storage system that avoids the multitude of individual optical components of conventional holographic storage systems and is economical to manufacture.
There is a further need for a holographic storage system that has simplified beam positioning and that limits multiple page and multiple stack beam positioning to one dimension and/or the use of phase encoding to eliminate reference beam angle deflection.
There is yet a further need for a holographic recording system that permits the use of a common deflector for both the reference and object beams so as to further minimize the cost of system manufacture, operation, and repair.

Molded block optical system for volume holographic storage


A system provides multilanguage text input in a handheld electronic device. The system includes one or more applications implemented in the handheld electronic device. The applications include a text input application requiring access to language data usable thereby. One or more language databases contain language data from a plurality of different languages usable by at least one of the applications including the text input application. An interface provides the applications with access to at least some of the different languages of the language data of the one or more language databases, in order that the applications including the text input application receive the different languages.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to handheld electronic devices, and more particularly, to a method and system for inputting different languages among one or more applications, such as a text input application, run by the handheld electronic device.
2. Background Information
Handheld electronic devices are becoming ubiquitous. Examples include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, text messaging devices, and the like. Many of these handheld electronic devices incorporate wireless communications, although others are stand-alone devices that do not communicate with other devices.
As these handheld electronic devices have become more popular, there has been a growing demand for more functionality and sophistication. While it has been common to provide multiple functions, such as an address book, spell check and text input, the latter especially has become more complex. This is due at least partially to the trend to make these handheld electronic devices smaller and lighter in weight. A limitation in making them smaller has been the physical size of the keyboard if the keys are to be actuated directly by human fingers. Generally, there have been two approaches to solving this problem. One is to adapt the ten digit keypad indigenous to mobile phones for text input. This requires each key to support input of multiple characters. The second approach seeks to shrink the traditional full keyboard, such as the "qwerty" keyboard, by doubling up characters to reduce the number of keys. In both cases, the input generated by actuation of a key representing multiple characters is ambiguous. Various schemes have been devised to interpret inputs from these multi-character keys. Some schemes require actuation of the key a specific number of times to identify the desired character. Others use software to progressively narrow the possible combinations of letters that could be intended by a specified sequence of keystrokes. This approach uses multiple lists that can contain, for instance, prefixes, generic words, learned words, and the like.
Typically, the various applications have had their own database or databases upon which they draw. Thus, the address book application had its own list of addresses used only for that application, the spell check application had its own database of words, and while the text application could have multiple lists (e.g., word lists; prefix lists; n-gram lists; learning lists) of a particular single language, those lists were only used by that text application. This can lead to duplication of data and an inefficient use of memory, which limits the ability to reduce the size, weight and energy use of the handheld electronic device.
The problem of disambiguation of the text input is even larger when the input might be desired in a number of different languages, such as, for example, English/French or English/Spanish. Switching between the languages to input the words in that language is bulky. Also, the space requirements for the device are higher.
There is room for improvement in systems and methods for multilanguage text input in a handheld electronic device.

System and method for multilanguage text input in a handheld electronic device


A projection display device including: an image light projecting unit that projects image light on a screen; a distance measurement unit that measures distance to the screen; an obstacle detecting unit that detects an obstacle between the screen and the image light projecting unit on the basis of distance information obtained by the distance measurement unit and, according to a result of this detection, determines an adjustment area where the image light to be projected is to be adjusted; and a projection adjusting unit that adjusts the image light in the adjustment area are included.

In recent years, the importance of projecting units used for presentations at conferences, in which a large number of participants take part, etc. has increased. When a projector is used, the presenter prompts the participants to refer to an image projected onto a screen and explains contents of the image. An obstacle, such as a person or an object, that blocks the projected image may appear between the projector and the screen. For example, if the presenter stands in front of the screen to give an explanation, the presenter himself/herself becomes an obstacle. If there is an obstacle that reflects light (such as a PC or a plastic bottle), the light is reflected in a direction different from a projection direction of the projecting unit.
The presenter, when he/she is an obstacle, directly receives light from the projecting unit in his/her eyes or light reflected by an obstacle that reflects light is directly received in eyes, which is not desirable. For this reason, a technology has been proposed in which, when a person or an object enters a projection area, the projection light is reduced or blocked (Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3630015, Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 4366631).
However, information on a position of a person is detected from image information in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 and this technology has a problem in that, in a projector system, it is extremely difficult to distinguish, when the projected image contains a person, a projected image and an actual presenter, etc., and thus the accuracy with which a person is extracted is low.
In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, a process of detecting entry into the projection area using infrared light and a process of reducing or blocking the projection light are performed. However, this technology cuts all the projection light, which leads to a problem in that projection at a part irrelative to the entering person also stops.
The present invention has been made in view of the above. An object of the present invention is to provide a highly accurate and effective anti-dazzle function.

Projection display device, information processing device, projection display system, and program


A tool 202 for extracting a cable plug 112 from a socket 203 including a cable remover portion 206 which actuates and disconnects the cable plug 112 is described and claimed. Various implementations include a user statically or dynamically actuating and gripping the plug 112 and mechanically or frictionally gripping, or both, the plug 112. In one implementation, the cable remover portion 206 includes a ball detent 302 and catch tabs 320 which actuate the cable clip 208 and catch the cable head 210 so that the plug 112 is mechanically gripped. In another implementation, a translational ramp 800 is supported in the cable remover portion 206 so that a user dynamically moves the ramp 800, which actuates the cable clip 208 and the force of the ramp 800 and cable remover 206 together frictionally grips the plug 112.

Computing equipment, particularly for large networks, often have numerous cables connected to the back of the equipment. For example, FIG. 1 (Background) illustrates the back panel 100 of a typical computing device with numerous cables 102 plugged into sockets 104 in the back of the machine. Often, as shown, the cable connections are tightly spaced and when computing equipment is stacked, such as in a rack, the cables 102 from many different devices can be bundled and routed in close proximity to other machines making the working space tight. An individual cable 106 and cable plug 108 can be difficult to locate, grasp, extract and reinsert, in such an environment making the possibility of erroneously disconnecting an incorrect cable possible. Furthermore, disconnecting the wrong cable can cause a network or computer system outage, which is undesirable particularly in hosting environments or large network environments were potentially many applications or services could be affected.
It is with these observations in mind, among others, that various aspects of the present disclosure were conceived and developed.


A combination switch device having a body incorporating bus bars therein. The body is provided with a turn lever switch and a wiper lever switch that are releasably attached to the body and electrically contact the body. A control unit that controls operations of the respective lever switches is connected to the bus bars while incorporated in the wiper lever switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a combination switch device having lever switches releasably attached thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to reduce the weight of a motor vehicle, recently there has been a tendency toward applying electronic systems (multiplex communications and the like) to electrical instruments attached to the motor vehicle. As part of such development, the application of an electronic system to a combination switch device for controlling lamps, wipers, and the like, that is attached to the periphery of the steering wheel column, has been under study. As a conventional combination switch device of this type, one that is shown in FIG. 7 has been proposed.
FIG. 7 is a top view in section of such conventional combination switch device. This combination switch device 1 includes: a turn lever switch 3 for operating head lamps, turn signal lamps, and the like; a wiper lever switch 5 for operating wipers, washers, and the like; a body 7 that allows the steering shaft to be inserted thereinto; and a control unit 9 having a control circuit formed therein.
The turn lever switch 3 and the wiper lever switch 5 are substantially conical, and respectively include: operation levers 3a, 5a that can be turned when an operator moves the distal ends thereof; and lever switch portions 3b, 5b that switch connections based on the turning of the operation levers 3a, 5a. Further, these lever switches 3 and 5 respectively have knob switch portions 3c, 5c of a pushbutton type arranged inside the operation levers 3a, 5a. The turn lever switch 3 and the wiper lever switch 5 are separated (into units) for maintenance considerations, and are inserted so as to slide into switch assembly containing portions 11 and 13 of the body 7 from both right and left sides of the body 7, respectively, to be fixed to the body 7.
On the other hand, the control unit 9 is disposed in a control unit containing portion 1S within the body 7, the control unit containing portion 15 being closer to the engine side (the lower side as viewed in FIG. 7) than the turn lever switch 3 and the wiper lever switch 5.
With respect to electrical connection of the turn lever switch 3 and the wiper lever switch 5 to the control unit 9, bus bars 25 for transmitting signals and currents are incorporated in the body 7, and the control unit 9 is connected to the bus bars 25. Further, at the time of attaching the lever switches 3 and 5 to the body 7, assembling-side connection terminals 21 and 23 arranged on the lever switches 3 and 5 are connected to receiving-side connection terminals 17 and 19 arranged on the switch assembly containing portions 11 and 13 of the body 7 simultaneously, so that the lever switches 3 and 5 are electrically connected to the bus bars 25. Therefore, in this combination switch device 1, mechanical assembly of the lever switches 3 and 5 to the body 7 and electrical connection of the lever switches 3 and 5 to the control unit 9 can be implemented simultaneously. As a result, this conventional combination switch device has been successful not only in improving assembling performance but also in downsizing wiring boards and curtailing the number of parts compared with other conventional combination switch devices prior to this device.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the case where the knob switch portions 3c and 5c and the lever switch mechanisms (lever switch portions 3b and 5b) have been electrically connected in advance to the assembling-side connection terminals 21 and 23 in particular, the lever switches 3 and 5 can be electrically connected completely whenever the lever switches 3 and 5 are attached to the body 7. As a result, assembling performance can be further improved.
However, in the aforementioned conventional combination switch device 1, the lever switches 3 and 5 are separated from the control unit 9 that is in the body 7. Therefore, the number of bus bars within the body for connecting the lever switches 3 and 5 to the control unit 9 is increased, and this has elevated the cost of manufacture. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the bus bars 25 require bus bars 25a and bus bars 25b. The bus bars 25a are arranged so as to connect between the switch assembly containing portions 11 and 13 respectively formed on both right and left sides of the body 7. The bus bars 25b are arranged within the switch assembly containing portion 13 on one side.
These bus bars 25a and 25b will be described in more detail. If, as shown, e.g., in FIG. 7, the control unit 9 is arranged in the control unit containing portion 15 formed on the side (on the left side as viewed in FIG. 7) to which the wiper lever switch 5 is connected, and if the turn lever switch 3 and the wiper lever switch 5 respectively have the functions such as shown in FIG. 9, then the bus bars 25a connect leads wired to a contact board 3a of the turn lever switch 3 to the control unit 9 via the assembling-side connection terminals 21 and the receiving-side connection terminals 17 as shown in FIG. 9. On the other hand, the bus bars 25b connect leads wired to a contact board 5a of the wiper lever switch 5 to the control unit 9 via the assembling-side connection terminals 23 and the receiving-side connection terminals 19.
Further, in the construction of the aforementioned combination switch device 1, the body is so shaped as to correspond to the number of bus bars and therefore, any increase in the number of bus bars has increased the size of the body, which is another problem.


A vehicle-body front structure includes vehicle-body side structural members extending in a front-rear direction of a vehicle body at both sides of the vehicle body, a power train arranged between the vehicle-body side structural members at the both sides of the vehicle body, and a load transmission member attached to at least one of the vehicle-body side structural members or the power train with at least part of the load transmission member located outside the vehicle-body side structural members in a vehicle width direction of the vehicle body. The load transmission member is configured to transmit at least part of impact load received from an obstacle in front of the vehicle body to the vehicle body via the power train.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vehicle-body front structure having an impact absorbing function for impact load from a vehicle-body front side.
Related Art
Patent Literature 1 describes a technique of a measure against a small overlap crash in which an obstacle collides with a vehicle from a vehicle-body front side at a position outside a side member in the vehicle width direction, the side member extending in a front-rear direction in a vehicle-body side.
The technique described in Patent Literature 1 includes a reinforcement extension extending rearward from an outer end portion of a bumper reinforcement in a vehicle width direction, the bumper reinforcement extending in the vehicle width direction at a front end of the side member. In the reinforcement extension, a protruding portion formed in a shape protruding toward the side member comes into contact with the side member in a small overlap crash and exhibits high proof stress. In this case, a stopper bracket provided in the side member receives the protruding portion and prevents the protruding portion from moving rearward.


Method and device for detecting the presence and type of trailer which may have been connected to a vehicle including arrangements for applying a first voltage to a first amount of power lines for a first sub system in the trailer and arrangements for measuring the individual currents consumed by components in the first sub system. An arrangement is also included for comparing the individual currents to a first predefined threshold. The device additionally has arrangements for applying a second voltage to a second amount of power lines in the first sub system in the trailer and an arrangement for measuring the total current in the second amount of power lines, together with an arrangement for comparing the total current in the second amount of power lines to a second threshold. An arrangement for making decisions is provided and adapted to decide which kind of trailer, if any, is connected to the towing vehicle based on the measured currents.

When connecting a trailer to a vehicle, it is often important for different kinds of systems and components in the vehicle to be aware of the trailer in order to ensure proper operation of the vehicle. This is true for such systems as, for example, automatic gear boxes, brake systems and light systems all of which may apply different kinds of automated programs depending on the presence or absence of a trailer.
The detection of the presence or absence of a trailer is of particular importance for trucks, and thus for truck drivers, but can also be important for drivers of ordinary vehicles when attaching trailers, campers, caravans and the like.
Conventionally, detecting the absence or presence of a trailer has been carried out by measuring the current going to the light system of the trailer, a current which is conventionally fed via a power line attached to the vehicle. Since conventional trailers have lamps of the traditional design, the current consumed by the light system of the trailer has typically been quite high. This normally made it easy to detect the presence or absence of a trailer by measuring the current at an outlet of the vehicle to a power line to a trailer, and comparing the level of that current to a known threshold. In addition, since such currents are so high, it has been possible to carry out the measurement by means of components which have rather poor resolution, making the components and also the measurement inexpensive.
Recently, however, vehicles and trailers have begun using lights equipped with Light Emitting Diodes, or LED:s. One property of such diodes is that they consume a minimal amount of power compared to conventional lights. This is advantageous in many ways, but it makes the detection as explained above difficult or impossible since the amount of power consumed by a trailer equipped with LED-lights involves currents which will not be above the threshold for conventional lights, and might not even be at a level which is even theoretically possible to detect with the kinds of components traditionally utilized.
Thus, if a vehicle has a trailer connected and the trailer is equipped with LED lights, the systems in the vehicle which use information regarding the presence or absence of a trailer will receive erroneous information.

Detection of trailer presence and type by means of current detection


Discloses herein is a shielding and heat dissipation device comprising a conductive bracket (1) provided on a PCB around a shielded heat-generating electronic component, and electrically connected to a conductive layer of the PCB; a heat sink (2), which is arranged above the heat-generating electronic component (3) and is provided with a conductive surface electrically connected to the conductive bracket (1). With the conductive surface, which may be used to replace a top cover of a prior art shielding case, developed on the bottom or sidefaces of the heat sink, an effective shielding cavity is formed by conductively connecting the conductive surface of the heat sink to the other parts of the shielding case. That is to say, the conductive surface of the heat sink serves as a part of the shielding case, so that the heat sink may play a role in electromagnetic shielding as well as in dissipating heat sufficiently.

Application of new functions as well as new accessories in electronics field is becoming increasingly popular. Due to a development trend to higher processing power and broader application, heat generated by a device is also largely increased; meanwhile, integration level for parts keeps increasing, and the electronic device tends to get miniaturized. On one hand, the electronic device is becoming smaller; on the other hand, the power consumption of the electronic device is increasing. A direct result of this is an increasing heat flux density within the device, with a dramatic increase on cost as well as much more difficulty in heat dissipation, which forms a bottleneck during designing. Thus, under plural restrictive conditions in actual products, there exists an urgent need to solve the problem how to effectively dissipate heat generated by parts which are arranged on a circuit board in a high density.


The present invention relates to a platform for testing collisions or near-collision situations between a collision body, in particular a vehicle, and a test object. The platform has a base body, which has a bottom surface and an attachment surface formed opposite to the bottom surface, wherein an attachment device is formed on the attachment surface for attaching the test object. Furthermore, the platform has at least one roller element, which is arranged at the bottom surface, wherein the roller element is configured such that the base body is displaceable along a ground by the roller element. The base body is formed of an elastically deformable material having a thickness of less than 2500 kg/m3.

In modern automotive technology, more and more assistance systems come into operation, which actively monitor the surroundings of the vehicle and passively or actively intervene in the steerage of the vehicle. Assistance systems thus have to be subjected to tests to the full extent in order to prevent misjudgements of the assistance systems.
For testing modern assistance systems, collisions or near-collision situations between the vehicle to be tested and a test object are effectuated. For a collision between a vehicle and a test object, for example the vehicle or the test object is arranged stationary at a defined position, and the collision partner is accelerated to a defined velocity. In order to effectuate a collision situation close to reality, such as for example a collision of two vehicles or of one vehicle with a person in road traffic, both the vehicle and the test object are set in motion in order to generate a collision or a near-collision situation. Herein, in particular driver assistance systems can be tested close to reality.
In order to test an assistance system for all imaginable situations, it is necessary that both the vehicle and the test object move towards each other, from test to test, from the most different directions. In order to effectively test according situations, it is necessary that a test system can be adapted quickly and without complex reconstructions to different test situations. For this purpose, it is known, for example, to place test objects, such as, for example, a dummy, on a displaceable support and to pull the support, for example with cable pull systems, in a direction, which crosses a driving lane of a test vehicle.
Herein, it is necessary that the components and devices of the test system are formed inconspicuously such that the test system does not influence the assistance system during the test, because otherwise no experiments close to reality are performable.

Movable platform with a deformable main body for the testing of collisions or near-collision situations


According to one embodiment, there is provided an electrode group including an electrically insulating layer, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The second electrode is stacked in a first direction on the first electrode with the electrically insulating layer interposed therebetween. The first electrode includes plural first end portions in one or more second directions among directions orthogonal to the first direction. The plural first end portions are disposed at different positions in at least one of the second directions.

Since secondary batteries can be repeatedly charged and discharged, the secondary batteries are useful for a reduction in waste, and are widely used as power supplies for portable devices which cannot be connected to an AC power supply, or for backup when the AC power supply is disconnected or stopped. In recent years, an expansion in the range of applications has been considered, examples being backup and power leveling applications, such as for an onboard application, for solar cells, and the like, and there are accordingly increasing demands for improvements in performance such as capacity, high temperature operation performance, and safety.
Among secondary batteries, nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries are secondary batteries that are charged and discharged by the migration of lithium ions between positive and negative electrodes. The nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery utilizes an organic solvent as an electrolyte solution, and thus can provide a higher voltage than that of a nickel-cadmium secondary battery or a nickel-metal-hydride secondary battery that use an aqueous solution. Currently, transition metal oxides such as lithium-cobalt composite oxides and lithium-nickel composite oxides are used as positive electrode active materials for nonaqueous electrolyte secondary batteries in practical use. For example, carbon-based materials, titanium-containing oxides, and the like are used as negative electrode active materials. As electrolyte solutions, used are, for example, liquid nonaqueous electrolytes obtained by dissolving lithium salts such as LiPF6 and LiBF4 in organic solvents such as cyclic carbonates and linear carbonates. The above-mentioned positive electrode active materials have, with respect to a lithium metal potential, an average operating potential of from about 3.4 V to 3.8 V (vs. Li/Li+) and reaches a maximum potential of from about 4.1 V to 4.3 V (vs. Li/Li+) during charge. On the other hand, the operating potential range of the carbon-based material among the above-mentioned negative electrode active materials is from about 0.05 V to 0.5 V (vs. Li/Li+) with respect to a lithium metal potential. The operating potential range is 1.55 V (vs. Li/Li+) for lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12), which is a representative compound of the titanium-containing composite oxides as the negative electrode active materials. The combinations of these positive and negative electrode active materials achieve a battery voltage of 2.2 V to 3.8 V and a maximum charge voltage of from 2.7 V to 4.3 V.
The secondary battery including the negative electrode containing the titanium-containing composite oxide can be improved in a charge-and-discharge cycle life, output performance, and safety, and has been put into practical use. Various titanium-containing composite oxides have been proposed, but there are many reports of spinel-type lithium titanate (for example, Li4Ti5O12, abbreviated as LTO). The spinel-type lithium titanate is already being used for commercial products. As an example of the spinel-type lithium titanate, Li4Ti5O12 reaches a minimum potential of from 1.0 V to 1.45 V (vs. Li/Li+) with respect to a lithium metal potential during charge, and reaches a maximum potential of from 1.6 V to 2.0 V (vs. Li/Li+) during discharge. On the other hand, monoclinic titanium dioxide (TiO2, commonly known as TiO2 (B)), niobium titanium composite oxide (for example, monoclinic Nb2TiO7 and orthorhombic niobium titanium composite oxide), and the like are available, and can provide a larger capacity than that of the spinel type lithium titanate. The monoclinic titanium dioxide reaches a minimum potential of from 0.9 V to 1.45 V (vs. Li/Li+) with respect to a lithium metal potential during charge, and reaches a maximum potential of from 1.6 V to 2.5 V (vs. Li/Li+) during discharge. As an example of the niobium titanium composite oxide, the monoclinic Nb2TiO7 reaches a minimum potential of 0.6 V to 1.40 V (vs. Li/Li+) with respect to a lithium metal potential during charge and reaches a maximum potential of from 1.8 V to 3.0 V (vs. Li/Li+) during discharge.
When the positive electrode and the negative electrode that have such structures are brought into electrical contact with each other, a short circuit occurs. Therefore, in order to prevent contact between the positive and negative electrodes, a separator made of a material having electrical insulation properties, and having, for example, a sheet shape can be used. On the other hand, measures are being taken, in which a layer containing insulating particles made of various solid electrolytes, alumina, and the like is provided on the surfaces of the positive and negative electrodes, thereby having the layer play the same role as that of the separator.

Electrode group, secondary battery, battery pack, and vehicle


A method for enhancing a user interface with a computer based training tool comprising the steps of listing domain objects on a display; listing domain object values in response to a selection of one of the domain objects; generating a plurality of inquiries in response to a user selection of one of the domain object values; replying with a predetermined answer; identifying a new domain object value in the predetermined answer; and adding to the plurality of inquiries a new inquiry which incorporates both the selected domain object value and the new domain object value.

The need for technological solutions to learning is abundant. In particular, there exists an unfulfilled need for an intelligent and interactive interface system that is able to respond to user inquiries as well as partake in role playing simulations.
Role play simulation involves a simulation in which a user of a computer system interacts with an alternate system. The alternate system accepts and responds to the user with natural language in a manner consistent with how an actual human might behave. Hence, role play simulation provides users with a method enhancing interpersonal skills by engaging in conversations in a real context.
The need for role play simulation as an educational tool follows from showings that role playing is an effective technique for teaching interactive skills as well as a substitute for skills gained through experience. Role playing in classrooms is often ineffective, however, because of the inability to realistically capture the essence of a simulation and the inability to give precise feedback.
Tangential attempts have been made to satisfy such a demand through the formulation of computerized information systems which respond to inquiries made in natural language. The primary application for natural language interfaces has been to natural language database query systems. For all natural language systems, the user has been required to type his question into the keyboard of a computer terminal. When the entire question had been input, the natural language interface attempts to process an input query, or otherwise respond that the query was not understood.
Natural language information retrieval systems are provided with a semantic analysis unit for processing natural language. The semantic analysis unit is designed so as to understand the semantics of an inquiry sentence inputted in a natural language, produce retrieval conditions, and ultimately carry out an information retrieval.
In order for the semantic analysis unit of the system to understand the semantics of words contained within an inquiry sentence, it is required to collate a word with a dictionary and carry out a semantic analysis. It is, however, impossible to register all words, which might be contained in a great variety of inquiry sentences, within a dictionary. Therefore, it follows that a portion of the words within the inquiry sentence, such as an undefined word, are not capable of being collated.
Tennant (1980) performed the first and only extensive evaluation of a natural language interface. S This evaluation was performed for the PLANES system, a natural language database query system that accessed a military aircraft maintenance database in natural language. The results of this evaluation show quite clearly why natural language interfaces are not in common use today. About one-third of the queries input to the system by users were incomprehensible by the system, even though the problems assigned these users were specifically designed to correspond with relatively straightforward queries.
Although research into the construction of natural language interfaces has gone on for a number of years, resulting in the construction of many prototype systems, natural language interfaces are not in common use today. One reason for this is that the natural language interfaces that have been constructed to date are overly complex to construct and quite difficult to utilize. Another reason is because all systems that are constructed have many limitations in coverage. That is, the constructed systems can only understand a small subset of all possible natural language queries. A natural language system which can understand all, or even a substantial part of a language, is currently not feasible.
A further reason why natural language interfaces are not in common use today is the large amount of time it has traditionally taken to construct a natural language interface. Current technology is such that each natural language interface must be constructed on a case by case basis for each application. Efforts taking from ten to thirty man years per application are not uncommon. Thus, only applications that can justify such a large expenditure of manpower are candidates for possible applications. However, given the quality of the system that results, the effort has not proven to be worthwhile.
Natural language interfaces that have been constructed employ a grammar which characterizes the class of acceptable input strings. A parser then accesses this grammar to produce a parse tree (or parse trees for an ambiguous input) for the input string. This parse tree is then translated into an expression (or set of expressions) which represents the meaning of an input string and which is interpretable by the computer system for which the natural language interface has been built. A wide variety of intricate grammar formalisms and parsing algorithms have been utilized in such interfaces.
Most grammar formalisms can, however, be classified under the general heading of augmented context-free grammars. Augmented context-free grammars are basic grammar rules of a context-free grammar where each context-free rule has, associated with it, augmentations which give the grammar added power. These augmentations generally access attributes (and sometimes values) of the nodes of the context-free rules.
Linguistic theories based on this class of grammars are those of Gazdar (1982), Bresnan and Kaplan (see Kaplan and Bresnan, 1981 and Bresnan, 1982), and Ross and Saenz (see Ross, 1981 and Saenz, 1982). Parsers for constructing natural language interfaces which utilize grammars of this general class are the DIAMOND Parser developed at SRI (see J. Robinson, 1980), the GPSG Parser developed at HP (see Gawron, King, Lamping, Loebner, Paulson, Pullum, Sag, and Wasow, 1982) and many others. Note that this description is neutral between syntactically-based and semantically-based grammars. In general, these frameworks are adequate for characterizing both classes of grammars.
Natural language parsers are generally based on one of several parsing algorithms that have been employed for parsing context-free grammars (for example, see Earley, 1980, Younger, 1967, Griffiths and Petrick, 1965, and Ross, 1981). First, a context-free parse is performed. Then, the augmentation rules are used. In some systems, a partial context-free parse is initially undertaken. Thereafter, augmentations which are relevant to that portion of the parse are undertaken. This procedure is then iterated until a complete parse is found.
A notable exception to this general trend is the TAQ System that has been under development for the past ten years at IBM (see Plath, 1975 and Petrick, 1973). It is based on the theory of transformational grammar (see Chomsky, 1965) and it employs, as grammar rules, several hundred inverse transformations. A transformational parser applies relevant transformations to yield a set of parse trees.
Because of the numerous problems associated with natural language systems, a number of alternative "restricted natural language systems" have been developed. Restricted natural language systems allow a user to select inquiry sentences. The selected inquiry sentence is then always capable of being interpretable and processed by the underlying system.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,423, issued to Tennant et. al., is an example of a restricted natural language system. The Tennant patent discloses a system employing diverse menus from which an inquiry is formulated from beginning to end. At any point in the construction of an inquiry, only a subset of the menus is active. That is, only those menus containing words which are determined to be likely continuations of immediately previously selected words are displayed for selection.
Valid continuations are determined by a parser which uses a predefined grammar to determine which words are valid continuations from a previously selected word, and whether a complete inquiry sentence has been entered. The disclosed system does not, however, preclude the formation of ambiguous inquiries.
Current restricted natural language systems, such as the menu-based system disclosed in the Tennant patent, require a user to undertake a complex and ineffective process in order to formulate an inquiry. Specifically, current restricted natural language systems construct an inquiry sentence from left to right. Unfortunately, the initial words of a sentence may be highly variable, unrelated to the final content of the sentence, or dependent upon the latter words of the inquiry. Moreover, such systems do not protect against ambiguous inquiries. Thus, the prior art that the applicant is aware of provides an interface that is overly complex and ineffective for formulating typical inquiry sentences.

System and method for enhancing a user interface with a computer based training tool


A sink assembly that may be supported by a countertop surface or a freestanding cabinet to form a food preparation station is provided. The sink assembly includes a sink basin, a stanchion extending upwardly from the sink basin floor, and a cutting board supported by the stanchion. The stanchion has a sidewall that is formed as a one-piece integral extension of the sink basin floor and terminates in an upper rim portion to support the cutting board. The front wall of the sink basin may have an area of reduced height to facilitate access to the cutting board. The food preparation station may be equipped with an appliance underneath the sink basin, such as a dishwasher, but may also include a garbage disposal, a waste chute, a removable cooking dome, a sloped basin floor, an auxiliary tray sized to partially fit beneath the cutting board, and height adjustment features.

Most residential dwellings and commercial establishments have a room or place equipped for the preparation and cooking of food commonly referred to as a kitchen. Many kitchens provide a sink, cabinets, countertop space and various appliances, such as ovens, stoves, and dishwashers. A commonplace item also found in either a household or a commercial kitchen is a cutting board. Cutting boards typically provide a planar food preparation surface for chopping, slicing, and dicing food products and are useful for transferring the prepared food to a different area of the work place, serving platter, tray, pan, pot, or other cookware. Cutting boards vary in size, style, composition, and even color and are typically placed on a countertop or kitchen appliance to protect the underlying surface and reduce wear on the utensil used to prepare the food.
There are, however, various problems associated with traditional cutting boards that limit their effectiveness and convenience. For example, transferring the prepared food from the cutting board surface to a different area of the work place or to cookware may be hindered because the combined weight of the food and the cutting board is too heavy to lift. Also, transferring food from the cutting board surface may be difficult because the cutting board has become too wet with associated food juices lifting the cutting board would cause the juices to spill onto the floor creating both a mess as well as a hazard. As a result, transferring the prepared food from the cutting board to its destination may involve a time consuming movement of individual pieces.
Another problem associated with traditional cutting boards is the ability to thoroughly cleanse the area surrounding the cutting board after the food has been prepared. Oftentimes, while food is being prepared, waste materials, such as the fat trimmed off meats, will foul the surface of the cutting board. Typically, such waste materials are simply scraped off the cutting board and onto the countertop so as not to interfere with the food preparation. Accordingly, the countertop surface will be littered with discarded food materials requiring that it be cleansed. Thoroughly cleansing the countertop surface may involve the movement of countertop items, which can be time consuming, and may also involve the very difficult task of cleansing crevices in the countertop surface such as may exist between the juncture of the countertop with an appliance such as a stove top.
One solution to the above-mentioned problems is a cutting board designed to straddle a sink basin such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,603 ("the '603 Patent") to Huppert. The cutting board disclosed therein allows for the simultaneous use of the cutting surface, sink basin, and water faucet. Since the cutting board straddles the sink basin a serving tray or other cookware may be placed beneath the cutting board for the easy transfer of the prepared food. Also, a cutting board of this design allows the convenient disposal of waste material since it may simply be scraped into the sink for drainage to a garbage disposal. Further, sink accessories, such as a faucet and sink sprayer are readily available for cleansing both the sink basin and the cutting board.
A cutting board having a design such as that disclosed the '603 Patent may have various drawbacks. For example, if the cutting board is not properly secured over the sink basin, it may tend to slide shift during the food preparation. Also, the cutting board may obstruct the use of the faucet while suspended over the sink basin such that one may not be able to wash his or her hands until the cutting board is removed. Accordingly, there remains a need for an even better solution to the above problems associated with traditional cutting boards. The present invention is directed to meeting this need.


The present disclosure provides a lightweight hybrid clumping animal litter made from organic core particles combined with small amounts of clumping agent, and methods for making the litter.

Animal litters such as cat litter have been made out of a variety of absorbent materials. Early litter compositions used non-gelling or non-clumping clays, such as montmorillonite and attapulgite. Later, gelling clays, such as sodium bentonite, were used to absorb urine waste into a removable clump. The ability to scoop out all solid waste together with clumps of litter containing urine provided a cleaner litter box and reduced odor.
Litters made entirely from clay such as sodium bentonite have high bulk densities, in the range of 50-65 lbs/cu-ft., making them heavy and therefore difficult and costly to handle, package and transport. Attempts to address this problem by encapsulating particles of lighter weight clays with a coating of heavy, clumping clay like sodium bentonite have produced only marginal reduction in bulk density, to only slightly less than about 60 lbs/cu-ft. Also, the clump formation or strength of the clump for litters primarily made with sodium bentonite may be reduced due to salts and other constituents in animal and in particular cat urine that affect the gelling or clumping of these types of litters.
As an alternative to clays, certain plant-based, organic materials have been used to prepare absorbent granules, which can provide litter of somewhat lower bulk densities. Such materials also have the advantage of providing a recycling stream for materials normally treated as a waste by-product. Examples of such organic materials are wheat grain and by-products from wet milling of corn. Such organic materials however generally do not exhibit good clumping performance, even when containing starch, which has some limited function as a clumping promoter.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Organically based animal litter and manufacturing process


A system and method for automated monitoring of availability in xDSL access networks are disclosed. An xDSL access network with network availability monitoring generally comprises a measurement device in communication with a DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) at a central office (CO), a broadband remote access server (BRAS) in communication with the DSLAM, a remote authentication dial-in user service (RADIUS) server in communication with the BRAS, and a data collector at a network operations center (NOC) in communication with the RADIUS server and the measurement device, the data collector being configured to retrieve data from the RADIUS server, the measurement device being configured to automatically establish a PPP session with the BRAS and the RADIUS server being adapted to collect data relating to the PPP session. The measurement device is preferably connected to the DSLAM via an xDSL loop terminating at a DSLAM monitoring port. In addition, the PPP session is preferably authenticated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to monitoring of digital communication networks. More specifically, a system and method for automated monitoring of availability in xDSL access networks are disclosed.
2. Description of Related Art
An Internet user typically accesses the Internet by subscribing to an Internet Service Provider ("ISP"). The ISP accesses the Internet and transmits desired Internet content between the Internet user and the Internet content provider. The Internet user may also subscribe to high speed access to provide connection between the subscriber or client and the ISP to which the client subscribes. One example of high-speed access is via a digital subscriber line ("DSL"). DSL is generally provided by means of a connection-oriented packet network that provides connectivity among remote users or client premises and the Internet via ISPs. In a packet-based switching network, data is transmitted between the Internet content provider and a customer premises equipment ("CPE"), e.g., a modem, at the Internet user's site.
The connection-oriented packet network includes a DSL loop using a pair of twisted copper telephone lines extending between the CPE and a central office ("CO") of a telephone company such as an incumbent local exchange carrier ("ILEC"). Both competitive local exchange carriers ("CLECs") and ILECs can provide DSL service to clients. The connection-oriented packet network may further include ATM or Frame Relay switches. The network switches facilitate establishment of virtual circuits ("VC") between each client and the ISP to which the corresponding client subscribes The VC between each client and the ISP to which the corresponding client subscribes establishes connectivity between each client and the Internet via the respective ISP.
There are various types of DSL technologies with differing distance and bandwidth characteristics that provide connection-oriented packet connectivity. These various types of DSL are typically referred to as xDSL and may include, for example, asymmetric DSL (ADSL), symmetric DSL (SDSL), ISDN DSL (IDSL), high-speed DSL (HDSL), HDSL2, symmetric HDSL (SHDSL), very high-speed DSL (VDSL), as well as other emerging DSL technologies.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary architecture for an xDSL access network 100. At a customer premise 104, a computer or PC 102 is in communication with a CPE 106 such as a DSL modem. The DSL modem 106 is in communication with a DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) 108 located at a local CO over a pair of twisted copper telephone lines 110. Typically, several DSLAMs in a region are connected to a switch in a network access provider (NAP) backbone 112. The NAP backbone 112 may utilize any suitable wide area network (WAN) technology such as asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), synchronous optical network (SONET) or synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH), frame relay, T1, E1, T3, or E3. The NAP backbone 112 in turn aggregates user connections to a broadband remote access server (BRAS) 114 coupled to a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server 118 in a PoP 116, typically managed by the NAP. The BRAS 114 is connected to a public network 120 such as the Internet which in turn provides connectivity to various network service providers (NSPs) 122. As is evident, the NAP typically owns and manages the transport networks that provide connectivity between the customer premises 104 and NSPs 122.
Typically, it is desirable for the NAP to monitor the quality of service (QoS) in the access network for various purposes such as performance evaluation and enhancement, as well as proactive reporting of service level agreement (SLA) compliance to partners and customers. One important metric of QoS is network availability, requiring regular periodic measurements. However, it is often difficult to effectively measure and monitor network availability in xDSL access networks due, at least in part, to the heterogeneous nature of xDSL access networks, which comprise various types of network technologies. Correlation of failure events across DSLAMs, Frame Relay/ATM switches, and BRAS devices to assess network unavailability in such large networks is impractical. In addition, utilizing the customer premises equipment, such as the DSL modem or the customer's computer, as a reference point for monitoring network connectivity on a regular basis is ineffective as the NAP typically does not control the CPE, which may be powered off at times by the end-user. Furthermore, the large and growing broadband subscriber base renders such an approach inefficient.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are generally contracts between service providers and customers that specify performance guarantees associated with various QoS metrics such as network availability, latency, and/or packet loss. SLAs often also specify penalties, typically in the form of rebates or credits, for failure to meet those performance guarantees.
Conventionally, monitoring of network availability for SLA compliance in homogenous layer 2 networks, such as ATM WANs, is performed by transmitting operations, administrations, and maintenance (OA&M) loopback cells on a periodic basis to verify network connectivity.
As another example, ping packets may be utilized to monitor network availability in networks based on the Internet Protocol (IP). The ping packets test connectivity between two points at regular intervals using Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo/reply. However, there are several drawbacks associated with the use of ICMP packet for monitoring the availability in networks. In particular, ping packets are generally given low priority in network devices such as routers and BRAS, as compared to high priority user or management traffic. Consequently, ICMP packets may be dropped or discarded during periods of greater network traffic or network congestion even when connectivity across the network is up. Thus, a lower than actual measure of network availability may result.
In addition, routers may block or rate-limit ICMP packets, including ping packets, because they can be easily utilized in certain security attacks. An example of such a security attack is a denial-of-service attack in which a large number of ping packets are sent to a network device, degrading its performance for user applications. Thus, the blocking or rate-limiting of ICMP packets at routers may adversely impact the results of connectivity or availability tests and monitoring.
Furthermore, ping packets are typically sourced from and targeted at network devices that support TCP/IP. Thus, DSL modems that are bridges and most DSLAMs are generally excluded from being a source or target of ping packets. Moreover, ping packets do not contain time-stamps that are typically required for monitoring the duration of connectivity loss.
Thus, what is needed is a system and method for a more efficient, convenient, and effective monitoring of the availability of xDSL access networks, thereby facilitating comparison of actual availability to that specified in a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with customers. Ideally, the system and method provides measurements that are independent of the type of user application.

Systems and method for automated monitoring of availability in xDSL access networks