The number of index entries in a grid index for indexing geometric shapes is reduced by establishing a pool storage area for geometric shapes, selecting a threshold number of grid cells which a geometric shape may overlap, storing the shape in the grid index if a geometric shape overlaps a number of grid cells not exceeding the threshold number, and storing the shape in the pool storage area if the geometric shape overlaps a number of grid cells which exceeds the threshold number.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to the field of computer-based database management systems. It is more particularly directed to reducing index size when grid-indexing techniques are applied to multidimensional data stored in a database management system.
2. Description of the Background Art
Indexing techniques are used to quickly access data that has been sorted and assigned an index. Spatial data is typically information associated with geometric shapes such as lines, points, poly-lines, polygons, and surfaces. Spatial data is often very large and may have two, three, or more dimensions. Spatial data may be indexed. Indexing such data by traditional techniques, such as with a B-tree, may not be feasible due to the large amount of computer resources required to index spatial data. Further, B-tree indexing is typically associated with single-dimensional data, not multidimensional data. Therefore, sorting capabilities associated with B-tree indexing are typically not sufficient to be efficiently applied to multidimensional data. To reduce data processing time, various spatial indexing techniques have been studied and developed. Grid indexing is one of these indexing techniques associated with searching spatial multidimensional data, and is used by the product marketed under the trademark IBM DB2® Spatial Extender.
An index enables fast access to a certain subset of data contained in a larger set of data. The index can include a data structure and indicators of the techniques used to build, maintain, and search the data structure for the purpose of accessing a subset of data. For example, an index may define a data structure that is used to access a specific geometric shape included in a set of spatial data. The particular index of the present example may define a data structure that contains references to the minimum-bounding rectangles associated with various geometric shapes in a spatial data set. By accessing locator references associated with the minimum-bounding rectangles the process of accessing particular geometric shapes in a spatial data set is simplified.
A grid index is a space-partitioning. It divides space into rectangles (or squares) called grid cells, using a mathematical formula to determine the boundaries of the grid cells. One approach for such a formula is to define a grid cell size and to lay each boundary as a multiple of the grid cell size. When indexing spatial objects (geometries), the geometries are overlaid with the so defined grid. Depending on the size of the geometry and the grid cell size, a geometry might overlap with more than one grid cell, i.e. it crosses a boundary between grid cells.
When a geometry is indexed in an index maintenance operation, an index key is stored in the index for each grid cell that overlaps with the geometry. Usually, the index entry uniquely identifies the grid cell for which the overlap was noted. For example, the identifier used for the index can be any point in the grid cell, such as its lower-left corner, or its center. Alternatively, other techniques for identifying the overlapping grid cell can be used for the identifier, such as dividing the coordinates by the grid size. For example, using a grid size of 10 with the coordinate value (46, 32) and performing integer arithmetic would identify the grid cell (4, 3) where "4" represents the fourth grid cell in one dimension and "3" represents the third grid cell in another dimension.
Several approaches exist to improve performance of the index maintenance. As previously mentioned, the geometry itself is abstracted by its minimum-bounding rectangle (MBR). That allows for a very simple and fast way to identify the grid cells that overlap with the MBR.
As can be appreciated, a geometry, or its MBR, potentially can overlap many grid cells. Although the computation of the identifiers for all the overlapping grid cells is straightforward if the geometry is abstracted, the task to compute all those identifiers grows linearly with the number of overlaps encountered. Also, storage is needed for all the index entries, which effectively increases costs for storage, and also increases the cost of evaluation of the index because more index entries have to be processed at query time.
A conventional approach to reduce costs is to introduce multiple levels of grids, each level with a different grid size. A geometry is indexed at exactly one grid level. Accordingly, with a larger grid size, fewer index entries are produced. However, the downside of using larger grid sizes is that they do not provide as fine a resolution as smaller grid sizes.
Some implementations of grid indexes (e.g., a grid index implemented in the DB2® Spatial Extender) use a fixed number that sets the maximum number of levels. Although using multiple levels reduces the problem of having many index entries for large geometries, the problem does not entirely vanish. Even at the coarsest grid level, an extremely large geometry can produce thousands of index entries. Also, the grid sizes for the multiple levels are usually tuned to work best for the common set of data and are not tuned for handling such exceptions.
To provide an example, assume two grid levels and the data set to be indexed is the street network of the United States of America. One will probably choose a very small grid size to accommodate the short streets in neighborhoods. The second grid size might be used to accommodate longer streets in cities or between cities. Consider now a road like the I-40 highway, that crosses the entire continent from west to east. Indexing this road on either of the two levels produces a vast number of index entries, whose computation is expensive and which greatly increases the number of indices. This complicates the maintenance of the indices and impacts the data processing capabilities of a database management system underlying the storage of the spatial data.
A conventional approach to handling such large geometries is not to allow such geometries to be indexed at all. If a geometry would produce more index entries than what is defined by a threshold, an error is returned in that conventional approach. In a database context such as the context in which the DB2® Spatial Extender runs, this implies that an insert or update operation would abort due to error.
The conventional approach leaves the user with a number of potentially unattractive options, e.g. to not use an index at all, to not insert the geometry, to break the geometry up into smaller pieces, or to change the index definition to use coarser grid sizes and thus reduce the number of entries produced. A problem with this last option is that changing the index impacts existing data, possibly making performance of the overall index worse.

Reducing index size for multi-level grid indexes

International Business Machines Corporation


Methods for treating regulated waters with low levels of oxidizing halogens and hydrogen peroxide are disclosed, wherein the halogen-containing compound is provided with an erosion control agent such as glycoluril, and the hydrogen peroxide is provided with a hydrogen peroxide stabilizer such as a polyquaternary ammonium compound. Additional stabilizers to chelate metals and increase the half life of peroxide in aqueous solutions may also be added.

The clarity of recreational waters is an important measure of overall water quality. Water can become cloudy as bacteria (dead and alive) and swimmer wastes accumulate, overwhelming the system's filtering capacity. Oxidizers such as chlorine, bromine, hydrogen peroxide and potassium peroxymonopersulfate are routinely used to achieve and maintain clear water. However, there are drawbacks to using oxidizers to fulfill this function. For example, chlorine and bromine levels must be maintained at levels of 1-3 ppm (as Cl.sub.2) and periodic superchlorination may be required to assure microbiological control and adequate water quality. Hydrogen peroxide and potassium peroxymonopersulfate must be used in much higher concentrations because they are weaker oxidizers than chlorine and bromine.
In spite of the drawbacks identified above, chlorine is still the most widely used water sanitizer because of its effectiveness and relatively low cost. In recreational waters, chlorine provides clean, clear water as long as its levels are appropriately maintained. However, as chlorine has come under sustained environmental scrutiny, the need for efficacious, low or non-chlorine alternatives has arisen. Moreover, recreational customers often complain of skin and eye irritation as well as discolored swimming wear after swimming in halogenated water.
As a result, the use of non-halogenated sanitizers and oxidizers has increased throughout the water treatment industry. For example, polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) and hydrogen peroxide have gained increasing acceptance in the pool and spa industry for sanitation and oxidation, respectively. Consumers have indicated that PHMB-treated water is less irritating than chlorinated waters and will not bleach swim wear or pool surfaces.
However, pools treated with PHMB can develop problems with recalcitrant biofilms such as pink slime, mustard algae and white water mold. When problems such as these are encountered, treatment options are limited since PHMB is incompatible with traditional oxidizers such as chlorine, bromine and potassium peroxymonopersulfate. Hence, it is not uncommon for PHMB users to spend considerable amounts of time and money to remove and kill resistant microbial growths. By contrast, when similar problems arise in pools treated with halogen sanitizers, they can usually be remedied quickly and inexpensively.
Methods for combining polyquats with hydrogen peroxide and for their use as water treatment clarifiers and sanitizers have also been described. As such, polyquats have proven to be very effective stabilizers and performance enhancers for peroxide water treatment systems. Adding products such as non-polymerized surface active agents (e.g., alkyldimethyl-benzylammonium chloride and didecyldimethyl-ammonium chloride) may boost the performance of the system, but may not be readily miscible with the polyquats. In such cases, hydrogen peroxide could be used as the formulating agent to blend the immiscible compounds.
In spite of the above known combinations, commercially viable methods of utilizing combinations of halogen and non-halogen sanitizers have not been developed. The present invention addresses that need.

Methods for treating regulated waters with low levels of oxidizing halogens and hydrogen peroxides


A vibration damper device for a sports striking instrument having a striking surface and a handle, the device being mounted on the free end of the instrument handle in the vicinity of a vibration antinode and comprising an oscillating mass, in which the oscillating mass is included in a cavity of a flexible cap surrounding the end of the handle, said mass being at a distance from said end.

It is well known that an oscillating element set into motion by the vibration produced on striking the ball, e.g. against the stringing of a tennis racket has the effect of attenuating vibration thereof. The oscillating element or device is preferably placed in the vicinity of a vibration antinode of the racket. The self-damped oscillating device picks up the vibration and is set into motion, thereby releasing vibrational energy. However, in addition to the fact that they need to be included in the instrument during manufacture, such devices present a projecting oscillating portion that can impede the handling of said instrument by the player. When the handle of the instrument is hollow, it is indeed possible to place the oscillating device inside the handle, but in that case its travel is limited by the inside diameter of the handle, thereby limiting its effectiveness. No presently known device completely absorbs the vibration of a ball-game instrument without also having a projection that can hinder the hand of the player during play.


A packaging device is disclosed for forming packaging cushions of the type that include a plastic bag filled with a solid foam, and wherein the cushions are initially formed of a plastic bag filled with a foamable material that reacts and then hardens to form solid foam. The device comprises means for advancing a sheet of plastic film material that has been center-folded to form a doubled web with one closed edge defined by the center fold and one open edge defined by the adjacent edges of the sheet. Means are included for injecting a foamable composition into the center-folded web between the two folded portions of the sheet, as are means for forming a substantially linear seal along the open edge and substantially parallel to the open edge to thereby longitudinally seal the open edge of the web. The invention further includes means for periodically interrupting the linear seal to provide an unsealed portion along the otherwise sealed edge, and means for transversely sealing the web after foamable composition has been injected, and for concurrently separating a formed and filled bag from the advanced film material.

The present invention is related to foam-in-place packaging. Foam-in-place packaging is a useful alternative to packaging fragile or other items with loose, friable or dunnage-type materials. As known to those familiar with the packaging arts, there are a number of techniques for packaging fragile articles, most of which have associated advantages and disadvantages.
One advantageous method of easily packaging uniquely shaped items that may not otherwise be packaged in generally rectangular shipping containers, such as cardboard boxes, is referred to as foam-in-place packaging. In its overall application, a foam-in-place packaging system is one in which an item to be cushioned is placed into a container, such as a cardboard box, and then a foamable composition is added to the container. Typical foamable compositions include urethane precursors which, when mixed, generate polyurethane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. As the urethane forms and hardens, these gases are concurrently generated so that by the time the urethane sets (generally a relatively short period of a few minutes or less) it takes the form of a polymer foam that has expanded to fill the void spaces in the container and to thereby cushion the item being packaged.
In many packaging applications, however, the item being packaged may not be able to tolerate direct contact with either the foam precursors or the foam itself. Furthermore, because the foaming, hardening polymer will tend to expand into all open spaces, some of it may become lodged in undesirable portions of the item being packaged.
Therefore, an early method of foam-in-place packaging included wrapping an item in plastic film prior to addition of the foamable composition. The plastic film protected the items from direct contact with the foamable composition, but was flexible enough so that the foamable composition could still expand and occupy the majority of void space in the container and thereby provide the desired custom-shaped cushion.
In many situations, however, the use of plastic-wrapped items still require that the plastic be placed over the item by hand, and the foam be hand injected by an operator controlling a nozzle connected to a supply of the foam precursors.
Therefore, the need was recognized and addressed to provide a more automated system of foam-in-place packaging. The results have been generally successful and include various devices, including a number assigned to the assignee of the present application. These include the device and method taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,268 to Gavronski, No. 4,800,708 to Sperry, and No. 4,854,109 to Pinarer. Each of these patents disclosed a method of producing a plastic bag that was concurrently filled with a foamable composition. Such a bag can be immediately dropped into a packaging carton as the foamable composition begins to create the foamed polymer. Because the foam and the foamable composition is trapped in the bag, contact with the items being packaged is nicely avoided. At the same time, the only manual operation required--indeed if any--is to place such bags in appropriate containers with items to be cushioned.
Based on the success of these devices, newer devices have been developed which produce generally similar bags, but at greatly increased speed and efficiency. One such recent development is set forth in copending application Ser. No. 07/766,810, filed Sep. 26, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,219 to Sperry et al. for "High Speed Apparatus For Forming Foam Cushions For Packaging Purposes." The contents of this application are incorporated entirely herein by reference.
The device set forth in the '810 application is, however, most useful for large scale, high volume packaging operations, and its advantages and suitability for such are appropriate set forth in the '810 application. There are a number of situations, however, where the particular end user does not require the ability to produce large numbers of foam-in-place cushions on a constant basis, but would still appreciate the opportunity to take advantage of the desirable features of foam-in-place packaging. To date, all such foam-in-place packaging apparatus have been fairly large and somewhat sophisticated. Therefore, there exists the need for a straightforward, serviceable, compact and efficient device for forming foam-in-place cushions on either a continuous or intermittent basis, and of which those requiring such services can take maximum advantage.

Compact packaging device for forming foam filled cushions for packaging purposes


Methods for fabricating transistor structures are provided, the methods including: forming a fin structure with an upper fin portion and a lower fin portion, the upper fin portion including a sacrificial material; forming a gate structure over the fin; selectively removing the upper fin portion to form a tunnel between the gate structure and lower fin portion; and providing a channel material in the tunnel to define the channel region of the gate structure. The sacrificial material may be a material that can be selectively etched without etching the material of the lower fin portion. The channel material may further be provided to form source and drain regions of the transistor structure, which may result in a junctionless FinFET structure.

Transistor structures frequently make use of silicon as a channel material, but alternative channel materials, such as silicon-germanium and III-V materials, have been considered for improving transistor performance and efficiency. However, several issues persist with integrating such alternative channel materials into transistor structure fabrication processes, which may result in the channel material being damaged, contaminated, or destroyed by certain fabrication techniques.

Methods of forming transistor structures including forming channel material after formation processes to prevent damage to the channel material


A controller (28) for a doubly fed induction generator (12,20) adjusts control signals to a rotor side converter (24) and line side converter (22) to adjust rotor current when a voltage transient on a utility grid (10) occurs, so that the doubly fed induction generator can ride through the transient. The controller can also turn off the transistors of the rotor side converter (24) to reduce rotor current and/or activate a crowbar (42) to reduce the voltage of the DC link (26) connecting the converters (22, 24) when significant voltage transients occur on the grid (10). This permits continued operation of the DFIG system without disconnecting from the grid.

Large scale (Megawatt class) wind turbines are becoming increasingly used as a source of renewable energy for utilities throughout the world. One approach to achieving efficient conversion of the mechanical power from the blades of a wind turbine into electrical energy supplied to a utility grid is the use of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) combined with a power electronics converter. The operation of such systems has been described in a number of publications, of which the following are representative:
Pena et al., "Doubly Fed Induction Generator Using Back-to-Back PWM Converters and Its Application to Variable Speed Wind-Energy Generation," IEEE Proc.-Electr. Power Appl. 143(3):231-241, May 1996.
Rostoen et al., "Doubly Fed Induction Generator in a Wind Turbine," Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2002 (www.elkraft.ntnu.noleno/Papers2002/Rostoen.pdf).
Poitiers et al., "Control of a Doubly-Fed Induction Generator for Wind Energy Conversion Systems," International Journal of Renewable Energy Engineering Vol. 3, No. 2, August 2001.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,684, Lauw et al., "Doubly Fed Generator Variable Speed Generation Control System," Feb. 19, 1991.
The primary components of a representative DFIG system are a stator connected to the utility grid, an associated rotor connected to the wind turbine, rotor electrical connections through slip rings, a rotor side converter, a line side converter, a DC link connecting the two converters, and a controller for the converters.
The doubly fed induction generator system is generally quite well suited to variable speed wind turbine operation, but grid voltage variations can present a problem. For example, transient conditions on the utility grid may occur for short periods of time, such as a few cycles, or for longer periods of time. A common example is a sag or surge in the grid voltage. Previous systems have contemplated reacting to these instabilities by activating a command to drop the DFIG system off the line, i.e., to disconnect the generator from the utility grid. Thereafter, when the quality of the utility voltage is reinstated, the generator is restarted and output power is conditioned as necessary prior to reconnection to the grid.

Control system for doubly fed induction generator


The invention is directed to a photoimageable composition comprising:                (I) finely divided particles of inorganic material comprising:                    (a) functional phase particles selected from electrically conductive, resistive, and dielectric particles;            (b) inorganic binder having a glass transition temperature in the range of from 325 to 600° C., a surface area of no greater than 10 m2/g and at least 85 wt. % of the particles having a size of 0.1–10 μm;                        dispersed in:        (II) an organic medium comprising:                    (a) aqueous developable polymer which is a copolymer, interpolymer or mixture thereof, wherein each copolymer or interpolymer comprises (1) a nonacidic comonomer comprising a C1-10 alkyl acrylate, C1-10 alkyl methacrylate, styrenes, substituted styrenes or combinations thereof and (2) an acidic comonomer comprising ethylenically unsaturated carboxylic acid containing moiety;            (g) cationically polymerizable monomer;            (h) photoinitiation system; and            (i) organic solvent.

The electronics industry is continuously striving to create electronic devices that are smaller, cheaper, and provide higher resolution performance. As such, it has become necessary to develop new photoimageable compositions and processes for photopatterning which accomplish these goals.
Photo-patterning technologies offer uniform finer lines and space resolution when compared to traditional screen-printing methods. A photo-patterning method, such as DuPont's FODEL® photoimageable thick film pastes, utilizes a photo-imagable organic medium as found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,019; U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,771, U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,480, U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,732 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,319 whereby the substrate is first completely covered (printed, sprayed, coated or laminated) with the photo-imagable thick film composition and dried, if necessary. An image of the pattern is generated by exposure of the photo-imagable thick film composition with actinic radiation through a photomask bearing a pattern. The exposed substrate is then developed. The unexposed portion of the pattern is washed away leaving the photo-imaged thick film composition on the substrate that is then fired to remove organic materials and sinter inorganic materials. Such a photo-patterning method demonstrates thick film line resolution of about 30 microns or larger depending on the substrate smoothness, inorganic particle size distribution, exposure and development variables. It has been proven that such a technique is useful in the manufacture of flat panel displays, such as plasma display panels.
However, the above-mentioned photo-imagable thick film compositions and tape compositions are all based on free-radical polymerization, where acrylate or methacrylate monomers are polymerized by initiation of free radicals that are in turn generated by decomposition of photoinitiators. The polymerized acrylate or methacrylate monomers make UV-exposed area less soluble.
Free radical polymerization can be inhibited by oxygen in air or in thick film compositions. Currently, almost all PDP makers use a so-called off-contact way to expose photo-imagable thick film composition to avoid possible damage of photomasks. Quite often, thick film compositions are tacky to some extent. If a photo-mask contacts the composition, part of the composition could get onto the photo-mask and damage the images on the mask. The 'off-contact' means that there is gap between photo-mask with desired electronic circuitry pattern and thick film composition to be exposed. The gap is filled with air, i.e. with the presence of oxygen. This is one of the causes for processing variability.
The present invention relates to a composition(s) with cationically polymerizable monomers (including epoxy monomers), method of photo-patterning, and method of forming an electrode. For the compositions presented by this invention, UV-exposure is no longer sensitive to the presence of oxygen between the gap of the off-contact exposure. This invention discloses novel thick film paste and tape compositions, methods of photo-patterning, and electrode formation. The thick film paste compositions contain epoxide monomers and onium salt photoinitiators. Onium salts decompose upon actinic UV-radiation to generate super acids or cations, which in turn initiate the polymerization of epoxide monomers. The polymerized epoxide monomers make UV-exposed areas less soluble and remain as electronic circuitry pattern on a substrate after development.

Cationically polymerizable photoimageable thick film compositions, electrodes, and methods of forming thereof


A radio communications link is established between radio stations, and a semi-persistent radio resource is allocated to support data transmission over the communications link. The semi-persistent radio resource is associated with a corresponding automatic repeat request (ARQ) process identifier. Non-limiting examples of a semi-persistent radio resource include a regularly scheduled transmission time interval, frame, subframe, or time slot during which to transmit a data unit over the radio interface. Retransmission is requested of a data unit transmitted using the semi-persistent radio resource. The ARQ process identifier associated with the semi-persistent resource is used to match a retransmission of a data unit dynamically scheduled on the communications link with the requested data unit retransmission. In a preferred example embodiment, the ARQ process identifier is a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) process, where a retransmitted data unit is combined with a previously-received version of the data unit.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is an example of a mobile radio communications system. UMTS is a 3rd Generation (3G) mobile communication system employing Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology standardized within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In the 3GPP release 99, the radio network controller (RNC) in the radio access network controls radio resources and user mobility. Resource control includes admission control, congestion control, and channel switching which corresponds to changing the data rate of a connection. Base stations, called node Bs (NBs), which are connected to an RNC, orchestrate radio communications with mobile radio stations over an air interface. RNCs are also connected to nodes in a core network, i.e., Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN), Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), mobile switching center (MSC), etc. Core network nodes provide various services to mobile radio users who are connected by the radio access network such as authentication, call routing, charging, service invocation, and access to other networks like the Internet, public switched telephone network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), etc.
The Long Term Evolution (LTE) of UMTS is under development by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) which standardizes UMTS. There are many technical specifications hosted at the 3GPP website relating to Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), e.g., 3GPP TS 36.300. The objective of the LTE standardization work is to develop a framework for the evolution of the 3GPP radio-access technology towards a high-data-rate, low-latency and packet-optimized radio-access technology. In particular, LTE aims to support services provided from the packet switched (PS)-domain. A key goal of the 3GPP LTE technology is to enable high-speed packet communications at or above about 100 Mbps.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an LTE type mobile communications system 10. An E-UTRAN 12 includes E-UTRAN NodeBs (eNBs) 18 that provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the user equipment (UE) terminals 20 over a radio interface. An eNB is sometimes more generally referred to as a base station, and a UE is sometimes referred to as a mobile radio terminal or a mobile station. As shown in FIG. 1, the base stations are interconnected with each other by an X2 interface. The base stations are also connected by an S1 interface to an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 14 which includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and to a System Architecture Evolution (SAE) Gateway. The MME/SAE Gateway is shown as a single node 22 in this example and is analogous in many ways to an SGSN/GGSN gateway in UMTS and in GSM/EDGE. The S1 interface supports a many-to-many relation between MMEs/SAE Gateways and eNBs. The E-UTRAN 12 and EPC 14 together form a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). The MMEs/SAE Gateways 22 are connected to directly or indirectly to the Internet 16 and to other networks.
To provide efficient resource usage, LTE and other systems that used shared radio resources support fast "dynamic" scheduling where resources on the shared channels, e.g., in LTE this includes the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), are assigned dynamically to user equipment (UE) terminals and radio bearers on a sub-frame basis according to the momentary traffic demand, quality of service (QoS) requirements, and estimated channel quality. This assignment or scheduling task is typically performed by one or more schedulers situated in the eNB.
The overall scheduling concept for the downlink is illustrated in FIG. 2. To support fast channel-dependent link adaptation and fast channel-dependent time and frequency domain scheduling, the UE 20 may be configured to report the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) to aid the eNB 18 in its dynamic scheduling decisions. Typically, the UE 18 bases the CQI reports on measurements on downlink (DL) reference signals. Based on the CQI reports and QoS requirements of the different logical channels, the DL scheduler in the eNB 18 dynamically assigns time and frequency radio resources, i.e., scheduling blocks. The dynamically-scheduled radio resource assignment is signaled on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in the LTE example. Each UE 20 monitors the control channel to determine if that UE is scheduled on the shared channel (PDSCH in LTE), and if so, what physical layer radio resources to find the data scheduled for downlink transmission.
The uplink scheduling concept is illustrated in FIG. 3. The UE 20 informs the UL scheduler in the eNB 18 when data arrives in the transmit buffer with a Scheduling Request (SR). The UL scheduler selects the time/frequency radio resources the UE will use and also selects the transport block size, modulation, and coding because link adaptation for the uplink is performed in the eNB. The selected transport format is signaled together with information on the user ID to the UE. This means that the UE must use a certain transport format and that the eNB is already aware of the transmission parameters when detecting the UL data transmission from that UE. The assigned radio resources and transmission parameters are sent to the UE via the PDCCH in LTE. Later, additional Scheduling Information (SI) such as a Buffer Status Report (BSR) or a power headroom report may be transmitted together with data.
Although dynamic scheduling is the baseline for LTE and other systems, it can be less than optimum for certain types of services. For example, for services such as speech (VoIP) where small packets are generated regularly, dynamic scheduling results in substantial control signaling demands because a radio resource assignment needs to be signaled in each scheduling instance, which in the case of VoIP, an assignment must be signaled for every VoIP packet. To avoid this high relative signaling overhead for these types of services, resources may be assigned semi-statically, which is called "semi-persistent" or "persistent" scheduling. A semi-persistent assignment is only signaled once and is then available for the UE at regular periodic intervals without further assignment signaling.
Many modern wireless communications systems use a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) protocol with multiple stop-and-wait HARQ "processes". The motivation for using multiple processes is to allow continuous transmission, which cannot be achieved with a single stop-and-wait protocol, while at the same time having some of the simplicity of a stop-and-wait protocol. Each HARQ process corresponds to one stop-and-wait protocol. By using a sufficient number of parallel HARQ processes, a continuous transmission may be achieved.
FIG. 4 shows an eNB 18 with an HARQ controller 22 that includes multiple HARQ entities 1, 2, . . . , m (24), with each HARQ entity managing HARQ processes for a corresponding active UE 1, 2, . . . , n (20). FIG. 5 shows each HARQ entity 24 managing one or more HARQ processes A, B, . . . , n (26). One way of looking at the HARQ process is to view it as a buffer. Each time a new transmission is made in an HARQ process, that buffer is cleared, and the transmitted data unit is stored in the buffer. For each retransmission of that same data unit, the received retransmitted data unit is soft-combined with the data already in the buffer.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example of the HARQ protocol where P(X,Y) refers to the Yth transmission in HARQ process X. The example assumes six HARQ processes. If a large number of higher layer packets (e.g. IP packets) are to be transmitted, for each transmission time interval (TTI), the RLC and MAC protocol layers perform segmentation and/or concatenation of a number of packets such that the payload fits the amount of data that can be transmitted in a given TTI. The example assumes for simplicity that one IP packet fits into a TTI when RLC and MAC headers have been added so that there is no segmentation or concatenation.
Packets 1 through 6 can be transmitted in the first six TTIs in HARQ processes 1 through 6. After that time, HARQ feedback for HARQ process 1 is received in the receiver. In this example, a negative acknowledgment (NACK) for HARQ process 1 is received, and a retransmission is performed in HARQ process 1 (denoted P1,2). If a positive acknowledgment (ACK) had been received, a new transmission could have started carrying packet 7. If all 6 first transmissions failed (i.e., only NACKs are received), then no new data can be transmitted because all HARQ processes are occupied with retransmissions. Once an ACK is received for an HARQ process, new data can be transmitted in that HARQ process. If only ACKs are received (no transmission errors), then the transmitter can continuously transmit new packets.
In modern cellular systems, synchronous HARQ may be used for the uplink and asynchronous HARQ for the downlink. For that case, in the uplink, the subframe or transmission time interval (TTI) when the retransmission occurs is known at the base station receiver, while for the downlink, the base station scheduler has the freedom to choose the subframe or TTI for the retransmission dynamically. For both uplink and downlink, a single-bit HARQ feedback (ACK/NACK) is sent providing feedback about the success of the previous data unit transmission.
A problem created by introducing semi-persistent scheduling, as is currently proposed for LTE for example, is that a receiving UE cannot match-up a dynamically-scheduled retransmission of a HARQ process with the initially-transmitted HARQ process that was semi-persistently scheduled. If HARQ is operated in asynchronous mode, as is currently proposed for example in the LTE downlink, the problem is how the HARQ processes should be selected for semi-persistent scheduling. After a semi-persistent assignment, both the HARQ transmitter entity as well as the HARQ receiver entity would, for example, randomly pick an idle HARQ process with potentially different HARQ process IDs. The reason is that the eNB does not send an explicit assignment referring to a particular HARQ process ID. If the HARQ receiver can decode the information, it delivers the information to higher layers and acknowledges the reception. But if decoding fails, then the HARQ receiver sends a negative acknowledgement, and the HARQ transmitter issues a retransmission of that HARQ process. If the retransmission is scheduled dynamically (as in the LTE downlink), then the corresponding dynamic assignment must contain the identifier of the HARQ process. It is likely that the HARQ transmitter chose a HARQ process ID for the initial transmission that was different from the HARQ process ID selected by the HARQ receiver. Consequently, the HARQ receiver cannot match the dynamically retransmitted HARQ process unambiguously to a pending HARQ process. In fact, there may be multiple pending processes (persistently or dynamically scheduled) for which the receiver may not even have received the assignment. If different HARQ processes are used by the transmitter and the receiver, then the data may be erroneously soft-combined with other data and the transmitted can not correctly identify the HARQ ACK/NACK sent for the data. The failure to make this match thus significantly increases error rate and decreases throughput.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for irrigating terrain comprising the following steps: generating field surface relative elevation data set using Monte-Carlo simulation; adjusting the simulation data set to ensure it falls in a reasonable numerical range; adjusting the data set to establish certain spatial dependence using Kriging interpolation method; and making further statistical characteristics parameter modification to the data set, so that the final corrected field surface relative elevation data shares the same or similar statistics characteristics parameters as the initial simulation. The method factors in both the randomness and spatial dependence of the field relative elevation distribution, which brings the simulation result closer to the actual micro-topography.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to predicting micro-topographic distribution of a terrain, and more particularly to a method for irrigating terrain comprising predicting micro-topographic distribution thereof. For any given field parameters, the method factors in both the randomness and the spatial dependence of the field relative to the elevation distribution when generating micro-topography spatial stochastic data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Field micro-terrain is the terrain undulation in relation to the field designed surface. Its spatial variability is determined by the various nodes on the field surface and their relative elevation spatial variability. A key parameter that quantifies micro-topography's spatial variability is the standard deviation Sd of relative elevation calculated from the field surface nodes. Standard deviation is a statistical parameter that measures dispersion between each node's relative elevation value and means calculated from all nodes' relative elevation values. Relative elevation is the elevation values of all nodes in relation to the field designed surface. The spatial variability of the surface micro-topography has significant impact to the surface irrigation flow movement. It is one of the key factors that affect the performance of a surface irrigation system.
The existing methodologies usually rely on field survey to collect surface relative elevation data, and then use numerical simulation to analyze and evaluate the impact of specific micro-topography spatial variability on field irrigation system's performance. However, using field survey method to collect surface relative elevation information is time consuming, costly and very difficult to get a wide range of relative elevation individuals. Its limitation in the numerical range and lack of spatial distinction negatively affect its flexibility and systemic when using simulation approaching to analyze and evaluate the relationship between micro-topography's spatial variability and filed irrigation performance. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a micro-topography distribution stochastic simulation methodology, which can produce a reliable and valid simulation result that can support the analysis and evaluation afterwards.
The probability distribution for filed surface relative elevation follows normal distribution. This means, when the statistical characteristics parameters (mean and standard deviation Sd) for field surface relative elevation is given, one can use Monte-Carlo simulation to generate relative elevation data of the along vertical slope, and then the micro-topography spatial variability information can be obtained. Such methodology is documented, e.g., in Transactions of ASAE, 1999, 42(4): P995-1008, "Assessing the potential for modern surface irrigation in Egypt", as well as in "Research and application on new water-saving irrigation technique in the field" (China Agriculture Publishing House, 2002).
However, such method overlooks the transverse variability among the surface relative elevation data. It only factors in the randomness among the surface relative elevation data distribution, but overlooks its spatial dependence. As a result, the simulated data does not accurately reflect the actual spatial variability of the surface relative elevation. Also, the conventional method fails to account for the fact that theoretically more than one set of relative elevation data can be generated during the simulation if using the same set of statistical characteristics parameters. This poses new constraint on minimal sample size required for the simulation.
Assuming all possible field micro-topography distributions that meet a given set of statistical characteristics parameters as the total universe, and a single field micro-topography distribution as an individual, one must determine the minimum number of individuals needed for the simulation, so that the sampled individuals are representative to the whole universe. The number individuals that can represent the total universe are called sample size. Therefore, it is important to take both the randomness and spatial dependence of the field relative elevation distribution into the consideration, and develop new method to simulate two-dimensional surface micro-topography spatial variability, and solve the minimum sample size problem during the simulation process.

Method for predicting micro-topographic distribution of terrain

China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research


The invention provides a novel acrylic ester derivative which can form a structural unit of a polymer to be incorporated into a photoresist composition; a polymer produced through polymerization of a raw material containing the acrylic ester derivative; and a photoresist composition which contains the polymer and which, as compared with the case of conventional ones, realizes formation of a high-resolution resist pattern having improved LWR. Specifically, the present invention provides, for example, an acrylic ester derivative represented by the following formula (1):

Lithography involves a process in which, for example, a resist film is formed from a resist material on, a substrate; the resist film is selectively exposed to a radiation such as light or an electron beam via a mask having a specific pattern; and the exposed resist film is developed, to thereby form a specific resist pattern on the film. As used herein, the term "positive tone resist material" refers to a resist material which, when exposed to light, dissolves in a developer, and the term "negative tone resist material" refers to a resist material which, when exposed to light, does not dissolve in a developer.
In recent years, with the progress of lithography techniques, micro-patterning has been rapidly developed in production of semiconductor devices or liquid crystal display devices. Generally, miniaturization of patterning is carried out by use of an exposure light source of short wavelength (higher energy). Hitherto, ultraviolet rays such as g-ray and i-ray have been used for lithography. Recently, KrF excimer laser or ArF excimer laser has been used for mass production of semiconductor devices. Also, attempts have been made to use, in lithography, F2 excimer laser, electron beams, EUVs (extreme ultraviolet rays), X-rays, etc. having a shorter wavelength (higher energy) as compared with KrF excimer laser or ArF excimer laser.
A resist material is required to exhibit various lithographic properties, including sensitivity to such an exposure light source, and resolution which realizes reproduction of micro-patterning. A resist material satisfying these requirements is, for example, a chemically amplified resist composition containing a base component whose solubility in an alkaline developer changes through the action of an acid, and an acid generator component which generates an acid through light exposure.
For example, a generally used chemically amplified positive tone resist composition contains a resin component (base resin) whose solubility in an alkaline developer increases through the action of an acid, and an acid generator component. In the case where a resist film is formed from such a resist composition, when the resist film is subjected to selective light exposure during formation of a resist pattern, an acid is generated from the photoacid generator component at an exposed portion of the film, and the solubility of the resin component in an alkaline developer increases through the action of the acid, whereby the exposed portion becomes soluble in the alkaline developer.
A photoresist composition which is currently used for, for example, ArF excimer laser lithography generally contains, as a base resin component, a resin having a main chain formed of a structural unit derived from a (meth)acrylric ester; i.e., an acrylic resin, since the resin exhibits excellent transparency at 193 nm or thereabout. As has been known, a photoresist composition containing a polymer containing a structural unit having norbornane lactone exhibits high etching resistance and improved adhesion to a substrate (see Patent Document 1). There has also been proposed, for example, a polymer for a photoresist composition, the polymer containing a structural unit having a norbornane lactone skeleton or norbornane sultone skeleton to which an acryloyloxy group is bonded via a linkage group (see Patent Document 2 or 3).

Acrylic ester derivative, high-molecular compound and photoresist composition

Abstract: wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, or a trifluoromethyl group; each of R2, R3, R5, R7, R8, and R10 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, or an alkoxy group; each of R4 and R6 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, or an alkoxy group, or R4 and R6 are linked together to form an alkylene group, —O—, or —S—; R9 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an alkoxy group, or —COOR11; R11 represents an alkyl group; X represents —O— or >N—R12; R12 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group; Y represents >C═O or >S(═O)n; n is an integer of 0 to 2; and the wavy lines represent that either R8 or R9 may be in an endo or exo position.


A process for producing an optically active cyclopropane compound represented by the formula (4):

Optically active cyclopropane compounds whose representative examples are (+)-trans-2,2-dimethyl-3-(2-methyl-1-propenyl)cyclopropanecarboxylic acid ester and (+)-trans-3,3-dimethyl-2-(benzyloxymethyl)cyclopropanecarboxylic acid ester are important compounds as synthetic intermediates of pesticides and pharmaceuticals such as synthesized pyrethroid insecticides. As the process for producing the optically active cyclopropane compound, methods for carrying out asymmetric cyclopropanation of a prochiral olefin using an asymmetric copper complex prepared from an optically active bisoxazoline compound and a copper compound as a catalyst have been known (e.g. JP 11-171874 A, Tetrahedron Lett., 32, 7373 (1991) and Tetrahedron, 57, 6083 (2001)). However, these methods were not always enough for the selectivity of (+)-trans-isomer of the desirable cyclopropane compound when a diazoacetic acid lower alkyl ester such as ethyl diazoacetate was used, and it was needed to use a particular diazoacetic acid ester such as diazoacetic acid (2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenyl) ester to improve the selectivity.

Process for producing optically active cyclopropane compound and asymmetric copper complex for use in the same

Abstract: wherein R3, R4, R5 and R6 are the same or different, and represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group, and so on; and R7 represents a C1-6 alkyl group; and * represents an asymmetric carbon atom,    which comprises reacting a prochiral olefin represented by the formula (2):

Abstract: wherein R3, R4, R5, and R6 are as described above,    with a diazoacetic acid ester represented by the formula (3):N2CHCO2R7  (3)wherein R7 is as defined above,    in the presence of an asymmetric copper complex prepared from an optically active cycloalkylidenebisoxazoline compound represented by the formula (1):

Abstract: wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a C1-6 alkyl group, and so on; R2 represents a C1-6 alkyl group and so on; and n represents an integer of 0 to 3; provided that, two R1s may be bonded each other together with the carbon atom to which they are bonded to form a ring; and * represents an asymmetric carbon atom,    and a copper compound, is provided.


A method for calibration and/or compensation in transference of digital and/or analogue motion pictures to a photosensitive material comprises exposing a section of a photosensitive material by modulating light from a light source and imaging the modulated light onto the photosensitive material, develop the section of the photosensitive material, measure the characteristics of the developed film while illuminated by the said light source, and adjusting the light source and/or light modulation according to the measurement. By using the same light source for exposing and measuring the film, good reproducibility can be achieved, as well as a reliable basis for the adjustments.

The invention relates to a method and device for calibrating the process of a photographic printing apparatus for copying cinematographic film by projection.
Traditionally two different technologies are used to transform motion pictures from digital format to analogue format:                CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)        Laser
Motion pictures are composed of a number of picture frames shown one at a time to give the impression of movements. When recording the motion pictures, that is printing on film, one can divide the frames in the original motion picture into lines and write the frame on the film line by line.
In general we can say that both prior art technologies transfer frames in the motion picture to a celluloid film line by line as opposed to the inventive technology that prints on the celluloid film a full frame on each exposure.
CRT Technology
The Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) technique utilises a powerful high resolution picture tube to project film-exposing light in a 3-pass process through a rotating RGB (red, green, blue) colour wheel, or 3 separate picture tubes with separate R, G and B colour filters. It uses three tubes for displaying each of the three basic colours, red, green, and blue. The CRT technique writes one frame at a time and each frame is recorded point by point, line-by-line. There are few moving parts in a CRT machine, and hence relatively little maintenance.
This technique is robust and well known. However, it has several deficiencies. CRT exhibits a restricted contrast range, pronounced grain structure, blooming flare, insufficient colour fidelity and it requires long exposure times. The reason for many of these quality deficiencies can be found in the low light output of Cathode Ray Tubes, the light source used in CRT recorders. To compensate this, a variety of methods are used: a higher speed (=grainier) film is utilised, a lower density range is chosen, brighter, wide-band colour filters are employed which result in insufficient colour separation and low speed recording (15-30 seconds per frame).
Laser Technology
Laser is a complex and very expensive technology. High intensity laser light is reflected off spinning mirrors to expose the film. Laser recorders have heavy maintenance and are prone to very high costs. It is considered to give higher quality output than the CRT at the speed of approximately 5 to 10 seconds per frame. Like the CRT, laser writes each frame line-by-line.
The laser-recorder is dependent on a host computer to process image data and transfer it one line at a time to a line buffer in the recorder. The data in the line buffer is then routed through a digital to analogue converter (DAC) to the input of the acousto-optical modulators (AOMs) which modulate the image data onto the laser beams. Before reaching the AOMs, the light of each laser is adjusted to the required intensity by an attenuator. This is supposed to adjust for variations in film stock sensitivity and compensate for variations in laser energy output. Inside the AOM the laser beam passes through a crystal, and the internal grid structure of the crystal deflects the laser beam. By exiting the crystal with a high frequency wave, the crystal's grid structure, and thus the intensity of the laser beam, can be varied pixel by pixel. The three laser beams are then combined and exposed to the film by a rotating penta prism; one rotation exposes one line.
GB A 2005512 shows a process and apparatus for transcribing a colour videodisc onto a cinematographic film. A colour television signal representing a series of images is read on the video-disc, these images are reproduced on a television receiver, and the screen of this television receiver is filmed with a camera. This corresponds to an enhanced embodiment of the above described CRT recorder.
The greatest disadvantage of the prior art is time consumption. The laser units also have a limited lifetime and replacements are expensive. Hence, the actual recording cost will be higher with a laser recorder than with the device according to the invention. Besides, the laser and CRT recorders' shuttles have to move with extreme precision during the exposure, since any variance in velocity would lead to a variation of the distance between individual lines. This in turn will create a streaking artefact in the image.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,433 concerns an apparatus and method for recording a video signal on cinematographic film. A video signal is recorded on unexposed cinematographic film by shining light from a light source onto a deformable mirror device (DMD). The elements of the DMD are controlled in response to the video signal. Light is selectively reflected by the DMD onto an image plane containing the film such that the light reaching the film is representative of the video signal.
This publication deals with transferance of video signals to cinematographic film. In video format pictures are represented by two "half" pictures which in combination gives one picture. 50 such "half" pictures are shown per second, which in effect means that there are 25 whole pictures/sec to be transferred. In cinematographic film, 24 pictures are shown per second, and this difference in frequency must be compensated for. This publication shows use of different devices for transferring information contained in 25 pictures/second to cinematographic film. These devices are deinterlacing and integrating systems etc. The presence of such devices leads to an increase in the total costs and introduces possible error sources.
One problem with prior art is that there are variations in the quality of the unexposed film. This variation is mainly batch variations from the manufacturing of the film, and the variations will influence the final result of the film after exposing. Also variations in the development process for the film, e.g. change in the chemical properties/composition of the development chemicals, will influence the quality of the final film.
This problem is traditionally dealt with by sending sections of exposed and developed film to a laboratory for analysis, followed by adjusting the recording process according to the results of the analysis. This is a very time-consuming method, and the calibration is therefore performed more infrequently than desired.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method for calibration and/or compensation for variations in film stock and chemical changes in the development process in transference of digital and/or analogue motion pictures to a photosensitive material, where the calibration can be performed more frequent than with prior art.
The expression "frame by frame" used in this specification emphasises that the transference is done for each single frame in the source material. This "source material" can be a High definition TV (HDTV) picture sequence, a sequence of pictures scanned from a motion picture film/cinematographic film by means of a full frame digital scanner, a digitally created digital film (e.g. created on a computer), or any other digital full frame formate. With "full frame" in this context it is meant a picture comprising all lines (and pixels) in each frame. This is not the case for TV/video pictures, which consists of two "half" pictures which must be transferred and combined to create a complete picture. The solution related to TV pictures needs complicated interpolation and deinterlacing devices for compensating the difference in number of pictures by second, as mentioned above.
In other words one can say that by means of the invention, transference is achieved without dividing the frame into lines. Besides, the complete full frame of all frames are transferred, this makes deinterlacing and interpolation unnecessary.
A device for transferring full frame digital and/or analogue motion pictures comprising a series of frames, to a photosensitive material, comprises a light source, a colour filter, at least one lens for projecting modulated light onto the photosensitive material a shutter device and a transport device, the device further comprising:                a digital head comprising the light source, the colour filter, at least one full frame device for light modulation, the at least one lens, processing electronics and software for processing the input image data, and for transport and shutter device synchronisation,        a user interface, and        a graphical computer interface connected to the digital head, whereinthe transport device is adapted for exposing, section for section, sections of the photosensitive material corresponding to each of the motion picture frames, to the modulated projected light, in such a way that the number of frames per time unit in the original motion picture corresponds to the number of projected frames per time unit.
In a further embodiment, the device comprises image sensors located adjacent to the photosensitive material for providing signals to the digital head concerning optical properties of the projected image, the digital head using the sensor signals in controlling the shutter device and the light modulation device.
In a further embodiment, the device for light modulation is a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD), a transmissive LCD or a reflective LCD device.
In a further embodiment the graphical computer interface is adapted for receiving the image data from an external computer.
In a further embodiment the image data has a digital and/or analogue format.
In a further embodiment, the device comprises only one device for light modulation, and this light modulation device is adapted for modulating the three primary colours, red, green, blue.
In a further embodiment the device comprises three devices for light modulation, which each is adapted for modulating one of the three primary colours, red, green, blue.
In a further embodiment the colour filter is a colour wheel divided in sections of different colours, preferably the three primary colours red, green, blue.
In a further embodiment the colour filter comprises separate colour filters of different colours.
In a further embodiment the digital motion picture and/or the analogue representation of that motion picture is either of negative or positive format.
A method for transferring full frame digital and/or analogue motion pictures, comprising a series of frames, to a photosensitive material, comprises, for each frame, the following steps:
a) receiving image data through a graphical computer interface to a digital head,
b) processing the image data in the digital head,
c) modulating light from a light source by means of a device for full frame light modulation according to the processed image data,
d) projecting the modulated light onto one section of a photosensitive material,
e) transferring the photosensitive material, by means of a transport device, to expose the next section,
f) repeating steps d) and e) until the desired sections of the photosensitive material have been exposed to the projected modulated light.
A further embodiment of the method further comprises steps for sensing image properties with image sensors located adjacent to the photosensitive material, for providing signals to the digital head concerning optical properties of the projected image, the digital head using the sensor signals in controlling the shutter device and the light modulation device.
A further embodiment of the method further comprises that the image data has a digital and/or analogue format.
A further embodiment of the method further comprises that the processing of the image data includes converting analogue signals to digital format.
A further embodiment of the method further comprises that a full frame of the motion picture is projected onto the photosensitive material in step d).
A further embodiment of the method further comprises that the exposure of the photosensitive material is performed line by line with continuous transferring of the photosensitive material.
A further embodiment of the method further comprises that the number of frames exposed on the photosensitive material per time unit corresponds to the number of frames per time unit of the original digital and/or analogue motion picture film.

Method for calibration in transference of motion pictures to a photosensitive material


An optical amplification apparatus includes an optical amplification medium configured to receive a first light signal from an end of the optical amplification medium and a second light signal from the other end of the optical amplification medium in opposite directions, the first and second light signals being branched from a light signal, an excitation light source configured to supply excitation light to the optical amplification medium through a multiplexer, a monitor configured to monitor the first and second light signals input to the optical amplification medium, respectively and to output monitoring signals respectively, and a controller configured to control the excitation light source in accordance with the monitoring signals.

In accordance with increasing demand for communication caused by the spread of the Internet and the like, a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system utilizing the wide band of an optical amplifier is being developed.
Furthermore, in these years, a reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) system to be used in combination with the WDM system and a wavelength routing technique is being introduced into a metro ring network.
In addition, because demand for communicating audio data and a larger amount of image data is also increasing in accordance with the spread of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and the like, the communication rate per wavelength in a WDM system is increasing from approximately 10 Gbps to 40 Gbps, and even to approximately 100 Gbps.
In such an optical transmission system that communicates a large amount of data, a redundant configuration may be adopted in which light signals are transmitted using a plurality of transmission paths such as a work line and a protection line and received while switching the line in accordance with occurrence of failures, in order to improve the reliability during the occurrence of failures.
In an optical transmission system having a single ring network, for example, an optical protection architecture such as an optical unidirectional path-switched ring (OUPSR) or an optical shared path protection ring (OSPPR) is adopted.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the optical transmission system. In an optical transmission system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, an optical transmitter station 200 divides a light signal generated with an optical transmitter 201 using an optical coupler 202, and outputs the divided light signal to a work line 401 and a protection line 402.
On the other hand, an optical receiver station 300 switches the connection thereof between the work line 401 and the protection line 402 using an optical switch (optical SW) 301 in accordance with occurrence of failures in the lines and the quality of communication, and receives a light signal. After amplifying the received light signal with an optical amplifier 302, the optical receiver station 300 extracts data from the light signal with an optical receiver 303. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, if a failure such as a disconnection of an optical fiber occurs in the work line 401, the optical receiver station 300 switches the connection thereof to the protection line 402 with the optical SW 301, and receives a light signal through the protection line 402.
FIG. 2 illustrates another example of the optical transmission system. An optical transmission system 101 illustrated in FIG. 2 is different from the optical transmission system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 in that optical relays 501 and 502 are included in the work line 401 and the protection line 402, respectively. The other components 200, 201, 202, 300, 301, 302, and 303 are the same as those of the optical transmission system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1.
In the optical transmission system 101, too, if a failure such as a disconnection of an optical fiber occurs in the work line 401, the optical receiver station 300 switches the connection thereof to the protection line 402 using the optical SW 301, and receives a light signal through the protection line 402.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the WDM system. A WDM system 102 illustrated in FIG. 3, an optical transmitter station 200′ divides light signals generated with optical transmitters 201′-1 to 201′-n ("n" is an integer equal to or larger than 2) using optical couplers 202′-1 to 202′-n. The optical transmitter station 200′ then inputs the divided light signals to WDM couplers 203-1 and 203-2 to generate a plurality of wavelength-multiplexed light signals, and outputs the light signals to the work line 401 and the protection line 402.
A wavelength-multiplexed light signal transmitted through the work line 401 is amplified and relayed to the optical receiver station 300′ by a WDM optical relay 501′. A wavelength-multiplexed light signal transmitted through the protection line 402 is amplified and relayed to the optical receiver station 300′ by a WDM optical relay 502′.
On the other hand, the optical receiver station 300′ divides light signals having a plurality of wavelengths included in the wavelength-multiplexed light signals in units of wavelengths using WDM couplers 304-1 and 304-2.
Next, the optical receiver station 300′ switches the connection thereof between the work line 401 and the protection line 402 using optical SWs 301′-1 to 301′-n in accordance with occurrence of failures in the lines, and receives the divided light signals. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, if a failure such as a disconnection of an optical fiber occurs in the work line 401, the optical receiver station 300′ switches the connection thereof to the protection line 402 using the optical SWs 301′-1 to 301′-n, and receives light signals through the protection line 402.
The optical receiver station 300′ then amplifies the received light signals with optical amplifiers 302′-1 to 302′-n and extracts data from the light signals with optical receivers 303′-1 to 303′-n.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the OADM system.
In an OADM system 103 illustrated in FIG. 4, an OADM node 600-1 divides light signals generated with optical transmitters (Tx's) 601-1 to 601-n using splitters (BSs) 602-1 to 602-n.
The OADM node 600-1 inputs the divided light signals to WDM couplers 603-1 and 603-2 to generate a plurality of wavelength-multiplexed light signals.
A wavelength selection switch (WSS) 611 selects a desired wavelength of the wavelength-multiplexed light signal generated by the WDM coupler 603-1. The wavelength-multiplexed light signal is then amplified by an optical amplifier 612 and added to a work line 401-1. On the other hand, a WSS 617 selects a desired wavelength of the wavelength-multiplexed light signal generated by the WDM coupler 603-2. The wavelength-multiplexed light signal is then amplified by an optical amplifier 618 and added to a protection line 402-1.
As with the OADM node 600-1, OADM nodes 600-2, 600-3, and 600-4 have the configurations and the functions for transmission. For example, the OADM nodes 600-2, 600-3, and 600-4 may add light signals having desired wavelengths to work lines 401-2, 401-3, and 401-4 and protection lines 402-4, 402-3, and 402-2, respectively. Tx's 619-1 to 619-n, BSs 620-1 to 620-n, WDM couplers 621-1 and 621-2, WSSs 629 and 635, and optical amplifiers 630 and 636 of the OADM node 600-3 have the same functions as the Tx's 601-1 to 601-n, the BSs 602-1 to 602-n, the WDM couplers 603-1 and 603-2, the WSSs 611 and 617, and the optical amplifiers 612 and 618, respectively, of the OADM node 600-1.
On the other hand, the OADM node 600-1 amplifies a light signal received through the work line 401-4 using optical amplifiers 607 and 609 and compensates or mitigates the amount of chromatic dispersion using a dispersion compensator 608. The OADM node 600-1 then divides the light signal with the BS 610 and outputs the divided light signal to the WSS 611 and a WDM 606-1. The OADM node 600-1 also amplifies a light signal received through the protection line 402-4 using optical amplifiers 613 and 615 and mitigates the amount of the chromatic dispersion using a dispersion compensator 614. The OADM node 600-1 then divides (drops) the light signal with a BS 616 and outputs the divided light signal to the WSS 617 and a WDM 606-2.
Next, the OADM node 600-1 divides light signals included in the wavelength-multiplexed light signals in units of wavelengths using the WDM couplers 606-1 and 606-2 and outputs the divided light signals to optical SWs 605-1 to 605-n.
The OADM node 600-1 then switches the connection thereof between the work line 401-4 and the protection line 402-4 using the optical SWs 605-1 to 605-n in accordance with occurrence of failures in the lines, and receives the light signals. Optical receivers (Rx's) 604-1 to 604-n extract data from the light signals.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, if a failure such as a disconnection of an optical fiber occurs in the work line 401-4, the OADM node 600-1 switches the connection thereof to the protection line 402-4 using the optical SWs 605-1 to 605-n, and receives light signals through the protection line 402-4.
As with the OADM node 600-1, the OADM nodes 600-2, 600-3, and 600-4 have the configurations and the functions for reception. For example, the OADM nodes 600-2, 600-3, and 600-4 may drop light signals received through the work lines 401-1, 401-2, and 401-3 and the protection lines 402-3, 402-2, and 402-1, respectively. Rx's 622-1 to 622-n, optical SWs 623-1 to 623-n, WDM couplers 624-1 and 624-2, BSs 628 and 634, optical amplifiers 625, 627, 631, and 633, and dispersion compensators 626 and 632 of the OADM node 600-3 have the same functions as the Rx's 604-1 to 604-n, the optical SWs 605-1 to 605-n, the WDM couplers 606-1 and 606-2, the BSs 610 and 616, the optical amplifiers 607, 609, 613, and 618, and the dispersion compensators 608 and 614, respectively, of the OADM node 600-1.
In an optical receiver station of an optical transmission system, optical components whose optical losses are relatively large, such as an optical coupler and a WDM coupler adopting an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG), are used on a reception port side. In addition, in order to accommodate the increasing transmission rate of optical transmission systems, optical receivers have higher optical input levels. Therefore, an optical receiver station may include an optical amplifier that amplifies a received light signal.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of the configuration of an optical receiver station used in a WDM system.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, an optical receiver station 300″ divides light signals included in wavelength-multiplexed light signals transmitted through a work line 401 and a protection line 402 in units of wavelengths using WDM couplers 304-1 and 304-2. Each wavelength-multiplexed light signal includes light signals having a plurality of wavelengths, and data has been superimposed upon each light signal by an optical transmitter station. From among the light signals divided using the WDM couplers 304-1 and 304-2, for example, light signals having a wavelength λ1 are input to BSs 305 and 306. Components light signals having other wavelengths are not illustrated in order to simplify the description.
The BS 305 divides a light signal input from the WDM coupler 304-1 and outputs the divided light signal to a photodetector (PD) 307 and an optical SW 301″. On the other hand, the BS 306 divides a light signal input from the WDM coupler 304-2 and outputs the divided light signal to a PD 308 and the optical SW 301″.
The PDs 307 and 308 judge whether the levels of the input light signals are equal to or higher than a threshold value, and notify the optical SW 301″ of results of the judgments. The optical SW 301″ detects occurrence of failures in the work line 401 and the protection line 402 on the basis of the results of the judgments made by the PDs 307 and 308, and switches, on the basis of detected failures, a source from which the optical SW 301″ receives light signals to connect the source to an optical receiver 302″.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, if a failure such as a disconnection of an optical fiber occurs in the work line 401-4, the PD 307 judges that the level of an input light signal is lower than the threshold value and the optical SW 301″ detects occurrence of a failure in the work line 401 on the basis of the result of the judgment. The optical SW 301″ switches a path connected to the optical amplifier 302″ from the work line 401 to the protection line 402, and receives light signals through the protection line 402. Time taken until the optical SW 301″ completes the switching after occurrence of a failure is about 50 ms in most cases.
The optical amplifier 302″ amplifies a light signal from the optical SW 301″ and inputs the light signal to an optical receiver 303″. The optical receiver 303″ extracts data from the light signal amplified by the optical amplifier 302″.
At this time, the optical amplifier 302″ might be subjected to automatic level control (ALC) in order to cause the output level of the light signal after the amplification to be uniform. The control period of the ALC is, for example, about 1 kHz (about 1 ms) in most cases.
In this case, if a disconnection occurs in the work line 401, the optical SW 301″ switches the connection to the protection line 402, but no light signal is input to the optical amplifier 302″ (no-input state) after the occurrence of the disconnection until completion of the switching of the path.
When the optical amplifier 302″ enters the no-input state under the ALC, amplification gain is controlled such that the input level, which is close to zero at this moment, is amplified to a given output level, and therefore the amplification gain rises sharply. As a result, when transmission of light signals through the protection line 402 recovers upon the completion of the switching of the path performed by the optical SW 301″, an optical surge occurs in the optical amplifier 302″.
The optical surge in the optical amplifier 302″ may damage the optical receiver 303″. Furthermore, because of the occurrence of the optical surge, the optical receiver station 300″ might not be able to reproduce light signals.

Optical amplification apparatus, method for controlling same, optical receiver station, and optical transmission system


A voter cart capable of supporting a voting terminal, optical scan ballot counter and ballot box, and multiple (collapsible) voting booths in a portable, fully usable and secure configuration. The cart is generally formed with a pair of opposing side-rails joined together in a spaced-apart configuration and mounted on castors, and a plurality of reinforcing struts between and amongst the side rails. The touch-screen voting terminal is seated atop a sliding shelf mounted on roller-brackets between the side-rails and extensible from one end thereof at waist-level for easy wheelchair and/or any other voter access thereto. All the loaded equipment is fully restrained against lateral and vertical motion, and yet all equipment is given full access to their control panels, doors, etc. Moreover, the particular design maximizes strength and usability, and yet keeps weight to a minimum with a framework that is as light weight as possible.

a. Field of Invention
The invention relates to accessories for voting devices and, more particularly, to a specially-adapted utility cart for storage and/or transport and/or use of voting devices in a more convenient and secure manner.
b. Background of the Invention
There are a myriad of existing storage and transport carts currently in use for a wide variety of different applications. Some of these carts are adapted for carrying high-value electronic equipment, and others carry confidential high-security items. Utility carts for voting devices must combine both sets of attributes inasmuch as voting devices are high-value devices and require considerable security precautions. Moreover, voting devices are extremely heavy, requiring a very robust utility cart, and they must be thoroughly accessible by persons, inclusive of physically disabled persons, from outside the cart.
Most polling precincts in the United States utilize voting booths with specialized balloting terminals. In the past many precincts used terminals such as Datavote™ or Votomatic™, which required the voter to punch out a perforated rectangle (i.e., a chad) from a card using a stylus. There is a mask installed in the Votomatic, which reveals certain holes that are aligned with ballot book pages in the recorder, which in turn correspond to names of candidates or issues. The punched card was then taken and inserted into a precinct ballot counter, which is programmed to translate the hole and number to the particular candidate or issue.
Paper balloting can be hard for mobility impaired, vision impaired or non-English speakers to use. Consequently, electronic balloting terminals are gaining popularity and at least one or two are made available in each voting precinct. Indeed, the Help American Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 has mandated that, beginning in 2006, each polling place have at least one voting machine that is fully accessible for persons with disabilities. Currently, "direct recording electronic voting machines" (DREs) are the only machines at present that can fulfill this accessibility requirement. DREs typically entail a touch-screen ballot-marking machine with audio capability (usually via attached headphones). A DRE voting machine records votes, processes the data, and then records voting data and ballot images in memory. After the election it produces a tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and as printed copy.
There are many manufacturers of DREs including Diebold Election Systems, ES&S, Sequoia Voting Systems, Hart Intercivic, etc. For example, the AutoMARK™ voter assist terminal by AutoMARK Technical Services (ATS) is a ballot-marking terminal sized at approximately 2′×2′×1.5′) and features a fold-out 15″ full-color touch-screen display. Voters securely cast their vote for each race and/or ballot proposition simply through the touch of the screen or by way of audio guidance. When the voter inserts the ballot into the AutoMARK, an electronic version of the ballot appears on the screen and can be read electronically to the voter. Upon the voter's direction, the AutoMARK marks the ovals on the optical scan ballot.
Whether using a DRE or any other optical scan voting terminal the voter is provided with a completed paper ballot and the voter (or official) then inserts this ballot into an optical scan ballot counter for tabulation, after which the paper ballot is deposited into a sealed ballot box. Again, there are many manufacturers of ballot counters. For example, the ES&S Model M100 is an easy-to-use, high-speed central paper ballot counter and vote tabulator that processes at a speed of over 300 ballots per minute. The ES&S Model M100 Ballot Counter is approximately the size of a large computer server (approximately 2.5′×2′×4.5′). Diebold also sells its AccuVote-OS™, an optical scan voting tabulator that measures 14″×16″×3″ and weighs 13.7 pounds, and Sequoia™ manufactures its Insight Optical Ballot Reader of comparable size.
Voting precincts typically employ six to twelve voting booths, each with a balloting terminal (paper or electronic), optical scan voting tabulator, and ballot box. It is not an easy task for precinct workers to deliver, move in, set up, monitor, remove and return to storage this much voting equipment. Most precincts now either manually carry and transport the equipment on multiple trips or use standard utility carts similar to those which carry folding chairs. These generic utility carts normally comprise a simple platform mounted on wheels or casters to provide mobility. These carts may be provided with upwardly protruding side-rails to constrain the equipment. Such carts take no security precautions, and do not facilitate on-board access to the equipment. For voting devices one of the main functions of the cart is necessarily to provide a secure environment to prevent theft or tampering of the items stored within the cart. Nevertheless, the equipment for each voting booth (one ballot-marking/printing system together with optical scan ballot tabulator, and ballot box) is loaded onto the utility cart which is then wheeled into position (proximate the voting terminals) for use. Since the equipment is not accessible while on the cart, it must be off-loaded and the cart removed for voting. After voting the process is reversed.
It would be much more convenient to devise a utility cart that houses the voting equipment in a fully operable and accessible position, the ballot-marking terminal being approximately waist-level for easy access by standing or wheelchair voters, and the optical scan voting tabulator (which is much larger and heavier) positioned proximate the voting terminal and overtop the ballot box. To properly mount all three devices on a utility cart requires a multi-compartmentalized cart with robust mechanical restraints to protect against shifting of the equipment, robust security features to protect against theft and/or tampering with the equipment, and yet full frontal and side access to both pieces of equipment to allow access to and control of their consoles.

Voting machine storage and transport cart with improved security


To provide a tag attaching apparatus including a hollow needle having an expanding slot formed from the front end to the rear end of the needle at its side face in the body of the tag attaching apparatus. A needle cover having a groove for storing the hollow needle at its front and a groove for supporting a tag pin group inserted into a tag pin group guide groove at its back is set to the head of the tag attaching apparatus body enclosed by a transverse groove provided for the tag attaching apparatus body so as to communicate with the expanding slot and a tag pin group guide groove provided for the tag attaching apparatus body so as to intersect the transverse groove so that the needle cover can be vertically pivoted.

During a rest period or at the end of operations, a hollow needle set to a tag attaching apparatus has been covered with a cap so far in order to protect the needle and maintain the safety.
However, it is troublesome to set a cap to a hollow needle because the hollow needle must be inserted into a slit formed on the cap. Moreover, in this case, a person may be injured because the sharp tip of the hollow needle sticks in his finger.
Moreover, most of a group of tag pins inserted into a guide groove of a tag attaching apparatus protrude outward from the back of the tag attaching apparatus at the beginning. Therefore, when inserting a hollow needle into a narrow portion such as the edge of a sleeve in order to attach a label to a commodity, the transverse rod of a tag pin is caught by the commodity and thereby, the tag pin group may not be smoothly fed.
Furthermore, when an operation is continued, a connecting rod from which a tag pin is disconnected comes out of the exit of the guide groove. Because connecting portions for connecting the connecting rod with the tag pin remain on the connecting rod like comb teeth, a commodity is easily caught by them. Moreover, when the commodity is caught, it may be damaged.
Therefore, it is considered to length the head of the tag attaching apparatus body forward so that a tag pin group or a connecting rod does not contact a commodity. In this case, however, the tag attaching apparatus body become very long and thus, it is difficult to use the apparatus.


An anti-skid device for use in cooperation with a vehicle wheel for positioning a traction member beneath the vehicle wheel includes a frame assembly constructed and arranged to be attached to the vehicle, a swing arm pivotally connected to the frame, and an electric, linear actuator having an extendable shaft. The anti-skid device includes a double pivot link where one end is attached to the frame assembly and the opposite end is attached to the swing arm. The linear actuator is attached to a movable pressure plate and a biasing spring is positioned between the movable pressure plate and a back plate for applying and maintaining contact pressure of the traction wheel against the vehicle wheel. In the preferred embodiment, the traction member is a length of chain that is connected to the traction wheel for positioning between the vehicle wheel and the road surface.

The present invention relates in general to anti-skid devices for vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a device that provides a rotatable member with links of chain, or other traction or friction increasing means, intended to be thrown sequentially under a wheel of a vehicle for increased traction between the wheel and the road surface. One device of the type generally described above is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,939 to Törnebäck.
The Törnebäck device utilizes an inflatable bellows to extend the movable arm that includes the pulley. It is important to note that a supply source of air for the bellows is required in order for the Törnebäck device to be operable. A suitable supply of air is likely available with larger vehicles such as semi-tractor trailers. Smaller passenger vehicles such as SUVs and trucks are not likely to have a suitable air supply. Another consideration with smaller passenger vehicles of the type described is the available space within and/or beneath the frame for securing an anti-skid device in position.
As described in the '939 patent, devices of this kind typically include a pulley provided with strands or links of chain or some other friction increasing means for sequentially positioning the chain beneath the vehicle wheel between the wheel and the road surface. Devices of this kind are not as simple to construct as would appear from the principle itself. Chains, pulleys, and other supports are, to start with, subject to very substantial forces necessitating heavy duty construction. Furthermore, a relatively large movement is required to displace the chain carrying pulley between its working position in contact with the vehicle wheel and its operative stored or stowed position. To store the pulley is particularly troublesome since different cars and passenger vehicles have different available places for the pulley. Furthermore, the pulley should be sufficiently elevated so that the chains attached to the pulley or chain wheel do not drag on the ground as this causes the links of chain to be worn prematurely. A result of the above requirements and problems that need to be solved with automatic anti-skid devices of the type described is that they are comparatively costly to produce which in turn results in a number of individuals being reluctant to obtain these safety increasing aids.
While the present invention is directed to solving some of the same problems mentioned in the '939 patent, an additional constraint has been added. This additional constraint is to design a suitable device that does not require a source or supply of air. The present invention has achieved a solution to this design challenge in a novel and unobvious manner.


The invention relates to a device for measuring at least the pressure of a fluid present in a chamber (16), comprising a sensitive element (36) arranged in a housing (38), supported by a joint (10) inserted between two elements (12, 14) which form said chamber. According to the invention, the housing (38) is open in the direction of the chamber (16) and the sensitive element (36) is enclosed in a material (67) filling said housing.

Document EP -0,472,219 describes a device for measuring the pressure that prevails in a combustion chamber of an internal-combustion chamber.
This device comprises a seal interposed between the cylinder head of this engine and the engine block, and it is in tight contact with the respective faces of this cylinder head and of this engine block. The seal, of multisheet type, comprises an upper metal sheet and a lower metal sheet between which an intermediate sheet bearing a housing that receives a pressure-sensitive element is arranged.
A pressure inlet bringing the pressure to a measuring surface arranged parallel to the face of the cylinder head or to the face of the engine block is provided to measure the pressure prevailing in the combustion chamber.
This measuring device however has significant drawbacks.
In fact, the pressure inlet can be clogged, or its section at least reduced, by a coke deposit usually generated by combustion. Transfer of the fluid under pressure from the combustion chamber to the measuring surface may therefore be non-existent or greatly disturbed.
Furthermore, it is necessary to either use a seal of great thickness to make the housing intended to receive the sensitive element and the measuring inlet, which requires adjustment of the assembly made up of the cylinder head, the engine block and the piston, or to provide machining work at the level of the cylinder head, thus embrittling it, which may even lead to sealing losses at these machined points or require additional sealing at this level.
Finally, the presence of such a pressure inlet changes the level, the shape, the frequency and the phase of the pressure wave coming from the combustion chamber.
The present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks by means of a measuring device of simple design, of relatively low cost and quasi-reliable as regards measurement.

Device for pressure measurement, particularly in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine


Multiple monopole antennas or loop antennas for generating electromagnetic fields whose phases become opposite to the phase of an electromagnetic field that the conventional single monopole antenna or loop antenna generates are located in proximity to the conventional single monopole antenna or loop antenna such that the components of the electromagnetic field in directions other than a probe-desired direction will be cancelled out.

The present invention relates to a probe and apparatuses using this probe for measuring proximate electromagnetic fields in proximity to high-frequency operating electronic appliances, information processing terminals, communications appliances, semiconductors, circuit boards, and the like, or for irradiating these targets with an electromagnetic field.
Conventionally, a small monopole antenna or a small loop antenna has been used as the probe, thereby performing the measurement of the electromagnetic fields or the irradiation with the electromagnetic field. As a result, it has been a limit to acquire a position resolution that is almost identical to a measurement height or an irradiation height, i.e., a spacing between a target to be measured and the probe.
In JP-A-2001-255347, the conventional proximate electromagnetic-field measuring probe has been disclosed as follows: In order to shield extraneous noises, it is selected as an object to provide a proximate electromagnetic-field measuring antenna having unidirectionality. Moreover, in order to accomplish this object, the antenna is designed to be a one whose directionality is formed into the unidirectionality by equipping the antenna with a metallic horn or a dielectric. This design makes the directionality unidirectional in the aperture direction of the metallic horn. Also, the existence of this metallic horn shields the extraneous noises. Accordingly, it becomes possible to measure only a desired electromagnetic field.

Narrow-directivity electromagnetic-field antenna probe, and electromagnetic-field measurement apparatus, electric-current distribution search-for apparatus or electrical-wiring diagnosis apparatus using this antenna probe