An electrophotographic photoconductor having a layer of a crosslinked resin obtained by reacting an epoxy group-containing amine compound having a charge transferability-imparting group with at least one silicon compound selected from an epoxy ring-free alkoxysilane compound, an epoxy ring-free silanol compound, an epoxy ring-containing alkoxysilane compound and an epoxy ring-containing silanol compound.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrophotographic photoconductor for use in image forming machines such as printers, copying machines and facsimile machines. The present invention is also directed to a method of preparing an electrophotographic photoconductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent development of information processing systems using electrophotography is striking. In particular, laser printers and digital copying machines in which information is recorded using light as digital signals have shown significant improvement in image quality and reliability. Further, such an improvement is now coupled with high speed recording technique to provide full color laser printers and full color digital copying machines. In this circumstance, a need exists for an electrophotographic photoconductor which can provide high quality images and which has high durability.
As to an electrophotographic photoconductor for use in laser printers and digital copying machines, the recent trend is toward the use of organic photoconductive materials for reasons of their low costs, good productivity and freedom of pollution. Typical examples of known organic electrophotographic photoconductors include those using a photoconductive resin such as polyvinylcarbazole (PVK), those using a charge transport complex such as 2,4,7-trinitrofluorenone (PVK-TNF), those using a dispersed pigment such as phthalocyanine-binder, and those of a function-separation type using a combination of a charge generation material and a charge transport material. Above all, the function-separation type electrophotographic photoconductor is currently dominant.
The mechanism of forming electrostatic latent images using the function-separation type electrophotographic photoconductor is as follows. First, a surface of the photoconductor is charged and thereafter exposed to light images. The light passes through the charge transport layer and enters the charge generation layer so that a charge generation material contained therein absorbs the light, whereupon a charge carrier is produced from the charge generation material. The charge carrier is injected into the charge transport layer and travels along an electric field generated by the charging step to neutralize the surface charge of the photoconductor. As a result, electrostatic latent images are formed on the surface of the photoconductor.
In general, the organic electrophotographic photoconductors have drawbacks because the surface thereof is apt to be abraded upon repeated use, which causes a reduction of the charge potential and the light sensitivity thereof as well as injuries of the surface thereof, resulting in deterioration of the image quality such as an increase of background stains and a reduction of image density. For this reason, it is one of the important problems to provide an electrophotographic photoconductor having high durability. Recent demand for high speed and compact image forming apparatuses also calls for high durability of the photoconductor. The organic electrophotographic photoconductors have additional drawbacks because cracks are apt to form when foreign matters such as lipids derived from human hands deposit on a surface thereof and when crystallization of the photoconductive material occurs on the deposited area.
To cope with these problems, a method has been proposed in which a protective layer is provided on the top surface layer of the photoconductor. The protective layer may be lubricated, cured, or added with a filler. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications No. 07-295248, No. 07-301936 and No. 08-082940 disclose incorporating a fluorine-modified silicone oil into the outermost surface layer of a photoconductor for the purpose of improving surface characteristics such as wear resistance thereof. However, the fluorine-modified silicone oil tends to be lost during repeated use and fails to maintain its effect for a long time.
A proposal has been made to incorporate an inorganic filler or crosslinked resin particles in the outermost layer of an organic electrophotographic photoconductor to improve the abrasion resistance. The use of the filler, however, adversely affects the charging potential and residual potential and causes a problem that the potential greatly varies upon repeated use of the photoconductor.
Also proposed is the use of a thermosetting resin in the outermost layer. In particular, much attention is being paid on a three-dimensionally crosslinked resin containing a charge transferability-imparting skeleton in view of its good electrophotographic properties and good wear resistance. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H09-190004 discloses the use of organic silicon-modified positive hole transporting compound in which a silicon compound having a hydrolyzable group is directly introduced into an charge transporting material. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-171990 suggests the use of an outermost layer in which a charge transporting compound having a hydroxyl group, an amino group or a thiol group capable of condensing with a silanol group is introduced into a three-dimensionally crosslinked siloxane layer. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-206715 proposes the use of a three-dimensionally crosslinked layer obtained from an acrylic compound and a charge transporting material having at least two chain-polymerizable groups.
The electrophotographic photoconductor of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H09-190004, however, has a problem that it is difficult to synthesize and purify the organic silicon-modified positive hole transporting compound. An unpurified product causes a reduction in layer strength and adversely affects the electrophotographic properties. The photoconductor of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-171990 has drawbacks that the charge transporting compound having incorporated thereinto a reactive group has poor compatibility and the mechanical strength of a layer obtained therefrom are not satisfactory. In the case of the photoconductor of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-206715, the residual chain-polymerizable groups adversely affect the resistance to gases and the mechanical strengths of a layer obtained therefrom.

Electrophotographic photoconductor and method of preparing same


A wireless audio system including a transmitter using multiple antenna diversity techniques for different signal types is provided. Multipath performance may be optimized, along with improved spectral efficiency of the system.

Audio production can involve the use of many components, including microphones, wireless audio transmitters, wireless audio receivers, recorders, and/or mixers for capturing, recording, and presenting the sound of productions, such as television programs, newscasts, movies, live events, and other types of productions. The microphones typically capture the sound of the production, which is wirelessly transmitted from the microphones and/or the wireless audio transmitters to the wireless audio receivers. The wireless audio receivers can be connected to a recorder and/or a mixer for recording and/or mixing the sound by a crew member, such as a production sound mixer. Electronic devices, such as computers and smartphones, may be connected to the recorder and/or mixer to allow the crew member to monitor audio levels and timecodes.
Wireless audio transmitters, wireless audio receivers, wireless microphones, and other portable wireless communication devices include antennas for transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals which contain digital or analog signals, such as modulated audio signals, data signals, and/or control signals. Users of portable wireless communication devices include stage performers, singers, actors, news reporters, and the like.
A wireless audio transmitter may transmit an RF signal that includes an audio signal to a wireless audio receiver. The wireless audio transmitter may be included in a wireless handheld microphone or body pack, for example, that is held or worn by the user and includes an integrated transmitter and antenna. As another example, the wireless audio transmitter may be included in an access point or other centralized unit. The wireless audio receiver may be portable, such as a wireless earphone, wireless conference unit, or body pack. When the RF signal is received at the wireless audio receiver, the RF signal may be degraded due to multipath fading caused by constructive interference and/or by other types of interference. This degradation may cause the RF signal to have a poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which can result in bit errors that can cause audio artifacts and muting of the resulting output audio. However, muting the output audio is undesirable in many situations and environments, such as during professional stage productions and concerts. The effects of such multipath fading and interference are most prevalent in harsh RF environments where physical and electrical factors influence the transmission and reception of RF signals, e.g., movement of the microphone within the environment, other RF signals, operation in large venues, etc.
To alleviate issues with multipath fading of RF signals, wireless audio components may utilize frequency diversity and/or antenna diversity techniques. For example, wireless audio transmitters may utilize frequency diversity to simultaneously transmit on one antenna two RF signals of two separate frequencies in a combined RF signal, where the two RF signals both include the same audio signal. A wireless audio receiver may then use one or both of the underlying RF signals. As another example, wireless audio receivers may utilize antenna diversity to simultaneously receive RF signals from a wireless audio transmitter on multiple antennas. The received RF signals can be combined to produce a single audio output.
However, utilizing diversity on wireless audio receivers that are portable may be difficult and challenging, due to size and power constraints. For example, portable wireless audio receivers are typically small and battery-powered, so utilizing diversity techniques on such receivers may result in suboptimal antenna placements and/or unacceptable power dissipation. In addition, there may be significant costs and complexity when utilizing diversity techniques on multiple portable wireless audio receivers.
Other techniques for alleviating issues with multipath fading of RF signals may have undesirable side effects. For example, the transmit power of a wireless audio transmitter may be increased to account for a large fading margin. However, the overall spectral efficiency may be negatively impacted due to intermodulation products when the transmit power is increased. Furthermore, the physical design of the transmitter and/or governmental regulations may limit how much the transmit power may be increased. In addition, increased transmit power does not resolve error floors that are caused by frequency-selective fading. As another example, antennas may be designed to the focus transmitted signal energy from wireless audio transmitters to wireless audio receivers. However, such antennas may be excessively directional, which can affect the coverage of the wireless audio transmitters. As a further example, in certain applications (e.g., wireless in-ear personal monitors) ad hoc signal splitting techniques may be utilized in an attempt to improve diversity performance. However, such techniques can create phase cancellation issues that may result in degraded and unreliable performance.
Accordingly, there is an opportunity for a wireless audio system that utilizes transmit antenna diversity that addresses these concerns. More particularly, there is an opportunity for a wireless audio system with a transmitter using multiple antenna diversity techniques for different signal types that can provide optimal multipath performance and improved spectral efficiency.

Transmit antenna diversity wireless audio system


A method is disclosed for selectively separating carbon dioxide gas by contacting the carbon dioxide containing gas with a composition containing lithium zirconia at a temperature of 450.degree. C. or more so that carbon dioxide reacts with the lithium zirconia to produce lithium carbonate and zirconia. Subjecting the lithium carbonate and zirconia to a temperature of 600.degree. C. or more so as to produce lithium zirconia and carbon dioxide.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and a functional material for selective separation of carbon dioxide gas from the effluent gas emanating from energy plants and chemical plants which use fuels having hydrocarbons as main components thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
This invention further relates to a shaped article obtained by molding the functional material in a prescribed shape and to an apparatus for effecting the selective separation of carbon dioxide gas from the effluent gas emanating from energy plants and chemical plants which use fuels having hydrocarbons as main components thereof by the use of the functional material and/or the shaped article.
In recent years, from the standpoint of conserving the earth's environment, the increase of the concentration of the carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere has come to pose a problem. For the purpose of decreasing the gross amount of the carbon dioxide gas that is released into the atmosphere, an attempt has been made to harness a gas turbine or a fuel cell for either recovering and recycling the carbon dioxide gas from the effluent gas emanating from energy plants and chemical plants which use fuels having hydrocarbons as main components thereof or depriving the effluent gas of harmfulness.
Ishikawajima-Harima Technical Report, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 83-92, for example, discloses a molten carbonate fuel cell system which recovers from the effluent gas of a fuel cell the carbon dioxide gas formed by the electrode reaction and puts the recovered carbon dioxide gas to reuse.
To be specific, in the molten carbonate type fuel cell, the electrode reactions represented by the formulas (10) and (11) in FIG. 6 occur. This molten carbonate fuel cell system is intended to reclaim the carbon dioxide gas by recovering the carbon dioxide gas produced on an anode (fuel electrode) 27 side and then supplying the recovered carbon dioxide gas toward a cathode (air electrode) 28 side as indicated by the arrow marks in FIG. 6.
Incidentally, in the molten carbonate type fuel cell, since the effluent gas is generally a mixed gas containing steam, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane besides carbon dioxide gas, the carbon dioxide gas must be selectively separated from this effluent gas.
Generally, as typical means to implement this selective separation of carbon dioxide gas from the effluent gas of this quality, the absorption liquid method which uses an alkanol amine type solvent and the membrane separation method which utilizes a cellulose acetate membrane have been known to the art.
These methods, however, require to create a difference of pressure between the carbon dioxide gas supply side and the carbon dioxide gas collection side through the medium of a separation membrane. To be specific, they attain the collection of carbon dioxide gas by heightening the partial pressure of carbon dioxide gas on the carbon dioxide gas supply side and lowering the partial pressure of carbon dioxide gas on the carbon dioxide gas collection side and consequently inducing the exclusive passage of the carbon dioxide gas through the separation membrane toward the carbon dioxide gas collection side by virtue of the difference of the partial pressure of the carbon dioxide gas which is attendant on the pressure difference. They consequently demand a contrivance which is capable of controlling the difference of pressure between the carbon dioxide gas supply side and the carbon dioxide gas collection side and, therefore, entail the problem that they cannot be easily utilized generally.
Further, since the solvent and the membrane which are used by these methods are deficient in resistance to heat, they both require the temperature of the effluent gas below about 200.degree. C. In such systems emitting effluent gases at elevated temperatures as are typified by the molten carbonate type fuel cell which emits the effluent gas of about 600.degree. C, therefore, the step for cooling the effluent gas as by means of heat exchange constitutes itself an essential requirement for the separation of the carbon dioxide gas from the effluent gas. Since the separation of the carbon dioxide gas from the effluent gas consumes energy copiously, these methods have the problem that they cannot be easily utilized generally.

Method for separation of carbon dioxide gas


The present invention relates to a reusable display sheath for protecting the working end of an article such as a pair of scissors, the sheath comprises an elongated passage having a longitudinal axis, a first end, and an opposed open end for accommodating insertion and withdrawal of the working end of the article, and frangible latch means that are integrally formed in the sheath at its open end, the latch means comprising a frangible tongue separable from the sheath to effect unlocking of the article from the sheath while permitting its semi-permanent engagement with the sheath.

Pivoted implements, such as scissors, are customarily sold in display packages. Preferably, such packages include a transparent cover and a display card bearing the name of the manufacturer in addition to other pertinent user information. Various means such as ties, loops, staples etc., have been used for securing the tool to the cover and/or card.
For some time now, to improve shelf appeal and reduce packaging labor, blister packages have been used and have become quite customary to display some of these implements. In such prior art blister packages, the article itself is secured to the card as it is completely encapsulated between a clear plastic cover and the card in such a manner that the article can be viewed but cannot be touched. It has been found, however, that consumers interested in an item often want to manipulate the item or test operate it within the confines of the display unit.
The deficiencies of commonly known display packages have been recognized and addressed in various ways by those skilled in the art. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,805 to Fethke et al., the blister pack has been provided with a cutout allowing restricted movement of the blades of the displayed scissors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,872,551 to Theros discloses a working clamshell blister package wherein the handles of a pair of pliers are completely accessible to the user while the plier jaws are enclosed. Finally, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,159 to the present inventor, the detent area of a clear plastic sheath mounted on a card engages the pivot member of a pair of scissors, thereby allowing quick assembly of the entire display package and removably securing the scissors to the reusable sheath.
It can be readily appreciated, however, that while display packages in accordance with Fethke and Theros prevent removal of the item from the display card, such display packages cannot conveniently be reused by consumers as sheathes to protect the working surfaces of such items. On the other hand, in a display package such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,159 to the present inventor, the reusable sheath permits the interested purchaser to completely remove the displayed item from the sheath, thereby allowing pilferage.
Thus, it is desirable to provide an inexpensive display package for items such as scissors or the like which can alleviate the problems associated with conventional merchandising methods, i.e., which permits viewing, manipulation, and at least restricted testing, of the item prior to purchase while preventing complete removal of the item from the display package, and which also provides a reusable sheath designed to protect the blades of the scissors when not in use.

Reusable display sheath with frangible latch means


Timing is determined in positron emission tomography (PET). Two or more different types of timing detection are used for each event. The difference in time from the different types of timing detection may indicate whether or not an error has occurred. An average difference or other typical offset difference may be used to correct the error. During pile up, the difference information may be used to create a missing time, such as using an average difference between second derivative and constant fraction discrimination as an offset to determine constant fraction timing from second derivative timing.

The present embodiments relate to timing measurement in positron emission tomography (PET). Blocks of detectors detect gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting tracer. Using spatially diverse detectors, pairs of gamma rays generated by a same positron may be detected. The pairs of gamma rays travel about 180 degrees apart. To distinguish specific pairs, the coincidence of detected gamma rays is determined. The timing of receipt is used to pair the detected gamma rays, detecting events along lines of response. Time of flight may be used to detect segments of the line of response.
The timing of a detected event is determined using a timing circuit. For example, a time-to-digital converter is used to determine a time at which the event occurred. Different types of timing circuits have been proposed. Different advantages and weaknesses are provided by each. For example, constant fraction discrimination is accurate, providing sufficient accuracy for time of flight to select a segment of the line of response. However, constant fraction discrimination is susceptible to errors due to scattering and may not detect a time for subsequent events during a pile up. As another example, second derivative discrimination may detect subsequent events during a pile up, but has less timing accuracy or resolution than constant fraction discrimination.

Multiple timing measurements for positron emission tomography


Methods for activating operations of a communication device coupled to an external communication bus include detecting a communication event on the external communication bus at a wake up circuit while a host controller coupled to the external communication bus is in an inactive state. An interrupt signal is provided to a processor of the communication device that is operating using a first clock signal running at a first clock rate from a first clock responsive to detection of the communication event by the wake up circuit. A clock enable signal is provided from the processor of the communication device, responsive to the interrupt signal, to a second clock in an inactive state. The second clock is coupled to a second circuit of the communication device separate from the processor of the communications device. Active state operations of the second clock are initiated to generate a second clock signal at a second clock rate greater than the first clock rate responsive to the clock enable signal. Operation of the host controller are initiated responsive to active state operations of the second clock.

The present invention relates to communication devices and, more particularly, to Universal Serial Bus (USB) communication device and methods of operating the same.
A variety of different types of devices communicate using the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard. For USB bus based communications, one device, such as a personal computer, is generally the host device and supports a USB host controller. Attached devices operate as slave devices in communication with the host controller device. Various modes are known related to power control and the like apart from an operational mode. One such alternative mode is a suspend mode, where the host controller may request that the slave enter a suspend mode with limited current draw on the power line associated with the USB bus. Thus, various conditions arise where the host and slave communicate and the slave is expected to respond to a signal from the host controller.
Some slave devices include various additional functional circuitry unrelated to the USB communication circuitry. An example of a device that may use a USB connection to a host controller is a wireless communication device that is configured to operate as a wireless modem for the host controller device. A common cellular system design implementation for use in such a wireless modem is to generate the reference frequency for the radio in the RF section of the cellular device. The radio reference frequency is then commonly shared with the baseband circuit of the cellular device in order to generate the high frequency master clock for the microprocessor. During the intervals between the paging frames from the cellular network, all unnecessary circuits, including the RF section and much of the baseband circuit of the cellular device may be turned off in order to reduce power consumption. If the cellular device is to communicate with an application by means of a USB interface, the communication link may be disrupted and disabled during these deep sleep states due, for example, to the loss of the high frequency clocks from the cellular devices RF section.
One approach to avoid this condition may be to keep the RF powered on at all times to ensure that the clocks are available to support the USB interface, however, this would generally result in a significant power consumption penalty. Another approach may be to create a hardware (HW) handshake mechanism between the cellular device and the host controller application so that each can wake the other if a message is to be sent. However, this solution may not be compliant with the USB standard.

Methods, devices and circuits for activating a communication device connected to an external bus


An improved particle beam treatment system optionally includes exchangeable particle beam nozzles. These particle beam nozzles may be automatically moved from a storage location to a particle beam path or between particle beam paths for use in medical applications. Movement may be achieved using a conveyance, gantry, rail system, or the like. The improved particle beam treatment system optionally also includes more than two alternative particle beam paths. These alternative particle beam paths may be directed to a patient from a variety of different angles and in different planes.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is in the field of particle sources and more specifically in the field of particle sources configured for medical applications.
2. Related Art
It has been shown that high-energy particles can be advantageously used for medical treatment of cancer. These high-energy particles typically have energies greater than 20 MeV (million electron volts). For example, protons with energies between 70 MeV and 250 MeV can be used to deposit energy at a very precise depth within a human body.
High-energy protons are generated in a particle accelerator and delivered to a patient at a treatment station. A typical treatment station includes an adjustable gurney or chair configured to position the patient relative to a fixed proton beam. In some instances, the output of the particle accelerator is directed through two alternative paths using particle transport optics such as magnets and electric fields. For example, in one instance a first set of particle transport optics is used to direct protons from above a patient and a second set of particle transport optics is used to direct protons toward the patient from the side at an angle 90 degrees from the first set of particle transport optics. One limitation of this arrangement is that each separate path requires a separate set of expensive particle transport optics and a separate particle beam nozzle.
During a treatment the depth of proton penetration and the position of the proton beam may be varied in order to treat a three dimensional volume within a patient. Depth control is achieved by varying the energy of the protons. This variation can be achieved by passing the protons through varying lengths of an energy adsorbing material or by using a particle source capable of generating particles at selectable energies. The proton beam may be applied over an area perpendicular to the depth dimension by either scanning or scattering the proton beam. Scattering or energy variation of the proton beam is optionally performed in more than one stage. For example, a first scattering step may be applied as the protons leave the particle accelerator and a second scattering step may be applied after the protons pass through final beam steering elements. Two steps are required when the final beam steering elements cannot handle a desired final spatial or energetic distribution.
A path through which particles are transported typically includes a proton nozzle. Proton nozzles can be designed for special purposes, for example, double scattering nozzles, single scattering nozzles, scanning nozzles, and other specialized nozzles known in the art. Different medical treatments require the use of different proton nozzles each weighing one thousand or more pounds and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Changing nozzles is a time consuming and labor intensive process that limits the flexibility of treatments particularly between successive patients and causes system downtime.
For the various reasons discussed above, and additional reasons, there is a need for improved sources of high-energy particles.

Particle beam system including exchangeable particle beam nozzle

Varian Medical Systems Technologies, Inc.


A set of read operations and a set of write operations for a set of drives in a storage system during a first time window is monitored. A write intensity of a first drive in the set is calculated based on the monitoring. The first drive is classified as a candidate for power reduction based on the write intensity. A write-intensive extent is identified on the first drive based on the monitoring. The write extensive extent is migrated to a second drive in the set of drives, and power to the first drive is reduced.

The present disclosure relates to storage drives, and more specifically, to controlling power provided to storage drives.
Some storage systems are composed of a storage controller and a set of storage drives. In some such storage systems, data can be migrated from one storage drive to another. This is sometimes performed for performance purposes. The storage controller typically monitors the operations of the storage drive, and is sometimes capable of determining what data to migrate from one storage drive to another storage drive. In some storage systems, the storage controller is also capable of determining the power provided to each storage drive.
Some storage systems include solid state drives (sometimes referred to herein as "SSDs"). These SSDs may sometimes be formatted in a flash protocol (e.g., non-volatile memory express).

Reduction of performance impacts of storage power control by migration of write-intensive extent

International Business Machines Corporation


There is provided a tire structural member forming method capable of forming a structural member of a tire for a vehicle at a low cost, using a simple mechanism satisfactory in space efficiency and capable of setting a band-shaped member of a predetermined length on a forming drum in a high setting accuracy. The tire structural member forming method comprises the steps of applying a band-shaped member (3) of a predetermined length and a predetermined width to a transfer drum (12), moving the transfer drum (12) holding the band-shaped member (3) close to a forming drum (11) of a diameter smaller than that of the transfer drum (12) so that the leading end of the band-shaped member (3) is held between the transfer drum (12) and the forming drum (11), turning the transfer drum (12) and the forming drum (11) in opposite directions, respectively, at the same surface speed to transfer the band-shaped member (3) from the transfer drum (12) to the forming drum (11), and bonding together the leading and the trailing end of the band-shaped member (3) wound around the forming drum (11) to form a tire structural member on the forming drum (11).

One of three types of tire structural member forming systems shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 is used for forming an annular tire structural member of an automotive tire by winding a band-shaped member of a predetermined length around a forming drum and bonding together the leading and the trailing end of the band-shaped member.
The first tire structural member forming system shown in FIG. 5 carries a band-shaped member 01 by a conveyor belt 03 to feed the band-shaped member 01 to a forming drum 02 disposed close to the delivery end of the conveyor belt 03. The belt-shaped member 01 is wound around the forming drum 02 from its leading edge.
The second tire structural member forming system shown in FIG. 6 places a band-shaped member 01 on a flat plate 05 and moves the flat plate 05 supporting the band-shaped member 01 horizontally to bring the band-shaped member 01 close to a rotating forming drum 02. Then, the band-shaped member 01 is wound from its leading edge around the rotating forming drum 02.
The third tire structural member forming system shown in FIG. 7 carries a band-shaped member 01 of a predetermined length by robot hands 07 and 08. The robot hands 07 and 08 hold the band-shaped member 01 at the leading end and at the trailing end, respectively, by gripping or by suction and carry the band-shaped member 01 to a forming drum 02. The robot hand 07 releases the leading end of the band-shaped member 01 at a position corresponding to the circumference of the forming drum 02. Then, the forming drum 02 is rotated and the other robot hand 08 is moved as the band-shaped member 01 is wound around the forming drum 02.
When the band-shaped member 01 is carried by the first tire structural member forming system using the conveyor belt 03 as shown in FIG. 5, the conveyor belt 03 meanders. Therefore, it is possible that the band-shaped member 01 cannot be correctly located (centered) relative to the forming drum 02. When the band-shaped member 01 of a predetermined length is built by successively superposing and bonding together strips obtained by cutting a long band in the predetermined length on the conveyor belt 03 with their edges trued up, the strips cannot be accurately bonded together because the feed rate of the conveyor belt 03 varies.
When the band-shaped member 01 is carried by the second tire structural member forming system using the flat plate 05 as shown in FIG. 6, the band-shaped member 01 can be set correctly. However, the long flat plate 05 needs to be moved horizontally by a distance nearly equal to its length. Therefore, a large space must be secured for the flat plate 05 to move horizontally and hence the second tire structural member forming system is unsatisfactory in space efficiency.
Although the robot hands 07 and 08 used by the third tire structural member forming system as shown in FIG. 7 are capable of accurately setting the band-shaped member 01 relative to the forming drum 02, the third tire structural member forming system is complicated.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing problems and it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tire structural member forming method capable of accurately setting a band-shaped member of a predetermined length on a forming drum, of efficiently using space and of forming the tire structural member at a low cost by a simple mechanism.


An memory device includes a bit line, an NMOS transistor configured to supply a voltage of a pull-up voltage terminal to the bit line in response to a voltage level of the bit line and a PMOS transistor configured to supply a voltage of a pull-down voltage terminal to the bit line in response to the voltage level of the bit line.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a data sensing circuit and a memory device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Memory devices and diverse integrated circuits use a data sensing circuit for sensing data. The data sensing circuit is to sense data even though the data have a small difference between a logic high level and a logic low level thereof and the logic value of the data may not be easily detected.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a bit line sense amplifier, which is a data sensing circuit used in a conventional memory device.
When a data is read out of a memory cell 101, the voltage level of a bit line BL is changed based on the read data. Since the voltage level change of the bit line BL is very slight, the voltage level of the bit line BL is amplified by a bit line sense amplifier 110. A precharger 120 shown in the drawing is a structure for precharging bit lines BL and /BL to a voltage level of a precharge voltage VBLP before data are loaded on the bit lines BL and /BL.
The bit line sense amplifier 110 may be disposed at the ends of bit lines BL and /BL and formed of a latch circuit for amplifying the voltage difference between a pair of bit lines BL and /BL. The latch circuit includes two inverters 111 and 112. When the bit line sense amplifier 110 performs a data sensing operation, a driving voltage is supplied thereto. For example, a pull-up voltage, which is a power supply voltage VDD or a core voltage VCORE, is supplied to a pull-up voltage supplier RTO, while a pull-down voltage, which is a ground voltage, is supplied to a pull-down voltage supplier SB. Upon receipt of the driving voltage, the inverters 111 and 112 amplifies the voltage difference between the pair of bit lines BL and /BL.
For example, when the voltage level of the positive bit line BL is a little higher than the voltage level of the negative bit line /BL, the bit line sense amplifier 110 makes the positive bit line BL to have the pull-up voltage level and the negative bit line /BL to have the pull-down voltage level. Conversely, when the voltage level of the negative bit line /BL is a little higher than the voltage level of the positive bit line BL, the bit line sense amplifier 110 makes the negative bit line /BL to have the pull-up voltage level and the positive bit line BL to have the pull-down voltage level.
To accurately sense the data loaded on the pair of the bit lines BL and /BL in the bit line sense amplifier 110, PMOS transistors and NMOS transistors that constitute the bit line sense amplifier 110 are to be fabricated all the same. However, it is difficult to fabricate all of the transistors of the bit line sense amplifier 110 to be the same and the transistors may have different characteristics from each other.
Therefore, the conventional bit line sense amplifier 110 has an offset, i.e., a deviation, in operations of the transistors, and technologies such as a method of increasing capacitance of the memory cell 101 or a method of increasing the driving voltage level of the bit line sense amplifier 110 have been used to reduce the offset. However, the method of increasing capacitance of the memory cell 101 may increase the area of the bit line sense amplifier 110, and the method of increasing the driving voltage level of the bit line sense amplifier 110 may increase current consumption.

Data sensing circuit and memory device including the same


In a printer for printing on individual printing media such as receipts, savings books and the like, a control shaft activated by the printer control system has a plurality of control cams for activation of a transport device, a printing medium alignment means, and a printing medium stop, the cams being designed such that the activation zone of the alignment means and of the printing medium stop are located substantially in the deactivation zone of the transport device.

The invention relates to a printer for printing on individual printing media according to the preamble of claim 1. It is based on WO-A-96/01742.
A printer of the type mentioned is marketed under the designation xe2x80x9cHighPrint 4905xe2x80x9d by Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, Paderborn, Germany.
In such a printer, various functions for handling and processing the individual printing medium have to be controlled. Although these functions proceed in a specific sequence, they do not have to be activated in the case of all individual printing media. For example, when processing savings books, functions are activated which are not needed when printing on receipts.
In WO-A-96/01742, it has already been proposed to mount a control shaft such that it can rotate in a printer frame, said shaft being capable of being driven by a motor that can be activated by a printer control system and bearing a control curve which controls at least the activation of the transport device, the activation of the alignment means and the adjustment of the printing-medium stop.
The invention is based on the object of designing a printer of the type mentioned at the beginning in such a way that the individual units for handling a printing medium in the printer can also be operated reliably and in a straightforward manner without hampering one another.
According to the invention, in a printer of the type mentioned at the beginning this object is achieved by the features specified in the characterizing part of claim 1.
Using the control shaft provided in accordance with the invention, it is possible to ensure in a straightforward way that a printing medium inserted into the printer is firstly aligned against the printing-medium stop and brought into a starting position which is suitable for the printing operation, before the transport device is set into operation. By means of the arrangement of the control cams on the control shaft relative to one another, the desired trouble-free progress of the functions is ensured.
The transport device can be controlled in a straightforward way by its comprising at least one driven transport shaft bearing transport rollers and pressure rollers which are associated with the transport rollers and can be adjusted between a pressure or activation position close to the transport rollers and a rest or deactivation position away from the transport rollers. In this case, the motor driving the transport shaft does not need to be switched, so that a control system for controlling the starting and braking of the motor can be dispensed with.
According to a further function, provision is made for the printing bar to be adjustable in relation to the printing head by a control cam on the control shaft between a printing position close to said printing head and a rest position away from the latter, and by the controlled curve of the printing-bar control cam being designed such that the rest position of the printing bar is located in the activation zone of the transport device. On the other hand, that angular range of the control curve of the printing-bar control cam which corresponds to the printing position of the printing bar extends over the deactivation zone and preferably an adjacent part of the activation zone of the transport device.
In order to press the printing medium against the printing bar and therefore to permit clean printing, there is arranged parallel to the printing bar a protective film strip on a film carrier, which can be adjusted between a position close to the printing bar and a position away from the printing bar. According to the invention, in this case the adjustment of the film carrier can be controlled by a film carrier control cam on the control shaft, whose control curve is designed such that there is correspondence between the printing position of the printing bar and the position of the film carrier close to the printing bar, on the one hand, and the rest position of the printing bar and the position of the film carrier away from the printing bar, on the other hand. In the rest position of the printing bar, the receipt can therefore be transported into the printer without hindrance while it is pressed against the printing bar by the film strip in the printing position of the printing bar, and is therefore held in a position ensuring clean printing.
In the case of specific printing media, it is necessary to obtain information about the type of printing medium before the printing operation. For this purpose, the printer has a reading device which, for example, is designed for reading characters produced on the printing medium with magnetic ink, and has at least one magnetic head and a first printing-medium pressure device which, according to the invention, can be activated by a control cam on the control shaft, the control curve of this control cam being designed such that the activation zone of the first printing-medium pressure device is located in the zone corresponding to the rest position of the printing bar.
Furthermore, in the printer there can be provided a reading/writing device for reading and writing on a magnetic strip on a printing medium, which has a magnetic head arrangement and a second printing-medium pressure device. According to the invention, this can likewise be activated by a control cam on the control shaft, the control curve of this control cam being designed such that the activation zone of the second printing-medium pressure device is located within the activation zone of the first printing-medium pressure device.
It is expedient for the start position and end position of the control shaft, between which the latter can be rotated to and fro, to be defined by a switching flag arranged on the control shaft.


The present invention discloses a sealing cuff for an elongated tubular cannula, for forming an adequate fluid seal between the cannula and a body passageway when the cannula is inserted into the passageway. The sealing cuff comprises a plurality of thin flexible resilient annular slit discs extending generally perpendicularly from the cannula with a rim having a diameter larger than the opening of the body passageway. The slit discs haves a series of slits extending generally radially outwardly to the rim, dividing the disc into annular sectors, so that when the cannula is inserted into the body passageway, each sector can independently bend, overlap and readily conform to the wall of the passageway. The sealing cuff further comprises a plurality of thin flexible resilient annular solid discs extending generally perpendicularly from the cannula and having a diameter smaller than that of the body passageway, and arranged alternately between said slit discs. The discs of the sealing cuff for use on a tracheal tube can be "D-shaped" to facilitate conforming to the shape of the trachea.

The present invention relates to medical catheters and cannula, and more particularly to tracheal tubes.
Tracheal tubes have been used for some time to administer anesthesia to a patient, and to provide a bypass supply of air or mixture of gases to a patient having an obstruction in the upper area of the throat. Tracheal tubes can be in the form of a long flexible endotracheal tube wherein the distal end can be inserted into the trachea through the nose or mouth of the patient, or can be a short curved tracheostomy tube wherein the distal end can be inserted into the trachea through a surgical incision in the neck of the patient. The proximal end of the tracheal tube remains outside the trachea in communication with ambient air to permit passage of such air into the trachea.
The proximal end of the tracheal tube can also be attached to a respiratory device to assist the patient's breathing. The distal end typically includes an inflatable cuff as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,612 which is inflated after the tube is positioned to provide a fluid seal between the distal end of the tube and the wall of the trachea. The inflatable cuff includes a thin film elastic balloon which is bonded around the tube, having an inflation line extending from the balloon to the proximal end of the tube, and can further include check valves, relief valves, and external bulb indicators to help maintain the desired pressure within the cuff. Excessive pressure in the cuff can cause severe damage to the wall of the trachea, and insufficient pressure can result in an inadequate seal. When the inflatable cuff is properly designed, manufactured, handled, and used, it performs a safe and effective fluid seal. A problem with the inflatable cuff is that the cuff and inflation line are costly and difficult to manufacture. Another problem is that the inflatable cuff is very delicate and easily damaged during handling and in use; any leak in the balloon, inflation line or check valve will allow the cuff to collapse and not provide an adequate seal.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,611 discloses an early non-inflatable tracheal tube seal, in which the distal end of the device includes a series of three resilient, solid disc, silicon flanges to engage the wall of the trachea. An apparent problem with the solid disc flanges is that the discs must be larger than the trachea to insure an occluding seal, but the oversized discs cannot conform to a smaller opening without bending and buckling around the periphery of the disc. The bending and buckling around the periphery of the discs can result in an ineffective seal, and can result in stress concentrations which may produce excessive localized pressure on the tracheal wall.
Other medical procedures often require placement and sealing of a small cannula or catheter within a body passageway, for example an arterial or venous catheter within a blood vessel. Such cannula may be difficult to seal and can require a "cut down" surgical procedure of the vessel, with clamps and sutures to adequately seal the cannula within the body passageway.
It is a object of the present invention to provide a safe, effective, reliable and durable fluid sealing cuff between a cannula and a body passageway.
It is another object to provide a non-inflatable sealing cuff for a tracheal tube which is not difficult and not expensive to manufacture; and safe, effective, reliable and durable in use.

Non-inflatable sealing cuff for tracheal tube and other cannula


A horizontal continuous caster includes a tundish supporting a quantity of molten metal together with a cooled mold and conventional casting movement apparatus. The interface between the cooled mold and the tundish is provided by an improved tundish nozzle having a fabrication which locates the contact area between the nozzle and the cooled mold surfaces to the nozzle periphery thereby locating heat transfer between the mold and the molten metal within the tundish nozzle at the outer portion of the nozzle. The nozzle structure creates peripheral contact area and insulative air spaces between the nozzle and mold surfaces. The improved insulative properties of the nozzle construction in turn facilitates the use of higher strength, longer wear materials for the tundish nozzle.

The horizontal continuous casting process has provided substantial benefits in the metal fabricating arts and is particularly appreciated for its ability to produce extending length constant cross-section castings or billets which would be generally impractical if attempted using other more conventional casting systems. While the structures of horizontal continuous casting systems vary substantially, generally all include a large capacity insulated reservoir for molten metal referred to as a tundish. The most common tundish fabrication includes a container having an interior lining of refractory material chosen for its extreme resistance to the high temperatures associated with metal casting or a modified induction furnace. The tundish is further provided with an outlet orifice near the lower portion of the tundish and provision is made to couple a casting mold in communication with the tundish such that molten metal may be transferred from the tundish interior to the mold.
Mold structures vary somewhat but generally all comprise elongated metal structures defining an input orifice, an outlet orifice and a central passage therethrough. Molds are usually formed of a metal such as copper having a high heat transfer characteristic. The center mold passage is surrounded by a water cooled jacket which in turn is coupled to a supply of cooling water having sufficient flow to carry the heat from the mold passage during the casting process. The molten metal is introduced into the cooled mold via the input orifice and is solidified or frozen within the mold central passage to form the casting. In most instances, a dummy or started bar is inserted into the mold passage and coupled to a casting puller arrangement to initiate the casting process. As the process begins, the started bar is withdrawn from the mold through the mold passage and the metal within the tundish is permitted to flow into the mold passage. Within the mold passage, the casting forms in a welded attachment to the starter bar. The casting pullers thereafter extract the casting formed within the mold in accordance with a predetermined motion profile in which the casting emerges from the mold and is continuously formed or cast as metal within the tundish flows into the casting mold to replace the withdrawn casting.
In most horizontal continuous casting systems, the motion profile used by the puller systems to extract the casting forming with the mold is a series of forward or outward motions interleaved with brief and relatively small reverse motion steps. The latter are generally provided to ensure proper formation of the continuous casting. In many horizontal continuous systems, a slide gate is interposed between the tundish outlet and the casting mold to provide a shut-off valve mechanism. The most common slide gate includes a pair of ceramic plate members which may be interchanged. One ceramic plate defines an aperture therethrough while the other is completely closed defining no aperture. Closure of the slide gate is provided by inserting the plate having no aperture while opening of the slide gate is provided by inserting the plate having an aperture therein.
In endeavoring to improve the horizontal continuous casting process, practitioners have provided a number of variations. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,509 issued to Ahrens, et al. sets forth a METHOD FOR CONTROL OF BILLET STRIPPING in which the withdrawal of a casting from a cooled horizontal continuous mold involves withdrawing the casting in a series of steps between which the casting is pushed back by a partial step. The backward partial step ensures the welding together of casting sections. A melt breakthrough of the casting skin is prevented by measuring the expansion or contraction of a wall of the mold in contact with the casting and controlling the rate of withdrawal of the casting in response thereto.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,533 issued to Ahrens, et al. sets forth an HORIZONTAL CONTINUOUS CASTING MOLD which comprises a mold tube and a pair of flanges. One flange is peripherally disposed of and in abutting, liquid sealing relation with each end of the tube. The sealing relation is preferably provided by a continuous knife-edged protrusion formed in and disposed peripherally of each flange. The knife-edge is adapted to sealingly cooperate with a continuous shallow groove formed in and disposed peripherally of each end of the tube. Cooling means including a liquid jacket and baffle surround the mold tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,021 issued to Ahrens sets forth a SHORT MOLD FOR CONTINUOUS CASTING having a short taperless casting die coupled to a plurality of cooling plates having means for circulation of coolant therethrough. The cooling plates are arranged in a serially overlapping configuration in which the plates are individually movable to accommodate variations of the casting. Hydraulic means are operative upon the cooling plates to assert a contact force and maintain the cooling plates in contact with the casting surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,996 issued to Ahrens, et al. sets forth a MOVING PLATE CONTINUOUS CASTING AFTERCOOLER having a plurality of cooling plates each of which includes means for circulation of a coolant therethrough. The cooling plates are arranged in a serially overlapping configuration in which the plates are movable to accommodate variations of the casting. Hydraulic means are operative the cooling plates to assert a contact force holding the cooling plates in contact with the surfaces of the casting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,142 issued to Ahrens sets forth a MULTIPLE MOLD WITH CHANGE-OVER FEATURE FOR HORIZONTAL CONTINUOUS CASTING which includes a tundish having a refractory lining and supporting a quantity of molten metal therein. The tundish supports a slide gate shut-off device. A rotating drum supports a plurality of interchangeable casting molds and is operable utilizing a hydraulic motor and linear bearing support. The motor operates to rotate the drum and thereby interchange the casting molds brought into alignment with the slide gate.
Ideally, it would be desirable to operate a horizontal continuous casting system in a virtually endless extended operation in which equilibrium is reached and casting takes place continuously and in which the supply of molten metal with the tundish is periodically replaced. Unfortunately, several factors limit the extent to which a horizontal continuous casting system may be operated in an uninterrupted manner. One of the most significant limitations upon the duration of horizontal continuous casting operation is the substantial wear imposed upon the continuous casting mold. Within the mold, a ceramic element generally known as a break ring is used to interface the slide gate to the mold and is subject to substantial wear during the normal casting process. In addition, the mold itself is usually formed of a copper metal or the like which has a significant tendency to wear as the forming casting is drawn through the mold passage. Other factors such as breakdown or failure of the mold which compromise its integrity or safety also frequently force shutdown of continuous casting operations. In addition to mold problems, however, other factors within the horizontal continuous casting systems of the type to which all mechanical and electromechanical systems are subject, contribute to periodic shutdown of the casting operation.
A substantial number of problems arise when a horizontal continuous casting system is prematurely shutdown which have severe impact upon the economics of casting operation. Shutdown itself is accomplished relatively simply in systems having slide gate apparatus by the insertion of the apertureless ceramic plate which terminates the flow of molten metal into the mold. In other systems not utilizing a slide gate, a starter bar is moved through the mold to the tundish nozzle aperture. The problems associated with such shutdowns, however, are substantial. Almost immediately upon the termination of the casting process, the molten metal within the tundish begins to cool and approach its freezing temperature. This freezing problem is particularly critical in the tundish region near the slide gate and tundish nozzle. The metal freezing within the slide gate and nozzle is virtually impossible to prevent and causes a shutdown. Restarting of the casting operation is impossible and an entirely new setup is necessary.
Thus, while horizontal continuous casting operations may survive brief interruptions of the casting process, any extended duration shutdown forces a complete termination of the casting operation. Thus, once the operator has determined that the interruption of casting operation will force a complete shutdown, the tundish must be completely emptied to prevent the tundish orifice area from freezing off and exacerbating the problems of restarting. In addition, the refractory lining of the tundish must be inspected and repaired in preparation for the next casting operation. The refractory lining within the tundish tends to form small cracks due to its ceramic character during the casting process. These cracks, in turn, become filled with molten metal as the tundish supply of molten metal is maintained. Upon shutdown and cooling, the molten metal within these cracks freezes to form metal "fins" extending in the refractory lining. These metal fins must be extracted from the refractory lining and the lining cracks patched using a repair material before the tundish is again used in the continuous casting operation. In addition, in systems using a slide gate, the ceramic material of the slide gate mechanism is subject to fatigue and cracking and thus must often be replenished and replaced before casting may be resumed.
One of the most critical areas of the horizontal continuous casting apparatus which effects the cycle length between shutdowns is that which includes the tundish nozzle and its interface to the casting mold. The tundish nozzle is an insulative element having a metal flow passage therethrough which is positioned between the discharge orifice of the tundish and the casting mold. The tundish nozzle is typically formed of a material such as zirconium oxide or equivalent material selected for its strength and resistance to heat. One of the critical functions of the tundish nozzle is to provided an insulated interface between the molten metal within the tundish and the cooled surfaces at the entrance of the casting mold or die. The juxtaposition of the high temperature molten metal and the cooled surface of the mold and the mold entrance raises the potential for an undesired freezing of the molten material at the mold input orifice as it passes from the tundish interior through the nozzle passage and into the casting mold. Additionally, the material utilized in constructing tundish nozzles such as zirconium oxide comprises a ceramic material which is pressed, fired, machine ground and further machined to complete its fabrication. The choice of zirconium oxide in the fabrication of tundish nozzles results from a recognition of its relatively low heat transfer characteristic. However, it is also recognized that zirconium oxide is not the optimum material as to wear and mechanical strength. In fact, zirconium oxide often lacks the required strength to provide tundish nozzles which are durable in use and which are not subject to excessive wear. The result is a compromise balancing heat transfer and strength. In many instances, the usable life of the presently manufactured tundish nozzles is as short as three to seven hours with exceptional instances extending for several days of use at the most. Such limitation of the usable life of the presently utilized tundish nozzles imposes a substantial limitation upon the continuous operational capabilities of the present day horizontal continuous casting apparatus.
There remains, therefore, a long felt and unresolved need in the art for evermore improved tundish nozzle structures.


Embodiments herein relate to a method performed by a transmitting device (120) for handling communication in a wireless communications network, wherein the transmitting device (120) comprises at least two radio link control, RLC, entities and is configured with a split bearer to a receiving device (100). The transmitting device (120) identifies that a last transmitted protocol data unit, PDU, of one of the at least two RLC entities, is lacking a poll indicator requesting a status of one or more transmitted PDUs. When identifying that the last transmitted PDU lacks the poll indicator, the transmitting device transmits to the receiving device (100), a PDU comprising a poll indicator.

In a typical wireless communications network, wireless devices, also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, stations (STA) and/or user equipments (UE), communicate via a Radio Access Network (RAN) with one or more core networks (CN). The RAN covers a geographical area which is divided into service areas or cell areas, with each service area or cell area being served by radio network node such as an access node e.g. a Wi-Fi access point or a radio base station (RBS), which in some networks may also be called, for example, a NodeB, a gNodeB, or an eNodeB. The service area or cell area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio network node. The radio network node operates on radio frequencies to communicate over an air interface with the wireless devices within range of the radio network node. The radio network node communicates over a downlink (DL) to the wireless device and the wireless device communicates over an uplink (UL) to the radio network node.
A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation telecommunication network, which evolved from the second generation (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) is essentially a RAN using wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and/or High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) for communication with user equipments. In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers propose and agree upon standards for present and future generation networks and UTRAN specifically, and investigate enhanced data rate and radio capacity. In some RANs, e.g. as in UMTS, several radio network nodes may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a controller node, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), which supervises and coordinates various activities of the plural radio network nodes connected thereto. The RNCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.
Specifications for the Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the 3GPP and this work continues in the coming 3GPP releases, such as 4G and 5G networks such as New Radio (NR). The EPS comprises the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also known as the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio access network, and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network. E-UTRAN/LTE is a 3GPP radio access technology wherein the radio network nodes are directly connected to the EPC core network. As such, the Radio Access Network (RAN) of an EPS has an essentially "flat" architecture comprising radio network nodes connected directly to one or more core networks.
With the emerging 5G technologies such as new radio (NR), the use of very many transmit- and receive-antenna elements is of great interest as it makes it possible to utilize beamforming, such as transmit-side and receive-side beamforming. Transmit-side beamforming means that the transmitter can amplify the transmitted signals in a selected direction or directions, while suppressing the transmitted signals in other directions. Similarly, on the receive-side, a receiver can amplify signals from a selected direction or directions, while suppressing unwanted signals from other directions.
Beamforming allows the signal to be stronger for an individual connection. On the transmit-side this may be achieved by a concentration of the transmitted power in the desired direction(s), and on the receive-side this may be achieved by an increased receiver sensitivity in the desired direction(s). This beamforming enhances throughput and coverage of the connection. It also allows reducing the interference from unwanted signals, thereby enabling several simultaneous transmissions over multiple individual connections using the same resources in the time-frequency grid, so-called multi-user Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO).
For NR, the dual connectivity (DC) protocol architecture of a split bearer is specified, building on the protocol architecture used for LTE for the DC split bearer. In DC the UE is connected to two distinct radio nodes. The UE maintains a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity for the split bearer connected to multiple, e.g. 2, radio link control (RLC) and media access control (MAC) entities, as well as physical layer entities (PHY). These are each associated to a cell group, a master cell group and a secondary cell group respectively. Transmission via the master cell group goes to the Master gNB (MgNB), eNB in LTE terminology; transmission via the secondary cell group goes to the Secondary gNB (SgNB). MgNB and SgNB maintain their own RLC and MAC entities associated to this single split bearer. A further node or function, packet processing function (PPF), which may be separate, or collocated with MgNB or SgNB terminates the PDCP protocol on the network side. In this functional split, the centralized unit terminating PDCP may also be called centralized unit (CU) while the remaining nodes implementing the protocol layers below PDCP may be denoted distributed units (DU). In DC, data units on PDCP may be routed ("switched") via either of the lower layers, or distributed (routed, "split" among both lower layers, or duplicated via both as further described below.
FIG. 1 describes the DC architecture in 3GPP NR (also applicable for LTE) in which for UL data, either switching, splitting or duplication can be applied on PDCP level.
Furthermore, for NR, the carrier aggregation (CA) protocol architecture is specified. In carrier aggregation the UE is connected to one radio node via multiple, e.g. 2, carriers, i.e. maintains two physical layers (PHY). Besides this, the protocol stack consists of one MAC, RLC and PDCP. This way, in CA, on MAC, data units to be transmitted may be routed via both carriers. An exception is packet duplication, where the protocol stack entails two RLC logical channels, to which PDCP routes duplicates, and where transmission of each RLC logical channel is done on a separate carrier by MAC to improve reliability.
FIG. 2 describes the CA architecture in 3GPP NR, also applicable for LTE, with the special configuration of applying PDCP duplication among the two RLC entities associated with transmissions on the respective carriers.
Generally, when packet duplication is configured for a radio bearer by radio resource control (RRC), an additional RLC entity and an additional logical channel are added to the radio bearer to handle the duplicated PDCP protocol data units (PDU). Duplication at PDCP therefore consists in sending the same PDCP PDUs twice: once on the original RLC entity and a second time on the additional RLC entity. With two independent transmission paths, packet duplication may be used to increase reliability and reduce latency and is especially beneficial for ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) services. When duplication occurs, the original PDCP PDU and the corresponding duplicate shall not be transmitted on the same carrier. The two different logical channels can either belong to the same MAC entity in case of CA or to different MAC entities in case of DC. In the former case, logical channel mapping restrictions are used in MAC to ensure that the two logical channels carrying duplicated data are never scheduled on the same carrier. Once configured, duplication can be activated and deactivated per data radio bearer (DRB) by means of a MAC control element (CE).
The UL behavior can be configured by the network via RRC reconfiguration, alternatives to duplication configuration. The UL can be configured for switching, where the PDCP entity sends packets via the RLC entity configured as primary RLC entity. By means of RRC reconfiguration the primary RLC entity can be switched. The UL can also be split in which case a threshold for PDCP buffering is configured. If the buffered data is above the threshold, data can be transmitted via one of the RLC lower layers. If the buffered data is below the threshold, transmission is only allowed via the configured primary RLC entity. Data available reporting for buffer status reporting (BSR) follows the same conditions.
In the NR, cf. 3GPP TS 38.322 V15.0.0 (2017-12), RLC defines the radio link control protocol. Higher layer data such as service data units (SDU) are encapsulated in protocol data units (PDU) for transmission. Segmentation of the SDUs is applied if the SDU cannot fit into the transport block size for the transmission of the PDU. In acknowledged mode (AM) the receiver sends a status report about reception status of the SDUs and SDU segments to the transmitter. Based on this, the transmitter does retransmissions of SDUs or SDU segments. Re-segmentation may need to be applied if an SDU segment needs to be retransmitted, but does not fit into the new transport block size for retransmission.
In NR RLC polling is defined in 38.322 V15.0.0 (2017-12) such that a transmitting side of the RLC entity shall include a poll, i.e. requesting status information of received one or more AMD PDUs, in an RLC PDUs fulfilling criteria as:                PDU_WITHOUT_POLL >=polIPDU;        BYTE_WITHOUT_POLL >=pollByte;        Empty data buffer;        If no new RLC PDUs can be transmitted.
It is also stated that "Empty RLC buffer (excluding transmitted RLC SDUs or RLC SDU segments awaiting acknowledgements) should not lead to unnecessary polling when data awaits in the upper layer. Details are left up to UE implementation.".

Transmitting device and method performed therein for handling communication


A miniature magnetic-levitated lens driving device includes a lid, a casing, a lens module, a plate spring, and a magnetic-levitated module. The lid has a hollow structure and is coupled to the casing. The casing is formed therein with a receiving space. The lens module is provided in the receiving space. The plate spring is fixed between the lid and the casing and configured to resiliently confine the lens module to the receiving space. The magnetic-levitated module is provided in the receiving space and corresponds in position to the lens module. A magnetic repulsive force is produced by and between the magnetic-levitated module and the lens module, and in consequence the lens module is magnetically suspended in the receiving space formed by the lid and the casing, so as to save power, and minimize friction and microparticles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lens driving devices, and more particularly, to a miniature magnetic-levitated lens driving device wherein an optical lens module is magnetically suspended in a casing by a magnetic-levitated module and powered by an electromagnetic field.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an exploded perspective view of a conventional focusing lens. As shown in the drawing, a mechanical-transmission focusing mechanism 9 for use with the conventional focusing lens comprises a high-cost high-precision driving component 91 (such as a stepping motor, ultrasonic motor, or piezoelectric actuator), a carrier 93 provided with a lens module 92 and driven by the driving component 91, and lots of transmission components. Hence, the conventional focusing lens is complicated in terms of its mechanical framework, difficult and intricate to assemble, bulky, expensive, power-consuming, and thus price-uncompetitive.
Primitive photography was complicated, as it required taking laborious steps, such as manual light metering, manual focusing, and automatic winding, and the laborious steps predisposed users to mistakes. Primitive photography was especially demanding when performed at important scenes which offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of taking important pictures. Hence, photographers played a crucial role in successful application of primitive photography. The 1950s and 1960s saw remarkable advancement of mechanical automation, and thus human beings are increasingly assured that automation is going to be the yardstick of a promising world. Automatic light metering techniques and electric winders developed earlier are sufficient proofs that photography is likely to undergo automation. The most important factor in automation of primitive photography is the photographic speed-determining step essential to an automatic focusing system, which was therefore regarded as a hot R&D topic by camera manufacturers at that time.
With ever-improving photographic technology, approaches to improving display quality and implement miniaturization of photographic devices are often proposed in hopes of meeting the demand for diversified products in the information era. However, a zooming lens mechanically driven by a stepping motor has a drawback, that is, no chance of further miniaturizing the zooming lens, which is a factor in failure to miniaturize products.
Manufacturers apply electromagnetic technology and use a VCM (Voice. Coil Motor) electronic feedback system to monitor a coil offset so as to dispense with conventional stepping motors, thereby further downsizing a driving structure. Also, manufacturers implement integration of products of different functions by, for example, integrating a photographic function into a cell phone configured for mobile communication, integrating a photographic function into a personal digital assistant (PDA), or integrating a photographic function into a notebook computer, so as to enhance video-related functions of cell phones, PDAs, or notebook computers.
Accordingly, related R&D carried out by manufacturers involves reducing the size, cutting the costs, and reducing power consumption of products that share a power supply device, so as to efficiently increase standby duration and usage duration of the products that share the power supply device while the capacity of the power supply device remains unchanged.

Miniature magnetic-levitated lens driving device


A mechanical strain relief for a cable is firmly attached directly to the using of the connector to which the cable termination is plugged into. The strain relief has a split clamp aligned perpendicularly to the cable and extends from the housing sufficiently such that the clamp does not interfere with the use of a watertight rubber boot bonded to the housing to make the connector watertight. The clamp is opened and the cable is inserted into the connector. The clamp is then closed and tightened against the cable, such that any forces on the cable are transmitted through the strain relief to the housing. A guard extends from the strain relief and is shaped to loop around the cable to provide protection for the connector from foreign objects which would otherwise strike the termination or connector.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to strain reliefs for cable connections and more particularly to a split design, clamping mechanism providing positive strain relief in a dynamic environment.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Cable connections are susceptible to stress and damage whenever the connection is handled or the cable is pulled or twisted. In order to minimize this stress, various types of strain relief mechanisms are incorporated into the connections. U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,254 to Wheeler recites a device consisting of a continuous plastic belt which fits over the conductors extending from a conventional wall plug. The belt has slots on one end allowing the conductors to protrude past the plastic so that they be inserted into a wall receptacle. A metal strip is crimped over the other end of the belt and the cord to mechanically grip the cord at a position spaced from the plug end such that a small loop of cord is formed between the crimped end and the plug. When the cord is pulled, as when removing the plug from the receptacle, the belt transmits the forces on the cord to the plug housing. The device is not applicable to cables having large diameters which cannot be looped or those requiring a more secure method of attaching the strain relief device to the connector. U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,960 to Kallin et al. recites a somewhat similar strain relief method in that a loop in the cable provides strain relief for the connection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,396 to Johnson recites a strain relief clamp assembly having a female cylindrical component with a plurality of radially directed bearing access ports, a ball bearing and a biasing means. The inside surface of the female component has a concentric groove with an access channel to the outside surface. One side portion of a locking wire is inserted through the access channel. The clamp has a male compression ring component having a matching concentric groove on its outside surface for receiving the opposite side portion of the locking wire and further has a plurality of spaced apart ball bearing depressions. The male component is inserted into the female component and is locked thereto by the locking wire. Relative rotation between the female and male components is prevented by the female component ball bearing held in one of the male component depressions. The male component carries a clamp which is tightened about the wire bundle passing through the male component. Where rotation of one component relative to the other is not required, an assembly not having the complexity of the Johnson assembly would be advantageous. In some applications it is necessary for the cable connection to remain watertight. For example, outboard sensor housings in a marine environment typically have rubber boots bonded to the metal housing which surround the sensor cable connection when attached to the housing. Connector guards are provided adjacent the rubber boots to prevent foreign objects from striking and breaking the sensor cable connection. While positive locking plugs are used to ensure the sensor cable does not loosen from the housing, movement and twisting of the cable results in stressing the rubber to metal bond. Over time and repeated stress, this bond fails. Failure of the bond results in water entering the connection causing the sensor to fail.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The present invention relates to an inline fan housing assembly adaptable for connection with conduits of various diameters. The inline fan housing assembly comprises a connector collar for connection to the inlet or exhaust ports of the fan housings to adapt the fan housings for connection to a variety of conduits having diameters not designed to connect with the inlet or exhaust ports of the fan housing. The inline fan housing assembly also comprises an inner inlet ring for adapting the inlet port of the inline fan housing to direct air into motorized impellor of various sizes mounted within the inline fan housing. The connector collars of the present invention contain one or more steps, each step suitable for connection with a conduit of a different diameter. In one exemplary embodiment, the inner steps of the connection collar are removable thereby allow for increased air flow through the connection.

Many building structures (residential, commercial and industrial buildings) comprise an inherent ventilation system for providing fresh air to various zones throughout the structure.
Typical building structures cannot rely on the natural flow of fresh or treated air throughout the structure to provide for proper ventilation. Construction techniques and materials have advanced to the point where buildings have become tighter and better sealed against the unintentional ingress of outdoor air and gases and the egress of internal air or other gases.
The principle way to ensure adequate ventilation within a building structure is to install a ventilation system. Usually, such a ventilation system comprises of an array of ventilation shafts (or ducts) and inline fans (having motorized impellers) which together are used to transport fresh, heated, cooled, filtered or treated air from an inlet supply to various regions or zones of the building structure.
As building structures vary substantially in size, different types of ventilation shafts have been designed to handle suitable amounts of air for a given application. Many factors (such as size of the building structure, number of residing people, exterior climate, etc.) result in the ventilation shafts and inlet supply elements, or conduits, having a number of different diameters corresponding to the needs of the building structure. Conduits are typically available with diameters ranging from 4 inches to more than 18 inches. Corresponding inline fans have a variety of requirements with respect to the movement of the air mass.
Inline fan housings and motorized impellers are typically sized to match the conduits they are connected to and as a result, a variety of inline fan housing sizes and motorized impellor sizes exist, each for use in specific applications.
A typical inline fan housing assembly has a fan housing comprising an inlet housing and an exhaust housing each comprising a port of a suitable diameter to connect with the corresponding conduit. A motorized impellor is mounted within a cavity defined by the housings for drawing air in through the inlet port and pushing air out through the exhaust port. Inline fan housings have been sized to correspond with the varying diameters of conduits with which they interface as well as the impellers which they house. Impellor diameter may also vary depending on the application and diameter of the conduits that the ventilation system employs. The inlet housing and exhaust housing may be a single housing referred to as the fan housing.
As various building structures utilize conduits having a number of different diameters and various lengths, it is necessary to have a large variety of inline fans available to properly effect each application. Storing, carrying and transporting a large number of inline fans is costly and requires a warehouse, transportation equipment such as trucks and/or vans and manpower.
Therefore, there is a need to alleviate the requirement of maintaining a large number of different sized motorized impellors and fan housings for each application.


An afocal lens assembly which includes a first and second lens group used r testing an infrared detector assembly. The first lens group includes three lens elements and the second lens group includes four lens elements. The output of the lens assembly includes up to a 60 degree collimated field-of-view. The lens elements are infrared transmissive.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention disclosed herein is directed to afocal lens assemblies, and more specifically to afocal lens assemblies used with a collimator having up to a 15 degree field-of-view output for testing an infrared detector assembly.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
In the prior art, thermal imaging systems were developed to overcome distinct disadvantages of other detection methods such as radar or visible optics. These other methods generally operate in an "active" mode in which electromagnetic radiation is emitted and a sensor detects that return signature but allows for detection and countermeasures to render such systems ineffective. Also such active systems are limited due to such performance characteristics as range and day/night operation. First generation Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensors were developed to extend vision beyond the visible light spectrum and are capable of "passive" operation. Such systems allow for superb action since most objects radiate in the IR region. The testing of such systems typically employs collimating optics (usually mirrors) which provide a plane-wave input, and a detector which is positioned in the focal plane of the test system. A more thorough description of system performance testing for first generation FLIRs may be found in Chapter 11 of "Thermal Imaging Systems" by J. M. Lloyd.
Deficiencies in the first generation FLIRs have led to the development of a second generation of FLIRs. First generation FLIRs included deficiencies such as cryogenic cooling and scanning. The second generation of FLIRs were developed to include some of the following characteristics:
1. detector material responsive to ambient temp; PA0 2. the elimination or minimization of cooling "noise"; PA0 3. more efficient cooling technique; PA0 4. staring focal plane arrays which eliminate scanning; PA0 5. simplified power supply PA0 6. up to a 60 degree field-of-view.
With the development of second generation FLIRs there is now a need to measure and test the performance of these systems.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


An end fire microstrip antenna which is particularly suitable for low-profile applications comprises a dielectric substrate having a first surface and an opposite surface. A driven element, a microstrip fedline and a plurality of (parasitic) director elements are provided on the first surface. These elements extend in the same plane and are spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal or end-fire direction of the antenna. Likewise, the director elements are spaced apart from each other in arrow extending in the end-fire direction. The antenna further comprises a ground plane provided on the second surface. The driven element comprises a conductive strip connected at one end to the microstrip feedline and open-circuit at its opposite end. It has at least one undulation in such same plane. The undulation has at least one limb extending transversely to the end-fire direction. A conductive reflector element may be provided behind the driven element. The director elements may comprise dipoles or patches and may be equal in width and uniformly spaced. Alternatively, the width and/or spacing may vary according to the distance from the driven element. A plurality of the antennas may be assembled as an array and operated to provide a single beam or a plurality of individual beams.

Embodiments of the invention may comprise a single high-gain antenna, or an array of such antennas, fed from a radio frequency source for radiating electromagnetic energy--or connected to a receiver for reception of such energy. In order to embrace both alternatives, in this specification, the term "driven element" will be used for that element of the antenna which, for transmission, would be driven by a signal source to provide radiation but, for reception, would be connected to the receiver.
Microstrip antennas usually are printed on a dielectric substrate, backed by a ground plane, and radiate in the direction normal to the ground plane, with little or no radiation along the ground plane. They offer numerous advantages, including low weight, low profile and ease of fabrication using printed circuit technology. The latter becomes increasingly important at high microwave frequencies, where the signal wavelength is short and maintaining fabrication tolerances is difficult to achieve by other techniques. In addition, microstrip antennas can easily be integrated with electronics, which makes them ideal candidates for applications using integrated electronics. Achieving higher gains is also relatively easy using microstrip antenna technology. Several radiating, driven elements can be printed on the same substrate, to form an array, and fed using conventional microstrip line feed networks. Beam scanning is also possible by placing phase shifts between the array elements. However, the scan range is limited for microstrip arrays.
Because each microstrip antenna radiates normal to its ground plane, the array gain decreases rapidly for angles near the ground plane. In other words, hitherto, microstrip antennas and their arrays have not been capable of high gain radiation parallel to the plane of their arrays. This is a major limitation of microstrip antennas.
The introduction of mobile satellite communications systems, such as MSAT, has resulted in a need for low-profile directional microstrip antenna configurations which can conveniently be conformed to, for example, an aircraft wing or land vehicle roof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,335 (Huang) discloses such an antenna having a driven element, a reflector and two directors, all of which are microstrip patch elements and coplanar. According to Huang, (Col. 5, line 16) one embodiment of his invention tilts the antenna beam about 40 degrees from the usual normal direction i.e. perpendicular to the plane of the patches, while a second embodiment provides only 30 degrees of tilting (Col. 5, line 34). Hence, true end-fire radiation is not achieved.
A similar microstrip antenna, but without the reflector element, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,370,657 (Kaloi). Thus, Kaloi's antenna has a microstrip patch driven element and two coplanar parasitic director elements. It too does not achieve true end-fire radiation.
An object of the present invention is to overcome the limitation of these known antennas and provide a low-profile microstrip antenna capable of higher gain in the plane of the antenna.

Microstrip line fed microstrip end-fire antenna


A control valve for preventing freezing in a pipe. A ball valve selectively biased against a valve seat is controlled by a bimetallic snap disk. The control valve is connected to one or more water pipes. When the temperature in the pipe or in the control valve is below a certain temperature, the valve opens to allow a small quantity of water to flow through the valve to allow warmer ground water to warm liquid in the pipes. When the water is warmed to a set temperature the valve closes again allowing normal operation of the supply pipes.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to device for preventing pipes and other liquid carriers from freezing.
B. Description of the Prior Art
The number two cause of property damage is water damage. Freezing pipes cause a disproportionate amount of preventable water damage, when simple circulation of the water could elevate the temperature in the pipe sufficient to prevent freezing of the pipes.
Regulations require that water mains and other underground runs of water pipes be maintained a certain distance below the surface. In addition to the obvious protection provided to the pipes from digging, roots and other potential physical damage, the natural insulation and heating of the ground below the surface can ensure that the water in the pipes can not freeze. Simple calculations provide that running the pipes 24–36 inches below the surface, depending on how far or north the locale is, will maintain the water lines at or above approximately 50 degrees.
However, once the pipe is brought to the surface to connect to a house or piping within a house or other structure, the pipe is not longer insulated by the ground. In inclement weather, this piping can freeze. The expansion of the ice within the pipes can cause the pipes to burst resulting in immediate water damage or damage after the water thaws. Typically this temperature drop can be avoided by either adequate interior heating keeping the pipes and the liquid therein warm. The temperature drop can also be avoided by using the water lines, which causes a constant introduction of city water at 50 degrees from the water main, or hot water from the hot water heater, in the cold water and hot water supplies, respectively.
This damage can be severe, especially considering that one of the hardest hit properties by water damage is vacation houses or other sparingly used structures. Owners often turn off the interior heating and shut off the hot water heater, subjecting the interior hot water and cold water supply pipes to potentially sub-freezing temperatures. Since the house sits in disuse, the water is not circulated. If freezing temperatures exist outside the pipes, the liquid inside the pipe will soon freeze. And once the pipes burst under the force of the ice inside the pipes, large quantities of water may leak before the owner returns to discover the leak.
One prior art device that has been used in the past on exterior faucets is a drip sleeve. A sleeve having a threaded receiver is installed on a faucet. An internal throat allows water to pass unrestricted therethrough when the faucet is turned on. The sleeve has threads at a second end so that a garden hose or such can be threaded thereto such that the faucet can operate normally as if the sleeve were not in installed. During cold weather, the sleeve can be rotated to allow a limited amount of constant flow ("drip") to provide water constantly flowing through the pipe to constantly introduce 50 degree city water through the pipe to maintain above freezing water temperatures in the pipes. Additionally, the effect of constantly flowing water is also known to inhibit the production of ice. However, this device has the drawback that a large quantity of water will flow through the sleeve while in operation, and the flow is not a function of the water temperature so may flow be completely unnecessary for the protection of the pipes.
The current invention provides a simple temperature release valve that allows only a discrete amount of water to flow to drain (or to waste) sufficient to raise the temperature of the water in the pipes to prevent freezing. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.