Cleats are provided for securing a boat to a dock or to piling. The cleat includes a cleat plate having at least one slot with a chamfered entry into which a line may be tossed. Cleats intended for mounting on a dock preferably have a plurality of slots aligned to face away from the boat being docked. The cleat may be secured to the dock by a mounting block configured to achieve a cleat angle appropriate for the height of the dock and the size of the boat. The cleat also may be secured to a conventional dock cleat to avoid drilling new holes in the dock. Alternatively, the cleat may be mounted to piling, and may include a diagonally aligned dowel to create a large tapered entry into a small retention notch. The cleat may be used with a line having a knot in the working end sufficiently large to be engaged by the cleat.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to a cleat which can be mounted to a structure, such as a dock or piling and which enables an individual on a boat to secure the boat to the cleat and to release the boat from the cleat without the assistance of a person positioned near the cleat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recreational boating has grown dramatically in recent years, and many purchasers of boats have only limited sailing and boating experience. Some of the more difficult tasks for even experienced boater include: bringing a boat into a dock, securing the boat and then subsequently casting off.
A boat typically is secured to a dock by a bow line, a stern line and a pair of spring lines which are secured to prior art dock cleats. The bow line and the stern line preferably are secured to cleats near the bow and the stern respectively to hold the boat near the dock, while the spring lines extend diagonally to prevent movement parallel to the dock.
The prior art dock cleat is of generally T-shape with a vertical base extending from the dock and with a pair of horizontal arms in generally spaced parallel relationship to the surface of the dock. Initial attachment of a line to the prior art dock cleat may involve looping the line around the vertical member of the prior art cleat. If a loop is not permanently part of the line, then the boater must alternately loop the line under one cleat arm and over the next.
A boater typically will approach a dock at an angle. As the dock is neared, the boater will slow down and turn. Momentum will cause the stern to drift toward the dock as the entire boat drifts along the dock.
The boater typically will enlist an assistant on shore to catch an end of a spring line tossed toward the dock, and to at least temporarily secure the spring line to the prior art dock cleat. The spring line is intended to stop the forward or rearward movement of the boat depending on the direction of approach to the dock. The on-shore assistant may then move quickly to either a midship cleat or a bow cleat, depending upon the preference of the boater, for receiving another line tossed from a person on the boat. The assistant standing on the dock and the boater will cooperate to secure the other spring line, the stern line and the bow line to prior art dock cleats in a sequence preferred by the boater. At this point, the boat still may not be secured safely to the dock. Consequently, the boater may disconnect the loosely mounted lines and more securely tie the vessel to the dock. A similar procedure will be carried out in reverse when the boater is ready to cast off from the dock. Casting off generally requires an on-shore assistant to disconnect the lines from the prior art dock cleats, and to toss the lines to someone on the boat.
Boaters often are required to dock and cast off without assistance from a person on shore. To dock without an on-shore assistant, the boater will approach the dock and then turn so that the boat drifts laterally or diagonally toward the dock. A member of the crew will try to position himself near the point of impending impact, and then jump off to loop the appropriate spring line around a prior art cleat. For example, the crew member may be positioned near midship and may loop the stern spring line around the stern cleat to arrest the forward motion. The crew member may then sequentially secure the stern line, the bow line and the bow spring line to nearby prior art dock cleats. It may be necessary to retie certain lines for a more secure attachment to the dock. Additionally, larger boats may have winches on board to pull in line. Thus, the crew member may jump from the boat to the dock to loop the cleat and then from the dock to the boat to wind the winch and secure the boat. A similar procedure may be carried out by the unassisted boater to cast off from the dock. In particular, the boater will stand on the dock and release the bow line. The boater will then release the stern line and jump from the dock into the freed boat.
Most boaters know of instances where the boater, a crew member or an on-shore assistant fell into the water while attempting to dock or cast off. In more serious situations, however, injury to the boater or the on-shore assistant and/or damage to the boat or the dock can occur.
Ownership of a dock is a luxury most boaters cannot afford. A more typical situation involves a boater renting or otherwise using dock space of another. As a result, retrofitting a dock with means to facilitate docking (e.g. cleats or extensive bumpers) may not be possible. Many dock owners will not permit renters or users to permanently attach any structure to the dock or to drill holes.
Pilings are vertical posts to which a boat may be docked. Docking to a piling also can be difficult. In particular, an on-shore assistant may not be able to conveniently access a piling cleat. Additionally, a piling generally will represent a smaller target for the amateur boater to aim at.
The prior art includes many examples of cleats intended to facilitate the secure tying of a line from a boat and/or to facilitate docking. Examples of prior art cleats that are intended to facilitate the securing of a line are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,782 to Newell; U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,811 to Rodriguez; U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,659 to Coleman, II; U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,631 to Hystad; U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,495 to Lerner; U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,649 to Hystad; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,831 to Shaffner. Many of these patents are primarily intended for cleats disposed on the boat, and enable a line from a sail or the like to be forced into a groove or slot between two members (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,553,495). Others include hinged components which will lock in at least one direction (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,649).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,711 issued to Emery, Jr. on Dec. 27, 1966 and shows a dock cleat in the form of an open shell. One side of the shell is open to provide access to the interior of the shell. The shell further includes a slot extending from the open side to an opposed side thereof. The cleat of U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,711 is intended for use with a ball affixed to an end of a rope. The ball is dimensioned to be fit through the open side of the shell and to be engaged within the shell. The rope extending from the ball is dimensioned to be passed through the slot in the shell. The cleat of U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,711 is used by carefully aligning the ball with the opening in the shell and simultaneously aligning the rope with the slot. The ball can be urged into the shell and the rope can be urged through the slot. The cleat shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,711 avoids the need for a complicated knotting of a rope to a cleat. However, it would be virtually impossible to engage the cleat of U.S. Pat. No. 3,293,7I1 from a remote location.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,110,046 issued to Fischer on Nov. 12, 1963 and shows a generally hollow moring buoy with a concave top surface having a central opening and a plurality of radially extending slits. A ball is attached to an end of a rope and is dropped into the concave top surface. The ball is intended to gravitationally roll toward the central hole in the concave upper surface. The ball is dimensioned to fall through the hole, and the rope is dimensioned to be engaged in one of the slots. Although a ball without a rope would roll easily toward the opening in the concave top surface of the moring buoy shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,110,046, a ball with a rope is not as apt to roll. Furthermore, balls tend to bounce when tossed. Hence even a properly aimed ball may not remain on the buoy. Additionally, disengagement of the ball and rope from the moring buoy shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3, 110,046 can be very difficult.
Another moring device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,505 which issued to Brown on October 21, 1969. U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,505 shows several embodiments of buoys and dock cleats which are intended to enable a boat to be docked without an on-shore assistant. Each embodiment in U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,505 includes a plurality of spaced apart ears defining rope-receiving slots therebetween. The ears extend upwardly from a horizontal support surface and then curve approximately 90.degree.-180.degree. about substantially horizontal axes. The cleats shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,505 are used with a ball attached to an end of a rope as described in the preceding two patents. The ball is intended to be thrown from a boat toward the dock such that the ball lands on the shore-side of the cleat and such that the rope falls into a space between the ears. U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,505 also shows a lock bar with a catch at opposed ends for locking into apertures on the dock cleat for preventing unintended removal of the rope therefrom. The ears of the cleats shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,505 are not configured in a manner that would facilitate engagement of the rope therebetween from a remote location. Additionally, the shape of the ears makes it difficult or impossible to disengage the ball and the line from a remote location for casting off from the dock.
The prior art generally does not aid the many boaters who rent or temporarily use dock space at marinas which prohibit any permanent attachment to the dock. Additionally, the prior art does not recognize the fact that boats come in different sizes. A large boat riding high in the water might not necessarily require a cleat construction identical to that of a lower riding boat. Additionally, the prior art does not recognize the fact that cleats often are tossed to the dock from different angles depending upon the position on the boat from which the line is being tossed. The prior art also has not recognized unique problems associated with docking at a piling.
In view of the above, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a dock cleat to facilitate docking and casting off by an individual without an on-shore assistant.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a dock cleat that can be removably mounted to a dock without drilling holes or other structural changes that would be prohibited by a dock owner.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a dock cleat that can be adjustably mounted to a dock in accordance with the size of the boat being docked.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide an assembly of dock cleats to facilitate securing a boat to a dock at a plurality of spaced apart locations.
Yet another object of the subject invention is to provide a cleat to enable secure retention of a boat line thereto without complicated knotting.

Cleat for securing a boat to a docking structure


A method of estimating a coarse frequency offset in a receiver includes providing at least one candidate frequency offset in Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols having transmission and multiplexing configuration control (TMCC) bins and auxiliary channel (AC) bins, modulating the TMCC bins and AC bins using differential binary phase shift keying (DBPSK) modulation, estimating a phase difference between a first symbol and a second symbol for the candidate frequency offset of the TMCC and AC bins to obtain a resulting phase difference, correcting the resulting phase difference based on a difference between the candidate frequency offset and a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) center bin to obtain a corrected phase difference, mapping the corrected phase difference to numeric numbers, and adding the numeric numbers for the candidate frequency offset to obtain a summation result. The numeric numbers correspond to at least one of +1 or −1.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments herein generally relate to wireless communication systems, and, more particularly, to coarse frequency offset estimation in wireless communication systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a digital multi-carrier modulation scheme, which uses a large number of closely-spaced orthogonal sub-carriers. OFDM, because of its multiple advantages (e.g., high spectrum efficiency, resistance against multi-path interference, and ease of filtering out noise, etc.), has been widely used in wireless transmission technology such as terrestrial digital broadcasting. In a digital broadcasting receiver design such as Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-terrestrial (ISDB-T) and Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting—terrestrial digital sound broadcasting (ISDB-TSB), the major disadvantage for OFDM systems is its impairment due to coarse frequency offset.
Frequency offsets usually arise due to mismatched transmitter and receiver oscillators. The occurrence of a coarse frequency offset in the receiver causes a difference in the locations of the received data and control bins which are different from locations specified by the corresponding OFDM system standards. The location difference indicates the presence of coarse frequency offset. Hence, it is needed to estimate the coarse frequency offset and compensate it before receiving and decoding the received data. In an ISDB-T or ISDB-TSB OFDM symbol, there are data bins, pilot bins, transmission and multiplexing configuration control (TMCC) bins, and auxiliary channel (AC) bins.
The transmitted power on pilot, TMCC, and AC bins are 2.5 dB higher than that on the data bins. An approach for coarse frequency offset estimation based on the raised power property of pilot, TMCC, and AC bins is generally not reliable, especially when the channels are noisy and dynamic and there are echoes. In order to have an estimate of the coarse frequency offset before receiving and decoding the received data, a more reliable approach is desirable.

Coarse frequency offset estimation in ISDB receivers


A lock detector for a phase locked loop circuit, wherein an oscillator is controlled by a control signal produced by comparing the output signal of the oscillator to a reference signal. The lock detector samples the control signal, examines a plurality of samples according to criteria associated with a prescribed lock condition between the reference signal and the oscillator output signal, and generates a lock signal indicative of the lock condition being met if the samples satisfy the criteria. In a favorable embodiment, the lock detector forms a first group of samples sampled at a rate controlled by the reference signal and a second group of samples sampled at a rate controlled by the oscillator output signal. The samples are stored and shifted at the respective rates in respective shift registers. The contents of each stage of the shift registers are then examined according to a logic function. In an embodiment, the control signal includes first and second commands and is subjected to an initial logic function whose output is sampled by the shift registers.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to Phase Locked Loop ("PLL") circuits and, more particularly, to a lock condition detector for use with a phase locked loop. The invention also relates to a method of detecting a lock condition in a PLL circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
PLL circuits are used in a variety of applications including microprocessors, digital video systems, and mobile communication devices, such as cell phones. A PLL circuit is used where a clock signal needs to be generated and synchronized to another source, such as an external reference signal. In its most basic form, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a PLL circuit includes a voltage controlled oscillator ("VCO") 10, which is an oscillator that can run over a range of frequencies dependant on a control voltage applied to a control terminal of the VCO. The VCO is driven by a phase error between the output of the VCO and a reference signal ("REF"), measured by a loop phase comparator 20. This error is used to change the control voltage in such a way that the error between the reference signal and the output of the VCO is reduced, with the goal of maintaining the output of the VCO the same as the reference signal with respect to phase and frequency. Typically, the PLL includes a filter 30 in the control voltage path to provide stability to the control loop. Additionally, by inserting a loop divider 40 between the phase comparator and the VCO, the output of the VCO can be made to be a multiple of the reference signal. The above illustrates the most basic form of a PLL. Examples of some advanced designs of PLL circuits are shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,349,613; 5,475,718 and 5,349,613 and EP 0 433 120 A1.
Despite advances in control mechanisms, it still occurs that the output signal of the VCO becomes out of lock with respect to the reference signal. Out of lock means that the output signal of the VCO differs from the reference signal with respect to phase and/or frequency by a predetermined factor relevant to the application that the PLL is being used for. This typically occurs temporarily over a few clock cycles as a result of inherent delays in the feedback path. This may also occur, for example, because it takes a finite time for the output of the VCO to change in response to a change in the reference signal. In certain applications, it is desirable that the device, in which the PLL is used, either perform a certain function or not perform a certain function if the PLL goes out of lock. For example, in microprocessors, an indication of PLL lock is useful when the microprocessor is starting up from a power-off state. Until the PLL has locked onto the correct frequency, the microprocessor is held in a reset state to prevent incorrect operation due to spurious clocks of the wrong frequency. This is particularly important when time (i.e. frequency) critical devices such as UARTs or communication devices are controlled by the microprocessor.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a lock detection circuit which indicates when two signals are out of lock.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a circuit which generates a signal when the out of lock condition is detected to control the operation of a device containing the PLL.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a topology for a lock detector circuit which gives great flexibility to a circuit designer in defining and implementing the lock condition.

Phase locked loop lock condition detector

Philips Electronics North America Corporation


A method and apparatus to perform position determination in a wireless (e.g., cellular) communication network with repeaters. A signal received by a terminal is initially identified as being from a repeater. A position and a position uncertainty for the identified repeater are obtained (e.g., from a repeater database) and provided as the position estimate and position uncertainty for the terminal if (1) a more accurate position estimate for the terminal cannot be obtained, (2) the terminal is deemed to be in an indoor environment, or (3) the terminal is located sufficiently close to the identified repeater. If information for additional delays associated with the identified repeater is available, then the position estimate for the terminal may be derived based on a “compensated” time measurement for the identified repeater (i.e., with the additional delays removed) and time measurements for at least two other transmitters received by the terminal.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to position determination, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for performing position determination in a wireless communication network (e.g., a cellular network) with repeaters.
2. Background
A common technique to determine the position of a terminal is to ascertain the amount of time required for signals transmitted from multiple transmitters at known locations to reach the terminal. The propagation times for the signals are typically converted to "pseudo-ranges", which are estimates of the distances between the terminal and the transmitters. The position of the terminal may then be estimated based on the pseudo-ranges to the transmitters and their locations, using a process often referred to as "trilateration".
One system that provides signals from a plurality of transmitters (satellites) at known locations is the well-known Global Positioning System (GPS). An accurate three-dimensional position estimate (or "fix") for a terminal may be obtained based on signals received by the terminal from a sufficient number of GPS satellites (typically four). However, the required number of GPS satellites may not be available in certain operating environments (e.g., indoors) to derive this fix. Another system that provides signals from a plurality of transmitters (base stations) at known earth-bound locations is a wireless (e.g., cellular) communication network. A two-dimensional (2-D) position estimate for a terminal may be obtained based on signals received by the terminal from a sufficient number of base stations (typically three or more).
Many cellular networks employ repeaters to provide coverage for designated areas within the network or to extend the coverage of the network. For example, a repeater may be used to cover a geographic area that is not covered by a base station due to fading conditions (i.e., a "hole" within the network). Repeaters may also be used to extend coverage into rural areas (e.g., along a freeway) that are outside the coverage area of the base stations. A repeater receives, conditions, and retransmits signals on both the forward and reverse links. The forward link refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations.
Various challenges are encountered in determining the position of a terminal in a network that employs repeaters. On the forward link, each repeater transmits a repeated signal at high power and with additional delays to the terminals within its coverage area. A terminal located within the coverage area of a repeater is often prevented from receiving signals from base stations due to a combination of the repeated signal's high power plus the isolation normally associated with the repeater's coverage area. Moreover, in many instances in which repeaters are used (e.g., inside buildings, tunnels, subways, and so on), signals from GPS satellites have insufficient power levels and also cannot be received by the terminal. Thus, a limited number of signals (possibly only one signal, from a repeater) may be available for use to determine the terminal's position.
Furthermore, the additional delays introduced by repeaters can distort measurements made by a terminal for signals received from the repeaters. Consequently, measurements for signals received from repeaters are normally discarded and not used for position determination. In certain situations, only few measurements may be available to compute the position estimate for the terminal. If signals from repeaters are discarded, then the accuracy of the position estimate obtained based on remaining signals may be very poor.
There is therefore a need in the art for a method and apparatus to provide a position estimate for a terminal in a wireless communication network that employs repeaters (or other transmission sources with similar characteristics).

Method and apparatus for performing position determination in a wireless communication network with repeaters


In a device for transmitting optical signals between a first subassembly and a second subassembly, which rotatable about an axis relative to the first subassembly. The first subassembly includes a first optical waveguide, and the second subassembly includes a second optical waveguide. The device includes a first sleeve enclosing the first optical waveguide, a first bushing enclosing the first sleeve, a housing, a second sleeve enclosing the second optical waveguide, a second bushing enclosing the second sleeve. Furthermore, the device includes a bearing arrangement, including at least one first ring and rolling elements, rollingly supported on a conical surface. The housing encloses the first bushing, the second bushing, and the bearing arrangement, the bearing arrangement is axially displaceable relative to the housing, and the second bushing is axially preloaded with respect to the first bushing via the bearing arrangement. The rolling elements are radially preloaded with respect to the housing by their support on the conical surface.

Subassemblies of this type are often also referred to as rotors and stators. In these subassemblies, optical signals are routed via optical waveguides, which are frequently separated by an air gap and axially situated at an offset from one another. Such devices are used in many technical fields for the purpose of transmitting signals from a stationary to a rotating unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,963 describes an optical rotary joint in which signals are transmitted between two coaxial optical waveguides.

Device for transmitting optical signals between two rotatable subassemblies


Disclosed herein is a method for producing a part comprising at least one layer of fiber-reinforced composite material. Said method encompasses at least the following steps: a) the at least one layer of polymerizable fiber-reinforced composite material is arranged in a shape that has a base and a plurality of elevations; b) at least one mold is placed so as to be in contact with at least one elevation, said mold having a microwave-sensitive material at least on one contact surface towards the at least one elevation; c) the at least one elevation is polymerized by irradiating the at least one mold with microwaves. The mold used has a stable three-dimensional shape and has a contact surface for the part. At least the contact surface is made of microwave-sensitive material.

With respect to the efforts which are being made to provide airplanes which conform to future ecological requirements and are inexpensive to produce and operate, and to nevertheless meet the strictest safety requirements, possible ways are increasingly being sought to produce the essential primary structures (e.g. wings, fuselage components, housing for the drive units, etc.) using fiber-reinforced composite material rather than aluminum. This lightweight construction technique makes it possible, in particular, to considerably reduce the weight of the airplanes. During the production of such essential primary structures, it must be taken into account that these take on a considerable scale; by way of example, the landing flaps are structural parts which extend over a number of meters. These structural parts are additionally exposed to high levels of stress during operation and therefore represent safety-critical structural parts, for which special quality requirements have to be observed.
Fiber-reinforced composite materials of this type generally comprise two essential components, namely firstly the fibers and secondly a polymer matrix which surrounds the fibers. The matrix encompasses the fibers and is cured by a thermal treatment (polymerization), such that three-dimensional cross-linking takes place. This polymerization has the effect that the fibers are bonded firmly to one another and therefore forces can be introduced into the fibers, namely predominantly via shear stresses. Suitable fibers are both carbon fibers and possibly also glass fibers. Carbon fibers, which nowadays are still relatively expensive, regularly comprise carbon to an extent of at least 90% by weight. The diameter of the fibers is, for example, 4.5 to 8 μm (micrometer). Carbon fibers of this type have anisotropic properties. By contrast, glass fibers have an amorphous structure and isotropic properties. They predominantly consist of silicon oxide, it being possible for further oxides to be admixed if appropriate. Whereas the glass fibers are relatively inexpensive, the carbon fibers are noted for their high strength and rigidity.
Particularly in the construction of airplanes, what is known as pre-preg technology is employed. In this technology, for example, pre-impregnated fabrics or other fiber forms (preform) are soaked in synthetic resins and thermally treated merely until they solidify slightly (gel formation), such that they can be handled in layers. A pre-preg material of this type exhibits a small degree of adhesion and can therefore be arranged readily in appropriate molding tools or one on top of another in layers, until the desired form of the structural part is formed. When the desired layers of the pre-preg material are arranged, they can be (thermally) cured. In order to cure said pre-preg structural parts, use is presently made of what are known as autoclaves, i.e. ovens which may have to be heated with an overpressure (up to 10 bar) over many hours in order to achieve complete curing of the structural parts.
In addition, DE 10 2005 050 528 A1, the contents of which are incorporated by reference, discloses a microwave autoclave, with which the production of fiber composite structural parts by microwave radiation is proposed. The apparatus proposed in said document makes it possible to couple microwave radiation into the pressure chamber of the autoclave. The direct excitation of the pre-preg materials suitable for this method with microwaves has the advantage that it is not necessary to heat the air located in the autoclave or the inert gas located therein, which is present in a considerable volume owing to the size of the structural parts. The use of microwave technology makes it possible to heat the pre-preg material to be cured itself directly, and the rest of the surrounding region accordingly remains relatively cold.
The microwave resonator described in DE 103 29 411 A1, the contents of which are incorporated by reference, is likewise suitable for carrying out the thermal treatment. Said microwave resonator is generally operated without an overpressure. However, it may also be integrated in a pressure vessel (autoclave).
When heating a material using microwaves, the following active mechanisms may set in: dielectric heating and resistive heating. If (freely) movable dipoles (i.e. molecules having an irregular charge distribution) are present in the material, these are excited to oscillate at a high frequency in an electromagnetic field produced by the microwaves. This kinetic energy of the dipoles is then converted by internal friction into heat, which is produced directly in the material (dielectric heating). In addition, it is also possible for eddy currents to arise as a result of induction, and therefore the electrical resistance of the material finally causes an increase in temperature (resistive heating). By way of example, the material can thus be heated to temperatures above 130° C., above 160° C. or even also above 200° C. This temperature level makes it possible for the polymerization or curing of the pre-preg materials to set in.
In this respect, airplane components having a relatively large base surface and elevations protruding therefrom are in the foreground in particular. By way of example, said elevations are web-like fins intended to contribute, in particular, to an increase in the rigidity of the (assembled) component. Merely by way of example, elevations of this type may have a length of about 11 m (meter), a material thickness in the range of approximately 2.5 mm to 4 mm (millimeter) and a height, with which they protrude beyond the base surface, of at least 25 mm (millimeter).
During the production of such components by curing by microwave irradiation, it is important that uniform and sufficient crosslinking is ensured in materials. For this purpose, it is essential that this "contorted" shape of the component can be treated appropriately with microradiation and/or that a homogeneous temperature distribution is achieved on the component. It must also be taken into consideration that the pre-preg materials used here are regularly themselves not dimensionally stable, i.e. have to be fixed in the desired position using appropriate holding and/or molding tools during the microwave irradiation. The problem indicated above is thereby enlarged further.

Method and mold for the production of parts from fiber-reinforced composite material by means of microwaves


An information processing method and an electronic device are disclosed. The method includes: acquiring a triggering instruction for starting a first application program of the M application programs; executing the triggering instruction, and obtaining a first parameter; generating a first window interface of the first application program based on the first parameter; and displaying the first window interface, where a display area of the first window interface is less than a full-screen display area of the first application program on the display region.

With the rapid development of electronic devices, software systems of electronic devices are rapidly updated. In order to improve user experience, many software systems of electronic devices support human-computer interaction. Interactions between users and application programs are implemented via application window interfaces for electronic devices supporting human-computer interaction, such as computers, tablet PCs and smart phones.
The screen size of the mobile terminal is small and the screen resolution is low at the early stage of development of the mobile terminal. An operation system of the mobile terminal such as Android system can only provide an application function of a single window in which only one application program is displayed, that is, the operation system only allows one application program to be in the foreground and to interact with a user. However, with rapid development of hardware of the mobile terminal, particularly with the improved screen resolution and the enlarged screen size, the single window application of the Android system can not meet user requirement of interacting with multiple application programs simultaneously, and it is an urgent requirement for the user that the operation system of the mobile terminal can provide an application function of multiple windows. However, some electronic devices do not support multi-window display due to technical limitations. Smart phone, which is inextricably linked with the people's lives, is taken as an example. The operating system of the smart phone is generally Android system, and most user interfaces of the Android system are achieved based on Activity. Generally, the Android system allows only one Activity to be in the foreground to interact with the user, and this limitation leads to a situation that the user can not use multiple applications simultaneously, such as simultaneously using chat software and a browser. Therefore, there is a technical problem in the prior art that multi-window display can not be achieved in electronic devices such as a smart phone and a pad.
In addition, in a case that the screen display region of the electronic device is increased and in a case that a non-full-screen window display is supported for the application program, i.e., all application programs in the electronic device are allowed to be displayed simultaneously on the display unit of the electronic device in non-full-screen windows, there is no solution about how to rotate the non-full-screen windows quickly and easily to save operating time and improve user experience if the non-full-screen windows need to be rotated.
In addition, in a case that various application programs are displayed in multiple non-full-screen windows by the user, a large amount of graphics buffer space is required to store graphics buffer data of the application program for each non-full-screen window, which seriously consumes memory of the electronic device and influences normal operation of the operation system.

Information processing method and electronic device


A battery pack includes a secondary battery; and a protection device including: a measurement unit coupled to the secondary battery and configured to measure a temperature and a voltage of the secondary battery; a temperature estimation unit coupled to the measurement unit and configured to estimate a future temperature of the secondary battery; and a charging/discharging unit coupled to the secondary battery and configured to adjust a current or an input voltage applied to the secondary battery based on the future temperature and the voltage of the secondary battery.

1. Field
An aspect of the present invention relates to a protection apparatus for a secondary battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, secondary batteries have been used as power sources of portable electronic devices in many fields, and accordingly, consumer demand for secondary batteries has rapidly increased. Secondary batteries can be charged and discharged several times and thus are economically and environmentally effective. Accordingly, the use of the secondary batteries is promoted.
A swelling phenomenon in which a secondary battery swells at a high temperature/high voltage due to gas or the like may occur in the secondary battery. The swelling phenomenon may cause an electrical short circuit. If an external impact is applied to the secondary battery in the state in which the secondary battery swells, a spark may occur, causing the secondary battery to explode.
Conventionally, the swelling phenomenon was overcome in such a manner that an extra space was provided in a battery pack having a secondary battery mounted therein so that a user could not perceive the occurrence of a swelling phenomenon of the secondary battery. However, merely increasing the space of the battery pack that holds the secondary battery is contrary to the competing goal of reducing the overall size of consumer electronic products, and also does not help to solve the swelling phenomenon from occurring in the first place.

Protection apparatus for secondary battery


Methods for calibrating a plurality of N time-interleaved analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for any integer N.gtoreq.2 by detecting and/or correcting timing and amplitude errors therein, where each of the ADCs, numbered j=1, 2, . . . , N has an identical clock frequency f.sub.c and period T.sub.c =(f.sub.c).sup.-1. Ideally, the N ADCs are clocked uniformly in time so that two consecutively clocked ADCs number j1 and j1+1 have effective sampling times that differ by time intervals of uniform length .DELTA.t=T.sub.c /N. Ideally, the N ADCs also have identical gains from their analog input signals to their digital output signals. In a calibration procedure, all ADCs receive a common analog input signal S.sub.in (t)=Asin[2 .pi.(1+s)f.sub.c t], where s is a non-zero fractional number satisfying -0.5<s<0.5. The output signal values from ADC number j provide a set of ordered pairs of values (t.sub.i, D.sub.ij) for sampling times t.sub.i, and the set of values {D.sub.ij }.sub.i with j fixed is approximated by another set of values { V.sub.ij =A.sub.j sin[2 .pi.sf.sub.c t.sub.i +.phi..sub.j ]}.sub.i. Here, the amplitudes A.sub.j and phase angles .phi..sub.j are chosen to provide a best numerical fit to the set {D.sub.ij }.sub.i for each j=1, 2, . . . , N, according to some criterion. The phase differences .DELTA..phi..sub.j2,j1 =.phi..sub.j2 -.phi..sub.j1 are then determined and compared with the ideal phase difference value .DELTA..PHI..sub.j2,j1 =2 .pi.(j2-j1)/N to determine if a relative timing error exists between ADCs number j1 and j2. In a similar manner, the amplitude differences A.sub.j2 -A.sub.j1 are compared to determine if a relative gain error exists between ADCs number j1 and j2.

Time-interleaved arrays of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are useful in increasing the effective rate at which data are delivered by a ADC system. In a typical application of time-interleaved ADCs, the ADC clock pulse sequences are staggered in time, and the ADCs make analog-to-digital conversions in a round robin fashion, sweeping through N converters in the order 1, 2, . . . , N-1, N, 1, 2, . . . in a familiar manner. When N identical ADCs are interleaved in this manner, an analog-to-digital conversion system can be provided with a sample rate that is N times faster than the rate available for an individual ADC.
One problem presented with this architecture is that errors arise if the collective sampling times of the N ADCs are not uniformly spaced in time. It is not enough that the individual clock pulse sequences be substantially identical. It is also required that consecutive clock pulses, belonging to adjacent clock pulse sequences, be spaced apart by a uniform time interval. And, with uniformly spaced clock pulses, there may still be nonuniform sample spacing mismatches in the time delays within the ADCs from the clock signals or analog input signals to the internal sampling circuit. In order to reduce the errors due to nonuniform ADC sample time spacing from any of these sources to less than one-half the value of the least significant bit (LSB) when the input signal frequency is one-half the sample frequency, the timing inaccuracy of the effective internal sampling times inter se must be less than (.pi.2.sup.K).sup.-1 times the system sample period, where K is the number of bits of digitizer resolution. For example, for a 6-bit system, the timing inaccuracy must be less than 0.5 percent of the sample period. With a sample frequency of 4 GHz, this permitted timing inaccuracy is about 1.2 psec.
Although the staggered clock pulse sequences can be generated with logic circuits, the uncorrected timing accuracy for a 4 GHz system could easily be about 10 percent of the sample period, due to device mismatches in the logic circuits or ADCs. These timing errors, if they can be determined, can be corrected by inserting electronic components with variable time delay in the clock generation circuits and by tuning their time delays appropriately. Another problem encountered with an interleaved ADC system is mismatch in the gain or offset characteristics of the N ADCs. This mismatch reduces the signal-to-noise ratio of the ADC system, and thus the effective signal resolution. Gain and offset errors for low frequency input signals may be easily determined by applying two dc calibration signals to the ADC inputs. The ADC gain and offset adjustments may then be varied in a manual or automatic calibration procedure to eliminate these errors, a technique commonly practiced in the art.
For higher frequency input signals additional amplitude errors will occur if the ADC input bandwidths are not precisely matched. These errors can be eliminated or minimized, using a bandwidth adjustment to the ADC (such as a tunable filter), if such bandwidth errors can be determined.
Y. C. Jenq, in "Digital Spectra of Non-Uniformly Sampled Signals: Theories and Applications, Part III", I.E.E.E. Instr. and Meas. Technology Conference Proc., Apr. 25-27, 1988, pp. 208-212, and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,105, discloses a sampling time offset estimation algorithm for detecting relative timing error for each of a plurality of N (.gtoreq.2) time-interleaved ADCs. Jenq uses a discrete Fourier transform to analyze the plurality of signals issuing from the N ADCs, and the actual sampling time offsets are determined by examining the magnitude of particular spectral components whose frequencies depend on the sampling frequency and upon a test input frequency. Amplitude errors in the Fourier output spectrum (due, for example, to use of a test frequency that is not exactly commensurate with the test interval, or to use of an Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) window function) will produce errors in the sampling time offset estimation. Producing a test frequency that is exactly commensurate with the test interval may require an expensive synthesized source to generate the test sine wave output. Furthermore, Jenq does not describe determination of the amplitude response of each of the N ADCs at the test frequency.
What is needed is a calibration technique for accurately determining the relative timing error of time-interleaved ADC signals in the absence of a precisely known input frequency which also allows determination of any amplitude errors due to bandwidth mismatch of the individual ADCs.

Timing and amplitude error estimation for time-interleaved analog-to-digital converters


This invention relates to a novel hydraulically actuated fuel injector for an internal combustion engine. More particularly, the application pertains to a hydraulically actuated gaseous injector for injecting main fuel and optional pilot fuel into an internal combustion engine at different times at controlled pressure. A hydraulically actuated fuel injector for a piston displacement engine comprising: (a) an injector which is actuated by an actuator means and injects fuel into the engine at predetermined times; (b) a means for introducing hydraulic oil into said injector; (c) means for pressurizing said hydraulic oil; (d) means for opening a fuel inlet means and injecting the fuel into the engine upon the pressure of the hydraulic oil reaching a predetermined level; and (e) a means for preventing the pressure of the hydraulic oil from rising above the predetermined level.

Because of its ready availability, low cost and potential for reducing particulate emissions, natural gas is a promising candidate for fuelling diesel engines. Methods that can be used to convert a diesel engine (a compression-ignition engine) to consume natural gas fall into three categories. One is to convert the engine to a stoichiometric or lean-burn spark-ignition engine. As a second option, the engine can be converted to natural gas using a "dual-fuel" technology, in which the natural gas is mixed with all of or with a portion of the intake air and is ignited by diesel fuel injected at the end of the compression stroke. A third method is the direct injection of the natural gas fuel in the combustion chamber, with a source of ignition. The preferred method, as discussed below, is the direct injection method because it is the only method which preserves the inherent favourable operating characteristics and high efficiency of diesel engines.

Hydraulically actuated gaseous or dual fuel injector


A combustor for waste gas treatment having a flame stabilizing zone 15 surrounded by a peripheral wall 13 and closed with a bottom wall 14. The flame stabilizing zone 15 is provided to face a combustion chamber 11. Burner ports 23 for auxiliary combustible gas are provided in the peripheral wall 13 to inject an auxiliary combustible gas B into the flame stabilizing zone 15 so as to produce swirling flows. Burner ports 22 for waste gas are provided in the bottom wall 14 to inject a waste gas A into the flame stabilizing zone 15.

The present invention relates to a combustor (burner) for waste gas treatment usable in combustion type waste gas treatment facilities for combustion-treating a harmful and combustible waste gas containing, for example, silane gas (SiH4) or a halogen gas (NF3, ClF3, SF6, CHF3, C2F6, CF4, etc.).
For example, a semiconductor manufacturing system discharges a gas containing harmful and combustible gases, e.g. silane (SiH4) and disilane (Si2H6). Such a waste gas cannot be emitted into the atmosphere as it is. Therefore, the common practice is to introduce such a waste gas into a pretreatment system where it is made harmless by oxidation through combustion. For this treatment, a method wherein flames are formed in a furnace by using an auxiliary combustible gas and the waste gas is burned with the flames is widely used.
Such a combustion type waste gas treatment system usually uses an auxiliary combustible gas consisting essentially of a fuel gas, e.g. hydrogen, city gas, or LPG, and an oxidizing agent, e.g. oxygen or air. The greater part of the running cost of the system is the cost for consumption of the fuel gas and the oxidizing agent. Accordingly, how much harmful waste gas can be destroyed efficiently with a minimum amount of auxiliary combustible gas is a measure of evaluating the performance of this type of system.
When silane, for example, is oxidized, silica (SiO2) is formed. Silica (SiO2) is a powdery substance, which may adhere to the wall surface of the combustion chamber and the burner ports, inducing poor combustion or causing clogging of the combustion chamber. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically carry out a cleaning operation to remove silica (SiO2). The cleaning is performed by a manual operation in the state of the art. Accordingly, the longer the cleaning operation interval, the easier the maintenance. The cleaning operation interval is also considered to be one of the important factors in evaluating the performance of a combustion type waste gas treatment system.
A general arrangement of a combustor used in a conventional combustion type waste gas treatment system as stated above is shown in FIGS. 23 and 24. A cylindrical combustion chamber 1 has a waste gas nozzle 2 provided in the center of the ceiling thereof to introduce a waste gas A to be treated into the combustion chamber 1. A plurality of auxiliary combustible gas nozzles 3 are provided around the outer periphery of the waste gas nozzle 2 to introduce an auxiliary combustible gas B into the combustion chamber 1. A combustion gas outlet 4 is integrally connected to the lower end of the combustion chamber 1. Thus, the waste gas A is passed through the center of flames formed in a side-by-side relation along a circle by the auxiliary combustible gas B injected from the auxiliary combustible gas nozzles 3. After it has passed, the waste gas A is mixed with the flames to burn. The resulting combustion gas is discharged to the outside from the combustion gas outlet 4.
At present, heat destruction is considered to be the most widely used method of destruction-treating a halogen gas, which is considered to be a main cause of global warming. That is, the destruction of a halogen gas needs high-temperature conditions created by a huge amount of heat or requires an enormous amount of excitation energy produced by plasma or the like. Using such a technique, destruction treatment of a halogen gas is carried out in destruction treatment equipment having a heating device, e.g. a heater, or a plasma generator and a complicated control mechanism, e.g. a safety device.
In the above-described conventional system, however, the flames of the auxiliary combustible gas are formed forward of the auxiliary combustible gas nozzles. Accordingly, the waste gas being injected forward from the waste gas nozzle, which is provided inside the auxiliary combustible gas nozzles, cannot always sufficiently mix with the flames of the auxiliary combustible gas. Therefore, the efficiency of destruction of the waste gas is not satisfactorily high. It is necessary, in order to increase the efficiency of destruction, to increase the amount of auxiliary combustible gas supplied so as to form large flames, thereby allowing the waste gas to burn easily. However, if the amount of auxiliary combustible gas supplied is increased, the amount of auxiliary combustible gas that does not contribute to the destruction of the waste gas also increases, causing an increase in running cost of the system. Moreover, silica (SiO2) resulting from the combustion of the waste gas undesirably adheres to the wall surface of the combustion chamber. Thus, depending on circumstances, the cleaning operation needs to be performed once or twice a week. In addition, destruction treatment of a halogen gas requires complicated equipment.
It should be noted that various techniques have been proposed to solve the above-described problems. For example, flames that are produced in side-by-side relation along a circle are so formed that the distal end of each flame slants toward the center of the circle, thereby allowing the waste gas to be efficiently exposed to the high-temperature portion of each individual flame. According to another technique, flame pipes are provided to maintain flames for an increased period of time, thereby allowing the flames and the waste gas to contact each other efficiently. However, it is deemed that these techniques have not completely solved the above-described problems. There has also been proposed a method of destruction-treating a halogen gas by using a combustor. With this method, however, the efficiency of destruction may vary to a considerable extent according to the rate of combustion. Therefore, the proposed method has not completely solved the above-described problems.
In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a combustor for waste gas treatment usable in a combustion type waste gas treatment system, which provides a high efficiency of destruction of waste gas and yet allows the maintenance interval for cleaning to be lengthened and which is capable of destruction-treating a halogen gas with high efficiency.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a combustor for waste gas treatment characterized by having a flame stabilizing zone surrounded by a peripheral wall and closed with a bottom wall. The flame stabilizing zone is provided to face a combustion chamber. A burner port for auxiliary combustible gas is provided in the peripheral wall to inject an auxiliary combustible gas into the flame stabilizing zone so as to produce a swirling flow. A burner port for waste gas is provided in the bottom wall to inject a waste gas into the flame stabilizing zone.
Thus, the auxiliary combustible gas is injected into the flame stabilizing zone so as to produce a swirling flow, thereby efficiently mixing the flame of the auxiliary combustible gas with the waste gas to be treated, and thus allowing the waste gas to be destroyed through combustion with high efficiency. Moreover, silica (SiO2) resulting from the combustion of silane gas or the like is prevented from adhering to the vicinities of the burner ports or to the wall surface of the combustion chamber by the swirling flame and the swirling flow. Thus, the waste gas can be stably treated through combustion for a long period of time.
In the case of a cylindrical combustion chamber, the peripheral wall can be formed by the inner peripheral surface of a cylindrical member.
It is preferable that a wall surface forming the combustion chamber be provided with an air injection nozzle for injecting air into the combustion chamber. Thus, the gas subjected to the combustion treatment is cooled with the air injected from the air injection nozzle. Moreover, the cooled combustion gas can be rapidly discharged out of the combustion chamber.
It is preferable that the air injection nozzle be provided so that air injected from the air injection nozzle forms a swirling flow in the combustion chamber. Thus, it is possible to cool the gas subjected to the combustion treatment, discharge the cooled gas out of the combustion chamber and remove silica (SiO2) from the wall surface of the combustion chamber even more effectively.
Further, it is preferable that the bottom wall be provided with a primary air injection nozzle for injecting primary air into the flame stabilizing zone. Thus, combustibility can be improved, and silica (SiO2) adhered to the surfaces of the inner and outer walls defining the flame stabilizing zone can be removed even more effectively.
It is preferable that the inner diameter of the combustion chamber and the inner diameter of the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone be approximately identical with each other. Thus, a stagnant flow region is eliminated, and it is possible to prevent powdery silica (SiO2) from adhering to the inner wall of the flame stabilizing zone or the combustion chamber even more effectively.
An air nozzle for secondary combustion may be provided in the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone downstream of the burner port for auxiliary combustible gas, whereby a reducing flame of primary combustion and an oxidizing flame of secondary combustion by the air are formed in the flame stabilizing zone, thereby making it possible to improve the efficiency of destruction of the waste gas, particularly a halogen gas.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a combustor for waste gas treatment characterized by having a flame stabilizing zone surrounded by a peripheral wall and closed with a bottom wall. The flame stabilizing zone is provided to face a combustion chamber. A burner port for waste gas is provided in the bottom wall to inject a waste gas into the flame stabilizing zone. An air injection nozzle is provided in the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone near the bottom wall to inject air so as to produce a swirling flow. A burner port for auxiliary combustible gas is provided in the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone away from the bottom wall to inject an auxiliary combustible gas, such as a fuel gas or a premixed gas, into the flame stabilizing zone so as to produce a swirling flow.
Thus, an air flow is injected from the air injection nozzle provided in the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone near the bottom wall so as to form a swirling flow. Therefore, the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone can be cooled. Accordingly, the auxiliary combustible gas injecting from the burner port for auxiliary combustible gas, which is away from the bottom wall, is cooled, and thus stable combustion can be continued. Further, the swirling flow of flame is accelerated, so that it is possible to prevent silica (SiO2) resulting from the combustion of silane (SiH4) from adhering to the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone or the combustion chamber even more effectively.
It is preferable that the auxiliary combustible gas be an over-rich premixed gas containing a fuel gas in excess of a stoichiometric amount. Thus, it is possible to form different flames, i.e. oxidizing flame and reducing flame, and hence possible to increase the efficiency of destruction of a halogen gas.
It is preferable that a secondary combustion air injection nozzle be provided in a wall surface extending from the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone to form the combustion chamber or in a peripheral wall surface near the lower end of the flame stabilizing zone. Thus, the high-temperature region can be enlarged downward, and the efficiency of destruction of a halogen gas can be increased.
It is preferable that the inner diameter of the combustion chamber and the inner diameter of the peripheral wall of the flame stabilizing zone be approximately identical with each other. Thus, a stagnant flow region is eliminated, and it is possible to prevent powdery silica (SiO2) from adhering to the inner wall of the flame stabilizing zone or the combustion chamber even more effectively.
It is preferable that the burner port for auxiliary combustible gas be provided to face obliquely downward. Thus, it is possible to suppress heating of the cylindrical member and the rise in temperature and hence possible to extend the heat resistant life. In addition, it is possible to maintain the high-temperature state of the gas and to increase the efficiency of destruction of a halogen gas.


An image processing apparatus includes a deciding unit configured to decide an attribute of each pixel contained in a bitmap from received print commands for printing a plurality of objects, a determination unit configured to determine whether each pixel of the generated bitmap is an edge pixel or not, and a changing unit configured to change the decided attribute of each pixel based on a result of the determination of whether the pixel is an edge pixel or not. The bitmap may be generated by drawing the plurality of objects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a method of controlling the same, and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is an image processing apparatus that receives from a personal computer (PC) page description language (PDL) data of a single page including draw commands for drawing a plurality of objects, rasterizes the objects into a memory of a single page, and prints a drawing image of the single page that is obtained by the rasterization. Such an image processing apparatus determines attributes (text or photograph) of the objects from the draw commands for the objects and executes image processing according to the determination result.
For example, with respect to an area of the drawing image in which an object having a text attribute exists, the image processing apparatus executes image processing to reproduce gray (R=G=B) using only a K toner. On an area of the drawing image in which an object having a photograph attribute exists, the image processing apparatus executes image processing to reproduce gray using CMYK toners (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-157791).
However, there are cases where an attribute of an object that is determined from a print command for printing the object is inappropriate.

Image processing apparatus, method of controlling the same, and program


An SRAM is formed having the six transistor cell. The pull down transistors are formed so that no arsenic is implanted into the drains of the pull down transistors so that the drains of the pull down transistors are doped only by phosphorus implantation. The sources of the pull down transistors are doped with an LDD configuration of phosphorus ions and then a further implantation of arsenic ions is performed. This can conveniently be accomplished by providing an opening in the mask used to implant impurities into the source/drain regions of the ESD protection circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the formation of static random access memories (SRAMs) in a manner that allows the memories to have low standby power usage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reduced geometry integrated circuit designs are adopted to increase the density of devices within integrated circuits in hopes of increasing performance and decreasing the costs of the integrated circuits. Modem integrated circuit memories, including DRAMs, SRAMs, ROMs, EEPROMS, etc., are prominent examples of the application of this strategy. The density of memory cells within integrated circuit memories continues to increase, accompanied by a corresponding drop in the cost per bit of storage within such devices. Increases in density are accomplished by forming smaller structures within devices and by reducing the separation between devices or between the structures that make up the devices. Often, these smaller design rules are accompanied by layout, design and architectural modifications which are either made possible by the reduced device sizes or are necessary to maintain performance when such smaller design rules are implemented. As an example, the reduced operating voltages used in many conventional integrated circuits are made possible by improvements in design, such as reduced gate oxide thickness and improved tolerance controls in lithographic processing. On the other hand, reduced design rules make reduced operating voltages essential to limit the effects of hot carriers generated in small size devices operating at higher, previously conventional operating voltages.
Another operating parameter affected by altering the design rules used to manufacture an integrated circuit memory device is the power consumption within static random access memories (SRAMs). SRAMs are frequently used in applications which require low power consumption when the SRAM is in its standby state. For example, portable computing devices require low power consumption at all times to prolong battery life. Other computing applications require low power operation in some operating states, such as desk top computers which have a low power consumption "sleep" state that the computer enters after an extended period of inactivity. For such a computer, or at least for some components of such a computer like the modem, it is desirable to keep as much of the operating state of the computer as is practical in integrated circuit memory (as opposed to hard disk or mass storage memory) so that the computer can rapidly resume normal operation after being awoken from its sleep state. To maintain low power consumption, it is important to use SRAM for storage of the operating state of the computer, because other types of memory use too much power (DRAM) or are not suited for the purpose (EEPROMs, flash). As SRAM density increases due to the application of reduced design rules, it becomes more difficult to maintain acceptably low levels of power consumption. For the reduced design rules, the devices within the SRAM become smaller and there is a tendency for the smaller devices to exhibit an increased level of leakage, so that the leakage for each cell tends to increase. This problem is compounded for higher density SRAM designs because the number of cells in the SRAM increases for the increased design rules so that the higher cell leakage is multiplied by the larger number of cells. It is accordingly important to reduce the level of charge leakage in SRAM cells to make the higher density SRAMs more useful for low power consumption applications.
Typical SRAM designs include two or four MOS transistors coupled together in a latch configuration having two charge storage nodes for storing the charge states which correspond to the data stored in the cell. The SRAM cell includes two pull down transistors and two load devices which may be polysilicon load resistors but are more typically thin film transistors in modem SRAMs. Each of the charge storage nodes includes at a connection between a corresponding pull down transistor and a corresponding one of the load devices and each of the charge storage nodes is coupled to the gate electrode of the other pull down transistor in the conventional latch configuration. Data are read out of the conventional SRAM cell in a non-destructive manner by selectively coupling each charge storage node to a corresponding one of a pair of complementary bit lines. The selective coupling is accomplished by a pair of pass transistors, each pass transistor connected between one of the charge storage nodes and the corresponding one of the complementary bit lines. Word line signals are provided to the gates of the pass transistors to switch the pass transistors ON during data read operations. Charge flows through the ON pass transistors to or from the charge storage nodes, discharging one of the bit lines and charging the other of the bit lines. The voltage changes on the bit lines are sensed by a differential amplifier. For the SRAM cell's latch to remain stable during such a data reading operation, at least one of the charge storage nodes within the SRAM must charge or discharge at a faster rate than charge flows from or to the corresponding bit line. This control is typically maintained in part by making the channel of the pass transistor connected to the particular charge storage node narrower and/or longer than the channel of at least one of the SRAM pull-down transistors having a drain connected to the particular charge storage node. This geometry allows more current to flow through the at least one SRAM pull-down transistor than through the corresponding pass transistor; consequently, the charge storage node charges or discharges faster than the corresponding bit line discharges or charges.
During standby operation when the SRAM is not performing read or write operations, charge tends to leak from the charge storage nodes in a manner that could eventually result in loss of data from the cells of the SRAM or could render data within some of the cells to become indeterminate. To address this problem, SRAMs are designed to maintain the potential on the charge storage node by causing charge to be provided to the charge storage node, preferably at a very slow average rate that is well matched to the level of charge leakage from the charge storage node. SRAM cells provide two load devices each connected between a charge storage node and the high reference potential. Charge flows either constantly or intermittently from the high reference potential through the load devices to the respective charge storage nodes to replace the charge that leaks from the charge storage node. Because operation of the load devices, whether active or passive, uses power at all times in which data are stored on the SRAM, reduction of the power consumption by the load devices has been studied in attempts to reduce the power consumption of higher density SRAMs. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,880 to Nishimura, et al., entitled "Field Effect Thin-Film Transistor for an SRAM with Reduced Standby Current," describes a variety of different designs intended to control the leakage through thin film transistors used as the load devices of an SRAM.
With continuing needs to reduce the power consumption and increase the integration density of SRAMs, there remains a further need to reduce the power consumption of individual SRAM cells and of complete SRAM circuits.


Toy vehicle sets may include a toy vehicle with an RFID transponder operable to produce an identification signal to identify the toy vehicle and an RFID reader configured to generate an electromagnetic field, detect an identification signal produced by an RFID transponder, and produce data representative of the identified toy vehicle. In some embodiments, the toy vehicle includes circuitry adapted to convert electromagnetic energy into power to operate the RFID transponder. In some embodiments, the toy vehicle includes a metal chassis with an aperture configured to support the RFID transponder and a transverse slot cut from an outer edge of the chassis to the aperture.

Tracks for toy cars and other vehicles may be used to set up play towns, cities, highways, race courses, and other play settings for the vehicles, such as to provide entertainment and challenges to players. Some tracks may be arranged in a closed circuit, such as to form a race course for the vehicles to repeatedly traverse. Such track setups may include features to track the number of laps traversed by a toy vehicle, for example, by incrementing a displayed lap count in response to a mechanical switch triggered by a toy vehicle traveling over a specially configured section of track. However, such track setups are limited in terms of the ability of the track components to distinguish among a plurality of toy vehicles that may be traversing a track.
Examples of toy cars and tracks for use therewith are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,572,711, 4,330,127, 4,364,566, 5,125,010, 6,089,951, and 6,109,186. Examples of systems of recording race objects in various settings are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,531,118, 3,946,312, 5,173,856, 5,194,843, 5,420,903, 5,970,882, and 6,192,099. All of the aforementioned disclosures are incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

Toy vehicles and play sets with contactless identification


An image forming apparatus stores image data generated from a document scanned by a scanner on a removable medium. When storage on the removable medium is not completed, part of the image data that has been stored by that time is deleted from the removable medium.

A multifunction peripheral (MFP) is one type of image forming apparatus that has multiple functions such as a printer function, a copy function, a facsimile (FAX) function, and a scanner function. Some MFPs have insertion slots that conform to standards common to other peripheral devices, and removable media such as USB memories and memory cards can be mounted and connected as external storage devices to these MFPs. Removable media collectively represent portable memory media that can be freely connected or disconnected and that have semiconductor memories or magnetic discs as storage media, such as USB memories, various memory cards, or the like.
These image forming apparatuses can print or send, via facsimile, information stored on removable media connected to the insertion slots. Also, image data generated by performing a scan can be stored on removable media. These functions do not require other devices such as PCs. Therefore, removable media are highly convenient.
In general, when image data generated by performing a scan is to be stored on a removable medium, image data generated by performing a scan is transferred and stored while performing a scan. The size of image data generated by performing a scan is not known until scanning of one page is completed. Therefore, there may be no space available in the storage region of the removable medium at the time the image data is being stored after scanning is completed. That is, a memory full error may occur.
When a memory full error occurs in a removable medium, the user must restart a scan from the beginning after organizing files or bringing a new removable medium in order to increase the available space in the removable medium.
To overcome this problem, for example, the following apparatus is proposed. When a memory full error occurs in a removable medium, if data to be stored is held in the apparatus and a new removable medium is connected to the apparatus, the held data is saved in the connected removable medium (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-118333).
Accordingly, the user can store the image data on the newly mounted removable medium, without performing again a scan from the beginning.
As described above, a process of storing image data onto a removable medium may be interrupted and may not be completed, such as when a memory full error occurs in the removable medium. In such a case, part of image data stored on the removable medium is left in the removable medium. For example, when a memory full error occurs when the fourth page in a document including five pages is being stored, scanned image data for three pages and image data for part of the fourth page are left stored on the removable medium. In this case, the image data is stored in an incomplete format, such as that the property of an application that handles a file including the image data is unknown, or the name of the file is unknown. Thus, a computer cannot analyze the file, and hence, the user cannot easily check an image included in the file. That is, data that cannot be easily handled by the user is stored. In other words, data unnecessary for the user is left in the storage medium, unless the user becomes aware of the data and deletes the data.

Image forming apparatus, control method for image forming apparatus, and storage medium


A charging device for charging an electronic device includes a plug module and an interface module. The plug module includes a plug portion, two connecting portions formed on a side of the plug portion, two first electrical wires positioned in the connecting portions, two condenser lenses, two first optical fibers, two first transmitting lenses. The first optical fibers connect the first transmitting lenses to the condenser lens. The interface module includes a main body, two positioning portions formed on a side of the main body, two second electrical wires extending the positioning portions; two second optical fibers, two second transmitting lenses, and a photoelectric conversion chip. The second optical fibers connect the second transmitting lenses to the photoelectric conversion chip. The first transmitting lenses are aligned with the second transmitting lenses.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to charging devices, and particularly, to a charging device with a light energy charging mode and an electricity charging mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable electronic device, such as a mobile phone, generally has a battery to supply electricity. After a user uses the mobile phone for a period of time, the battery is exhausted, and then the user needs to recharge the battery. However, the battery is usually charged in the case of a fixed power charger only, which thereby causes great inconvenience to prolonged outdoor operations of the portable electronic device.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.


A valved stem apparatus for use on a water pipe used for smoking. The valved stem is formed as an elongated hollow stem provided with a first open end, sized for mechanically interfacing with a pipe bowl assembly component of the water pipe, and with a second open end for being disposed within a liquid container member of the water pipe. The second open end is provided with a retaining structure that extends from the stem structure that delineates an opening at the second open end. A valve member, such as a ball valve, is disposed within the retaining structure such that it can freely travel within the retaining structure towards the opening portion of the second open end upon being submerged in a liquid. The opening portion is formed with a smooth beveled rim surface that conforms to the shape of the outer surface of the buoyant body to effect closure of the opening in a water-tight manner when not being forced open by a person drawing smoke from the mouthpiece. Once the drawing of smoke ceases, the buoyant force takes over to reclose the opening. The interior of the stem is essentially kept void of the liquid since the re-closure is virtually instantaneous. Any inadvertent tipping of the water pipe apparatus will not cause the buoyant body to be moved away from the opening of the hollow stem member and thus prevent any spillage of the liquid via the stem supporting the pipe bowl.

A water pipe of the type used for smoking comprises an elongated cylindrical tube member which is typically filled with a liquid, such as water, to a level some arbitrary distance above the open, lower end portion of a hollow stem member that is attached to, or through a side wall of the cylindrical tube member of the water pipe apparatus. The hollow stem member provides support for the pipe bowl that is used to contain the smoking substance. The pipe bowl is itself typically an assembly comprising a short stem onto which the pipe bowl is attached at one end and sometimes the pipe structure detachably inserts into the outer open end of an additional hollow stem member. A holder for manipulating a hot pipe bowl is interdisposed between the pipe bowl and the upper end of the short stem. The hollow stem member attaches to the side wall of the cylindrical tube member at an angle that is less than 90 degrees and greater than zero degrees. The basic idea being to maintain the smoking substance within the pipe bowl while being used. The side wall of the elongated cylindrical tube, where the hollow stem member attaches, is provided with an entry port which may be fitted with a grommet sized to receive the body of the hollow stem member in a water-tight manner. The elongated cylindrical tube member is usually supported at the bottom end by a base member. The bottom end of the cylindrical tube typically inserts into a cavity provided on the base, and fits such that a water-tight fit is produced. The upper end of the elongated cylindrical tube is sometimes finished smooth or may be fitted with a removable mouthpiece that fits about the rim of the tube. The length of the elongated cylindrical tube determines basically the height of the water pipe apparatus, and may be six (6) inches to seventy-two inches (72) inches or more in height. Upon filling the elongated tube with a liquid, such as water, to a desired level above the open, lower end of the hollow stem member, the water level also extends into the hollow stem member. The higher the water level is in the elongated cylindrical tube, the higher the water level extends into the hollow stem member. The high level of the water in the hollow stem member sometimes results in the pipe bowl being highly susceptible to water being spilled into the pipe bowl by any inadvertent tipping of the upright water pipe structure. The spillage into the pipe bowl is a highly undesirable situation, as is any spillage of liquid out of the pipe bowl onto the floor.
To applicant's knowledge, the prior art does not teach the placement of any valving means to prevent the foregoing described spillage of liquid via the pipe bowl end of the water pipe apparatus. Accordingly, a need is seen to exist for a water pipe apparatus which is provided with a valving means for preventing the spillage of a liquid, such as water, through the pipe bowl attachment structure.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a hollow stem apparatus for use on a water pipe structure for functionally supporting a pipe bowl and that is provided with a valving means for preventing the spillage of a liquid, such as water through the pipe bowl.
A related object of the present invention to provide water pipe smoking structure provided with a hollow stem apparatus that is used for functionally supporting a pipe bowl and that is provided with a valve means for preventing the spillage of water through the pipe bowl.

Water pipe bowl stem valve apparatus and method


The invention provides a locking bail that when in the locked position prevents the removal of an optical link module from a host system and when in the unlocked position provides a handle that facilitates the removal of an optical link module. By providing a locking bail, the packing density of modules in a host may be increased. The bail provides a handle which is accessible from the front of the module when the module is unlocked. The locking bail typically engages inclined planes on latch arms that secure an optical link module to the host system.

In order to transfer data between computer systems rapidly and reliably, electro-optic data transmission is increasingly being used as the method of choice. Optical fibers provide resistance to electro-magnetic interference, increased security, and increased speed due to a wide potential band width. Optical fibers transmit data from an electro-optical transducer, such as a laser or light emitting diode (LED) to an electro-optical receiver which generates electrical information based upon the signal received. An optical fiber includes a core region which is coated by an annular clad. The core region has an index of refraction greater than that of the clad, so that light is transmitted through the core by total internal refraction. The optical fibers are typically either threaded onto the electro-optical components or latched by the use of connectors such "SC" connectors.
Hot pluggable optical link modules are inserted and removed from a host system, such as a data processing system and typically are secured to a port in the host system by a latching system which is accessed from the side of the module. When designing a host system, space is provided on the sides of the module to allow removal of the module, greatly decreasing the density of the optical modules in the system.
Consequently, a need exists in the art for a lockable connector which will provide a host system having a high packing density of optical link modules. Specifically, a significant need continues to exist for a locking mechanism which provides a connection between the host system and the optical link module without the need to access the module from the side.

Hot pluggable module integrated lock/extraction tool

International Business Machines Corporation


This disclosure relates to methods, non-transitory computer readable media, and systems that relay domain-event objects within an enhanced multi-platform data stream to listen for and react to digital events indicated by the domain-event objects that occur across a wide variety of computing platforms. Specifically, the disclosed systems can receive domain-event objects within the multi-platform data stream. From among the domain-even objects transmitted through the multi-platform data stream, the disclosed systems can identify a domain-event object that is relevant to a digital-analytics platform by identifying domain-event objects that include properties satisfying domain-event-listener rules. Based on an entity identifier and an object event from the relevant domain-event object, the disclosed systems can perform a platform action within the digital-analytics platform (e.g., to react to a change in another platform as indicated by the domain-event object).

In recent years, conventional analytics systems have increasingly drawn data from and operated co-dependently with other computing systems. In particular, many conventional analytics systems execute a separate-data-call computing model to transmit and receive one-off communications indicating changes made from other computing systems. The other computing systems may include sales, coding, messaging, or various other platforms that operate different software—often with different software languages and communication protocols than a conventional analytics system. To bridge communication barriers between the separate-data-call computing model of conventional analytics systems and other computing systems(e.g., server-to-server communications), some conventional analytics systems utilize one-off communications that rely on application programming interface (API) calls. Although conventional analytics systems often communicate with other computing systems to reflect data changes, they exhibit a number of technical shortcomings that hinder efficiently and easily communicating about (and adapting to) cross-system changes and actions.
By transmitting one-off requests to collect information on data or actions that occurred on other computing systems, for example, conventional analytics systems use data requests that lead to inefficient, delayed reactions to changes across multiple computing systems. In some cases, conventional analytics systems periodically request individual updates from other computing systems by using scheduled data requests. Because scheduled data requests occur at predetermined times, conventional analytics systems often identify changes in other computing systems (or transmit such changes) at a delayed time rather than when those changes occur in real time. Such data requests can accordingly create inefficient cross-system changes and actions. In addition, some conventional analytics systems often inefficiently rely on sequential requests (e.g., data-request calls that occur in a sequence instead of simultaneously) to create cross-system changes and take actions.
Due to the above-mentioned delayed and fragmented communications between computing systems, many conventional analytics systems inefficiently utilize computing resources. To illustrate, while using data-request calls to identify changes in other computing systems, many conventional analytics systems transmit data-request calls at separate times. Such sporadic data-request calls often lead to redundancies in actions that inefficiently utilize computing resources. For example, a conventional analytics system may execute an action for a specific data structure based on identifying that another computing system changed data. In an exercise in redundancy, an additional outside computing system may also individually identify that the other computing system changed data and, therefore, also take an action for the same specific data structure. Due to each computing system and the conventional analytics system having to individually identify data changes across each system, a conventional analytics system oftentimes redundantly performs similar actions (to that of other computing systems) on a same set of data at the inefficient cost of processing power and bandwidth for other tasks.
In addition to inefficient use of computing resources, conventional analytics systems often cannot easily communicate with a wide variety of other computing systems about changes in data or actions. For example, many conventional analytics systems rigidly communicate internal data or action changes to other internal (or external) computing systems by determining which computing systems to send information to regarding the changes. As many of the computing systems utilize different protocols to receive such communications, conventional analytics systems often utilize a complex and difficult-to-manage set of instructions to keep track of which internal (or external) computing system to send the information to and also how to send the information. Because only the conventional analytics system determines a relevancy of and sends such information under conventional and rigid protocols, these conventional analytics systems often fail to relay information that may have been important to another computing system.
Likewise, because many conventional analytics systems inflexibly utilize a separate-data-call computing model to send scheduled and isolated API calls, conventional systems can delay both information updates and corresponding reactions to the information updates. Because the requests often require customized API configurations for each computing system that the conventional analytics systems need to check, isolated date-request calls specific to each of the external (or internal) computing systems often create a seemingly endless list of different API configurations with which to rigidly comply.
Due to such inefficiencies and inflexibilities, many conventional analytics systems cannot easily communicate (or identify) changes in data or actions across a wide variety of computing systems to take cohesive and quick reacting actions in light of the wide variety of actions that are taken on the other computing systems.

Domain events for a multi-platform data stream


A laminate may include the following layers in order: a transparent substrate, a first dielectric layer, a silver layer, a light-absorbing layer, a first barrier layer, and a second dielectric layer. The first dielectric layer may be in contact with the transparent substrate, and a single silver layer may be present in the laminate between the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer.

A silver layer provides neutral transmitted color and reflected color in the visible region and has a low resistivity. A silver layer having a geometrical thickness at a level of 10 nm has little absorption in the visible region and has a reflectance of several tens %. The reflectance increases as the wavelength becomes long, and in the infrared region, it has a high reflectance. A silver multilayer film comprising a silver layer sandwiched between dielectric layers, having a low reflectance in the visible region and a high reflectance in the infrared region, has an outer appearance equal to that of common glass, and has a low emissivity and a high heat ray reflectance, and accordingly it has been used for highly heat insulating Low-E glass or heat ray-reflective glass having a high transmittance. In recent years, along with an increase in the energy saving consciousness, demands for such glass are increasing. Further, since it has a low resistivity, it may be used as a transparent electrically conductive film.
Tempered glass is sometimes used as Low-E glass, for example, window glass for a building. Further, curved glass is used as window glass for an automobile. Both tempered glass and curved glass are produced by a heat treatment at a temperature of from 550° C. to 750° C. There are two methods for producing tempered glass or curved glass having a silver multilayer film. A first method is a method of forming a film on glass which has been tempered or curved. A second method is a method of forming a film on a large-sized flat glass, cutting the glass into a glass plate of a product size, and subjecting the glass to a heat treatment for tempering or curving.
The production cost is lower in the above second method of forming a film first and then cutting the glass and subjecting it to a heat treatment for tempering or curving, than a method of forming a film on glass which has been tempered or curved. It is difficult to stably produce a high performance silver multilayer film with substantially no deterioration after the heat treatment, and various know-how is required. As glass having a silver multilayer film and having the haze or the like at the time of the heat treatment suppressed, one having a NiCrOx film formed to sandwich a silver layer has been known (for example, Patent Document 1).
Further, as Low-E glass or the like, one comprising a light-absorbing layer in combination with a silver layer, in order to decrease the transmittance and to improve heat ray-shielding properties, has been known. One comprising a light-absorbing layer in combination with a silver layer may, for example, be one having a light-absorbing layer directly over a silver layer (for example, Patent Document 2 or 3).


The invention relates to a plastic pallet comprising an upper part, which is provided with outer and central female foot parts, and runners, which are provided with outer and central male foot parts. When plugged together with the female foot parts, the male foot parts form foot elements, and the female foot parts of the upper part and the male foot parts of the runners can be secured by means of a snap-fit connection. The female foot parts have an outer wall which surrounds their respective male foot parts. The outer wall of the outer female foot part extends over the entire height of the outer male foot part such that the outer male foot parts of the runners can be completely slid into the outer female foot parts of the upper part in such a manner that the outer wall of the outer female foot part together with the runner forms a support surface.

Pallets are used for storage and transportation of goods. The pallets keep the goods off the ground so that they can be lifted and transported by a lift truck. They usually consist of a flat upper part and, in the case of 1200×800 mm pallets, of three runners, which can be manufactured in one piece by injection molding or in several parts. Multi-part plastic pallets are easier and cheaper to produce and consist, for example, of an upper part and a lower part, which are interlocked and joined together. The lower part usually has three runners and nine feet.
The upper part and the lower part, or the runners respectively, can be joined together by welding, as described in CH702628 or CH685549. When the upper part is welded to the lower part, a bead is formed which must be removed with a milling operation so that the pallet has a smooth surface. This is time-consuming and expensive.
Furthermore, the plurality of parts can be connected to each other via snap locks. GB2421939 discloses a plastic pallet with a flat upper part and a flat lower part as well as nine separate feet by means of which the upper and lower parts are connected to one another, with both ends of the feet being fastened to the upper and lower parts of the pallet by means of snap-fits.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,483,899 discloses a pallet having a lower part and an upper part which can be slid into one another, wherein the lower part of the pallet has ribs with a snap element which is arranged at the upper end of each rib. By means of this snap element at the upper end of the ribs of the lower part of the pallet, the snap-fit connection with the upper part is effected.
A plastic pallet is known from EP2733084 having an upper part and a lower part, wherein the foot elements of the upper part and the lower part can be pushed completely into one another and locked by means of snap-fit connections. The outer area of the foot elements is formed by the runners.
The well-known multi-part plastic pallets have the disadvantage that the connection between the various parts can loosen under continuous load and the upper part separates from the feet or runners.