A set of tropodegradable chemical additives to decrease the flammability of normally flammable refrigerants, foam blowing agents, cleaning solvents, aerosol propellants, and sterilants is disclosed. The additives are characterized by high efficiency and short atmospheric lifetimes. The latter property is essential and results in a low ozone depletion potential (ODP) and a low global warming potential (GWP). The additives are bromine-containing alkenes, bromine-containing alcohols, bromine-containing ethers with at least one hydrogen atom adjacent to the oxygen atom, bromine-containing amines with at least one hydrogen atom adjacent to the nitrogen atom, bromine-containing carbonyl compounds, bromine-containing aromatics, and/or bromine-containing non-fluorinated alkanes.

Flammability and Explosivity
It is important at this point to briefly discuss what is meant by flammability and explosivity. Materials used in the applications of interest here (refrigeration, foam blowing, solvents, aerosol propulsion, and sterilization) are liquids or gases. In many cases, they are stored in one form and used in another or they are present in both forms during use. When flammable liquids burn, combustion actually occurs in the vapor phase, which is formed above the surface of the liquid by evaporation of the liquid. When flammable gases or vapor from evaporated flammable liquids are allowed to mix with air, the mixture can be explosive. (In this document, I use the terms "vapor" and "gas" as synonymous.) In fact, for the materials of interest here, explosions are just rapid combustion in the gaseous state. Explosions are often termed "deflagrations" if the combustion is relatively slow and as "detonations" if it is extremely fast. Thus "burning," "combustion," "explosion," "deflagration," and "detonation" all involve a rapid oxidation and differ primarily in the rapidity of the process and the results (explosions are often highly destructive). For the materials of interest here, flammability is often determined by introducing the material as a gas or as a vapor from an evaporated liquid into a container with air or oxygen and determining whether deflagration occurs. Thus, throughout this document, I use the term "flammable" to indicate whether combustion can occur without regard for whether the combustion occurs in the vapor phase above the liquid/vapor interface of a liquid or as a deflagration or explosion in a gas/air mixture.
Halocarbons
The broad class of halocarbons consists of all molecules containing carbon and one or more of the following halogen atoms: fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and/or iodine. Halocarbons, as the term is used here, may also contain other chemical features such as hydrogen, oxygen, and/or nitrogen atoms; carbon-to-carbon multiple bonds; and aromatic rings.
Due to their generally low toxicities and low or non-existent flammability, one family of halocarbons--the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which contain only carbon, chlorine, and fluorine atoms--has been used for many years in a variety of applications.
Refrigerants
Air conditioning, refrigerating, and heat pump appliances transfer heat from one area to another. In vapor compression systems, a chemical or mixture of chemicals, the refrigerant or "working fluid", is compressed in one area (the high-pressure side), where heat is given off, and then allowed to expand in a second area (the low-pressure side), where heat is taken up. In most cases, the working fluid condenses in the high pressure area and then evaporates in the low pressure area. A schematic of a typical refrigeration system is shown in FIG. 1.
CFCs have been the refrigerants of choice in many air conditioning, refrigerating, and heat pump appliances. Thus, CFC-12 (See Halocarbon Nomenclature, Center for Global Environmental Technologies, New Mexico Engineering Research Institute, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Revised February 1996 for a discussion of this "halocarbon number" and other halocarbon nomenclature), also known as R-12 or dichlorodifluoromethane (CCl.sub.2 F.sub.2), has been a widely used medium-pressure refrigerant for commercial and residential refrigeration, medium-pressure centrifugal chillers, and automobile air conditioners. CFC-11 (R-11, trichlorofluoromethane, CCl.sub.3 F) has been widely used in low-pressure centrifugal chillers, and CFC-114 (R-114, 1,2-dichloro-1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethane, CClF.sub.2 CClF.sub.2) is widely used by the U.S. Navy for centrifugal chillers. Other CFCs have also been used as refrigerants, either pure or in mixtures.
Foam Blowing Agents
The manufacture of plastic foams for insulation, cushioning, and packaging foams requires the use of gas or volatile liquid blowing agents to create bubbles or cells. CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113 (1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane, CCl.sub.2 FCClF.sub.2), and CFC-114 have been used as blowing agents in the manufacture of foam plastic products. In addition to their remarkably low toxicities and lack of flammability, CFCs provide plastic closed-cell foams with excellent insulating ability and generally have good materials compatibility.
Solvents
CFC-113 has been widely used as a solvent in metals, electronic, and precision cleaning and/or degreasing. In this application, in addition to acceptable toxicities and low flammability, rapid evaporation is desired. Rapid evaporation decreases or eliminates energy consumption for drying cleaned parts. All CFCs in common use evaporate rapidly. CFCs and related materials have also been used for dissolution of solutes (dissolving) in many applications including aerosol sprays.
Aerosol Propellants and Sterilants
CFCs have also been used as aerosol propellants though this use is decreasing and is nearly absent in some areas of the world, and a mixture of CFC-12 and ethylene oxide (C.sub.2 H.sub.4 O) is used for gas sterilization of medical equipment and devices. Ethylene oxide is the actual sterilant; CFC-12 is added only to decrease the ethylene oxide flammability. It is estimated that in 1989, 95 percent of all U.S. hospitals used an ethylene oxide/CFC-12 mixture as a sterilant.
Global Environmental Problems
CFCs and many other halocarbons, have come to be recognized as serious global environmental threats due to their ability to cause stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming and their significant atmospheric lifetime. The ozone depletion and global warming impact of chemicals such as these is measured by the ozone depletion potential (ODP) and global warming potential (GWP). ODP and GWP give the relative ability of a chemical to deplete stratospheric ozone or to cause global warming on a per-pound-released basis. ODP and GWP are usually calculated relative to a reference compound (usually CFC-11 for ODP and either CFC-11 or carbon dioxide for GWP) and are usually calculated based on a release at the earth's surface. It is important to note that ODP and GWP values must be calculated by computer models; they cannot be measured. As models, theory, and input parameters change, the calculated values vary. For that reason, many different values of ODP and GWP are often found in the literature for the same compound. Nevertheless, the calculation results are very accurate in predicting which compounds are highly detrimental to ozone depletion or global warming, which are only moderately detrimental, and which have very low or essentially zero impacts.
Despite the wide utility of CFCs, their production has been severely restricted due to concerns about stratospheric ozone depletion. In fact, under the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty enacted in 1987 and amended in 1990, 1992, and 1995, the production of CFCs was phased out in all industrialized nations at the end of 1995. Moreover, the production of certain other halocarbon chemicals has also been halted. Thus, the production of methyl chloroform (1,1,1-trichloroethane, CH.sub.3 CCl.sub.3), which like CFC-113 has been widely employed both as a solvent in cleaning applications and as a foam blowing agent, was also ended at the end of 1995 in industrialized countries.
Replacements and Proposed Replacements for Ozone Depleting Chemicals
Among the earliest replacement chemicals proposed as replacements for CFCs and methyl chloroform were the hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). These compounds contain hydrogen in addition to carbon, fluorine, and chlorine. The hydrogen atoms in the HCFCs react with hydroxyl free radicals, which are normal constituents of the earth's atmosphere, and, therefore, decrease the atmospheric lifetime of HCFCs relative to CFCs. This decrease in atmospheric lifetime limits the amounts of HCFCs that reach the stratosphere to deplete ozone.
HCFC-22 (chlorodifluoromethane, CHClF.sub.2) has long been the standard refrigerant for home air conditioners; however, HCFCs are now being promoted as CFC replacements in a number of other applications. For example, HCFC-123 (2,2-dichloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane, CHCl.sub.2 CF.sub.3) is now widely used as a replacement for CFC-11 in low-pressure centrifugal chillers and, along with HCFC-141b (1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane, CH.sub.3 CCl.sub.2 F) and HCFC-124 (2-chloro-1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, CHClFCF.sub.3), as a foam blowing agent. HCFCs such as a mixture of the two isomers HCFC-225ca (3,3-dichloro-1,1,1,2,2-pentafluoropropane, CHCl.sub.2 CF.sub.2 CF.sub.3) and HCFC-225cb (1,3-dichloro-1,1,2,2,3-pentafluoropropane, CHClFCF.sub.2 CClF.sub.2) are also being used for cleaning. Unfortunately, the atmospheric destruction process for HCFCs is insufficiently efficient to prevent all of the chemicals from reaching the stratosphere. Thus, HCFCs exhibit a low, but significant, ODP. For that reason, HCFCs are scheduled for eventual phaseout under the amended Montreal Protocol.
Much research has gone on to find replacements for the CFCs, HCFCs, and methyl chloroform. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which contain only hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon, and perfluorocarbons (PFCs or FCs), which contain only fluorine and carbon, are being commercialized as replacement chemicals in a number of applications. Since these materials contain no chlorine, bromine, or iodine (required, in most cases, if a compound is to exhibit significant stratospheric ozone depletion), they have a nominally zero ODP. (Here, I use the word "nominally" since calculations have shown an exceedingly small ODP for some of these materials.) However, HFCs and PFCs have very long atmospheric lifetimes and contribute to global warming. In fact, many PFCs have atmospheric lifetimes of several thousand years, compared with a few years for most HCFCs and a few hundred years for most CFCs. Moreover, a number of HFCs and HCFCs are flammable. When present as gases in volume containing oxygen (for instance, when the refrigerant leaks into a room), explosions can occur. Many new refrigerants--1,1-difluoroethane (HFC-152a, CH.sub.3 CHF.sub.2), difluoromethane (HFC-32, CH.sub.2 F.sub.2), 1,1,1-trifluoroethane (HFC-143a, CH.sub.3 CF.sub.3), 1,1-dichloro-1-fluoroethane (HCFC-141b, CH.sub.3 CCl.sub.2 F), and 1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane (HCFC-142b, CH.sub.3 CClF.sub.2)--are flammable and/or explosive, at least under some conditions. (It should be noted, that HCFC-141b and HCFC-142b are less flammable than the other alternatives listed and, in fact, are stated to be nonflammable in some sources. Both of these compounds do, however, have upper and lower flammability limits and HCFC-142b is classified as flammable in refrigeration standards issued by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, which gives no classification for HCFC-141b). This list of flammable HFC and HCFC refrigerants includes some of the most energy-efficient refrigerants, particularly HFC-152a and HFC-32. Flammable refrigerants are often mixed with nonflammable refrigerants to produce nonflammable refrigerant blends for commercialization, and a large number of such blends are now being marketed. This procedure is less than satisfactory, however, since a large amount of nonflammable refrigerant must often be added to a flammable refrigerant to obtain a nonflammable blend, and this often produces less than optimal properties.
Many non-halocarbons are being commercialized or seriously considered as CFC replacements. The use of hydrocarbon refrigerants such as propane (CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3, R-290), isobutane CH.sub.3 CH(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.3, R-600a!, and propylene (CH.sub.2 .dbd.CHCH.sub.3, R-1270) is increasing in many parts of the world. These materials are highly energy-efficient and have excellent global environmental properties (low atmospheric lifetimes, low GWPs, and zero ODPs); however, they are also highly flammable, and this has limited their use in many countries and in many applications. In some cases, these hydrocarbons are being blended with nonflammable refrigerants (as is being done for flammable HFCs and HCFCs); however, this often reduces the energy efficiency and increases the global environmental impact. Ammonia (NH.sub.3), a highly energy-efficient refrigerant that has been used for many years, has a zero ODP and a very low atmospheric lifetime and GWP; however, its flammability is coming under increasing scrutiny. Blends of ammonia with HFCs are now being considered to decrease the flammability problem.
The hydrocarbon cyclopentane (C.sub.5 H.sub.10) is now used to blow refrigerator insulating foams in some parts of the world, and hydrocarbons such as n-pentane (CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3), isopentane (CH.sub.3).sub.2 CHCH.sub.2 CH.sub.3 !, n-butane (CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3), and isobutane have long been used in the production of extruded polystyrene foam sheet products. However, these hydrocarbons are flammable. Other flammable chemicals being considered or being used as blowing agents are HCFC-141b, HFC-152a, 2-chloropropane (CH.sub.3 CHClCH.sub.3), and acetone CH.sub.3 C(O)CH.sub.3 !. Conversion from CFC and methyl chloroform to flammable blowing agents will entail significant capital investment to ensure worker safety. There is also concern about the ability of foams blown with flammable blowing agents to meet code requirements and safety standards.
No solvent that is equivalent to CFC-113 and methyl chloroform in toxicity and safety; has a low ODP, GWP, and atmospheric lifetime; and is an effective and easily evaporated cleaner has been identified (Tapscott, R. E., and Skaggs, S. R., Identification of Alternatives to CFC-113 for Solvent Cleaning, NASA White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, New Mexico, September 1994). A number of new chemicals--e.g., monochlorotoluenes, benzotrifluorides, volatile methyl siloxanes (VMSs), and terpenes--that are being considered or that are now used as solvents have very good global environmental and solvent properties but are flammable, and this flammability limits their use. There will also be increasing use of flammable chemicals long used as solvents--alcohols, petroleum distillates and other hydrocarbons, ethers, esters, and ketones.
A number of flammable materials are being used or considered for use as aerosol propellants. Among these are the hydrocarbons n-butane (CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3), isobutane (CH.sub.3).sub.2 CHCH.sub.3 !, and propane (CH.sub.3 CH.sub.2 CH.sub.3); dimethyl ether (CH.sub.3 OCH.sub.3); siloxanes; HFC-152a; HCFC-141b; and HCFC-142b.
Flammable materials have been used in the past as refrigerants, foam blowing agents, cleaning solvents, and aerosol propellants; however, the number of applications and usage are increasing due to the production bans on CFCs. Moreover, as regulations on HFCs and HCFCs increase, there will be increasing pressure to use hydrocarbons, petroleum distillates, ethers, and other highly flammable materials.
Solution to Flammability Problems
The applicability of many of the most useful substitutes or potential substitutes for CFCs in refrigeration, foam blowing, cleaning, aerosol propulsion, and chemical sterilization is severely limited by concerns about flammability. As noted earlier, in some cases, blending of nonflammable materials with flammable materials has allowed the production of nonflammable or low-flammability products; however, this course of action has been less than satisfactory due to the large amount of nonflammable components needed in many cases. What I claim here is the use of highly effective additives to decrease or eliminate flammability of normally flammable refrigerants, foam blowing agents, cleaning solvents, aerosol propellants, and sterilants. The action of these additives is not due to their nonflammability, as in existing and proposed blends, to decrease flammability; these additives act chemically to actually suppress flammability. Such additives can be used in relatively low amounts and, therefore, have a decreased influence on the characteristics of the principal component or components. The mode of action is described immediately below.
Bromine- and iodine-containing compounds disrupt the free-radical chain reactions that maintain combustion. This disruption is a highly effective "chemical" mechanism for fire suppression, as opposed to the primarily "physical" mechanisms of cooling and smothering provided by nonflammable components used to obtain many nonflammable refrigerant and other blends. Iodides, though useful in direct fire protection technologies, appear to have too high a toxicity and too low a stability for serious consideration as additives in the specific applications discussed here. Bromine-containing compounds, such as the halon fire extinguishing agents, are also highly effective chemical fire suppressants. However, bromine-containing compounds in the specific chemical forms used today as fire extinguishing agents (primarily bromofluoroalkanes, bromochlorofluoroalkanes) have high ODPs because of their long atmospheric lifetimes, and their production has been banned in industrialized nations. Moreover, production of the one (briefly) commercialized bromine-containing halon replacement CHBrF.sub.2 (HBFC-22B1) has now also been banned in industrialized nations under the Montreal Protocol along with all other hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs). In this case, the presence of a hydrogen atom in the molecule (without other features described in the present disclosure) was insufficient to achieve the hoped-for low atmospheric lifetime. In fact, none of the many halon substitute technologies now being commercialized contain bromine due to the concern about their expected high ODP. It should be noted that once they enter the stratosphere, bromine-containing compounds are about 40 times more destructive to stratospheric ozone than are chlorine-containing compounds (Solomon, S., and Albritton, D. L., "Time-Dependent Ozone Depletion Potentials for Short- and Long-Term Forecasts," Nature, Vol. 357, pp. 33-37, May 7, 1992).
There is, however, a solution to the problem of stratospheric ozone depletion by bromine-containing compounds. If chemical features that promote extremely rapid atmospheric removal are incorporated into the compounds, insufficient amounts of the materials will reach the stratosphere to cause significant stratospheric ozone depletion. Thus, the compounds will have exceptionally low ODPs, even though they contain bromine, which is normally a strong ozone depleter. In fact, the resulting short atmospheric lifetimes will also result in low GWPs. Using this concept, I have (1) examined mechanisms for removal of compounds from the atmosphere, (2) determined chemical features that could enhance the various removal processes, and (3) carried out calculations to estimate the atmospheric lifetimes. This three-step process has allowed us to invent several families of bromine-containing halocarbons that have very short atmospheric lifetimes. Moreover, my calculations and estimation methods indicated that these compounds had much shorter atmospheric lifetimes than I had expected and that these very short atmospheric lifetimes resulted in very low estimated ODPs. I then discovered that such compounds can be used as additives to normally flammable materials proposed or used in the following five applications covered by this disclosure:
1. Refrigeration PA1 2. Foam Blowing PA1 3. Cleaning, Degreasing, and Solute Dissolution PA1 4. Aerosol Propulsion PA1 5. Sterilization PA1 1. Bromine-Containing Alkenes PA1 2. Bromine-Containing Alcohols PA1 3. Bromine-Containing Ethers PA1 4. Bromine-Containing Amines PA1 5. Bromine-Containing Carbonyl Compounds PA1 6. Bromine-Containing Aromatics PA1 7. Bromine-Containing Non-Fluorinated Alkanes
Thus, pursuant to the present invention, the following seven groups of compounds having short tropospheric lifetimes and correspondingly low ODPs and GWPs, but also having chemical features (specifically, bromine) that promote effectiveness to reduce flammability have been arrived at. These families are the
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide chemical bromine-containing additives that act chemically to reduce the flammability of refrigerants, foam blowing agents, cleaning agents, aerosol propellants, and chemical sterilants and that are rapidly destroyed or removed by natural processes in the troposphere. I refer to such additives as "tropodegradable." As a result of the rapid degradation in the troposphere or removal from the troposphere, the additives will have very short atmospheric lifetimes, low ozone depletion potentials, and low global waring potentials. My criterion is that the estimated atmospheric lifetime be on the order of days or weeks, giving ODPs and GWPs that approach zero (probably less than 0.02 ODP) for a ground-level release. Note that I do not consider materials such as HCFCs, HFCs, and HBFCs to be "tropodegradable" as defined here, even though such chemicals are partially destroyed in the troposphere. The destruction processes are relatively inefficient compared to those for the additives claimed here, and HCFCs, HFCs, and HBFC normally have atmospheric lifetimes of years to hundreds of years.

Tropodegradable bromine-containing halocarbon additives to decrease flammability of refrigerants, foam blowing agents, solvents, aerosol propellants, and sterilants


A hose connection for an arrangement for collection of liquid from a patient is disclosed which connection comprises a first tubular member (1) to be in fluid connection with the patient and having one or more protrusions (3) arranged on an outer surface, and an outlet (2), and further comprises a collection bag (24) having an inlet to be connected to the outlet for collection of liquid coming through the first tubular member. The inlet comprises a second tubular member (5) being connected to the bag and adapted to receive and surround at least a part of said first tubular member. The second tubular member has one or more receiving means (6, 11) being engageable with the protrusions for providing a locked, but separable connection between the first and second tubular member.

Measurement and collection of liquid from patients at hospitals is obtained by use of a catheter inserted into the patient, e.g. into the bladder, said catheter being connected to a measuring vessel or a collection bag for collecting the liquid.
Often the vessel or catheter is fixed connected to a collection bag, which can be emptied by use of a valve in the bottom of the bag. However, it is preferable that the bag can be replaced by a new one when it is full instead of just emptying it. This replacement must be done more than once a day, and it is therefore important that it can be done fairly easily for the nurse in order to reduce his/her workload and to avoid the risk of spillage. Thus, the connection between the bag to be replaced and the other part(s) must be separable and performed without the need of much energy, but it still has to be a proper connection and be completely tight during use.
The characteristics of known hose connections are that they are either to loose and disconnect during use, or are too tight and very difficult to disconnect.
US 2004/0215158 discloses an in-line hose connector for a urinary catheter. The connector has a first part with a hose barb connected to the catheter tube and a second part with a cylindrical opening and a circumferentially extending fastening strap. A projection of the second part fits into a hole on the fastening strap after twisting the pieces and is so shaped as to aid in disengaging the fastening strap from the projection and thus disconnect the parts when a tension force is exerted.
As the connector parts of US 2004/0215158 are both made of a hard plastic, an O-ring between these parts must provide the sealing. Furthermore, the construction is very complicated and expensive as it consists of two moulded parts each having a part of a catheter tube in the end.
Another known hose connection consists of a female tube of a bag being slid over a male tube, the male tube having a plurality of conical shaped protrusions with an increasing diameter so that the male tube is connected to the female tube by means of friction provided due to the increasing diameter. Such a connection provides a good tightening, but it is very difficult to separate without using much energy and without spillage, or it may even not be separable at all.
Other hose connections are disclosed in US 2002/123739, EP 0 901 778, DE 298 18 311, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,356,396, and 4,579,126.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hose connection between a collection bag and the fluid connection to the patient, which connection is easy to assemble and separate, simpler and thus cheaper to manufacture, while still providing proper tightening during use.

Urine measuring vessel and hose connection


Macro-transistor structures are disclosed. In some cases, the macro-transistor structures have the same number of terminals and properties similar to long-channel transistors, but are suitable for analog circuits in deep-submicron technologies at deep-submicron process nodes. The macro-transistor structures can be implemented, for instance, with a plurality of transistors constructed and arranged in series, and with their gates tied together, generally referred to herein as a transistor stack. One or more of the serial transistors within the stack can be implemented with a plurality of parallel transistors and/or can have a threshold voltage that is different from the threshold voltages of other transistors in the stack. Alternatively, or in addition, one or more of the serial transistors within the macro-transistor can be statically or dynamically controlled to tune the performance characteristics of the macro-transistor. The macro-transistor can be used in numerous circuits, such as varactors, VCOs, PLLs, and tunable circuits.

Integrated circuit design in the deep-submicron process nodes (e.g., 45 nm and beyond) involves a number of non-trivial challenges, and circuits incorporating microelectronic components such as transistors or varactors have faced particular complications at these levels, particularly with respect to optimal device parameters and circuit performance. As process scaling advances further, these non-trivial problems and limitations will become more significant.


An LCD display system provides colored backlighting to enhance the viewing experience of presentations by the display system. The liquid crystal display (LCD) system includes a monochrome LCD to display monochrome information including at least two sectors; at least two backlighting elements to emit light in a plurality of colors, each backlighting element associated with one sector of the LCD and configured to backlight the one associated sector with a color light; and a processing device to control display of the information on the LCD and to select the color emitted by each backlighting from the plurality of colors. Each backlighting element may include two or more different color light emitting diodes (LEDs) wherein the intensity of each color LED is controlled by the processing device to provide the color selected by the processing device. A reflective element may be positioned relative to the backlighting element to reflect the color light emitted by the backlighting element. A diffusing element may be positioned between the backlighting element and the LCD.

A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat display device made up of any number of monochrome pixels arrayed in front of a light source or reflector. Each pixel of an LCD consists of a layer of perpendicular molecules aligned between two transparent electrodes, and two polarizing filters, the axes of polarity of which are perpendicular to each other. Typically, the surfaces of the electrodes in contact with the liquid crystal material are treated to align the liquid crystal molecules in a particular direction.
Before applying an electric field, the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules is determined by the alignment at the surfaces. In a twisted nematic device (the most common liquid crystal device), the surface alignment directions at the two electrodes are perpendicular. The molecules arrange themselves in a helical structure or twist. Because the liquid crystal material is birefringent, light passing through one polarizing filter is rotated by the liquid crystal helix as it passes through the liquid crystal layer, allowing it to pass through the second polarized filter. Half of the light is absorbed by the first polarizing filter, but otherwise the entire assembly is transparent.
When a voltage is applied across the electrodes, a torque acts to align the liquid crystal molecules parallel to the electric field, distorting the helical structure reducing the rotation of the polarization of the incident light, and the device appears gray. If the applied voltage is large enough, the liquid crystal molecules are completely untwisted and the polarization of the incident light is not rotated at all as it passes through the liquid crystal layer. This light will then be polarized perpendicular to the second filter, and thus be completely blocked and the pixel will appear black. By controlling the voltage applied across the liquid crystal layer in each pixel, light can be allowed to pass through in varying amounts, correspondingly illuminating the pixel.
LCDs like those found in calculators have direct driven image elements where a voltage can be applied across one segment without interfering with other segments of the display. These LCDs are relatively cheap to manufacture and therefore are used in low cost items such as digital clocks, watches, calculators, and toys. While cheap these LCDs are considered by some to be less than aesthetically pleasing; whereas, color LCDs are cost prohibitive for use in such devices.

Liquid crystal display with color sector backlighting


A NICAM encoder (54) comprises a NICAM processor (82) and a front-end section (80,84) coupled to the NICAM processor. The front-end section is configured for operating with a system clock (68) that is integer divisible such that the system clock can be used by both the NICAM processor (82) and the front-end section (80,84).

The present disclosures relate to stereophonic audio encoders, and more particularly, to a NICAM encoding apparatus.
Near-Instantaneously Companded Audio Multiplex (NICAM) encoding was developed during the early 1980's by the BBC research center. The main goals were to improve sound quality, provide multiple channels of digital sound or data, and improve ruggedness in difficult reception areas compared to other TV stereo systems, while preserving at the same time the compatibility with the existing services. NICAM 728 was first applied to the British TV system (PAL I) and later to PAL B/G and SECAM L. After examining several methods, in the late 1980's the ITU recommended the use of NICAM in countries using PAL and SECAM television systems for digital multisound transmission.
NICAM encoding is partly digital and partly analog. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram view of a prior art composite video with stereo audio system 10 having an analog filter 12, a dual-channel analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 14, a digital sound NICAM encoder 16, an analog QPSK transmitter 18, and an RF modulator 20. Analog filter 12 filters the two audio inputs 22 and 24, respectively, and outputs the filtered signals on outputs 26 and 28, respectively. The outputs 26 and 28 of analog filter 12 are inputs to the dual-channel ADC 14. ADC 14 receives a first clock at 34 (CLK1) and converts signals on the ADC inputs 26 and 28 into corresponding digital signals on ADC outputs 30 and 32, respectively. As illustrated, the outputs of the dual channel ADC 14 have 14-bit resolution. Digital sound encoder 16 receives a second clock at 38 (CLK2) and processes signals on encoder inputs 30 and 32 into digitally encoded signals on encoder output 36 according to the NICAM standard. Subsequently, the encoder output 36 is input to analog QPSK transmitter 18. QPSK represents Quadrature Phase Shift Keying. Analog QPSK transmitter 18 receives a third clock at 42 (CLK3) and QPSK modulates the signal received at the input 36 onto the output 40. The QPSK modulated signal on output 40 is then combined with the composite video on signal line 44 by RF modulator 20. The RF modulator then RF modulates the combined QPSK modulated signal and composite video onto RF modulator output 46.
Further in connection with the system of FIG. 1, pre-emphasis can be applied to the two inputs either in the analog or digital domain. The two input signals are digitized to 14 bit resolution at 32 kHz sample rate (CLK1) via ADC 14. The samples are grouped into blocks of thirty-two (32) 14-bit data, equivalent to a duration of 1 ms. At digital sound encoder 16, the samples of each block are companded to 10 bits with the same scaling factor. One parity bit is then added to each 10-bit sample for error detection and scale-factor signaling purposes. Left and right data are then multiplexed and bits are interleaved according to the interleaving pattern described in the NICAM standard, thus forming a block of 704 bits. Then an 8-bit frame alignment word, 5-bit control information, and 11-bit additional data are added at the beginning of the block of 704 bits, thus forming a frame of 728 bits. Each frame is serially transmitted every millisecond, for example, on signal line 36. The overall bit rate is 728 bit/s, corresponding to clock 38 (CLK2). The bitstream is then scrambled (except for the bits belonging to the frame alignment word), converted into two streams of 1-bit in-phase and quadrature data sampled at 364 kHz (symbol rate), differentially encoded and QPSK modulated, with use of clock 42 (CLK3), onto a 6.552 MHz subcarrier for PAL I or 5.85 MHz for PAL B, G and H and SECAM L via QSPK transmitter 18. The QPSK modulated audio signal 40 is then combined with the composite video 44 and RF modulated with RF modulator 20. The RF modulator produces RF signals 46 on VHF and/or UHF channels.
A disadvantage of the system of FIG. 1 is the requirement for multiple system clocks. That is, the NICAM encoder of FIG. 1 requires several clocks (e.g., CLK1, CLK2, CLK3, etc.) which are produced by different crystal oscillators and phase locked loops (PLLs). For example, for a dual-channel ADC that comprises a Sigma-Delta stereo ADC, the ADC is usually clocked at 4.096 MHz (corresponding to an oversampling rate of 128). The bit rate and symbol rate of the QPSK encoder are 728 kbit/s and 364 kbaud, respectively. The subcarrier frequency is 6.552 MHz for PAL I and 5.85 MHz for PAL B, G and H and for SECAM L. Note that these clocks are not easily related to one another, that is, they are not easily derived from a same clock, such as a 27 MHz clock or its multiples that are very common in audio/video chips or a 24 MHz clock, suitable for a single chip implementation, wherein the 24 MHz clock allows easy generation of a 4 MHz clock for the RF modulator integrated circuit. Furthermore, a disadvantage of requiring the use of PLLs is that PLLs require additional area and pins for ground and power supply. Moreover, since the crystal oscillators and PLLs are analog blocks, they are not easily portable. Accordingly, this adds extra complexity to the encoder and translates into additional overall cost.
Further as discussed above, a NICAM encoder is only partly digital. Some of its functions are implemented with analog blocks, in particular the pre-emphasis filters, the pulse-shaping filters of the QPSK transmitter and the QPSK modulator, which disadvantageously requires tuning and therefore adds considerable cost to the system. In addition, the direct implementation of these analog blocks into integrated circuits is not practical, because they are not easily portable when the technology is changed.
Still further, most European television sets support NICAM to receive stereo audio from terrestrial television broadcasts wherever it is available. However, VCRs, DVD players, satellite set-top boxes and gaming stations are not equipped with NICAM encoders and therefore, if connected through the RF connector, only mono audio is available. Usually they are connected to television sets through a SCART connector (a.k.a. Euro connector). SCART stands for Syndicat francais des Constructeurs d'Appareils de Radio et de Télévision. Many consumer audio/video components in Europe support one or two 21-pin SCART connectors. The SCART connector has 21 pins and provides stereo sound and video signals both in and out of the equipment, depending on the particular type of equipment. In addition, the SCART connector may also provide RGB signals.
However, the SCART connector occasionally has reliability problems and sometimes, due to poor shielding, composite video output may interfere with the composite video input. Furthermore SCART cables can only be used to connect local equipment (e.g., located within the same room) and therefore cannot be used to connect remote television sets (e.g., located in distal rooms) to the set-top box. While newer European television sets are starting to include audio/video connectors similar to corresponding USA models, connecting several audio/video components, for example, to a European television set, through video, left and right audio cables can become complicated.
Traditional implementations of NICAM encoding systems are not very cost effective from the view point of integration into an audio/video chip or into a single-chip encoder due to the requirement of multiple clocks and the use of analog blocks which require tuning and which are not easily portable when integrated. NICAM encoders are generally used in TV stations and typically include very expensive rack mount units. While less costly versions may exist for other applications, the other applications still require a printed circuit board with many discrete components. Accordingly, in view of cost and complexity, NICAM encoders have been used mainly in broadcast equipment alone, and not in equipment for general consumer applications.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved apparatus for overcoming the problems in the art as discussed above.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. Skilled artisans will also appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

NICAM encoder featuring synchronization of a NICAM processor with front-end input and output sections


An oil-free scroll air compressor, includes two fixed scrolls and a movable scroll with scroll wraps on both sides. The fixed scrolls each are provided on an end surface thereof with scroll wraps. The movable scroll with scroll wraps on both sides is provided on both end surfaces thereof with scroll wraps. The two fixed scrolls and the movable scroll with scroll wraps on both sides together form two gas compression channels located on two sides. The scroll warps on a same end surface are configured as a double-parallel-groove structure, which further divides the gas compression channel on the same side into two gas compression channels, thereby increasing displacement of the scroll air compressor. After a gas is introduced through a gas inlet on a circumferential surface of the fixed scroll, the gas is compressed in multiple compression channels and then discharged from a center of the scroll air compressor.

With the increasing severity of atmospheric pollution and the shortage of traditional fossil energy, traditional fossil fuel vehicles are being gradually replaced by new energy vehicles. With the support of national policies, the new energy vehicle industry represented by electric vehicles has risen rapidly. However, due to the technical bottlenecks in battery performance, safety, and cruising range of electric vehicles, new energy vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells and characterized by high efficiency, low noise, and low emissions have attracted much attention.
As a national key industry, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have always been a hot area of research by related scholars in recent years. A hydrogen fuel cell system, as a power source of a fuel cell vehicle, consists of a fuel cell stack, a fuel supply and circulation system, an oxidant supply system, a water/heat management system, and a control system that coordinates operations of various systems. The oxidant supply system is one of the most important auxiliary devices in the hydrogen fuel cell, and its design and performance of the hydrogen fuel cell system are closely related. The oxidant supply system of the hydrogen fuel cell needs to meet requirements of large displacement and low compression ratio. Therefore, there is an urgent need in engineering practice for a large-displacement, low-compression-ratio, and long-service-life compressor to be used as an important part of the oxidant supply system.
Scroll air compressors are common gas compressors. Scroll air compressors have features that just meet the requirement of low compression ratio for an oxidant supply system, and they have been widely used in various engineering projects. A commonly used scroll air compressor mainly includes a fixed scroll and a movable scroll. The movable scroll, when driven by a power source, is capable of a circular translational movement around an axis of the fixed scroll to reduce a volume of each compression chamber in a gas compression channel through physical compression, by way of which a gas in the gas compression channel is compressed and finally discharged from a center. However, the commonly used scroll air compressors are often provided with compression only in one single stage, and therefore their displacement is small, which can hardly meet the requirements of hydrogen fuel cells.
Chinese patent CN107620704A proposes a mechanical and electrical integrated dual-side oil-free scroll compressor. In this patent, a movable scroll is provided on both end surfaces thereof with scroll wraps. The movable scroll is simultaneously coupled with two fixed scrolls for compression work. Compared with a commonly used single-stage scroll air compressor, the scroll air compressor in this patent increases an amount of a gas compressed per unit time, which helps to reduce the volume of large-displacement scroll air compressors. However, this patent has the following disadvantages.
1. The scroll air compressor is too simple to meet the requirements of the engineering field with complex working conditions.
2. A motor is directly mounted on a working portion. During operation of the scroll air compressor, the motor may be damaged by impacts from the movable scroll.
3. The displacement of the scroll air compressor can hardly be further increased.

Oil-free scroll air compressor with double parallel grooves on both sides


A self-intelligent component-based robotics system wherein at (202), system (100) is assembled. At (204) an optimal self configuration process is performed. At (206) a user inputs into the system a “system image” which represents one or more functions expected from the system. At (208) calibration is performed. Once calibration is completed, system 100 is being used at (210).

Robotics systems in general and especially motor drive systems, typically require a high level of manual integration. For example, in many robotics systems, wires are connected by hand between screw connectors on control units and on motor units. After the wiring is completed, typically by a skilled robotics electrician, a calibration and testing phase, for checking that the wiring is correctly connected, is performed.
Generally, for field installation, a complete team including not only an electrician, but also a skilled integrator, is required. One reason for this need is the wide variety of sensors and actuators which may be used. As a result, even if an attempt is made to use standard cables, there is usually no avoiding the use of dedicated wiring, attached to components using screws and the like.
In an alternative scheme, the robotics system is assembled and tested at the factory, then disassembled for transport, so substantially no complex wiring, calibration and testing is required in the field, but field modification is close to impossible.


In a load tie-down system that incorporates a wind-down winch for securing and tensioning a hold-down member, the improvement consists of incorporating a tensioning spring that maintains a resilient loading upon the drum of the winch, such that in the event of reduction in the tension of the hold-down member, the drum is driven in a winding-on sense, to maintain tension in the hold-down member. A releasable coupling between the spring and the winch drum enables independent operation of the winch and of the tensioning spring. One embodiment incorporates a spring mounted upon an extension of the winch drum, outside the frame. Helical springs are used. The spring torque is automatically connected to the winch drum, and is automatically disconnected when the spring is de-tensioned. In use, the torque provided by the tensioned spring can be used to boost the tensioning of the hold-down member, by re-applying downward loading torque with the tommy bar, operating on either of the capstans, and then re-tensioning the spring.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a load restraint system, and in particular to a safety adaptation to a load restraint system, for truck load winches, used for securing loads to railcars, flatbeds, automotive trucks and the like, providing a spring loaded safety winch, as OEM spring-loaded winches, and the conversion of existing winches.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The attachment of loads upon the beds of vehicles, for safe transportation, usually relies upon hold-down members, such as straps, chains, cables and the like that are passed over the load and secured to the sides of the vehicle, and there tensioned.
Tensioning of the hold-down members is usually effected by use of an in-situ, hand-operated winch to which one end of the hold-down member is attached.
The winch has a drum, about which an end of the hold-down member is wound. The drum has a capstan which is rotated by means of a lever or Tommy-bar that is inserted into a selected hole in the drum capstan, and the bar is then cranked angularly, to wind the hold-down member onto the drum, and to tension it.
The winch drum has a toothed ratchet portion at one end, adjacent the capstan, against which a ratchet pawl engages, to prevent reversed, overhauling rotation of the drum, which would otherwise result in the loss of the tension that is applied to the hold-down member. The use of nylon or other straps of suitable plastic may provide a degree of elasticity to the load restraint system. However, despite such elasticity, there is a distressingly frequent loss of tension in the hold-down member, due to settling of the load. This frequently results in shifting of the load, often with disastrous, frequently fatal consequences, more particularly for other road users. In cases where cables or chains are used as the hold-down member, the maintenance of tension is an even greater problem, due to an absence of elasticity and resilience in the hold-down member. Any settling of the load can lead to instantaneous loss of hold-down tension, which can then lead rapidly to shifting of the load. This particularly applies to loads such as logs.
This problem of inadequate security of load attachment is currently leading towards legislation proposing that, in the case of road trucks, for every three hours of travel or 150 miles covered, the vehicle shall be halted and the tension of the load securing hold-down members be checked. As there are usually a significant number of load members and their associated winches along the length of a modern, extended transport truck and/or trailer, such further checking involves the expenditure of considerable further time and effort on the part of the driver.
Added to this is the roadside hazard, affecting both passing traffic, in the event that there is no proper pull-off for the trucker to use, and more particularly involving the truck driver, who is particularly vulnerable beside the truck, when preoccupied in pulling down with full force against each of many winches, to re-tension the respective hold-down members.
A particularly adverse factor is the repetition, winch after winch, and time after time of the gross physical strain imposed upon the driver, particularly to the shoulders and back, the latter being especially vulnerable to injury. Instances of severe frontal injury and even death have occurred, usually due to kick-back or dislocation and forcible discharge of the loading bar from the winch.
The present invention has a preferred embodiment, applicable to OEM equipment and also having retro-fit capability, as an improvement to prior-existing load restraint winch systems, as used for securing an elongated load hold-down member in secured, tensioned relation across a load. The prior winch systems generally comprise a winch having a drum rotatable mounted in a frame; the frame having mounting notches, for sliding attachment of the winch to a winch track on the side of a truck; a manually operated capstan that receives an inserted loading (tommy) bar with which the capstan is rotated, to rotate the drum so as to wind-on and apply load-securing tension to the hold-down member; and a first ratchet-and-pawl means to prevent over-hauling reversal of the drum by the tensioned hold-down member. The drum portion of the winch to which the hold-down strap or cable is attached may comprise three parallel straight bars, spaced from, and parallel with the axis of rotation of the assembly. The load strap or cable is threaded between these bars, and wound about the bar assembly, which serves as the winch drum.
The preferred embodiment consists of spring-loaded tensioning means, mounted for rotation independently of the winch drum, and connected to the winch drum in driving relation by way of a second ratchet arrangement. The tensioning spring is loaded by means of a manual capstan, using the loading or tommy bar in the usual fashion. However, in the preferred embodiment, the tommy bar is pulled upwardly in order to load the spring, whereas the loading strap is normally first pulled down and tightened by the winch capstan, by cranking the tommy bar downwardly. In the unloaded condition of the spring, the pawl of the spring ratchet hangs clear of the ratchet, in a disengaged condition, leaving the drum of the winch free for normal use in the unwinding or winding-on of the load strap. The winch is thus used in its normal fashion, to apply and tension the load strap.
Then, upon upward loading of the spring by way of the spring capstan and inserted tommy bar, the pawl, being displaced arcuately upward with upward motion of the tommy bar, swings inward to engage the ratchet as the pawl moves upwardly. The spring assembly can be rotatably mounted upon an extension of the winch drum, lying outside of the winch frame, in the case of a short-frame winch; or within the frame of a long-frame winch, in coaxial relation with the winch drum.
Conversion of an existing winch to a spring-maintained safety model can be carried out by welding an extension cylinder to the winch drum. This extension cylinder carries a peripheral ratchet, to transfer torsional load from the spring to the winch drum.
The loading spring, in the form of a helical coil spring is mounted upon its cylinder, which can then be mounted in rotatable relation upon the extension cylinder of the winch drum. The spring cylinder carries the ratchet pawl that can engage the extension cylinder ratchet, when the spring is tensioned, to transfer torque loading to the winch drum. The rotatable spring-loaded tensioning means is secured to the winch drum in coaxial relation, and pre-tensioned to drive the winch drum in tension-maintaining relation with the hold-down member, in the event that the tension in the hold-down member should diminish.
The subject multi-coil spring is of predetermined stiffness, to provide a pre-determined winding take-up capacity to the load hold-down member, to absorb any slackening that may occur due to normal load settlement.
The subject spring-loaded tensioning means may include low-friction support bearings for the rotational parts.
The inner end of the spring is secured against rotation by way of a bracket mounted on the adjoining end face of the winch frame.
The axially outer end of the spring is secured to the spring capstan by way of an axially extending tang portion of the spring.
In use, this embodiment has the particular advantage that an operator/trucker can retain both hands upon the lever when loading the spring, as the pawl of the spring system engages the associated ratchet automatically under the effects of gravity as the pawl is displaced upwardly due to raising of the tommy bar.
The present invention thus provides a method of tensioning a load restraining hold-down device having a flexible hold-down member wound in tensioned relation upon a rotatable drum, including the steps of tensioning a driving spring, and connecting it in loading relation with the drum, and restraining the spring against reverse over-run, whereby, upon reduction in the tension of the hold-down member due to a change in load conditions, the drum is driven by the driving spring in a direction to maintain tension in the hold-down member, to restrain the load.

Spring-loaded safety winch for load restraint system


A novel method for producing a ceramic phase particle dispersoid in metal and a novel product composed thereof. The method includes (a) providing a molten composition consisting essentially of molten aluminum alloy containing molten metal selected from the group consisting of Zr, V and combinations thereof, (b) providing a chloride salt containing fine carbon particles; and (c) reacting the chloride salt containing fine carbon particles in the molten aluminum metal with the molten metal to form a uniform distribution of finely sized carbide particles formed and dispersed in-situ in an aluminum alloy matrix.

The aluminum and aerospace industries have long sought a method to control recrystallization of aluminum alloys during deformation operations to permit the design of aluminum airframes with improved structural properties.
The metals industry today conventionally uses dispersoids, i.e., fine particles dispersed in the metal alloy, to control recrystallization and to increase dispersion strengthening at elevated temperatures. Such dispersoids of fine particles dispersed in the metal alloy usually are formed by solid state precipitation.
Recent developments in this area suggest that to improve formability and high temperature strength of aluminum alloys, it is necessary to increase the number densities and to reduce the size of the fine particle size dispersoids.
Certain emerging technologies are capable of producing fine particulates of different types with somewhat improved interfacial characteristics. Among the several ways of producing these materials, the technologies where the particles are introduced or formed in the molten aluminum prior to its solidification are attractive, primarily because of the potential for commercially economic processes on a large scale.
A variety of processing routes classified generally as in-situ ceramic phase formation processes in metal have been developed recently. According to the state of the reactants in the process, such a ceramic phase formation process in metal generally is classified into one of several categories:
(1) liquid metal-gas reaction, PA1 (2) liquid metal-liquid metal reaction, or PA1 (3) liquid-solid reaction.
In the case of carbon particles or carbon blocks in the context of liquid metal-liquid metal reactions or liquid-solid reactions, it is known that such carbon particles or carbon blocks are difficult to introduce directly into a melt in metal because of non-wetting of the carbon by the molten metal or alloy.

Method of forming ceramic particles in-situ in metal


An electrical connector is provided for terminating a cable having a cable shield. The electrical connector includes an electrical contact configured to be terminated to an end of a wire of the cable, and a housing having a body that extends from a mating end to a cable end. The housing includes a connector shield. The electrical contact is held by the housing. The cable end includes a cable channel that is configured to hold an end segment of the cable therein such that the cable shield is electrically engaged with the connector shield. An electromagnetic interference (EMI) absorber is held within the cable channel such that the EMI absorber is configured to extend around the cable shield along at least a portion of a length of the cable channel. The EMI absorber is configured to absorb EMI emitted from the cable.

The subject matter herein relates generally to an electrical connector for terminating an electrical cable having a cable shield.
Electrical connectors that terminate electrical cables may include a housing that provides shielding for one or more electrical contacts held by the housing. For example, the housing may include an electrically conductive coating (e.g., a plating), an electrically conductive shell, and/or another electrically conductive structure that extends around the electrical contacts for shielding the electrical contacts. The shield of the housing is terminated to a shield (e.g., a cable braid) of the cable that provides shielding for one or more electrical wires of the cable. The shielding provided by the housing shield and the cable shield may reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) emissions from the cable assembly of the electrical cable and the electrical connector. EMI emitted from the cable assembly may harm the signal integrity and/or electrical performance of neighboring electrical devices, for example. Moreover, government regulations may require that EMI emissions from the cable assembly be contained to a predetermined level.
The EMI shielding of at least some known cable assemblies may be inadequate because of the increasing signal speeds being transmitted through cable assemblies. For example, the connection between the housing shield and the cable shield may leak EMI above certain signal speeds, such as above approximately 10 gigahertz (GHz). Some known cable assemblies wherein the cable shield is a cable braid that is dressed over a ferrule of the housing may be especially susceptible to EMI leakage at the interface between the cable braid and the ferrule because of the flare of the cable braid over the ferrule.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical connector that reduces EMI emissions.

Electrical connector having an EMI absorber


A system includes a queue and a controller. The queue receives a transactions from masters to access a memory component. The memory component includes a plurality of rows. The controller issues a command to access a row of the plurality of rows in response to receiving a first issued transaction. The first issued transaction is issued by a first master. The controller is configured to prevent issuing an auto-precharge command to keep the row associated with the first issued transaction open if a subsequent transaction in the queue from the first master accesses a same row as the first transaction. The controller is configured to prevent issuing the auto-precharge command to keep the row associated with the first issued transaction open if the controller receives data associated with keeping the row associated with the first issued transaction open.

Memory management and access thereof has become increasingly important, to increase efficiency in processing, resources, etc. For example, efficiently accessing memory banks of a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) has become important. DRAM protocols may have commands, such as activate, to activate a given bank/row, read to read data, write to write data to a given bank/row, and precharge to close a given bank/row. Precharge command generally closes the row in preparation for accessing a different row. In some circumstances a given row may remain open until a precharge command is issued. Some protocols have defined a read with auto-precharge and write with auto-precharge to immediately close the row after the read or write. Auto-precharge may be beneficial when memory access is random in nature but it may result in performance degradation when memory access is linear, i.e. local. Prior techniques have used information such as history of memory bank accesses to determine whether auto-precharge should be issued. However, this technique is very process intensive and the past access may not be a good indication of future memory accesses. Some prior techniques have also leveraged the current content in the command queue. However, this technique falls short when the number of commands increase surpassing the queue size.

Auto-precharge management in a controller


A method is disclosed that defines a protocol for distributing power to high voltage components when two conditions exist: they being when the vehicle is being propelled or operated and when the power requested of the power supply is less than what the power supply can provide. The method determines which high voltage components can receive reduced or intermittent voltage and still allow the vehicle to operate in a proper manner. Calibrations of the usage and energy loss are based on parameters that dictate how important it is that a particular high voltage component receives as much of its requested power as possible. The critical function components will be weighted differently than those less critical components.

As vehicles transition from platforms that incorporate internal combustion engines to other sources, traditional protocols as to how a vehicle is to operate begin to fail to appreciate all the varying issues that now are a part of the likely scenarios when operating the vehicle. One such example includes the operation of a vehicle that is powered by a source other than an internal combustion engine where the energy stored or being created does not exceed the amount of energy requested by the operator of the vehicle. In the instances when energy is being requested to power high voltage components such as the power train, the battery thermal condition system, the steering assembly, the cabin conditioning assembly or the braking assembly, simply shedding those loads from the source circuit is not acceptable as it may lead to customer dissatisfaction during the operation of the vehicle or while it is moving.

Method for allocating high voltage electrical energy to vehicle systems during propulsion


A method performed by a wireless device (230) is described herein. The method is for handling grant use. The wireless device (230) operates in a wireless communication network (200). The wireless device (230) receives (401), from a network node (210) operating in the wireless communication network (200), a first message granting the wireless device (230) at least two uplink transmissions. The wireless device (230) indicates (402), to the network node (210), on time-frequency resources indicated in a first granted uplink transmission of the at least two uplink transmissions, whether or not a second granted uplink transmission of the at least two uplink transmissions is to be used by the wireless device (230).

Communication devices within a wireless communication network may be wireless devices, e.g., stations (STAs), User Equipments (UEs), mobile terminals, wireless terminals, terminals, and/or Mobile Stations (MS). Wireless devices are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a cellular communications network or wireless communication network, which may be a cellular radio system, cellular system, or cellular network. The communication may be performed e.g., between two wireless devices, between a wireless device and a regular telephone, and/or between a wireless device and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN), and possibly one or more core networks, comprised within the wireless communication network. Wireless devices may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops, or tablets with wireless capability, just to mention some further examples. The wireless devices in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the RAN, with another entity, such as another terminal or a server.
In other examples, communication devices may be network nodes. A network node refers to any type of network node serving a User Equipment (UE) and/or connected to another network node or network element or any radio node from where a UE receives a signal. Examples of network node may be: Access Point (AP), transmission point, transmission node, Node B, Base Station (BS), Multi-Standard Radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNode B, network controller, Radio Network Controller (RNC), base station controller, relay, donor node controlling relay, Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in Distributed Antenna System (DAS) etc. The wireless communication network covers a geographical area which may be divided into cell areas, each cell area being served by network node such as a Base Station (BS), e.g., a Radio Base Station (RBS), which sometimes may be referred to as e.g., evolved Node B ("eNB"), "eNodeB", "NodeB", "B node", or BTS (Base Transceiver Station), depending on the technology and terminology used. The base stations may be of different classes such as e.g., Wide Area Base Stations, Medium Range Base Stations, Local Area Base Stations and Home Base Stations, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell may be understood as the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the base station at a base station site. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. Further, each base station may support one or several communication technologies. The wireless communication network may also be considered a non-cellular system, comprising network nodes which may serve receiving nodes, such as wireless devices, with serving beams.
There has been a lot of work in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) lately on specifying technologies to cover Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and/or Internet of Things (IoT) related use cases. Most recent work for 3GPP Release 13 and 14 includes enhancements to support Machine-Type Communications (MTC) with a new UE categories, Category M1 (Cat-M1), Category M2) (Cat-M2), supporting reduced bandwidth of up to 6 and 24 Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs), and Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) UEs providing a new radio interface, and UE categories, Cat-NB1 and Cat-NB2.
The Long-Term Evolution (LTE) enhancements introduced in 3GPP Release 13, 14 and 15 for MTC will be referred to herein as enhanced Machine-Type Communications ("eMTC"), including (not limiting) support for bandwidth limited UEs, Cat-M1, and support for coverage enhancements. This is to separate the discussion from the NB-IoT notation, here used for any Release, although the supported features may be considered similar on a general level.
There are multiple differences between "legacy" LTE and the procedures and channels defined for eMTC, likewise for NB-IoT. Some important differences include new physical channels, such as the physical downlink control channels, called MTC Physical Downlink Control Channel (MPDCCH) in eMTC and NB-IoT Physical Downlink Control Channel (NPDCCH) in NB-IoT, and a new physical random access channel, NB-IoT Physical Random Access Channel (NPRACH), for NB-IoT.
For 3GPP Release 15 new Work Items (WIs) "Even further enhanced MTC for LTE (LTE_efeMTC)", referred to herein as "WI_eMTC", and "Further NB-IoT enhancements (NB_IOTfenh)" referred to herein as "WI_NBIOT", target eMTC and NB-IoT enhancements, respectively. In both of these WIs, one goal is to reduce UE power consumption and latency through introducing a possibility to send data as early as possible during the Random Access procedure.
In WI_eMTC, it was set as a goal to support early data transmission [RAN2 lead, RAN1, RAN3]. Particularly, the goal was to evaluate power consumption and/or latency gain, and to specify necessary support for Downlink (DL)/Uplink (UL) data transmission on a dedicated resource during the Random Access procedure, after Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission and before the Radio Resource Control protocol (RRC) connection setup is completed, at least in the RRC Suspend/Resume case.
In WI_NBIOT, it was set as a goal to evaluate power consumption/latency gain and to specify necessary support for DL/UL data transmission on a dedicated resource during the Random Access procedure after NPRACH transmission and before the RRC connection setup is completed. [RAN2, RAN1, RAN3].
As used herein, such a feature, where data may be sent during the Random Access procedure, may be referred to as an "early data" feature, meaning that data may be sent earlier when compared to current LTE specifications, that is, after RRC connection setup or resume has been completed.
The currently specified random access and connection control procedures may be found in [1] and [2].
From [3], a schematic diagram of the contention based Random Access (RA) procedure is depicted in FIG. 1. As may be appreciated in FIG. 1, first, the UE may selects one of the available RACH preambles and sends to the eNB in a first message, which is indicated in the Figure by the number 1. The UE also provides a temporary identifier to the eNB in this step. Next, the eNB responds to the UE by sending a Random Access Response (RAR) to the UE based on the identifier provided. The RAR is provided in a second message, which is indicated in the Figure by the number 2. In the second message, the eNB also provides the UE with a new temporary identity for any further communication, the Temporary cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI). In addition, the eNB provides the UE with a Timing Advance Value to enable the UE to compensate for the round trip delay due to the distance between the UE and the eNB, and provides the UE with an UL grant resource. The structure of the grant included in the Medium Access Control (MAC) RAR is defined in 4. In a third message, which is indicated in the Figure by the number 3, the UE sends an RRC connection request message to eNB, using the grant received in the second message, and the temporary C-RNTI. The second message further comprises a new identifier for the UE, the Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) or a Random Value, the TMSI if the UE was previously connected to the network, and the Random value is used if UE is connecting for the very first time. Finally, in a fourth message, which is indicated in the Figure by the number 4, the eNB sends a contention resolution message to the UE whose message was successfully received in 3. The fourth message is addressed to the TMSI value or Random number, from 3, comprises yet another identifier, the C-RNTI, to be used for subsequent communication with the UE. The messages in the FIG. 1 are commonly referred to as message 1 (Msg1) through message 4 (Msg 4).
During the Random Access (RA) procedure, there may be a collision between different UEs. This is because two different UEs may have selected and sent the same preamble simultaneously. These two different UEs may then receive the same Temp C-RNTI and UL grant in Msg 2. Interference may lead to the eNB only receiving the Msg3 from one UE or none of the UEs. The contention will be resolved when one of them receives the Msg4 in the last step, as the UE not receiving Msg4 may back-off after a certain time expires. The successful UE may then proceed with the connection setup and decode an RRC connection setup message.
The structure of MAC layer Protocol Data Units (PDUs) are defined in [1] and also referenced to herein.
In existing methods, it is not possible to send uplink or downlink data before the contention based random access procedure has been completed. That is, not before message 4 has been transmitted by the eNB and successfully received by the UE. Data transmission in existing methods therefore involves a certain delay and waste of energy resources.

Wireless device, network node, and methods performed thereby for handling grant use


A nonvolatile memory structure is disclosed. The nonvolatile memory structure includes a substrate, a heavily doped drain junction disposed in the substrate, and a lightly doped source junction disposed in the substrate. The source junction is diffused more deeply than the drain junction. The nonvolatile memory structure also includes a gate structure. The gate structure has a floating gate capacitively coupled to the substrate and a control gate capacitively coupled to the floating gate. The heavily doped drain junction has a central portion proximate to the gate structure. The lightly doped source junction also has a central portion proximate to the gate structure. At least the central portion of the lightly doped source junction is more lightly doped than the central portion of the heavily doped drain junction.

Conventional nonvolatile PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory) memories can be divided into two classes: EPROMs (Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memories) and EEPROMs (Electrically Erasable/Programmable Read-Only Memories). EPROMs use channel hot electron injection for byte-programming, and apply ultraviolet light exposure for erase operations. EEPROMs generally employ Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling for both programming and erasing. Due to the small cell size and simple cell design and fabrication process, EPROMs can be produced with higher density and lower cost compared to EEPROMs. On the other hand, EEPROMs offer the capability of byte-erase as well as the convenience of in-system electrical reusability. Recently, the flash memory has gained significant attention as it promises to combine the advantages of EPROM density with EEPROM electrical erasability.
At present time, there are several approaches to flash memory technology. The multifarious designs sort themselves into two basic approaches, distinguished by whether they require one or two voltage supplies. Both can trace their lineage to EPROM technology, using a floating gate structure but with a thinner gate oxide. However, they differ in their cell structure as to whether they require one or several transistors per cell. In general, the one-transistor cell requires a 12 volt supply for programming and a 5 volt supply for reading, but yields a small cell size. This results in higher density, smaller chip size, and lower cost than the 5 volt only approach.
The self-aligned stacked-gate cell based on ETOX (EPROM Tunnel-Oxide) technology, is the typical for the one transistor school. There are three keys to ETOX cell operation: (1) a very high-quality oxide, (2) unique drain and source structure, optimized for program and erase operations respectively, and (3) the use of complementary, adaptive program and erase algorithms. This combination supports well-controlled erasure and reprogramming of the simple stacked-gate ETOX cell. One problem with the single-transistor cell, however, is the possibility of over-erasure and consequent current leakage, resulting in false data readings. This occurs when a cell in the zero state receives an erase pulse, whereby it can be driven into depletion mode. The column-sense amplifier can read this leakage current falsely as an erased cell.
The use of a truncated floating gate, or stepped-gate cell, also provides a flash EEPROM capability. The truncated floating gate's voltage must be accompanied by a select-gate voltage for turning on the cell. The programming operation and reading function are identical to those used in EPROM and ETOX flash cells. The stepped-gate structure's primary drawback is an electrical-stress-induced charge loss during programming known as "program disturb", whereby floating-gate charge is lost through the drain region of the cell. This and various other stresses are present with all floating-gate technologies and must be designed and processed out. Very tight stepped-gate process control can provide a sufficient "operating window", but in any case, electrical stresses are significant factors in cycle-related programming failures. Furthermore, the problem is exacerbated by slower programming, caused by a longer cell channels.
Another approach that automatically protects against over-erasure is to let the floating gate control only half of the channel and let the other half of the channel be controlled by the control gate. In this manner, the transistor would be off even if the floating gate is positively charged. Such a cell is known as a split-gate cell. However, the longer channel length results in somewhat longer programming times and/or higher bit-line voltage during programming and may increase the cell size.
The dual-power-supply requirements of most of conventional flash EEPROMs add cost and space penalties for system design, and for this reason, many innovative single-supply flash memory technologies have been developed. The advantage of these approaches in memory applications is that they can provide a significant cell area reduction without further stretching the device limits. However, the complicated fabrication steps involved with these cell structures may result in a loss of cost competitiveness in the memory market.
In summary, there are many routes to the design, construction, and fabrication of flash memories, including those described above. All the technologies trace their lineage to EPROM technology, using a floating-gate structure but with a thinner gate oxide. Each variation has its advantages and disadvantages, resulting from the tradeoff between cost and system requirements. As the combination of high density, low cost, and electrical reprogrammability makes flash EPROM a candidate for data storage, the combination of high density, low power, flexibility of fast bulk-erase and byte-program and/or bulk-program and byte-erase makes flash memory a good candidate for programmable logic devices.
Hence, there was a need in the art for a nonvolatile flash memory structure affording high speed programming and erasing operations as well as fast reading speed with low voltages and low power consumption.

Nonvolatile memory structure for programmable logic devices


The present invention provides a lubricating oil composition having fuel saving properties and providing gears and bearings with satisfactory durability, which is thus suitably used particularly for a gear system of an automobile. The lubricating oil composition a lubricating base oil comprising a mix base oil of (A) a mineral base oil having a 40° C. kinematic viscosity of 10 mm2/s or higher and 100 mm2/s or lower and (E) a mineral base oil having a 40° C. kinematic viscosity of 200 mm2/s or higher and 600 mm2/s or lower and a sulfur content of 0.3 to 0.9 percent by mass, the content of the base oil belonging to Component (B) is 15 percent by mass or more, and (C) and an organic molybdenum compound in an amount of 100 to 1000 ppm by mass as molybdenum, the lubricating oil composition having a 40° C. kinematic viscosity of 90 mm2/s or lower.

Recently, energy saving in automobiles and construction or agricultural machinery, i.e., fuel saving has become an urgent need in order to deal with environmental, issues such as reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, and units such as engines, transmissions, final reduction gears, compressors, or hydraulic power units have been strongly demanded to contribute to energy saving. Consequently, the lubricating oils used in these units are required to be reduced in stir resistance and frictional resistance more than before.
Reduction of the viscosity of a lubricating oil is exemplified as an effective energy saving means. For example, an automobile automatic transmission or continuously variable transmission has a torque converter, a wet clutch, a gear bearing mechanism, an oil pump and a hydraulic control system while a manual transmission or final reduction gear unit has a gear bearing mechanism. Reduction of the viscosity of a lubricating oil to be used in such transmissions can reduce the stir and frictional resistances in the gear bearing mechanism and oil pump and thus enhance the power transmission efficiency, resulting in an improvement in the fuel efficiency of an automobile.
However, reduction of the viscosity of the lubricating oil used in these transmissions and units may cause the above-described units and mechanisms thereof to be significantly shortened in fatigue life or reduced in extreme pressure properties and may generate seizure, possibly resulting in some malfunctions in the transmissions or final reduction gear units.
Examples of conventional automobile transmission oils which enable a transmission to maintain various properties thereof such as shifting properties for a long time include those produced by optimizing and blending synthetic and/or mineral base oils, antiwear agents, extreme pressure additives, metafile detergents, ashless dispersants, friction modifiers and viscosity index improvers (for example, see Patent Literature Nos. 1 to 3 below).
However, since these compositions are all are not intended to improve fuel, economy, they are high in kinematic viscosity and have not been sufficiently studied with regard to effects on extreme pressure properties or metal-to-metal friction when lowered in viscosity.


A ceiling mount light with a single spherical lens with a 360-degree range viewing field to focus infrared energy into a motion sensor is provided. The ceiling mount light has a sensitivity regulating switch to adjust the level of sensitivity up to about 30 feet in the 360-degree viewing field.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceiling mount light with a motion sensor. More specifically, this invention relates to a ceiling mount light with a single spherical-shaped lens to provide 360-degrees of motion-sensing coverage in any direction, whereby motion sensitivity can be adjusted up to about 30 feet in any direction with light mounted at 8 feet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional decorative wall mounted light fixtures with motion sensors are available for serving as light sources in a variety of areas, such as passageways, streets, parking lots, and gardens, and are energy-efficient and have longer lifetimes due to their non-successive use. Passive infrared sensors have been utilized in various motion-sensing devices, such as light fixtures, to sense and alert the motion and/or presence of a person. Improvements came about when these passive infrared sensors were developed to include a number of lenses, facets, and detector heads, all of which can be oriented so that a person can be detected.

Ceiling mount light with 360-degree motion sensor


An integrated multimedia encoding system is disclosed. Multimedia encoders which are capable of adjusting bit rates receive multimedia data to compress the data. After compressing the data, the multimedia encoders adjust the bit rates of the elementary streams responsive to a control input. Bit rates are increased or decreased using delays or, for video data, by allocating more or less bits to each macroblock, frame or group of frames. A unified memory module is coupled to the multimedia encoders to store the multimedia elementary stream data, the Program or Transport stream data, and data from other sources as needed. The unified memory is capable of adjusting storage allocations responsive to the realtime requirements of the incoming multimedia streams and the outgoing Program or Transport stream data. A stream processor is coupled to the unified memory module and the multimedia encoders for multiplexing the elementary streams into a single stream, and monitoring the actual bit rate of the combined multimedia stream. Monitoring the actual bit rate as a function of number of bits passed over a period of time provides accurate feedback as to the system throughput. A multimedia processor then determines the bit rates of the elementary streams, and generating a control signal to adjust the bit rates of the encoder to ensure that an optimal bit rate is continuously achieved by the system. The stream processor also operates using dedicated instructions which allow the stream processor to efficiently multiplex the incoming streams together.

The application relates generally to multimedia encoders and specifically an integrated multimedia stream multiplexer.
Multimedia encoders, such as those used for MPEG and MPEG2 encoding, provide the necessary compression to allow video and audio data to be transferred, stored, and played in a computer environment. Conventional MPEG encoders typically use two encoders, video and audio, which receive data transmitted from a data source. Each encoder is coupled to a separate memory for storing the video and audio data. The video encoder compresses the video data and transmits the compressed data to the conventional stream multiplexer controller. The audio encoder performs the same tasks and transmits the compressed audio data to the stream multiplexer controller. In an MPEG2 environment, the two elementary streams are multiplexed by the stream multiplexer controller to generate either a Program or Transport stream, depending on the embodiment. The Program or Transport stream are stored in a separate PS/TS memory, or are fed directly to another device, such as a communications link. In this conventional system, the stream multiplexer operates independently of the video and audio encoders, and therefore the output bit rate of the Program or Transport stream is unpredictable, as it will vary as the bit rates of the elementary streams vary. The unpredictable bit rate of the output stream makes it more difficult to process the Program or Transport stream downstream. Additionally, in conventional systems when the bit rate of one stream decreases, the bit rate of the Program or Transport stream may decrease correspondingly, thus lowering the system throughput unnecessarily. The use of independent memory for each encoder also leads to underutilization of system resources. When the bit rate of a stream decreases, less data is stored in the corresponding memory by the corresponding encoder. However, in conventional systems, the newly available storage space remains unused until the bit rate for the stream increases. Finally, conventional stream processors process incoming elementary streams using a predetermined ratio-based approach which restricts the granularity of the multiplexing as the ratios are fixed and cannot be optimized for the requirements of different output streams.
Therefore, an integrated multimedia encoding system which is capable of generating a program or transport stream at a bit rate at or near the maximum bit rate capacity for the system is needed. Additionally, an integrated multimedia encoding system which operates with reduced memory storage requirements is also needed. Finally, a programmable elementary stream multiplexer is needed which takes advantage of dedicated instructions to perform the task of generating a single output data stream, and which is flexible to adjust the data rate for different formats.
In accordance with the present invention, an integrated multimedia encoding system is disclosed. Multimedia encoders which are capable of adjusting bit rates receive multimedia data to compress the data. After compressing the data, the multimedia encoders adjust the bit rates of the elementary streams responsive to a control input. Bit rates may be increased or decreased using delays, and generating more or less bits for each macroblock, frame or group of frames, or by increasing or decreasing the rate at which multimedia data is transmitted to the encoders. A unified memory module is coupled to the multimedia encoders to store the multimedia elementary stream data, the Program or Transport stream data, and data from other sources as needed. The unified memory is capable of adjusting storage allocations responsive to the realtime requirements of the incoming multimedia streams and the outgoing Program or Transport stream data. A stream processor is coupled to the unified memory module and the multimedia encoders for multiplexing the elementary streams into a single stream, and monitoring the actual bit rate of the combined multimedia stream. Monitoring the actual bit rate as a function of number of bits passed over a period of time provides accurate feedback as to the system throughput. A multimedia processor then determines the bit rates of the elementary streams, and generating a control signal to adjust the bit rates of the encoder to ensure that an optimal bit rate is continuously achieved by the system. The stream processor also operates using dedicated instructions which allow the stream processor to efficiently multiplex the incoming streams together.