An electron beam current modulator is provided between a cathode and a laser screen of a cathode-ray tube and has at least three deflecting plates positioned around, and symmetrically with respect to an optical axis of the cathode-ray tube and a diaphragm having an aperture of a regular shape. An electromagnetic control system is provided between the cathode and deflecting plates. A pickup senses position of the electron beam and produces a signal in case of an offset of the electron beam with respect to the optical axis. A video signal source is connected to a carrier generator having an output connected to an input of a phase shifter. The phase shifter has its outputs connected to the deflecting plates to rotate the cross-section of the electron beam in a plane drawn perpendicularly with respect to the optical axis. The apparatus has a control unit having an input connected to the pickup and an output connected to the electromagnetic control system.

A prior art cathode-ray tube comprises an evacuated casing which accommodates an electron optic system, a laser screen and a getter pump (Ulasyuk, V. N. Kvantoskopy [Laser Screen Cathode-Ray Tubes] (in Russian). Moscow. "Radio i Svyaz" Publishing House. 1988. p. 105). This is a sealed-off cathode-ray tube, and its electromagnetic focusing lens and a deflecting system are positioned outside the casing. The laser screen is cooled to a liquefied gas temperature, and a high voltage of 50 to 65 kV is applied to a cathode. A signal for modulating electron beam current is applied to an electrode near the cathode and is decoupled by means of an optical coupler. Hairpin cathodes are not used in such cathode-ray tubes because it is not possible to adjust their position. This cathode-ray tube is deficient because of a poor resolution on the laser screen. This disadvantage stems from a large diameter of an electron spot on the laser screen and a narrow modulation frequency band.
Another prior art cathode-ray tube has an electron gun with a tungsten hairpin cathode, a modulator comprising a pair of deflecting plates, a diaphragm and two pairs of correcting plates of a matched length, an electromagnetic focusing lens, a deflecting system, and a laser screen mounted in a toroidal cryostat (Nasibov, A. S. et al. Laser Screen Cathode-Ray Tube. (in Russian). J. Kvantovaya Elektronika. Moscow. 1974. Vol. 1. No. 3. pp. 538-540). This cathode-ray tube can be disassembled. It has a small-diameter electron spot on the laser screen. High voltage is applied to the cathode, and the modulator is positioned downstream an anode which is at a zero potential. One of disadvantages of this cathode-ray tube resides in the fact that the electron beam cannot be adjusted in operation. This adjustment of electron beam is necessary because the position of the point of the hairpin cathode with respect to other electrodes of the cathode-ray tube fluctuates during operation. This cathode drift results in a change in the time during which electron beam passes through the modulator diaphragm. The modulation characteristic of the cathode-ray tube also varies. This instability cannot be completely eliminated by using other types of hairpin cathodes and different cathode materials because the cathode drift is inevitable. Another disadvantage resides in a comparatively high modulator cut-off voltage (200 to 300 V) and high thermal load on the diaphragm. This requires the use of sophisticated and more expensive video amplifiers and results in a shorter service life of the modulator and the tube as a whole.

Laser screen cathode ray tube with beam axis correction


A connector housing includes a terminal accommodating chamber, a lance and a pair of arms. The terminal accommodating chamber is formed with an opening configured such that a terminal is inserted therethrough. The lance extends from a top wall of the terminal accommodating chamber toward the opening in an extending direction. The pair of arms are respectively formed integrally to both lateral side surfaces of the lance, extend from both the lateral side surfaces to front and back sides of the lance in the extending direction, and are connected to a bottom wall of the terminal accommodating chamber. An unlocking protrusion is formed in one of the arms.

A connector housing in which a fixed ended lance is formed is publicly known (see PTL1).
In PTL1, a part of a partition wall constructing terminal accommodating space of a connector housing is combined with a front half of a flexible lance, and a back half of the lance which intersects with the front half is formed obliquely, and a terminal locking surface is arranged in a longitudinal center of the lance at a front end of the back half. A pair of front halves of the lance is disposed oppositely and the terminal locking surface is positioned over the whole width of the terminal accommodating space between the pair of front halves, and a longitudinal center of a side part of the lance is provided with a projection which is an unlocking part for press-contacting the distal end of a jig bar. That is, according to PTL1, in order to maintain a high lance locking force while miniaturizing a connector, an arm part extending from the lance toward the front and connecting to the front of a cavity is had and both right and left sides of the lance are provided with projections for unlocking in order to unlock a terminal, so that the terminal is unlocked by pushing up the projections with the jig bar and the terminal can be removed.
According to the PTL1, the front half of the lance is integrated with the partition wall and is combined with a part of the partition wall, so that a long lance can be obtained without requiring large space and this space saving miniaturizes the connector housing and also, the lance tends to flex and terminal insertability improves. Also, a front end face of the back half of the lance is combined with the terminal locking surface and thereby, a locking protrusion is not required and the connector housing is miniaturized by the dimension of protrusion height of the locking protrusion and also, the terminal is directly locked in a front end face of the arm back half without using the locking protrusion and thereby, a reliability of locking can be improved.

Connector housing with fixed ended lance and removal jig for the same


The specification describes one-piece dental implants comprising a threaded shaft, optionally a non-circular abutment and a head having a shape which is capable of accepting a keeper cap or an O-ring, or which is capable of accepting and retaining a dental wire. The implants have dimensions that permit their use in a non-surgical method of insertion into bone, and are useful in both prosthodontic and orthodontic applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved dental implant, to an improved keeper cap, and to the use of the improved implant and keeper cap for fixed or removable prosthetic applications.
2. Description of Related Art
The use of combinations of O-ring abutments and standard dental implants is well known in the art. Previously, these have not been integrated into a single device. Instead, the conventional practice has been to set one or more standard dental implant bodies, i.e., without the O-ring abutments. Thereafter, the O-ring abutments have been mounted onto the dental implant bodies, generally by screwing the O-ring abutment into the implant bodies. Then, fixed or removable prostheses have been mounted onto the combinations of the O-ring abutments and the dental implant bodies according to a variety of procedures well known in the art.
A problem with these types of fixtures is that the connections between the O-ring abutments and the dental implant bodies can loosen over time. Another problem is that these types of fixtures exhibit bacteria and ionic microleakage at the joints. It would be beneficial to have the means to avoid these problems.
A third problem is that the standard implant bodies typically are large in diameter, and this causes problems in setting these implant bodies in the bone. Specifically, surgical intervention is required, which translates to multiple office visits and increased costs, which increases both the physical and financial discomfort to the patient. This problem is addressed in the earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,732, which issued on May 12, 1998 (hereinafter "the earlier patent"). The contents of the earlier patent are fully incorporated herein by reference.
The solution to this third problem as outlined in the earlier patent was to provide 1) a mini-dental implant of small diameter and strong composition, such as titanium or an alloy thereof, and 2) a non-surgical method of placing the implants comprising setting the implants directly through both gum and bone, thereby avoiding the need for surgery to incise and flap open the gum to expose the underlying bone as done previously. Because surgery was avoided, both the implants and the denture could be mounted in a single office visit, thereby reducing the cost and incidence of pain to the patient.
According to the teachings of the earlier patent, the dental implant described therein comprises a non-circular abutment, preferably of square, triangular, hexagonal or any other shape that permits threaded advance of the shaft by fingers or tools. See, the earlier patent at column 2, lines 58-60.
Therefore, it was an object of the present invention to overcome the problems associated with the conventional combinations of distinct O-ring abutments and dental implants, while at the same time provide advantages similar to those described in the earlier patent.
Further, the use of keeper caps fitted with O-ring-shaped inserts, plastic inserts, metal inserts or any other material capable of flexibly engaging with an O-ring abutment in order to removably fix a denture to an O-ring abutment is also well known. Previously, the flexibility to use either the O-ring-shaped insert or the plastic insert has not been enjoyed. Since the keeper caps are usually firmly adhered to the denture, switching from keeper caps containing O-ring-shaped inserts to those containing plastic inserts or vice versa conventionally has not been done. This is undesirable because the O-ring-shaped inserts are conventionally made of rubber, and, thus, are more gentle, and therefore have their greatest usefulness early on in the treatment when the patient's comfort level is low. However, as time passes, and the patient's comfort level rises, the use of the more rigid plastic inserts may become desirable.
Therefore, it was another object of the present invention to provide a means that would allow the practitioner to "switch" from the use of O-ring-shaped inserts to the use of plastic inserts or vice versa without having to remove the keeper cap from the denture or to form a new denture around new keeper caps.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

One piece dental implant and use thereof in prostodontic and orthodontic applications


There are provided methods, systems, devices and computer program products for reliable delivery of content packages to a client device. Push delivery of content packages is combined with pull delivery when a push delivery fails. When a client device participates in a push delivery but fails to complete, a recommendation for corrective action may be notified and, following such corrective action, the client device pulls delivery. Respective content listings are maintained by server and client device for reconciliation to prompt pull delivery by the client device.

Communication devices, particularly wireless communication devices are useful to receive and present content (e.g. information in one or more files) to users of such devices. Components of a content delivery system such as a content server and a client device may be configured to automatically communicate new content to a user. The content may be packaged and delivered from a content server for presentation by an application (e.g. a player) on such a client device. Occasionally, delivery of such content from server to client may fail to complete.

Reliable delivery of a push-state aware client device


In a method and a device for predicting movement trajectories of a vehicle to prevent or reduce the consequences of an imminent collision, in which for predicting the movement trajectories, only those trajectories are considered for which, because of a combination of steering intervention and braking intervention, the forces occurring at the wheels of the vehicle are within the range corresponding to the maximum force transferable from the wheel to the road. Particularly for systems which provide an automatic braking and/or steering intervention for avoiding a collision or reducing the severity of a crash with another object, an automatic braking and/or steering intervention is carried out as a function of the pre-calculated movement trajectories.

In recent years, adaptive cruise controllers have increasingly come on the market which expand the conventional control of a vehicle-speed controller to the effect that the distance and relative velocity of the preceding vehicle are detected by a radar or lidar system, and this data is utilized for the speed control and/or distance control of one's own vehicle.
Such a system is described in the paper "Adaptive Cruise Control System—Aspects and Development Trends" by Winner, Witte et al., SAE paper 96 10 10, International Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Feb. 26-29, 1996.
In the publication "A Trajectory-Based Approach for the Lateral Control of Vehicle Following Systems" by Gehrig and Stein, presented at the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Vehicles, 1998, an algorithm is described, which, from the measured data of a radar or lidar sensor, creates a movement trajectory of the preceding vehicle, and controls one's own vehicle according to it. Particularly for movements in which both vehicles are driving into or out of a curve, special demands are made on such a trajectory algorithm. An algorithm of this type for determining movement trajectories is presented by way of example in the aforesaid document.
In the book "Fahrwerktechnik: Fahrverhalten" by Zomotor, from Vogel Book Publishing, Würzburg, first edition 1987, in chapter 2, "Forces on the Vehicle", the theoretical fundamentals are explained which are necessary for understanding the transfer of force between tire and roadway.

Method and device for predicting the travelling trajectories of a motor vehicle


A ballpoint pen including: an ink accommodation cylinder; a ballpoint pen tip in which a ball is rotatably held, the pen tip being attached to a tip end of an ink-accommodation cylinder directly or through a tip holder; and ballpoint oil-based ink comprising at least a coloring agent, organic solvent, a lubricant comprising organic acid and phosphoric ester, and organic amine, the ink having ink viscosity at shearing speed 6.8 sec−1 of 500 to 6000 mPa·s (20° C.) and directly being accommodated in the ink-accommodation cylinder, wherein the ballpoint pen satisfies 2.5×10−3≧Z≧1.0×10−3 where ink amount per 1 mm2 is Z mg/mm2 which is calculated from Y=X×105×Z where writing width of the ballpoint pen is X mm and ink consumption per 100 m is Y mg.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ballpoint pen, and more particularly, to a ballpoint pen accommodating ballpoint oil-based ink in an ink-accommodation cylinder.
2. Description of Related Art
A ballpoint pen has a ballpoint pen tip in which a ball is rotatably held. A conventionally known oil-based ink for such a ballpoint pen contains coloring agent, organic solvent, resin or the like, and its ink viscosity is in a range of 10000 to 30000 mPa·s (20° C.).
According to such conventional ballpoint oil-based ink, the ink viscosity is set to 10000 mPa·s or higher, a film is formed between the ball and a ball seat to reduce metal contact resistance between the ball and the ball seat, or lubricant or the like is used to enhance the lubricity, the contact resistance between the ball and the ball seat is reduced, and wear of the ball seat is suppressed. However, there is a problem that the lubricity is insufficient in a long-distance writing especially under high pressure, the ball seat is worn and writing performance is deteriorated.
In the conventional ballpoint pen accommodating the ballpoint oil-based ink, an amount of ink consumed when writing through 100 m is about 10 mg when its ball diameter on the tip end ob the ballpoint pen is φ0.5 mm, about 20 mg when the ball diameter is φ0.7 mm, and about 30 mg when the ball diameter is φ1.0 mm, and the amount of ink consumed is about 0.23 mm when the writing width is φ0.5 mm, about 0.28 when the writing width is φ0.7 mm and about 0.33 mm when the writing width is φ1.0 mm.
It seems possible to increase the writing density by increasing the consumption of ink, but the writing density is not increased merely by increasing the consumption of ink. This is because that the writing density and an ink amount per unit area have an intimate relation, and even if the ink consumption is the same, if the writing width is increased due to blur, the writing density is lowered.
According to the oil ballpoint pen, Z is usually smaller than 1.0×10−3 wherein the ink consumption is Y mg, an amount of ink per 1 mm2 is Z mg/mm2, and Y=X×1.0×105×Z. The conventional ballpoint pen is inferior in the writing density.
The present inventors studied the conventional oil ballpoint pen, and found that if Z is equal to or greater than 1.0×10−3 (wherein writing width is X, the ink consumption per 100 m is Y and the ink amount per 1 mm2 is Z), the writing density became higher than the conventional writing density and a written line became clear, and the inventors achieved the present invention.
To enhance the condition of the pen, it is conceived to lower the ink viscosity, but if the ink viscosity is merely lowered, although the condition of the pen is enhanced, since the film thickness between the ball and the ball seat becomes thin, there is a problem that the metal contact resistance between the ball and the ball seat can not be lowered, the ball seat is worn and the writing performance is deteriorated.
To solve the problems, it is well known to add lubricant into ballpoint oil-based ink composition to enhance the lubricant between the ball on the ballpoint pen tip and a tip body.
As ink for enhancing the lubricant, there is proposed ballpoint ink in which organic acid, non-alkali metallic salt of naphthenic acid, lanolin derivative, fluorine-based and/or silicone-based surfactant or nonyl phenol-based phosphoric ester is added as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S52-123722 "ink", Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. S 55-84376 "ballpoint pen ink", Japanese Patent Publication No. H1-39467 "ballpoint pen ink", and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H11-293174 "oil-based ink composition and oil ballpoint pen".
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-212111 "ballpoint oil-based ink composition" proposes a ballpoint oil-based ink composition which contains oleic acid and aliphatic amine, enhances lubricant and has little time degradation.
However, if the conventional organic acid, non-alkali metallic salt naphthenic acid, lanolin derivative, fluorine-based and/or silicone-based surfactant or nonyl phenol-based phosphoric ester is only used as the lubricant, there is a problem that such lubricant is not satisfactory as a ballpoint pen having lubricity under high writing pressure and excellent writing comfort, and stability is deteriorated with time.
If oleic acid and aliphatic amine are contained as in patent document 5, although time degradation can be suppressed, lubricity can not be maintained under high writing pressure and the writing comfort is not excellent.


Before transferring a file, a CPU executes the following processing based on a transfer processing program: obtaining the directory tree structure of a transfer-source storage device; dividing the directory tree into directory trees so that each divided directory tree is structured within the full path length of a directory tree that can be handled by a transfer-destination storage device; associating the divided directory trees with each other; and then storing the associated directory trees in a volume of the transfer-destination storage device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a technique for transferring information from one storage device to another storage device in a plurality of storage devices connected via a network.
2. Description of Related Art
A storage device typified by a disk array device logically divides a storage area of a disk device in the storage device and provides the divided storage areas as volumes (logical storage areas) to a host computer. When such a storage device is connected to a network, the host computer is connected to the storage device via the network to write-access and read-access to the volumes. As an example of a storage device that provides volumes to the host computer via a network, a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device is well known. The NAS device runs an OS (Operating System) and a file system, keeps information about files and directories stored in each volume, and inputs or outputs a file(s) in response to a request from the host computer.
When the performance or capacity of such a NAS system becomes insufficient, a possible solution to this problem would be to transfer data in the existing NAS device to a new NAS device to use the data from the existing NAS device in the new NAS device. This operation is referred to as data transfer between storage devices.
As a method for transferring data between NAS devices, a method for transferring a file by creating a hierarchical structure of the directories stored in an existing NAS device (i.e., a directory tree) in advance in a new NAS device and then transferring a file from the existing NAS system to the new NAS system in response to an access request from a host system has been disclosed (see JP 2004-46661 A).
There has also been proposed another method by which, even if access to a file that has not been transferred to the new NAS device is requested when transferring files from the existing NAS device to the new NAS device, the requested file is immediately identified on the file system of the existing NAS device storing the file, data is obtained from the existing NAS device and provided to a client, and a file providing service is transferred from the existing NAS device to the new NAS device in a relatively short time (see JP2006-39814 A).
OSs and file systems of NAS devices may differ depending on the type of the NAS devices. Due to that difference, for example, the maximum full path length of a directory tree that can be handled by a NAS device may be different. Therefore, when the maximum full path length of a directory tree that can be handled by the existing NAS device is longer than that in the new NAS device, the directory tree in the existing NAS device may not be able to be created in the new NAS device. Accordingly, an operator has to check in advance the directory structure of the existing NAS device and see whether or not the directory structure can be created in the new NAS device. If it is determined that the directory structure cannot be created in the new NAS device, the operator has to change the directory structure of the existing NAS device before the transfer, which increases the operator's workload.
Meanwhile, when a user of the NAS devices uses a desired file or directory, the user has to check whether or not the desired file or directory exists. Accordingly, just changing the directory structure of the existing NAS device would not allow the user to understand the details of the change, and would increase the user's workload when retrieving files or directories.

Storage system and information transfer method for the same


A laminate that improves barrier properties of an atomic layer deposition film in spite of use of a substrate made of a polymer material, and provides a gas barrier film and a method of producing the same. The laminate includes: a substrate made a polymer material; an undercoat layer disposed on at least part of a surface of the substrate and made up of an inorganic material containing Ta; and an atomic layer deposition film disposed so as to cover a surface of the undercoat layer.

Methods for forming a thin film on the surface of an object using a gaseous phase in which substances can move at an atomic or molecular level like gases include chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method (hereinafter, referred to as "CVD") and physical vapor deposition (PVD) (hereinafter, referred to as "PVD").
PVD includes, for example, vacuum vapor deposition and sputtering. Sputtering, which enables production of a high-quality thin film with a uniform film quality and thickness, has been commonly applied to display devices such as liquid crystal displays.
CVD is a process of growing a solid thin film by introducing raw material gas into a vacuum chamber and decomposing or reacting one or two types of gas on a substrate by means of thermal energy.
In this process, a plasma or catalyst reaction may also be used in order to promote a reaction during film formation or decrease the reaction temperature.
CVD using a plasma reaction is called plasma enhanced CVD (PECVD). Further, CVD using a catalyst reaction is called Cat-CVD.
These CVD processes can reduce deficiencies in film formation, and are therefore applied to a production process of semiconductor devices or the like (for example, formation of a gate insulating film).
In recent years, atomic layer deposition (ALD) (hereinafter, referred to as "ALD") has been attracting attention.
ALD is a process in which a substance adsorbed on a surface is deposited layer by layer at an atomic level by means of a chemical reaction on the surface. This ALD is classified as a type of CVD.
Typical CVD (general CVD) is a process of growing a thin film by reacting a single gas or a plurality of gases simultaneously on a substrate. On the other hand, ALD is a specific process of deposition for growing thin films at an atomic level layer by layer by means of adsorption on the substance surface and subsequent chemical reaction by alternately using a highly active gas or precursor (such as tri-methyl aluminum (TMA); hereinafter, "first precursor") and a reactive gas.
Specifically, film formation by ALD is conducted as follows.
First, when precursors have been adsorbed onto the substrate to form only one layer, unreacted precursors are purged by using a so-called self-limiting effect (first step).
Here, the self-limiting effect refers to a phenomenon during surface adsorption on a substrate that gas is no longer adsorbed onto a surface once the surface is covered by a certain type of gas.
Then, a reactive gas is introduced into a chamber to oxidize the above precursors to form only one layer of a thin film having a desired composition, and then the reactive gas is purged (second step).
In ALD, the above first and second steps are taken as one cycle, which is repeated to grow thin films on the substrate.
Accordingly, ALD grows thin films in two dimensions. Further, ALD is characterized in reducing deficiencies in film deposition compared with a typical CVD process as well as the conventional vacuum vapor deposition or sputtering.
Accordingly, ALD is expected to be widely applied to packaging fields such as foods and pharmaceutical products, electronics fields, and the like.
PTL 1 discloses a product comprising a substrate made of a material selected from the group consisting of a plastic and a glass, and a gas transmission barrier deposited on the substrate by atomic layer vapor deposition.
Further, PTL 1 discloses that a light emitting polymer is mounted on a plastic substrate having optical transparency, and atomic layer vapor deposition is performed on a top and side surfaces of the light emitting polymer by means of ALD (top coating), thereby achieving reduction in coating deficiencies and drastically reducing gas permeability for the thickness of several tens of nanometers.
When an atomic layer deposition film is formed on a substrate made of a polymer material by means of ALD, it seems there is a possibility that the form of growth is different from that in film formation on a substrate made of an inorganic crystal such as Si wafer.
When a Si wafer having an oxidation treated surface is used as a substrate and an atomic layer deposition film is formed on the substrate by means of ALD, adsorption sites for precursors which serve as raw materials of the atomic layer deposition film are present at substantially the same density as the lattice of crystal, and growth of the film proceeds in a two dimensional growth mode.
On the other hand, when an atomic layer deposition film is formed on the substrate made of a polymer material by means of ALD, it has been known that adsorption sites for precursors which serve as raw materials of the atomic layer deposition film are present at a low distribution density, and the adsorption sites grow in three dimensions around nuclei, which are the adsorbed precursors separated from each other, so that the adjacent nuclei are in contact with each other to form a continuous layer.
Depending on the state of the substrate made of a polymer material and the process condition of ALD, there is a high possibility that a continuous layer is not formed.
That is, when an atomic layer deposition film is formed on the substrate made of a polymer material by means of ALD, there is a risk that gas may pass through a plurality of gaps that constitute the atomic layer deposition film from the surface of the atomic layer deposition film toward the substrate.
In other words, when the atomic layer deposition film is formed on the substrate made of a polymer material by means of ALD, there is a risk that the atomic layer deposition film does not have the desired gas barrier properties.
A technique for solving such a problem is disclosed in PTL 2.
PTL 2 discloses formation of an undercoat layer containing an organic polymer by using an organic binder containing an inorganic material on a substrate (surface of the substrate) made of a polymer material.

Laminate and method of producing the same, and gas barrier film and method of producing the same


A molded case circuit breaker movable contact arm electrically connects with the circuit breaker load terminal requiring only a small diameter auxiliary electrical braid conductor by pivotally arranging the contact arm within its support. The braid conductor is electrically connected with the movable contact arm by means of an off-set connector plate to provide strain relief to the braid conductor.

When utilizing high speed current limiting circuit interruption to interrupt the circuit current in the early stages of the current waveform, it is important that the movable contact arm size to be as small as possible to promote electrodynamic repulsion. A further approach to improving the dynamics of contact arm repulsion is to eliminate the heavy flexible braid conductor that connects the contact arm to the load terminal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,603 entitled "Molded Case Circuit Breaker Movable Contact Arm Arrangement" describes a "braidless" connection between the movable contact arm and its support which does not require any flexible braid conductor and which is of a small size to promote electrodynamic repulsion. This Patent should be reviewed for its detailed description of the movable contact arm support. When current limiting circuit interrupters are used within higher ampere-rated circuits, a small auxiliary flexible braid conductor is used to provide a parallel current path to deter pitting and such other corrosive electrical effects from occurring at the contact arm-contact support interface.
A further example of a braidless movable contact arm is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,033. This Patent discloses the use of a spring having a planar configuration capable of holding the contact arm against its support posts with sufficient force to maintain electrical contact during overcurrent conditions. However, when this design is used within higher ampere-rated current limiting industrial circuit breakers, a parallel current path should be connected between the movable contact arm and the contact arm support posts to prevent the occurrence of arcing between the contact arm and the support posts under intense short-circuit overcurrent conditions.
The use of a smaller, lighter, flexible braid conductor to reduce the dynamic drag at the end of the movable contact arm, as described within U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,464, could cause wear on the end of the smaller, flexible braid under accelerated test conditions. This is believably due to the friction that occurs between the crossbar assembly that retains the movable contact arm and the end of the flexible braid that is directly welded or brazed to the end of the movable contact arm.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 735,746 entitled "Molded Case Circuit Breaker Braid Conductor with Strain Relief" describes the interposition of a helical spring around the end of the braid conductor at the point of attachment to the movable contact arm in residential type lower ampere-rated circuit breakers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,065 entitled "Electric Connection of Braids on a Circuit Breaker Terminal" describes an arrangement for attaching the opposite end of the braid conductor to the circuit breaker terminal supports.
One purpose of the invention is to describe an arrangement for attaching a smaller, lighter, flexible braid conductor to one end of a movable contact arm without causing the braid conductor to become frayed under sustained operation under accelerated test conditions.

Molded case circuit breaker movable contact arm arrangement


The present invention relates to a method for vibration damping and noise reduction by using thermoplastic vulcanizate compositions and to multilayer structures for use in vibration damping and noise reduction applications comprising at least one polymeric layer made of a thermoplastic vulcanizate composition.

Recently, vibration and noise control have become important parameters to improve since they are related to the comfort of everyone, either in private or working spaces for example, in motor vehicles. A variety of experimental techniques exists to determine damping. The quantification of the vibration damping of a material may typically be expressed by a numerical value called tangent delta (also called tan delta, tan δ, loss tangent or loss factor) which is defined as the ratio of the loss modulus (which relates to the material's viscous behavior and defines the energy dissipation ability of the material) to the storage modulus of the material (which relates to the elastic behavior of the material and defines the energy storage ability of the material). Tan δ may be measured according to a dynamic mechanical analysis test that measures the complex modulus of the material as a measure of the dissipation of external vibrational energy. Typical viscoelastic materials present a strong dependence over the temperature and frequency range in which they are used as demonstrated by the presence of different state regions in distinct temperature or frequency regions: the Glassy, the Transition, the Rubbery and the Flow Regions. The material presents the highest storage modulus and therefore very low damping level at the Glassy Region, while it shows the most rapid change in storage modulus in the Transition Region from the glassy to the rubbery state and thus it is in this region that the material possesses its highest level of damping performance. Tan δ typically shows a maximum peak in this region which also can be used to define the glass transition temperature of the material. In the rubbery state both the storage modulus and the loss factor obtain somewhat low values and vary more slowly with changes in temperature and frequency. In the Flow region where the material continues to soften with increasing temperature the loss factor can attain very high values. The variation of the storage modulus and loss factor of a typical viscoelastic material with frequency shows that the effect of increasing temperature on the storage modulus is similar to the effect of reducing frequency thus governed by a temperature-frequency super-position principle which can be used to transform the material properties from the temperature domain to the frequency domain and vice-versa. The greater the value of tan δ, the better the vibration and noise reduction.
Absorption into the material reduces the vibrational energy transmitted, for example, to a passenger, and the noise that comes. Materials which exhibit efficient vibration damping show a high conversion of vibrational energy into other forms of energy, such as heat, i.e. they have a high tan δ. Such materials have a wide range of applications where vibration and noise is of concern, such as for example as components of motor vehicles, commercial airplanes, aerospace, household appliances, computer hardware, recreation and sports, machines, power equipment, buildings or mechanical devices.
For many applications, efficient vibration damping is desired over a broad range of temperature. In the automotive industry for example, materials used to dampen noises and vibrations should have sufficient tan δ values in a temperature range lying from about −35 to 80° C.
Various vibration damping and noise reduction materials have been described in the literature. JP 2000327894 discloses unsaturated polyester resins constituent for vibration damping. The unsaturated polyester resin composition comprises unsaturated polyester, ethylenically unsaturated monomer and graft copolymer. The graft copolymer consists of segment (A) comprising a thermoplastic elastomer and segment (B) comprising (co)polymer of (meth)acrylate. The disclosed resins have tan δ values equal or superior to 0.014 at 25 and 30° C.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,523 discloses vibration damping polyurethane resins produced by the reaction of an aromatic polyester diol, an aliphatic polyester diol, a diisocyanate compound and a chain extender. Such resins are useful for providing a composite vibration damping steel plate comprising two metal plate layers and the layer of the viscoelastic resin sandwiched between the metal layers. Such resins are reported to have glass transition temperature and therefore expected maximum tan δ value at various temperatures between 0° C. to 70° C. Such resins are reported to have a vibration damping peak temperature between 60° C. and 120° C. as determined by sandwiching the resin between two steel plates at a frequency of vibration of 500 Hz.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,715 discloses linear, high molecular weight polymers having blocks of epoxy and polyester or polyether resins said to be useful for forming vibration damping composites in metal sandwich structures.
WO 2004/106052 discloses housings said to be suitable for the attenuation of sound. Such housings comprise a plurality of rigid polymer layers separated by flexible polymer layers, wherein the flexible polymer layer is made of a thermoplastic elastomer having a polybutylene terephthalate hard segment and a glycol soft segment.
JP 2000212317 discloses a foamed polyester sheet comprising a copolyester and JP 07216072 discloses polyether ester block copolymers said to show low-temperature high vibration damping performance. JP 061361064 discloses sheets for sound deadening consisting of thermoplastic copolymerized polyester. U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,219 discloses the use of an amorphous block copolyester resin for a composite vibration damping material. US 5814696 discloses a polyester resin comprising an aromatic polyester resin and a polyester block copolymer resin.
EP 1212374 discloses sound damping polyester compositions comprising isoprenoid rubber modifier and a polyester selected from the group of consisting of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(propylene terephthalate (PPT), poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), poly(ethylene naphthanoate) (PEN), poly(butylene naphthanoate) (PBN) and mixtures thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 6,849,684 and WO 2002/032998 disclose a molded composition of a noise damping material made of a blend of a soft thermoplastic polyether and a hard polyester resin reinforced with a fibrous or particulate filler.
A need remains for materials having good vibration dampening and noise reduction performance over extendable temperature range (e.g. from −35 and 80° C.).

Energy absorbing thermoplastic elastomer


The present invention relates to the production and use of covalently closed circular (ccc) recombinant plasmids, and more particularly to vector modifications that improve expression of said DNA molecules in the target organism.

E. coli plasmids have long been an important source of recombinant DNA molecules used by researchers and by industry. Today, plasmid DNA is becoming increasingly important as the next generation of biotechnology products (e.g., gene medicines and DNA vaccines) make their way into clinical trials, and eventually into the pharmaceutical marketplace. Plasmid DNA vaccines may find application as preventive vaccines for viral, bacterial, or parasitic diseases; immunizing agents for the preparation of hyper immune globulin products; therapeutic vaccines for infectious diseases; or as cancer vaccines. Plasmids are also utilized in gene therapy or gene replacement applications, wherein the desired gene product is expressed from the plasmid after administration to the patient.
Therapeutic plasmids often contain a pMB1, ColE1 or pBR322 derived replication origin. Common high copy number derivatives have mutations affecting copy number regulation, such as ROP (Repressor of primer gene) deletion, with a second site mutation that increases copy number (e.g. pMB1 pUC G to A point mutation, or ColE1 pMM1). Higher temperature (42° C.) can be employed to induce selective plasmid amplification with pUC and pMM1 replication origins.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,943,377 (Carnes, A E and Williams, J A, 2011) disclose methods for fed-batch fermentation, in which plasmid-containing E. coli cells were grown at a reduced temperature during part of the fed-batch phase, during which growth rate was restricted, followed by a temperature upshift and continued growth at elevated temperature in order to accumulate plasmid; the temperature shift at restricted growth rate improved yield and purity of plasmid. Other fermentation processes for plasmid production are described in Carnes A. E. 2005 BioProcess Intl; 3:36-44, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The art teaches that one of the limitations of application of plasmid therapies and plasmid vaccines is regulatory agency (e.g. Food and Drug Administration, EMEC) safety concerns regarding 1) plasmid transfer and replication in endogenous bacterial flora, or 2) plasmid encoded selection marker expression in human cells, or endogenous bacterial flora. Additionally, regulatory agency guidances recommend removal of all non essential sequences in a vector. Plasmids containing a pMB1, ColE1 or pBR322 derived replication origin can replicate promiscuously in E. coli hosts. This presents a safety concern that a plasmid therapeutic gene or antigen will be transferred and replicated to a patient's endogenous flora. Ideally, a therapeutic or vaccine plasmid would be replication incompetent in endogenous E. coli strains. This requires replacement of the pMB1, ColE1 or pBR322 derived replication origin with a conditional replication origin that requires a specialized cell line for propagation. As well, regulatory agencies such as the EMEA and FDA are concerned with utilization of antibiotic resistance or alternative protein markers in gene therapy and gene vaccine vectors, due to concerns that the gene (antibiotic resistance marker or protein marker) may be expressed in a patients cells. Ideally, plasmid therapies and plasmid vaccines would be 1) replication incompetent in endogenous E. coli strains, 2) would not encode a protein based selection marker and 3) be minimalized to eliminate all non essential sequences.
The art further teaches that one of the limitations of application of plasmid therapies and vaccines is that antigen expression is generally very low. Vector modifications that improve antigen expression (e.g. codon optimization of the gene, inclusion of an intron, use of the strong constitutive CMV or CAGG promoters versus weaker or cell line specific promoter) are highly correlative with improved in vivo expression and, where applicable, immune responses (reviewed in Manoj S, Babiuk L A, van Drunen Little-van den Hurk S. 2004 Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci 41: 1-39). A hybrid CMV promoter (CMV/R), which increased antigen expression, also improved cellular immune responses to HIV DNA vaccines in mice and nonhuman primates (Barouch D H, Yang Z Y, Kong W P, Korioth-Schmitz B, Sumida S M, Truitt D M, Kishko M G, Arthur J C, Miura A, Mascola J R, Letvin N L, Nabel G J. 2005 J Virol. 79: 8828-8834). A plasmid containing the woodchuck hepatitis virus posttranscriptional regulatory element (a 600 bp element that increases stability and extranuclear transport of RNA resulting in enhanced levels of mRNA for translation) enhanced antigen expression and protective immunity to influenza hemagglutinin (HA) in mice (Garg S, Oran A E, Hon H, Jacob J. 2004 J Immunol. 173: 550-558). These studies teach that improvement in expression beyond that of current CMV based vectors may generally improve immunogenicity and, in the case of gene therapeutics, efficacy.


The present invention relates to an electronic assembly that includes an integrated circuit package, a heat sink, and a fastener which connects the heat sink to the integrated circuit package to cool the integrated circuit package. The fastener includes a stem that extends through the heat sink and the integrated circuit package. The fastener further includes a clamp that is connected to one end of the stem and a spring head that is connected to an opposing end of the stem. The spring head includes a first biasing member that extends around the longitudinal axis of the stem to compress the heat sink and the integrated circuit package against the clamp in order to reduce the thermal impedance between the heat sink and the integrated circuit package.

The present invention relates to a fastener that thermally couples a heat sink to an integrated circuit package in an electronic device.
Electronic devices generate heat during operation. Thermal management refers to the ability to keep temperature-sensitive elements in an electronic device within a prescribed operating temperature. Thermal management has evolved to address the increased heat generation created within such electronic devices as a result of the increased speed and power that are associated with ever-improving electronic devices.
The advent of such high performance electronic devices now requires more innovative thermal management. Each of these increases in speed and power generally carries a cost of increased heat generation such that additional innovations must be made to provide proper thermal management.
Several methods have been employed for cooling electronic devices that include high performance integrated circuits. One method of cooling these types of devices is by attaching heat sinks to the devices. Integrated circuits are typically assembled into packages that are soldered, or plugged into, a motherboard on a computer. One or more heat sinks are typically mounted to the motherboard, or some part of the integrated circuit packages, in order to provide cooling to the integrated circuit packages during operation of the computer.
A number of conventional fasteners are used to attach the heat sinks to the integrated circuit packages and/or the motherboards. The fasteners extend through clearance holes in the integrated circuit package and the heat sink, and are constructed to exert a spring force that presses the heat sink against one or more of the integrated circuit packages. Compressing the heat sinks against the integrated circuit packages decreases the thermal impedance between the integrated circuit packages and the heat sinks.
The fasteners that are presently used to fasten heat sinks to integrated circuit packages are relatively expensive to produce and assemble. It would be desirable to provide a fastener that can be readily assembled to exert a spring force on the interface between a heat sink and an integrated circuit package, and is relatively inexpensive to produce and assemble.

Heat sink fastener for an electronic device


Systems and methods for a mixed deployment architecture are provided. A data center system may include a core compute grid system and a plurality of distributed compute grid systems. The core compute grid system may provide one or more non-distributable services for a payment service provider, such as a database service, and may include one or more isolated environment zones. Each distributed compute grid system provides one or more distributable services for the payment service provider, and each distributed compute grid system provides an identical set of distributable services. The data center system also includes a network coupling the core compute grid system and plurality of distributed compute grid systems. The plurality of distributed compute grid systems transmit queued writes generated by the distributable services to the database service provided by the core compute grid system.

Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to applications executing on servers, and more particularly to a system and method for scalable deployment of services.
Related Art
More and more consumers are purchasing items and services over electronic networks such as, for example, the Internet. Consumers routinely purchase products and services from merchants and individuals alike. The transactions may take place directly between a conventional or on-line merchant or retailer and the consumer, and payment is typically made by entering credit card or other financial information. Transactions may also take place with the aid of an on-line or mobile payment service provider such as, for example, PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Such payment service providers can make transactions easier and safer for the parties involved. Purchasing with the assistance of a payment service provider from the convenience of virtually anywhere using a mobile device is one main reason why on-line and mobile purchases are growing very quickly.
Transactions facilitated by a payment service provider may involve multiple services of the payment service provider, such as authentication services, database services, and other such services. Each service may be provided by a software application executing on a server. For reliability, availability, and other considerations, many payment service providers use large numbers of servers to provide the various services needed by the payment service provider. As the number of customers of the payment service provider grows, effectively facilitating customer transactions requires an increasing number of servers, driving infrastructure costs higher. Further, failure tolerance requires a large number of servers and physical equipment, also causing high costs.
Thus, there is a need for an improved system and method for deploying services in a scalable, lower cost manner.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

Mixed deployment architecture for distributed services


An underwater erosion control system that has viscous drag elements for increasing the effect of viscous drag and disrupting laminar flow on the water current has a frame that includes two longitudinal supports that extend along the length of the underwater erosion control system near its bottom portion. The longitudinal supports extend at opposite sides of the viscous drag elements. A plurality of rungs traverse the longitudinal supports and are spaced some distance apart from each other. The viscous drag elements may be panels secured to the rungs along their retaining portion. Apertures are formed within the retaining portion of the panels and are used to retain the panels from lateral movement by passing an inner support through the apertures parallel to the longitudinal supports. The frame may be flexible or rigid. A novel installation frame and a method for installing the rigid frame embodiment also are disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to underwater erosion control systems, and more particularly, to a frame for supporting and anchoring an underwater erosion control system and to a method for installing the system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Erosion prevention and control systems are useful for minimizing erosion around underwater structures, including pipes, pilings, bridges and cables, that rely on the seabed for support and also for minimizing coastal shoreline and beach erosion. Methods and devices for preventing underwater bed and shoreline erosion are known. Some of these devices, such as breakwaters and groynes, are effective in minimizing shoreline erosion and are generally constructed from rock, concrete, rubble mounds and other hard body materials. Other devices, primarily used for erosion control on seabed structures, operate by increasing viscous drag on the underwater current, thereby reducing the velocity of the current and of the particulate transported by the current. This causes some of the particulate to settle out of the current and to be deposited in or around the erosion control system. The precipitated particles form a berm in and around the erosion control system. Typical of those devices that increase viscous drag on the current are buoyant frond elements or artificial seaweed or some other viscous drag element. The viscous drag elements are generally secured to the seabed or riverbed via some type of anchor line.
An example of a viscous drag type of underwater erosion control system using anchor lines is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,469 to Alsop. This system comprises a continuous sequence of buoyant fronds arranged side by side to form a frond line. The frond line is folded back and forth to form an array of fronds, and the successive folded sections of the frond line have aligned openings threaded by anchor lines. The anchor lines secure the array to the sea floor.
A problem with the above system is that the anchor lines do not provide a sufficient amount of structure to maintain the fronds or viscous drag elements in a desired relationship to one another. Additionally, the water currents cause a substantial amount of stress that may tear the openings through which the anchor lines are threaded. Further, anchor lines alone are insufficient to hold the fronds or viscous drag elements in contact with the sea floor, causing adverse effects, including sediment loss due to scour produced by the gap between the sea floor and the viscous drag elements. This problem becomes more severe as the buoyancy of the material used for the fronds or viscous drag elements is increased.
As the relative buoyancy of materials used to construct viscous drag elements increases, the amount of disruption to laminar flow also increases, as does the ability of the material to remain vertical when installed in the water. These factors lead to the enhanced ability to build higher berms of precipitated particles. For coastal shoreline applications it is essential to have high berms which will form submerged, wide-crested breakwaters which, optimally, reach a height of 80% of the depth of the water.
In existing systems, highly buoyant drag elements do not remain in contact with, or in close proximity to, the sea floor preventing the formation of a berm. Thus, these systems cannot be used in coastal shoreline erosion prevention applications.
Therefore, a need exists for a frame and anchoring structure that secures and maintains the viscous drag elements, e.g., panels of highly buoyant material, fronds, or artificial seaweed, in a desired relationship to each other and the sea floor and more uniformly distributes forces from the water current throughout the underwater erosion control system. Where highly buoyant viscous drag elements are required, a need exists for a frame that maintains the erosion control system substantially in contact with the sea floor to allow the formation of a berm of significant height for use as a submerged breakwater in coastal shoreline erosion control applications.

Frame and method for installing viscous drag and non-laminar flow components of an underwater erosion control system


A combination antenna and input device for a wireless communications device is disclosed. The antenna is coupled by a link to a position sensor that senses user movement of the antenna. In one embodiment, the antenna is rotatably retained within a housing and may be manipulated by the user. The position sensor detects rotational movement of the antenna and thereby controls functionality of the wireless communications device. The antenna may also be displaced along a longitudinal axis to enable user-selected functions. The position sensor may be mechanical, optical, or other form of electrical rotational position sensor.

I. Technical Field
The present invention is directed generally to a wireless communications input device, and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling input with an antenna input device.
II. Background of the Invention
A wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, personal communication system (PCS) device, radio telephone, and the like, all have certain common elements that are generally required for normal operation. Each of these required elements are typically present in all wireless communications devices in one form or another. For example, every wireless communications device typically must have a transmitter and receiver, or transceiver to permit communications with remote locations. In addition, a wireless communications device typically must have some sort of antenna to couple radio frequency (RF) signals to and from the transceiver. In addition, the conventional wireless communications device usually has a keyboard or other user input device to permit user control of the wireless communications device.
The current trend in wireless communications devices is to miniaturize the wireless communications device thus making it more easily transported by the user. Certain of these required circuit elements can also be miniaturized, such as through the use of integrated circuit design for the transceiver. However, it is still necessary to have a user input device to control the wireless communications system. Previous attempts to miniaturize this portion of the wireless communications device have been only of limited success. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a significant need for a wireless communications input control system and method of operation. The present invention provides this and other advantages as will be apparent from the following figures and accompanying detailed description.

Wireless communication device antenna input system and method of use


Disclosed is a method of retrieving video frames over a network for subsequent display. A user interaction (303) with a timeline (202) represented by a client (103) coupled to the network (105) is detected. From the detected interaction, a request (304) for video to be retrieved from a server (101) across the network is formed. A series of non-contiguous (scattered) sample frames (FIGS. 13-16) received in response to the request are then cached (104) for subsequent display. This method permits efficient handling of video scrubbing requests for streamlining video as only selected ones of the cached sample frames close to a GUI play head position (203) need be reproduced. Since the frames are non-contiguous, the scope of the source video is quickly sampled permitting improved user response and, where desired, adjustment of the play head position.

The field of network video streaming is steadily growing. The prevalence and increasing speed of networks has made viewing of video data interactively over a network increasingly feasible. By storing video on a central server and allowing access to the video via a streaming server to streaming clients, video can be accessed by a number of people simultaneously across a wide physical area. Video streaming is commonly used for accessing video data such as movie trailers, but can also be used for other networked arrangements such as digital video surveillance systems.
Video streaming protocols usually have a set of commands much akin to those traditionally used with video cassette recorders (VCRs). Common commands are: play from the beginning of the video or from a point in time, fast forward, rewind and pause. Some streaming server implementations also have non-VCR like commands such as reposition, which allows the streaming client to change the current play time of the streaming video without issuing another play request with the new time. Each command has a delay between when the streaming client issues the command until the effects of the command reach the streaming client. For instance there is a delay between issuing a play command and the video starting to arrive at the client.
Most video streaming clients have some form of timeline present in their user interface. The timeline serves two purposes in the client's user interface. Firstly the timeline has an indicator to show the current position within the video stream that is being displayed. The indicator is commonly called the "play head". Secondly the timeline allows the user to quickly jump to a position within the video stream either by clicking on the timeline or dragging the play head to a different position on the timeline. This process of dragging the play head to a different position is commonly called video scrubbing or scrubbing the play head.
The solution traditionally used is for the client to reposition or restart the video stream when the user has released the play head. In such implementations, the client generally handles the updating of the play head in a way that consumes significant server resources and which introduces a significant delay between the user's action and the updating of the video window. The process is also entirely reactive in that the client does nothing to anticipate future user actions.


A method of forming a semiconductor device is presented. A substrate prepared with a second gate is provided. The second gate is processed to form a second gate with a rounded corner and a first gate is formed on the substrate. The first gate is adjacent to and overlaps a portion of the second gate and the rounded corner.

Non-volatile memory (NVM) circuits have achieved widespread adoption for code and data storage applications. An important aspect of NVM circuits is their performance, which includes endurance (number of programming or write/erase cycles) and data retention after write/erase cycling. Within the industry, the performance of NVM technology has been characterized extensively. Generally, the NVM circuits should be able to endure over 100 thousand to 1 million programming cycles with data retention exceeding 20 years, even at extreme ambient temperatures.
Programming the memory to a program state involves, for example, injecting hot electrons into the gate dielectric of the floating or select gate of the memory cell, while erasing involves discharging the gate dielectric by Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling. This may result in high electric fields, which can degrade the gate dielectric and cause reduced reliability of the device.


A stake for holding an irrigation pipe near a plant. The pipe comprising a first end portion and a second portion bendable relative to the first end portion. The stake comprising a distal retaining portion for holding the first portion of the pipe and first and second proximal retaining portions for optionally accommodating the second portion of the pipe. The stake is designed to allow the second portion of the pipe to be optionally moved from the first proximal retaining portion to the second proximal retaining portion without removing the first portion of the pipe from the distal retaining portion.

With many kinds of irrigation emitters, there is a need to fix the irrigation pipe close to the irrigated plant, to the cultivation substrate (soil) or to the pot with the plant. A few examples of devices with such function are presented in the U.S. application Ser. No. 10/644,086, including a stake with a clamp holding the pipe perpendicular to the stake axis, a stake with an internal channel exiting under the soil surface


A Digital Video Broadcasting-Cable (DVB-C) system and a processing method for reserved tones are provided. A transmitter determines a position of broadcast data and a position of reserved tones in a frame and sends a broadcast signal into which the broadcast data and the reserved tones are inserted. A receiver determines the position of reserved tones in a received broadcast signal and extracts broadcast data from the broadcast signal in consideration of the determined position of the reserved tones. The system and method may compensate for the peak power of broadcast data to be transmitted through a multi-channel bundle, by inserting reserved tones into the whole multi-channel bundle with combined channel bands. This may reduce the Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) of broadcast signals in the DVB-C system and thereby improve the performance of the DVB-C system while still adopting Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communications technology and, more particularly, to a Digital Video Broadcasting Cable (DVB-C) system based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and a method for processing a reserved tone therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current communication systems offer various enhanced communication services with high-rate data transmissions and improved Quality of Service (QoS). Some of these current communication systems are based on OFDM.
OFDM is a multi-carrier technique that allows data transmission through a number of subcarriers disposed to maintain orthogonality amongst the subcarriers. OFDM typically has a higher efficiency of frequency use than various other multiplexing schemes and is tolerant of multi-path fading. Therefore, OFDM has been widely adopted in standards of mass communication systems such as the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) system and the Digital Video Broadcasting—Terrestrial (DVB-T) system. The DVB-T system uses a single channel band to offer a broadcasting service.
However, a traditional Digital Video Broadcasting—Cable (DVB-C) system was based on a single-carrier technique that allows data transmission through a single subcarrier. Contrary to the DVB-T system, the DVB-C system uses a number of channel bands to offer a broadcasting service, and thus DVB-C has a higher efficiency of frequency use. In the DVB-C system, channel bands are organized in a simple link structure as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, as the number of channel bands increases, guard bands located at both sides of each individual channel band also increase in number. For example, if four channel bands are employed in the DVB-C system, a bandwidth actually available for a broadcasting service is limited to the sum of four channel bands excluding the eight guard bands.
In view of the above-described bandwidth limitation, a DVB-C second generation (DVB-C2) system not only employs at least one channel band to offer a broadcasting service, but also is based on OFDM. In the DVB-C2 system, channel bands combine into a multi-channel bundle as shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, even when the number of channel bands increases, the number of guard bands does not change. For example, when four channel bands are used according to the DVB-C2 system illustration of FIG. 2, a bandwidth actually available for a broadcasting service excludes only two guard bands. Therefore, the DVB-C2 system may have better frequency efficiency than the traditional DVB-C system or the DVB-T system.
However, the DVB-C2 system may have shortcomings in that a Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) is relatively higher than the other systems, due to the adoption of OFDM. Specifically, since the amplitude of a broadcast signal based on OFDM is equal to the sum of the amplitudes of subcarriers, such a broadcast signal may be inherently subjected to a significant fluctuation in amplitude. Additionally, this amplitude fluctuation may become significant when the phases of subcarriers coincide with each other. Therefore, the performance of the DVB-C2 system may be deteriorated by the amplitude fluctuations.

Digital video broadcasting-cable system and method for processing reserved tone


A method and apparatus are described for responding to a fire emergency at a facility by analyzing a plurality of fire threat conditions to determine possible responses to a fire emergency and selecting a response to the fire emergency for minimizing human casualties within the facility. The present invention may be characterized in one embodiment as a method for generating an automated response to an emergency that includes the steps of (a) receiving as input fire threat condition data for a facility; (b) analyzing the fire threat condition data to determine a matrix of possible responses to a fire emergency; and (c) selecting a response from the matrix of possible responses to minimize human casualties.

The present invention relates generally to systems for evaluating and responding to emergencies threatening human life at facilities such as government buildings, public gathering places, or any area occupied by one or more persons. More specifically, but without limitation thereto, the present invention relates to monitoring a facility for the presence of fire and smoke that may threaten human life within the facility. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to a computerized system that monitors the presence of fire, smoke, structural damage, and a variety of other collateral damage related to a fire emergency that threatens human life within a facility and generates a response, such as an evacuation plan and control of resources and equipment within the facility, including heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, to minimize human casualties within the facility.
In addition to the threat to human life at facilities posed by accidental fires and the release of hazardous chemical substances in smoke, there has been an increase in apparently random and heinous terrorist attacks in public gathering places, such as government facilities and offices, large business facilities, hospitals, airports, train depots, subway stations, border crossings, and even aboard public carriers, such as airplanes, trains, subways, and ships.
While loss of human life within facilities such as described above as a result of accidental or intentional fires is almost inevitable unless extreme precautionary measures are taken, such as wearing gas masks, the number of human casualties due to injury and death may be dramatically affected by the type of response made against the fire and the speed with which the response is carried out.
Disadvantageously, the complexity involved in analyzing what is an appropriate response to any given fire depends on the location within the facility of the fire, the state of the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, weather conditions, temperatures inside the facility, time of day, concentrations of personnel, building conditions, and the type of incendiary agent employed. Unfortunately, in the panic of a terrorist attack, personnel in facilities are presently ill-equipped to cope with these complexities and the stresses inherent in such an attack. For example, an appropriate response might include operating an HVAC system to minimize the transport of smoke from one area to another while ventilating other areas with as much fresh air as possible. At the same time, personnel may need to be routed through the facility to exits or safer areas.
While in some cases the prior art has provided crude automated responses for fires, these automated responses have not adequately addressed the problem of analyzing different possible responses depending on the specific circumstances and selecting the response most likely to result in the minimum number of human casualties and property damage.
A method and apparatus are described for responding to an emergency at a facility by analyzing a plurality of fire threat conditions to determine possible responses to a fire emergency and selecting a response to the fire emergency for minimizing human casualties within the facility.
The present invention may be characterized in one embodiment as a system for responding to a fire that threatens to cause human casualties within a facility. The system has a plurality of inputs for receiving signals indicative of fire threat conditions and an emergency response module coupled to the inputs for analyzing the fire threat conditions to determine whether a fire emergency exists and for generating a response to the fire emergency for minimizing human casualties within the facility.
In another embodiment, the present invention may be characterized as a method for responding to a fire emergency by receiving data characterizing fire threat conditions and facility conditions, evaluating a plurality of emergency scenarios, generating a response to each emergency scenario, and storing the responses for rapid recall.
In a further embodiment, the invention may be characterized as a method for responding to a fire emergency by detecting the fire, determining incident specifics of the fire from the detection, and rapidly implementing a previously stored response to the fire as a function of the incident specifics.

Rapid fire emergency response for minimizing human casualties within a facility

Science Applications International Corporation


A combined radiotelephone and paging device (101), hereinafter the combined unit, normally operates as a radiotelephone. In response to a predetermined condition, the combined unit operates as a paging device. The predetermined conditions include low battery voltage and poor communication channel quality or a request signal from a remote transceiver (109) of the radiotelephone system. The paging system and the radiotelephone system may be independent communication systems or they may be a single communication system. The combined unit (101) and its unique switching characteristics allows the combined unit (101) to utilize the paging devices beneficial qualities of lower power consumption and broader service range to enhance the usefulness of a radiotelephone.

Both paging systems and radiotelephone systems are widely used forms of communication. Recently, combinations of radiotelephones and paging devices have been developed.
The paging system is typically a one-way radio communication system. An individual wishing to contact someone with a paging device usually calls a central telephone number to access the central paging control. Then, the caller keys in the number assigned to the individual paging device they wish to reach. Once the paging device is accessed, the caller can either leave a voice message for the paged individual or key in the telephone number to be displayed on the paging device's display. Some systems may also allow both types of paging.
Paging devices typically consume less power than radiotelephones. First, a paging device only receives radio frequency (RF) signals, it does not transmit RF signals like a radiotelephone. Second, paging systems typically operate at lower RF than a radiotelephone system. The lower RF operation allows the paging device to employ more efficient receiver circuitry, thus, less power consumption.
Additionally, a paging system's service coverage area is typically broader than a radiotelephone system's coverage area. Due to the configuration of a paging system, a paging system's remote transmitter operates at a higher power level than a radiotelephone system's remote transceiver. Thus, paging service is often available where radiotelephone service is not available.
The radiotelephone system typically allows two-way communication. The radiotelephone allows the user to access the landline telephone system to send and receive two-way telephone conversations. A radiotelephone system is often limited in its scope of geographic coverage; leaving the radiotelephone user without communication service in certain areas.
Powering a portable radiotelephones creates an additional problem. A portable radiotelephone requires a portable power source, usually provided by rechargeable battery packs. A RF transmitter requires more power than a RF receiver, leaving the transmitter inoperable sooner than the receiver in a portable radiotelephone.
The use of a combination radiotelephone and paging device is a recently developed idea. Typically, the combination allows a user to choose between receiving phone calls or receiving pages, dependent only upon the users preference. It would be desirable for a combination radiotelephone and paging device to utilize a paging device's beneficial qualities of lower power consumption and broader service range to enhance the usefulness of a radiotelephone.

Method of operation a combination radiotelephone and paging device and method of operation


A hinged access display and dispensing device for lottery-type tickets is provided with a base which may be quickly secured by hand, but is thereafter difficult to remove. The device includes a box-like housing provided with a hook and a pair of legs and feet. The base is provided with a ridge and a pair of holes and associated resilient tongues extending over the holes. The housing is placed over the base with the hook cupping the ridge. The legs force the tongues downward allowing insertion of the feet through the holes. The housing is then moved rearward to allow the tongues to move to their original position, thereby preventing lateral movement of the legs and removal of the feet from the holes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to lottery-type ticket dispensers and the like, and, more specifically, to a dispenser and base which allows for easy assembly while hindering unauthorized disassembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of box-like structures for displaying and dispensing of tickets has been known for some time. Generally, such dispensers have common characteristics such as transparent walls, through which a stack of tickets may be seen, means for preventing unauthorized removal of tickets therefrom and a slot through which the tickets may be dispensed.
It is also known in the art to secure such box-like structures to a counter or base to prevent unauthorized removal of the box-like structure and the tickets contained therein. It is known in the art to provide the bottom of the dispenser itself with adhesive to secure the device to a counter. The drawback of such an adhesive connection is two-fold. First, the security of such a connection is limited by the strength of the adhesive, which is typically of only moderate strength to reduce damage to the counter or base of the dispenser. Second, removal of such a dispenser after it has been adhesively secured is difficult and often results in damage to either the dispenser or the counter.
It is also known in the art to provide connection by way of screws or other hardware. While such hardware minimizes damage to the counter and increases the security of the dispenser, such hardware cannot be molded integrally with the dispenser and typically requires tools for installation and removal of the dispenser. Additionally, the size of typical dispensers hinders the use of standard tools for the installation and removal of such hardware.
The difficulties encountered in the prior art discussed hereinabove are substantially eliminated by the present invention.


An imaging system for generating an image of an object is provided. The imaging system comprises an X-ray source disposed in a spatial relationship to the object configured to transmit X-ray radiation through the object. The system further comprises at least one X-ray detecting media configured to convert the X-ray radiation transmitted through the object to optical signals. In addition, the system comprises an optical transmission conduit comprising a first end and a second end and an optical detector configured to convert optical signals to corresponding electrical signals. The first end of the optical transmission conduit is coupled to the X-ray detection device and the second end coupled to the optical detector.

The invention relates generally to imaging systems, and more specifically to a system and method for a radiation imaging system.
Radiation systems like tomosynthesis systems are often used in the field of medicine to generate three-dimensional (3D) images of an object. Typically, tomosynthesis systems include X-ray systems and computer tomography systems. A typical tomosynthesis system comprises an X-ray source, an X-ray detector and a processing circuit. The X-ray source is either stationary or is rotated on an arc and projects X-rays on the object, usually a patient. The X-rays are filtered by a collimator subsequent to passing through the object being scanned. The attenuated beams are then detected by a set of detector elements.
Typically, the detector comprises X-ray detecting media such as scintillators disposed over an optical detector usually comprising an array of photosensitive elements. The attenuated X-ray beams are first detected by the scintillators, which convert the X-ray beams to visible photons. The photosensitive elements detect the visible photons and convert to corresponding electrical signals based on the intensity of the attenuated X-ray beams, and the signals are processed to produce projections. By using reconstruction techniques three-dimensional images are formed from these projections.
One problem with such an arrangement of the detector is the transmission of the electrical signals from the rotating gantry. In particular, maintaining signal fidelity of a large quantity of un-amplified electrical signals in a noisy (EMI, EMC from adjacent motors, fans, etc.) electrical environment presents challenges to the current detector arrangement. In addition, the mechanical aspects of the gantry operation impose vibration and transient acceleration that can further lead to electrical signal degradation (microphonics, et. al.).
Another typical problem with the detector is that the response of the photosensitive elements is temperature-dependent. It would be desirable to design a detector in a way such that the heat produced in the amplification and signal processing components does not affect the performance of the photosensitive elements.
For imaging, it is desirable to transmit a large number of parallel signals, either to accommodate a larger field of view, or to improve resolution through smaller pixel size, resulting in higher quality images. Significant mechanical and electrical challenges are inherent in maintaining signal integrity through the transmission and processing of these parallel signals; In addition, the readout time of image/signal is proportionally increased.
In addition, while designing the detector, great care has to be taken in selecting the scintillator material such that the wavelength of the photons generated by the scintillator matches the peak sensitivity of the photosensitive element. As a result, other scintillator material properties, e.g., conversion efficiency (i.e. gain) and intrinsic decay may be sub-optimal. The opportunity to utilize scintillators that output multiple wavelengths is also limited.
It would therefore be desirable to design an imaging system where the X-ray detecting media can be optimized for its optical performance, manufacturability, and ease of integration with the X-ray imaging system. In addition, it would be desirable to design an imaging system that utilizes optical channels to provide for high signal bandwidth and to eliminate the limitations inherent in traditional electrical interconnect.


A semiconductor device includes a substrate wafer and having a front face and a back face. A front hole is formed in the front face and a multilayer capacitor is formed in the front hole. A back hole is formed in the back face of the substrate wafer to expose at least a portion of the multilayer capacitor. A front electrical connection on the front face and a back electrical connection in the back hole are used to make electrical connection to first and second conductive plates of the multilayer capacitor which are separated by a dielectric layer. The front hole may have a cylindrical shape or an annular shape.

A known solution for fabricating capacitors, as disclosed by United States Patent Application Publication 2008/0173993 (the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference), comprises forming a capacitor on the front face of a substrate comprising integrated circuits, in a blind hole of the substrate, whose electrodes extend into the substrate and have, on top of the front face of the substrate, portions running radially to the blind hole and connected to the integrated circuits.
There exists a need to produce capacitors allowing the distances of the electrical connections and the electrical resistances to be reduced, and/or the integration densities to be increased and/or the developed surface areas of the capacitors to be increased and/or the leakage current losses and the polarizations to be reduced.

Semiconductor device comprising an integrated capacitor and method of fabrication


An exercise device includes an upper body rest pivotally attached to a base. A first leg swing is pivotally attached to the base for engaging a first leg of an exerciser to perform a first leg raise. A second leg swing is pivotally attached to the base for engaging a second leg of an exerciser to perform a second leg raise. The upper body rest supports the spinal column and torso of an exerciser when performing the first and second leg raises.

The present invention relates to an exercising machine. More particularly, the present invention relates to an exercising machine that exercises the buttocks, all sides of the upper legs, the hips, the hamstrings, lower abdomen and the lower back while maintaining an anatomical position that isolates the targeted muscle.
For many people, the buttocks, the lower abdomen, the hips, lower back and all sides of the leg; i.e., frontal, inner, outer and rear portions, are troublesome areas because excess weight in the form of fat accumulates in these areas and adversely affects the person's appearance and posture. From a functional perspective, many people have knee, hip, pelvic and spinal/lumbar joint weaknesses which are difficult to address with conventional exercises and machines. Most people find it difficult to isolate these areas during exercise to improve the person's strength and appearance.
There are many exercise devices in the market and numerous conventional exercises that attempt to target these troublesome areas. However, these exercises do not isolate the troubled areas because they do not position the exerciser in the proper anatomical position and/or specifically engage the muscles the exerciser is actually wanting to target. For instance, most, if not all of these exercises incorporate a knee bending action however when the knee joint is bending when trying to isolate and exercise the buttocks muscles it's actually the quadriceps muscles that are engaged preventing the buttocks muscles [i.e.; gluteus maximus and gluteus medius] from being effectively exercised. While the exerciser may be moving the exercising device, the exerciser will not achieve the results in strength, physical symmetry and appearance because the targeted muscle is not isolated or specialized on.


A method for selecting an uplink modulation scheme may include receiving downlink control information (DCI). The format of the DCI may be decoded. The uplink modulation scheme may be determined according to the format of the DCI. The uplink modulation scheme may be selected. An uplink signal may be transmitted according to the uplink modulation scheme.

Wireless communication devices have become smaller and more powerful in order to meet consumer needs and to improve portability and convenience. Consumers have become dependent upon wireless communication devices such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, and the like. Consumers have come to expect reliable service, expanded areas of coverage, and increased functionality.
A wireless communication device may be referred to as user equipment, a mobile station, a subscriber station, an access terminal, a remote station, a user terminal, a terminal, a subscriber unit, etc. The term "user equipment" (UE) will be used herein.
A wireless communication system may provide communication for a number of cells, each of which may be serviced by a Node B. A Node B may be a fixed station that communicates with UEs. A Node B may alternatively be referred to as a base station, an access point, or some other terminology. The term "Node B" (NB) will be used herein.
UEs may communicate with one or more Node Bs via transmissions on the uplink and the downlink. The uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UEs to the Node B, and the downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the Node B to the UEs. A wireless communication system may simultaneously support communication for multiple UEs.
Wireless communication systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, clustered SC-FDMA, NxSC-FDMA (a natural number N times single carrier frequency division multiple access), and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, also referred to as "3GPP," is a collaboration agreement that aims to define globally applicable Technical Specifications and Technical Reports for 3rd Generation Systems. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the name given to a project to improve the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile phone or device standard to cope with future requirements. The 3GPP may define specifications for the next generation mobile networks, systems, and devices. In one aspect, UMTS has been modified to provide support and specification for the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN).

Systems and methods for OFDMA and SC-FDMA switching


The invention relates to a carrier (11) and a magnetic levitation railway provided with said carrier. The inventive carrier (11) comprises a sliding surface (14) and the sliding skates of a vehicle travelling along said magnetic levitation railway. According to said invention, the sliding surface (14) is provided with a coating (15, 16, 17) which comprises at least on the external area thereof an additional material which is compatible with the material for skates and reduces friction and ware.

The invention relates to a guideway carrier with a sliding surface for magnetic levitation railways, the vehicles of which are at least provided with one sliding skate each for setting-down on said sliding surface, and a magnetic levitation railway fabricated therewith.
The guideways of magnetic levitation railways are composed of guideway carriers that are also provided with so-called sliding surfaces, apart from the driving means frequently configured as stator packs of long-stator linear motors and apart from lateral guidance surfaces destined for tracking. In the majority of applications, these sliding surfaces are installed on the upper surface of guideway carriers and both in normal stopping and in cases of emergency they serve for setting-down the vehicles by the aid of sliding skates mounted at their undersides. The designations "sliding" surface and "sliding" skate are meant to express that the sliding skates can be set-down on the sliding surfaces not only during a standstill but also during the ride of vehicles and can be moved on them in sliding mode until the vehicle comes to standstill. For example, such a situation may occur in case of a failure of a support magnet, because in this case a pertinent section of the vehicle and/or of its levitation frame sinks down so far that the vehicle sets-down at least with one sliding skate on the sliding surface. As a result hereof, and in view of the high speeds achievable with magnetically levitated vehicles reaching 400 km/h and more, substantial friction energies are induced that entail high temperatures and intensive wear and tear in the area of sliding partners concerned.
To date little attention has been paid to friction conditions occurring in case of emergency setting-downs. The sliding properties rather resulted more or less by mere accident from the materials used for sliding skates and sliding surfaces. It was taken for granted that the sliding surfaces, like the guideway girders, were made of steel or concrete, and that sliding skates would have to be made of a material that compared with steel or concrete is distinguished by a high abrasion resistance. It is also known as prior art in this context to configure the sliding surfaces at sliding ledges made of steel and to provide them with corrosion protection coatings made of zinc dust and micaceous iron ore based on epoxy resin and/or polyurethane.
In practical operation of magnetic levitation railways of the type described hereunder, it became evident that the sliding properties obtained in this manner are insufficient for various reasons. It may particularly be desired not to perform a repair or maintenance of defective vehicles immediately or anywhere alongside the guideway whenever a defect occurs but to let defective vehicles ride on, if possible, until they reach a shop suitable for performing such repair and maintenance work. However, in these cases the high friction forces occurring on a failure of support magnets between prior art sliding skates and sliding surfaces would cause high mechanical strains and temperatures so that safely reaching the nearest repair shop without premature complete wear of sliding skates and/or sliding surfaces could only be assured by locating such repair shops alongside the guideway at comparatively short distance. If the distance between such repair shops is too large, many defects affecting the vehicles would also cause damage to the sliding surfaces and, therefore, call for a repair to affected sliding surfaces and even to the complete guideway, which would entail substantial cost of operation and which must be avoided.

Carrier and a magnetic levitation railway provided with said deck


The invention comprises a method of using sensor agents to collect information in a central location to determine the entire attack surface of all certificate based resources, which includes vulnerable, insecure, or unknown resources but also includes where all the secure resources are located and the attack surface for each certificate resource. If a vulnerable resource is detected, the system may initiated additional sensor agents to determine the threat caused by the vulnerability. The system can also assign a rating to the overall security of the network based on vulnerabilities and display the attack surface as a topographic format for easy review by administrators.

Companies install certificates throughout their network, including virtual networks, private networks, physical networks, cloud networks. Each network may use one or more types of certificate resources to secure communication and information. Companies today don't have the ability to determine what their attack surface for all their secure certificate resources are.
Security administrators have difficulty determining where a malicious user or hacker will try to access a system. A hacker will look for insecure, vulnerable resources to try and break into. Therefore, these is a need for an easy way to identify the attack surface of certificate resources and use that listing to watch, isolate, and monitor certificate resources.

Method and system of attack surface detection


A circuit for controlling a switch of a power converter includes a first clock signal generator configured to generate a first clock signal and a switching signal generator configured to generate a switching signal to control the switch of the power converter based on the first clock signal. The circuit further includes error detection circuitry configured to output an error indication and a second clock signal generator configured to generate, in response to the error indication, a second clock signal that comprises an edge of a clock cycle of the second clock signal that corresponds to when the switching signal deactivates the switch of the power converter plus a time delay. The switching signal generator is configured to generate the switching signal to control the switch of the power converter further based on the second clock signal in response to the error indication being output by the error detection circuitry.

A driver circuit may generate a switching signal to control an operation of a power converter. The driver circuit may control a voltage, current, and/or power output by the power converter using a duty cycle of the switching signal. For example, the driver circuit may generate the switching signal with a duty cycle to regulate a voltage output by a Buck converter.