A method and system for testing cellular network integrity using telematics comprising determining at least one network condition data at a telematics unit, initiating a data call from the telematics unit to a telematics call center, establishing a data call communication channel between the telematics unit and the telematics call center, and transmitting at least one network condition data to the telematics call center via the established data call communication channel. A computer usable medium with suitable computer program code is employed for testing cellular network integrity using telematics.

Information and interactive services available to mobile vehicles are increasing due to the demand of mobile vehicle operators for services such as navigation assistance, directory assistance, vehicle maintenance assistance, roadside assistance, information services assistance, and emergency assistance. These services are accessible via interfaces such as voice-recognition computer applications, touch-screen computer displays, computer keyboards, or a series of buttons on the dashboard or console of a vehicle.
Currently, telematics service call centers, in-vehicle compact disk (CD) or digital video display (DVD) media, web portals, and voice-enabled phone portals provide various types of location services, including driving directions, stolen vehicle tracking, traffic information, weather reports, restaurant guides, ski reports, road condition information, accident updates, street routing, landmark guides, and business finders.
For example, traffic and driving directions can be accessed through a voice portal that uses incoming number identification to generate location information based on the area code or prefix of the phone number, or to access location information stored in a user's profile associated with the phone number. Users can be prompted to enter more details through a voice interface. Other examples are web and wireless portals that offer location-based services such as maps and driving directions where the user enters both a start and an end address. Some of these services can have a voice interface.
Providing these services often requires the use of cleared numbers, i.e., numbers that can be used by any phone on the network regardless of the level of service to which the phone is subscribed. These cleared numbers must be properly loaded in the switches of the cellular networks. If a cleared number, for example a telematics service enrollment number that a subscriber calls to configure existing service with the telematics service provider, is not properly loaded, the user must contact the service provider via a landline phone or other means, sometimes inconveniencing the user.
Other network conditions, for example the accuracy of GPS coordinates stored in cellular network switches, adequacy of cellular and GPS coverage areas, and cellular tower capacity also contribute to customer satisfaction or lack thereof. Assuring the reliability of cellular networks is the responsibility of the various cellular network providers. Nonetheless, a telematics service provider has an interest in data collection related to these network conditions because it allows the telematics service provider to locate cellular network trouble spots and provide that data to the cellular network provider, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and reducing costs of operation.
It is therefore desirable to provide a system and method for testing cellular network integrity using telematics that overcomes the limitations, challenges, and obstacles described above.

Method and system for testing cellular network integrity using telematics


A passenger-protecting system includes a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in an inner space of a door and a side airbag installed in the door. The pressure in the inner space increases when a side collision occurs. When the pressure in the inner space of the door exceeds a predetermined threshold level, the side airbag is inflated to protect a passenger from a side collision. There are certain situations where the operation of the side airbag is not necessary even if the pressure in the inner space of the door exceeds the threshold level. Such situations include: when the door is abruptly closed and a front airbag is inflated to protect a passenger from a frontal collision. According to the present invention, unnecessary operations of the side airbag are effectively avoided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for protecting a passenger from a side collision of an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
A system for protecting a passenger from a side collision (a door of an automobile collides with an obstacle) has been known hitherto. An example of such a system is disclosed in JP-A-2-249740. In this system, a side collision is detected based on pressure changes in an inner space of a door. Namely, it is determined that a side collision occurred when the pressure in the inner space of the door exceeds a predetermined pressure level.
In this system, however, there is a possibility that a side collision is erroneously detected because the pressure in the inner space of the door may become higher than the predetermined level when no side collision occurs. A door of an automobile may be deformed by some other reasons than a side collision because a rigidity of an inner panel of a door is not very high. For example, when an open door is abruptly closed, a pressure in the inner space of the door increases. When a front airbag is inflated, the pressure in the inner space of the door increases. In particular, the pressure increase is predominant when the front airbag is inflated under a condition that all the windows are closed. There is a possibility, in the conventional passenger-protecting system, that a side airbag is unnecessarily inflated based on the pressure increase in the inner space of the door that is caused by reasons other than the side collision.

Passenger-protecting system for automotive vehicle


A new form of green color is prepared by specially treating copper chlorophyllin to make it acid-stable and cold-water-soluble. The new composition has a unique combination of properties makes it especially suitable for use in dry mix compositions for preparing acidic beverages and foods such as gelatin desserts. The dry, water-soluble, acid-stable green coloring composition contains copper chlorophyllin, a solid fixative and a hydrophilic surfactant. The weight ratio of the copper chlorophyllin to the hydrophilic surfactant is in the range of from about 1:1 to 1:6. For beverages and gelatin dessert mixes, flavor and sufficient acid are employed to achieve a pH of less than 4 when the dry mix composition is mixed with water.

The selection of a green colorant for foods leaves one with limited choices. One can either use an FD&C color or chlorophyll. Unfortunately, the FD&C color stains carpets and fabric heavily and irreversibly. And, the color imparted by chlorophyll changes to an unappetizing "khaki" green under acid conditions. The same is true of various chlorophyll derivatives such as copper chlorophyllin.
Chlorophyllin is an umbrella term that includes several breakdown products of chlorophyll saponification with either sodium or potassium hydroxide, resulting in sodium chlorophyllin or potassium chlorophyllin.
These compounds have the advantage over chlorophyll in that they are water soluble. Unfortunately, the molecule includes a magnesium atom which is easily removed at low pH, causing the color to turn brownish.
The color of chlorophyllin can be made more acceptable by subjecting it to a strong mineral acid treatment to strip out the magnesium and replace it with copper. The resulting copper chlorophyllin has a green hue and is stable at low pH. Unfortunately it precipitates out of solution under acid conditions.
Copper chlorophyllin is known to be available in two commercial forms. One (sold by Dr. Marcus, GmbH) is an acid-stable liquid comprised of 3% copper chlorophyllin, 24% polysorbate 80 and 73% water. The solution has an alkaline pH at which solubility is not a problem. The other (sold by Meer Corp.) is a powder of 100% copper chlorophyllin.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,320, Koch, et al., identify copper 30 chlorophyllin as a pigment useful in chewing gum bases. The form of the pigment is not mentioned. The pH is not disclosed, but it would seem to be alkaline due to the presence of filler materials such as calcium carbonate, and the like.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,600, Jackson, et al., describe an anti-caries composition containing a source of hydrogen citrate ions and having a pH of from 4 to 7. Among the additives are "chlorophyll compounds (e.g., sodium copper chlorophyllin)". Again, the physical form is not identified.
Moreover, the purpose of adding the sodium copper chlorophyllin is apparently for purposes other than color and no example of its use in liquid form is given.
Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,873, Bar-Shalom, et al., disclose dental compositions in which copper chlorophyllin is listed as a source of chlorophyll. Again, the purpose does not appear to be for color, and no detail is provided of a specific application.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,978, Kosaka, et al., list copper chlorophyllin as one of several dyes suitable for coloring gelatin capsules. No pH or physical form information are given.
There remains a need for an acid-stable and cold-water-soluble form of green color based on non-staining copper chlorophyllin. The new compositions should be in the form of dry, free-flowing powders that wet easily and dissolve rapidly and completely in aqueous liquids having acid pH values suitable for fruity-flavored beverages and foods such as gelatin desserts.

Non-staining, acid-stable, cold-water-soluble, edible green color and compositions for preparing acidic foods and beverages


The present invention relates to a stable antiseptic solution comprising: a di(4-chlorophenyldiguanido) compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein said di(4-chlorophenyldiguanido) compound or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is a compound of formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The invention further relates to a process for preparing said antiseptic solution.

Chlorhexidine is the international common accepted name for N,N-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-3,12-diimino-2,4,11,13-tetraazatetradecanediimidamide (also known as 1,6-di(4″-chlorophenyldiguanido)hexane), and has an empirical formula of C22H30Cl2N10, a molecular weight of 505.45 g/mol, and a chemical structure of formula (I):

Chlorhexidine is a well-known topical antiseptic and disinfectant that has been used for more than 30 years. Products comprising chlorhexidine are used for a number of applications such as, for example, daily hygiene application, oral antiseptic applications, hand and skin disinfection, and general disinfection (e.g., equipment, surfaces and textiles). Chlorhexidine is a highly active bactericidal agent having a broad activity with low levels of toxicity and strong skin binding properties. Chlorhexidine is primarily bactericidal against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, and its activity extends to yeasts, including Candida albicans. The bactericidal activity of chlorhexidine differs from that observed with povidone-iodine or 70% isopropyl alcohol. For example, chlorhexidine has demonstrated an immediate bactericidal effect as well as a cumulative effect that persists for hours and even days after it is applied, and unlike iodophors, the germicidal activity of chlorhexidine has shown statistically significant efficacy in reducing bacterial counts in the presence of blood and other protein-rich biomaterials.
Chlorhexidine is often applied preoperatively to disinfect materials and surfaces or skin of a patient prior to surgery. An important consideration for the user is the appearance of a chlorhexidine solution. For example, upon visual inspection, the user needs to be able to determine that a) the antiseptic solution has been applied, and b) where the antiseptic solution has been applied. However, chlorhexidine by itself forms clear, colorless solutions which makes it difficult for the user to make such a determination. Thus, it is desirable to use colored chlorhexidine solutions.
Numerous problems are encountered when color additives (e.g., tints or dyes) are added to an antiseptic solution of chlorhexidine in amount sufficient to stain a patient's skin or surgical field before surgery. The tint or dye can react with chlorhexidine to form a precipitate, which can lead to non-uniform distribution of the colored antiseptic solution upon its application. In addition, the coloring additive can react with chlorhexidine to form impurities thereby partially inactivating the chlorhexidine solution and increasing the impurity profile of the antiseptic solution. In addition, the chemical stability of the product is lessened resulting in a shortened shelf life.
The development of colored solutions of chlorhexidine, with a sufficient shelf life has proven to be difficult. Moreover, the development of colored solutions of chlorhexidine, advantageously prepared by efficient formulation processes has proved problematic.
U.S. 2004/0179889 ("the '889 publication") acknowledges the problems associated with colored chlorhexidine solutions. The '889 publication purportedly describes that the problems can be alleviated by using a specific, specialized applicator for applying chlorhexidine solution. The disclosed applicator comprises at least one ampoule formed of a frangible material and adapted to contain liquid to be applied; at least one hollow body defining an internal chamber adapted to receive at least one ampoule; and at least one porous element that contains colorant, wherein the porous element is positioned such that liquid flows through the porous element when at least one ampoule is fractured and colorant is transferred to the liquid to be applied.
The use of specific applicators to administer antiseptic solution or to reconstitute the solution prior to its use, is inconvenient and is not feasible for some applications.
WO 2007/130981 ("the '981 publication") supposedly discloses a solution of chlorhexidine together with cationic dye in an amount sufficient to stain patient's skin. It is believed that since chlorhexidine pharmaceutically acceptable salts are cationic compounds, they are compatible with other cationic and non ionic substances, but are chemically incompatible with anionic compounds.
The use of cationic dyes, as well as products comprising cationic dyes, can pose a health hazard. Numerous disadvantages are related to using cationic dyes in antiseptic formulations, including adverse toxicological and carcinogenic effects. Reports of hypersensitivity and hyperkinetic activity, especially among children, add to concerns over the safety of using cationic dyes in products.
Moreover, the '981 publication describes that an anionic dye may be used provided that the antiseptic solution also comprises a cationic excipient. The '981 publication also describes that anionic dyes, including FD&C dyes, form a precipitate with chlorhexidine, even at very low concentrations. The precipitate forms as an insoluble salt of a chlorhexidine cation and at least one dye anion. As such, adding an anionic dye alone to an aqueous chlorhexidine solution removes a significant fraction of the chlorhexidine from solution, thereby decreasing the efficacy of the solution.
WO 2007/130982 ("the '982 publication") attempts to solve the above described problems by providing solutions of chlorhexidine together with an anionic dye and a cationic excipient (e.g., cationic detergents, surfactants or excipients containing quaternary nitrogen. The '982 publication describes the use of a cationic excipient together with an anionic excipient is essential and that as the negative charge of an anionic dye is "hidden" from the chlorhexidine by a cationic excipient, the chlorhexidine-dye salt will not immediately form.
However, using additional excipients in antiseptic solution, especially cationic excipients may cause dangerous adverse affects related with allergies, intolerance and/or irritation.
In addition, according to the Summary of Product Characteristics for CHLORAPREP® 2% (w/v)/70% (v/v) cutaneous solution, chlorhexidine is incompatible with anionic agents (e.g., http://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/22302/SPC/chloraprep/).
The disclosure of each of the '889 publication, the '981 publication, the '982 publication, and the Summary of Product Characteristics for CHLORAPREP® are incorporated herein by reference.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to provide colored antiseptic solutions comprising chlorhexidine which are safe, have improved properties and good chemical stability. There is also a need for colored antiseptic chlorhexidine solutions which can be prepared by efficient formulation processes.

Antiseptic solution of di(4-chloro-phenyldiguanido) compound and process therefor


An SHF-band receiving apparatus is used for demodulating a signal received by an antenna and input through a cable by using an indoor receiving unit which comprises: demodulation means for demodulating an input signal supplied thereto through the cable; detection means for detecting a detection signal representing the direction of the antenna from a demodulated signal output by the demodulation means; and output means for generating a modulated signal for displaying information on the direction of the antenna by modulation of a carrier signal based on the detection signal produced by the detection means and for outputting the modulated signal through the cable to the antenna side.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to a receiving apparatus, a signal demodulating method, an antenna apparatus, a receiving system and an antenna direction adjusting method. In particular, the present invention relates to a receiving apparatus, a signal demodulating method, an antenna apparatus, a receiving system and an antenna direction adjusting method which are appropriate for adjusting the direction of an antenna for receiving radio waves broadcasted through satellites.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a system for receiving radio waves broadcasted through communication and broadcasting satellites is becoming popular. In such a system, it is necessary to adjust the direction of an antenna thereof so that radio waves transmitted by the satellites can be received by the antenna correctly.
An invention relating to the adjustment of such an antenna is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho59-47883.
To be more specific, according to the disclosed invention cited above, radio waves transmitted by a satellite 1 are received by a parabola antenna 11 as shown in FIG. 5. A signal resulting from the reception of a radio wave by the parabola antenna 11 is converted into a signal having a predetermined intermediate frequency by an outdoor converter unit 12. The signal having the predetermined intermediate frequency is then supplied to an indoor converter unit 31 installed under the roof 21 of a house through a cable 15. The indoor converter unit 31 demodulates the intermediate frequency signal, outputting the result of the demodulation to a television receiver 32.
The direction of the parabola antenna 11 is adjusted by adjustment of a direction adjusting unit 13 so as to make the parabola antenna 11 correctly oriented toward the satellite 1. A meter 14, which allows an antenna adjusting person to know whether or not the parabola antenna 11 is correctly oriented toward the satellite 1 with ease, is provided on the outdoor converter unit 12.
The meter 14 works as follows. As is shown in FIG. 6, in the outdoor converter 12, a band pass filter (BPF) 41 extracts signals in a predetermined frequency band from a signal received by the parabola antenna 11. A signal output by the BPF 41 is then amplified by an amplifier 42 before being supplied to a frequency converter 43 for converting the signal into an output signal having a predetermined intermediate frequency which output signal is called an IF signal. The IF signal output by the frequency converter 43 is amplified by an intermediate frequency amplifier 44. A signal output by the intermediate frequency amplifier 44 is supplied to a signal splitting circuit 45 for transmitting the signal to the indoor converter unit 31 through a cable 15.
Part of the IF signal output by the intermediate frequency amplifier 44 is supplied to a detecting circuit 46 by the signal splitting circuit 45. Detecting the IF signal, the detecting circuit 46 outputs a direct current signal representing the level of the IF signal. The direct current signal output by the detecting circuit 46 is amplified by a direct current amplifier 47 before being supplied to the meter 14.
As a result, the level of the IF signal is displayed on the meter 14. While watching the display on the meter 14, the person adjusting the direction of the parabola antenna 11 makes the parabola antenna 11 oriented in such a direction toward the satellite 1 that the level of the IF signal is maximized.
By providing the meter 14 on the outdoor converter unit 12 as described above, the person adjusting the direction of the parabola antenna 11 can carry out adjustment so as to make the parabola antenna 11 oriented in a correct direction toward the satellite 1 by himself or herself with ease.
In such a conventional apparatus, however, the level of the IF signal is monitored at the outdoor converter unit 12, giving rise to a problem that the configuration of the outdoor converter unit 12 becomes complex and, thus, the price thereof becomes expensive.
On the top of that, since the level of the IF signal is monitored, it is impossible to identify which satellite is generating the radio wave being monitored in the case of a plurality of satellites 1 existing. As a result, it is feared that the adjustment causes the parabola antenna 11 to be oriented toward a wrong satellite by mistake.

Receiving apparatus, signal demodulating method, antenna apparatus, receiving system and antenna direction adjusting method


There is provided an improved process of forming a functional epitaxial film by using two kinds of active species and chemically reacting them.. One of the species is an activated substance which contains silicon atoms or germanium atoms and halogen atoms. The other species is one which is generated from a chemical substance capable of contributing to formation of a film and chemically reactive with the former active species.

For the production of a functional film, especially a crystalline semiconductor film, an appropriate method has been employed in view of the required characteristics, use or the like for the film to be obtained. That is, there have been proposed various method using vacuum evaporation technique, thermal induced chemical vapor deposition technique, plasma chemical vapor deposition technique, reactive sputtering technique, ion plating technique and light induced chemical vapor deposition technique.
Among those methods, the method of thermal induced chemical vapor deposition (hereinafter referred to as "CVD method") had once been frequently used in various applications. However, such methods are not usually employed for the reason that, besides requiring an elevated temperature, a practically usable film cannot be obtained as expected.
On the other hand, the plasma chemical vapor deposition method (hereinafter referred to as "plasma CVD method") has been generally evaluated as being the most preferred and is currently used to prepare a deposited film on a commercial basis.
Now, although the plasma CVD method is widely used nowadays as above mentioned, that method is problematical due to the fact that it is practiced under elevated temperature conditions and other problems are associated with the apparatus to be used.
Regarding the former problems, because the plasma CVD method is practiced while maintaining a substrate at an elevated temperature, firstly the kind of a substrate to be used is limited to one that does not contain a material such as a heavy metal which can migrate and cause changes in the characteristics of a deposited film to be formed and secondly, its thickness is likely to be varied, whereby the resulting film lacks uniformity of thickness and homogeneity of the composition, which may itself also cause changes in the characteristics of the film to be formed.
Regarding the latter problems, the operating conditions employed with the plasma CVD method are much more complicated than the known CVD method, and are extremely difficult to be generalized.
That is, there already exist a number of variations even in the correlated parameters of substrate temperature, the amount and the flow rate of gases to be introduced, the pressure, the high frequency power for forming a film the structure of the electrodes, the structure of the reaction chamber, the exhaust rate, the plasma generation system, etc. Under these circumstances, in order to prepare a desirable functional deposited film for electron devices, it is required to choose precise parameters from a great number of varied parameters. And there sometimes occurs a serious problem that because of the precisely chosen parameters, the plasma may attain an unstable state which often imparts unexpected troublesome effects to functional deposited film to be formed.
In addition, in the case of desiring to form a crystalline functional deposited film, stably producing such film in accordance with the plasma CVD method is considered to be difficult since the related conditions to make a film to be crystalline are extremely limited under the plasma CVD method.
By the way, in recent years, the public attention has been focused on silicon-containing or germanium-containing functional crystalline deposited films, namely epitaxial deposited films, because of their wide usefulness.
And for their production, there have been proposed various methods which can be classified into two categories of vapor phase epitaxy and liquid phase epitaxy.
The liquid phase epitaxy is a method of depositing a semiconductor crystal on a substrate by dissolving a raw material for semiconductor in a metallic solvent in liquid state at elevated temperature until the raw material becomes supersaturated and cooling the solution.
For this method, there is an advantage that such a crystalline product as having a relevant completeness can be obtained since it is prepared in the state of being most closest to thermal equilibrium among various epitaxy techniques. However, there are unavoidable disadvantages, particularly, in the case of preparing optical devices for which an epitaxial layer having a thin and uniform thickness is required to be used. That is, the yield in its preparation is unsatisfactory and undesirable influences brought about because of poor mass productivity and unstable surface state of the film to be formed.
In view of the above, the liquid phase epitaxy is seldom used.
On the other hand, as for the vapor phase epitaxy, it has been often tried to practice using physical methods such as vacuum evaporation method and reactive sputtering method, and chemical methods such as hydrogen reduction method and thermal cracking method using organometallic compounds or metal hydrides. Among these methods, the molecular beam epitaxy, similar to the vacuum evaporation deposition method, is a dry process under ultra-high vacuum. Therefore, there are advantages for said epitaxy that it is possible to make a product highly purified and to grow the deposition of a film at low temperature and a relatively plane deposited film can be obtained. However, even for such epitaxy, there are disadvantages still remain unsolved that a surface defect density is large, any practically applicable method for controlling the directivity of the molecular beam is not yet developed, production of a large square deposited film is difficult, mass productivity is insufficient, and in addition to these disadvantages, an apparatus for practicing such epitaxy is too expensive.
In view of the above, the molecular beam epitaxy is not yet practiced on an industrial scale.
As for said hydrogen reduction method and thermal cracking method, they are generally called halide CVD method, hydride CVD method and MO-CVD method. And these methods are generally evaluated as being worth of being discussion since there are advantages that a film forming apparatus therefor can be relatively easily manufactured, highly purified metal halides, metal hydrides and organo-metals which are used as raw materials in such methods are generally available.
However, under these methods, since the temperature of a substrate is required to be high enough to allow the occurrence of the reduction reaction or thermal cracking, there is a limit for the kind of substrate which can be used. In addition, in the case where the raw material is not sufficiently decomposed, contaminations with the impurities such as carbon atoms, halogen atoms are apt to occur and as a result, it becomes difficult to control the doping degree.
Under this circumstance, even if a desirable functional crystalline film should be fortunately produced, the functional crystalline film product will become costly for the reasons that a heavy investment is necessitated to set up a particularly appropriate apparatus therefor.
In this regard, for mass-producing a desirable functional crystalline deposited film, particularly, a functional silicon-containing or germanium-containing epitaxial film, it is desired to modify or change the currently known methods so that it makes it possible to effectively form such film.
In fact, there is now an increased demand for providing a method that makes it possible to practice the process at lower temperature and at a high film forming rate in a simple apparatus to mass-produce a desirable functional epitaxial film applicable in any electron devices which has satisfactory uniformity and has practically applicable characteristics.

Process for the production of functional crystalline film


A servo amplifier includes a housing, a heat source arranged in the housing, and a heat dissipating structure including a heat sink arranged in the housing and thermally connected to the heat source. The heat sink has heat dissipating fins extending from at least a portion of a surface of the heat sink, other than a connecting face thermally connected to the heat source. The at least a portion of the surface of the heat sink, other than the connecting face, is thermally connected to a surface of the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a servo amplifier having a cooling structure including a heat sink.
2. Description of the Related Art
A common servo amplifier is provided with a cooling means for cooling a heat source in a servo amplifier, such as a heat sink and a fan motor. In order to enhance the cooling effect, surface area or volume of the heat sink is increased, rotational speed of the fan motor is increased, or a heat conducting member is used to conduct heat to a cooling structure arranged at a position distant from the heat source.
JP-A-2009-111310 discloses a cooing method for cooling electronic equipment by interposing a heat conducting member between a heat source and a metallic cabinet for accommodating the electronic equipment.
In order to increase the surface area or volume of the heat sink, it is necessary to provide a sufficiently large space around the heat source. However, space available in the housing of the servo amplifier is often predetermined and limited. Therefore, improvements in a heat dissipating effect of the heat sink by its design change are limited. In the case where a rotational speed of the fan motor is increased to enhance the heat dissipating effect, life of the fan motor tends to be shortened as the rotational speed is higher.
In the case where the technique disclosed in JP-A-2009-111310, i.e., conducting heat from a heat source to a cooling structure arranged distant from the heat source through a heat conducting member, is applied to a servo amplifier including a power semiconductor which produces a large amount of heat generation, since a distance between the heat source and a cabinet is relatively large, it is difficult to achieve a sufficient cooling effect. In this case, it is necessary to provide an expensive cooling means such as a heat pipe as a heat conducting member. This leads to an increase in cost of the servo amplifier.
Accordingly, there is a need for an inexpensive servo amplifier including a cooling structure having an efficient heat dissipation effect.

Servo amplifier having cooling structure including heat sink


A weldment in which a first component defines a bore, a second component is received in the bore and a weld is employed to couple the second component to the first component. The first component has an isolation pocket formed about the bore such that an annular projection having an annular collar portion is formed. The isolation pocket is sized and positioned relative to the weld such that the annular collar portion is deflected about the base into a position that is radially inwardly from a position of the annular collar portion prior to the formation of the weld such that the isolation pocket controls axial shrinkage associated with the formation and cooling of the weld.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Welding is a common technique for permanently coupling components to one another. One drawback of welding concerns the tendency of the components to distort as a consequence of stresses created by the welding operation. In some instances, it may be possible to machine the weldment after the welding operation to remove distorted portions of the weldment. It will be appreciated, however, that such machining operations may be costly. When one of the components is a highly machined and hardened component, such as a ring gear for an automotive differential assembly, it may not be practical to machine the weldment subsequent to the welding operation.
Various techniques have been suggested for forming weldments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,589,671 discloses the use of relatively shallow round grooves disposed on opposite sides of a weld to "compensate for thermal expansion". We have found such techniques to be ineffective. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for an improved weldment and process for forming a weldment in which distortion of one or more of the welded components is more effectively abated.

Weldment with isolation pocket for reduction of weld-induced distortion


An automatic safety helmet and cover protection can be worn on the back, mainly of people who play sport. The protection device is stored in a rucksack casing (3) and is attached to back straps (4-6). The casing accommodates essentially a guard (11-19), a drive member and a control mechanism. There is storage space in the center for various implements. By triggering a spring accumulator (40.1, 40.2), the protection device is rotated, in the event of a threatening fall, into an erect protective position in fractions of a second by way of a trigger cord or by automatic actuation due to a sensor (23). The protective position is held at the top by a toothed catch member (7.1, 7.2). Mating toothing on the catch member maintains the protective position even in the event of a change in direction.

The invention involves an automatic protection helmet, as protection against a tumbling fall for persons, wherein the protection helmet can be adjusted into a protective position from a set resting position worn in a casing on the back or chest of the person. The helmet is equipped with a drive element integrated into the casing, with the force of the drive element serving to rotate the helmet toward the top (head of the person).
A protection device of this type is already known from DE 2825145 A1, for example. The known protection device is fixed above the head, so that it is not very pleasant to wear during physical exercise.

Protection device for head and body of people


A device for the random selection of letters, and a game utilizing same, is disclosed which comprises a container with at least a transparent top wall. The container has an inner cavity which is separated by a plate which has a plurality of holes therethrough. The plate separates the inner chamber into a lower chamber and an upper chamber. The inner chamber is filled with a fluid. A plurality of balls, which are filled with a solid or a liquid substance, or a gas, or air, which substance, gas or air has a lower specific gravity than the specific gravity of the fluid, are submerged in the fluid. The balls may have letters ascribed thereon, or they may be blank. When it is desired to randomly select a set of letters, the device is shaken and/or agitated and then placed in an upright position whereupon a ball will at least partially enter each of the holes in the plate thereby providing for a random selection of balls having letters or blanks. The randomly selected letters or blanks may be used in playing word and/or letter games. Various word and/or letter games which may be played with the device are also disclosed.

Word games and/or letter games are known in the prior art wherein words may be formed from letters, or letter combinations may be made, from randomly selected letters. These word games and letter games are popular, come in many varieties and are enjoyed by children as well as by adults of any age and any intelligence level.
Some of the known prior art word games and letter games are played in conjunction with a game board or boards upon which loose individual game pieces or tiles, having letters printed thereon, may be placed and/or arranged. Games such as these may be restrictive as to the number of players allowed to participate in them. Further, these prior art games usually require a specific playing area, which is typically a flat surface, and usually requires room for the players to gather around the game.
Such games also require the use of loose individual game pieces, which may be relatively small and which may require a direct manual handling and mixing of the these game pieces. In this regard, these prior art games require a sufficient amount of playing room as well as care so as not to lose the game pieces. Where small children are involved, it is also undesirable to have loose game pieces within their reach as they could be injured by swallowing these loose game pieces. In this manner, some of these prior art games may be unsafe for use in the vicinity of small children.
Word games and/or letter games are also known which utilize devices which have mechanical parts. In these games, these mechanical parts may malfunction, which many render the game devices unusable.
The present invention overcomes the drawbacks and disadvantages which are associated with the prior art word games and/or letter games.

Device for the random selection of letters and game utilizing same


A computer partitioner provides services to several partitions coexisting in a computer at one time. To operate efficiently, certain applications executing within a partition will intermittently require specific services to be delivered to them in a timely fashion. This disclosure provides a mechanism for a computer partitioner to provide special time dependent services to partitions on a dynamic demand basis.

Logical partitioning is a means for logically organizing the resources of a data processing system's processor complex (i.e., a plurality of central processors) such that a plurality of logical (i.e., virtual) processors or partitions result. Logical partitioning allows a user to get the maximum use of a physical resources of a machine by allowing a plurality of partitions to run on the same processor complex simultaneously.
A logical partition is a user-defined set of hardware resources (e.g., processors, memory, channels, etc.) that when combined are sufficient to allow a system control program (i.e., an operating system) to execute. A logical partition can be defined to include:
(1) one or more central processors; PA1 (2) central storage; PA1 (3) one or more channel paths; PA1 (4) optional expanded storage; PA1 (5) one or more optional vector facilities; PA1 (6) sub-channels; and PA1 (7) logical control units. PA1 (1) DISPATCH INTERVAL: The dispatcher maintains a maximum time interval for which a logical processor may run for any single dispatch. PA1 (2) EVENT DETECTION: When a partition enters a WAIT state, the dispatcher detects this event and dispatches another partition to run. PA1 (3) PRIORITIES: Each partition has a user defined priority which is taken into account for dispatching. PA1 (4) I/O PREEMPTION: When an I/O interrupt is pending for a logical processor of a partition having a higher priority than the active partition, then the dispatcher will preempt the lower priority partition. PA1 (5) OPERATING SYSTEM INDICATED END: An operating system may determine that its processes are unproductive in the LPAR environment and may voluntarily give up its dispatch interval.
Logical partitions operate independently, but may share processors and I/O (input/output) devices. The storage for each logical partition is isolated, and cannot be shared by logical partitions. Similarly, channel paths are assigned to logical partitions and may not be shared by two logical partitions at the same time. Each partition is isolated from all other partitions by the partitioner's hardware and micro-code. The only communication available between partitions is via I/O connectivity. Additional background on partitioning is available in T. L. Borden, et al., "Multiple Operating Systems on One Processor Complex," IBM Systems Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, 1989, pages 104-123.
Partitions which share processors are known as shared partitions. Partitions which have only dedicated processors are known as dedicated partitions. Since the resources of a dedicated partition are not shared, these partitions do not require workload management. The following discussion relates to workload management between shared partitions, therefore, when "partition" is used, a shared partition is meant.
The Processor Resources Systems Manager (PR/SM) feature available on the IBM (International Business Machines, Inc., Armonk, N.Y.) 3090E and ES/3090S processor families allows logical partitioning (LPAR). PR/SM consists of hardware and micro-code which allow direct partitioning through the system console or indirect partitioning via software control. Additional information on PR/SM is available in IBM ES/3090 Processor Complex: Processor Resource Systems Manager (IBM Publication No. GA22-7123).
The partitioner (also known as a hypervisor) is the entity which provides partition access to shared processors. The portion of the partitioner which performs the switching between partitions is known as a partitioner dispatcher. The partitioner dispatcher is similar to the dispatcher of an operating system which time shares a processor between several applications. As used herein, "dispatcher" refers to the partitioner dispatcher rather than an operating system's dispatcher.
The partitioner performs dynamic workload management by allocating the logical processors of each partition to the available physical processors in a way which provides good I/O responsiveness while maximizing the use of physical processors. Dispatching may be done on a strictly time basis (time-driven dispatching), on an event driven basis (event-driven dispatching), or on a combination time and event basis (time/event-driven dispatching).
In time-driven dispatching, the dispatcher will switch the control of a shared processor after a fixed slice or period of time (e.g., 15 milliseconds). The time sharing basis is maintained regardless of the state of the current partition. For example, the current partition will remain active even though it has entered a WAIT state.
In event-driven dispatching, the dispatcher is allowed to time-slice from one partition to the next whenever the current partition no longer needs the shared processor (e.g., when the partition goes into a WAIT state). In time/event-driven dispatching, the dispatcher will switch the control of a shared processor after a fixed slice or period of time, however, an event (e.g., a WAIT state) occurring prior to expiration of the time slice will also trigger the dispatcher to switch control to the next partition. IBM's PR/SM LPAR uses this latter mode of dispatching.
In addition to considering time [(1) below] and events [(2) below], LPAR uses several additional conventional dispatching (scheduling) techniques:
As discussed above, the partitioner seeks to maximizing the use of the physical processors of the processor complex while still maintaining good I/O responsiveness. For example, a processor complex having a single partition would operate at 50% efficiency running an application with a ten millisecond run time followed by ten millisecond WAIT state. In contrast, the same processor complex configured with two partitions, could theoretically have 100% efficiency if two such applications were interleaved.
Note, however, in this example that if the two partition system is run with a dispatch time interval of twenty milliseconds, the partitioned system would still have only 50% efficiency. (Event-driven switching would yield the desired 100% efficiency.) Similarly, dispatching with a time interval of one-half millisecond would avoid the inefficiency caused by the WAIT states, however, the dispatcher overhead would create serious inefficiencies of it own.
Thus, while a partitioner seeks to achieve optimal performance from the processor complex, the dynamic nature of the processor's load will effect the efficiency attained. As can be seen from the above examples, the dispatching mode must be carefully tailored to the specific application. Nonetheless, even with a carefully tailored system, the dispatcher may cause gross inefficiencies for certain applications.
One such application is provided by way of example. A program such as IEBCOPY (an IBM utility program for defragmenting magnetic storage disks) may have I/O operations which are run in parallel with the main program. These I/O operations are handled by a data channel while the main program continues to run on the physical processor. IEBCOPY will initiate the I/O operation by constructing a channel program to run on the data channel. The I/O operation may then execute simultaneously with IEBCOPY.
When the channel program requires additional instructions, it signals the logical processor with a PCI (Program-Controlled Interrupt). If the PCI is handled in a timely fashion, then IEBCOPY can add additional instructions to the channel program, and it will continue to process the I/O. If, however, the PCI is not handled in a timely fashion, then the channel program will run out of instructions and terminate. If there are additional I/O operations to be serviced, IEBCOPY must construct a new channel program and initiate it with a start-channel operation. This start-channel operation involves a large amount of processor overhead as compared with a timely serviced PCI. Accordingly, it is desirable to service the PCI in a timely fashion, especially for an application which has a large number of PCI's.
With known dispatchers, such as LPAR, however, if an application running on the physical processor (e.g., IEBCOPY) enters a WAIT state, then the dispatcher will dispatch the next partition. Now when a PCI is signaled to the logical processor, the dispatcher is involved in deciding whether to service the interrupt by returning control of the physical processor to the logical processor (partition) which requested it. This intervention by the dispatcher creates a delay which often exceeds the critical window available for servicing the PCI. Each missed PCI will then have to be serviced with a start-channel operation. This results in a substantial performance degradation when IEBCOPY is run on a partitioned machine. Another potential performance problem confronted by known dispatchers involves the TPI (Test Pending Interrupt) instruction. TPI is a mechanism for handling a variable sized batch of potentially unrelated I/O interrupts with a single invocation of the "I/O Interrupt Handler" code. When the interrupt handler finishes processing the current I/O interrupt, it issues the TPI instruction which will present the highest priority queued I/O interrupt which needs to be processed next. In this way the batch of I/O interrupts are processed in a very efficient manner. However, if a high percentage of I/O interrupts are being processed via TPI, it means that I/O's are being delayed which can disrupt the overall processing of the partition's workload. In this case the partitioner should consider improving the partition's ability to use the physical processor.
PR/SM LPAR has an option called WAIT COMPLETION which provides a partial solution to these problems. The WAIT COMPLETION option allows a user to change the dispatching technique. That is, if WAIT COMPLETION=YES is specified, then the dispatcher will not perform event detection. The result is that the dispatcher effectively becomes a strictly time-driven dispatcher.
The WAIT COMPLETION=YES option can be used to provide the time-critical processing required by applications such as IEBCOPY. When this option is specified, the dispatcher will be strictly time-driven such that when IEBCOPY enters a WAIT state, it will be ignored so that the physical processor will be available for the entire dispatch interval to service PCI's.
The WAIT COMPLETION=YES option, however, has several disadvantages. First, it requires operator intervention to be selected. Second, it operates for all partitions running on the processor complex such that the performance of other partitions which do not require time-critical processing will be reduced.
What is needed is a means to provide time-critical processing to a particular partition on a dynamic demand basis.

International Business Machines Corporation


A method and apparatus for determining specific material characteristics of plastic materials in which the plastic material is disposed between electrodes of a capacitive sensor and the impedance is measured and compared to a reference value, preferably stored in a computer.

This invention relates to a method for determining specific material characteristics of plastics.
A method of this type is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,874, which relates to the non-invasive measurement of material, for example a plastic material, with an electrical field. In the known method, three electrodes are necessary, two electrodes being configured as measuring electrodes. An additional electrode serves for shielding for the two measuring electrodes. It is also known to provide a shunt electrode instead of an electrode for shielding. With such a shunt electrode, a compensation of certain material properties is achieved. A disadvantage of the known system is, however, that the sensor technology is quite complicated and is hampered by a high uncertainty factor.

Method for determining specific material characteristics


A jamming detection system for a vehicle may include an antenna configured to receive a radio frequency (RF) wave defining a series of RF pulse and quiet phase durations. The system may include a processor programmed to lock the vehicle in response to one but not both of the durations exceeding a predetermined threshold. The processor may also be programmed to arm an alarm of the vehicle in response to both of the durations exceeding respective predetermined thresholds.

Vehicles are equipped with various types of communication devices that perform and facilitate various functions. In particular, RF is commonly employed to communicate between devices. For example, a remote keyless entry (RKE) system, which allows one to remotely lock and unlock automobile doors, employs RF communication. When a button is pushed on the remote key or keyfob, the remote transmits a coded signal to a receiver unit in the vehicle. When a valid RF signal is transmitted to the receiver unit, the remote entry controller locks or unlocks the vehicle doors. There are multiple scenarios for which commands sent by valid transmitters for a vehicle system may not be received by corresponding receivers. Situations of RF jamming could be unintended or intended, but may have the same result regardless of the reason for the jamming.


A method for conditioning at least one Phase Change Memory, PCM, cell. The PCM cell is characterized by a number of pre-defined characteristics or properties. For pre-conditioning, at least one conditioning pulse is applied to the PCM such that at least one selected characteristic of the number of pre-defined characteristics is changed to a desired value.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and to a device for conditioning at least one Phase Change Memory, PCM, cell having a number of pre-defined characteristics.
Description of Related Art
Phase change memory (PCM) is a non-volatile solid-state memory technology that exploits the reversible, thermally-assisted switching of specific chalcogenides between certain states of different electrical conductivity.
PCM is a promising and advanced emerging non-volatile memory technology mainly due to its excellent features including low latency, high endurance, long retention and high scalability. PCM can be considered a prime candidate for Flash replacement, embedded/hybrid memory and storage-class memory. Key requirements for competitiveness of PCM technology can be multi-level cell functionality, in particular for low cost per bit, and high-speed read/write operations, in particular for high bandwidth. Multilevel functionality, i.e. multiple bits per PCM cell, can be a way to increase capacity and thereby to reduce cost.
Multi-level PCM is based on storing multiple resistance levels between a lowest (SET) and a highest (RESET) resistance value. Multiple resistance levels or levels correspond to partial-amorphous and partial-crystalline phase distributions of the PCM cell. Phase transformation, i.e. memory programming, can be enabled by Joule heating. In this regard, Joule heating can be controlled by a programming current or voltage pulse. Storing multiple resistance levels in a PCM cell is a challenging task.
For example, FIG. 1 shows a diagram illustrating a RESET pulse and a SET pulse for programming a PCM cell. The x-axis of diagram of FIG. 1 shows the time t and the y-axis shows the temperature T and the current I. The RESET pulse is shorter than the SET pulse, but has a higher current amplitude. Further, the RESET pulse exceeds the melting temperature T_melt. In contrast, the SET pulse lies between the melting temperature T_melt and the glass temperature T_glass.
An ideal non-volatile memory technology possesses a number of characteristics or features that enable it to be used in many different applications and across vastly different workloads. Such features include a high programming speed, low programming power, low cost per bit, reliability, in terms of stability of the stored information with time and/or temperature, high cycling endurance and large noise margins for low error rates. Endurance effects on the cell programming characteristics are commonly known in the art.
Regarding the high programming speed, fast read and writes are crucial in high-performance main memory applications which are conventionally served by DRAM mainly. Regarding the low programming power, the approach is to minimize the energy per bit stored. This can be crucial for embedded applications and for scaling to future technology nodes. Regarding low cost per bit, this can at least partially be achieved by multi-level cell (MLC) storage.
Conventional non-volatile memory technologies posses only a subset of the above features, which makes them unsuitable for universal memory. In particular, flash suffers from very long write/erase latencies and low endurance, which can preclude its usage as main memory or even as hybrid memory, e.g. with DRAM as cache, or serving as cache to DRAM. PCM, in turn, exhibits relatively high energy per bit for writing and can have reliability problems, mainly because of short-term resistance drift.
Resistive RAM, in particular ionic-based, on the other hand, can suffer from low reliability, both in terms of endurance and cell-state retention.
Typically, improvements in one or more of the above desirable features can be achieved at the cost of deterioration in another desirable feature. A conventional trade-off is the increase of the resistance margin (R-margin) between the low-resistance state (SET) and the high-resistance state (RESET) which enables MLC storage at the expense of higher programming power, which typically is detrimental for cell endurance.
Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to tailor the characteristics of a PCM cell.

International Business Machines Corporation


The radio receiver of the present invention detects the presence of adjacent channel interference in either the lower adjacent channel or the upper adjacent channel and shifts the received signals to remove the adjacent channel interference from the intermediate frequency passband, but only if the other adjacent channel is clear. A maximum amount of the desired signal is retained so that modulation distortion is low. Frequency limits for shifting of the desired signals prevent undesirable amounts of phase distortion from being introduced into the audio signal.

The present invention relates in general to detecting and reducing adjacent channel interference in a radio receiver, and more specifically to determining the presence of an upper adjacent channel or a lower adjacent channel and shifting the frequency of a mixing signal to reduce adjacent channel interference.
It is well known that the commercial AM and FM broadcast bands include a plurality of evenly spaced channels. A particular broadcast station is allocated a channel for broadcast within an assigned frequency range.
The power spectrum of a transmission depends on the energy content of a radiated signal at each frequency. Even though most energy in a transmission can be limited to its assigned channel, efficient use of all the channels implies that some radiated energy will be at frequencies outside the assigned channel.
Assignment of broadcast channels to transmitters is determined according to geographic location and other factors to minimize interference between tranmissions in adjacent channels. However, demand in populous areas is high for the limited number of channels. A radio receiver must therefore cope with the situation where a strong signal on an adjacent channel creates signal components in the desired channel which interfere with reception of the desired signal. Interference has been found to be objectionable when the total power in the adjacent channel signal is about 30dB greater than the total power in the desired channel signal.
Some prior art radio receivers have detected the presence of an objectionable adjacent channel signal by various methods including: separately tuning each channel and measuring its signal strength; detecting beat components caused by an adjacent channel in the desired channel; or detecting the difference in signal levels of a narrowband portion of the desired signal and the full wideband signal in the desired channel. If no adjacent channel signals are found in the prior art receivers, then a wideband intermediate frequency (IF) filter is used to give the maximum signal quality to the desired signal. If an adjacent channel signal is found, then a narrowband IF filter is switched into the signal path to eliminate adjacent channel interference at the expense of introducing modulation distortion which reduces the desired signal quality. The prior art also teaches a receiver wherein narrowband and wideband IF signals are blended together in accordance with the relative strength of the adjacent channel signals so that switching between the narrowband and wideband IF signals is not noticeable. However, modulation distortion is still introduced.

Adjacent channel controller for radio receiver


In some embodiments a memory controller is disclosed that includes at least one command/address input buffer to receive commands and addresses. The addresses specify a memory bank and a location within the memory bank. An arbiter, coupled to the at least one command/address input buffer, merges commands and addresses from the at least one command/address input buffer and sorts the commands and addresses based on the addresses specified. A plurality of bank buffers, coupled to the arbiter and associated with memory banks, receive commands and addresses for their associated memory banks. A scheduler, coupled to the plurality of bank buffers, groups commands and addresses based on an examination of at least one command and address from the bank buffers. Other embodiments are otherwise disclosed herein.

Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) is used for memory applications in computer systems. DRAMs typically use a simple memory cell consisting of a charge storage element (e.g., a capacitor, a floating body of a transistor) and a one or more active devices (e.g., transistors) to read from or write to ("access") the charge storage element. Because the charge storage element in each cell slowly loses charge, DRAM cells must be periodically refreshed.
DRAM memory cells are organized into regular arrays and are accessed (through sense amplifiers) and buffered a row ("page") at a time and the process is often referred to as "opening a page". In modern DRAM devices, once a page is opened, one or more bits or words from the accessed row may be read or written thereto. In many systems, a memory controller is used to efficiently manage the read and write transactions between a processor (or processors) and one or more DRAM memory devices.
Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) devices (e.g., double data rate (DDR)) provide increased speed. Recent generations of DDR SDRAM (e.g., DDR2 and DDR3) have bus interface frequencies and instantaneous data rates (the column access rate from an open page) ranging from 400 MHz to 800 MHz. However, the rate at which data can be written to and read from SDRAM devices is based on a number of parameters that depend on the relatively slow precharge and read/rewrite process required each time a row is accessed. For example, the minimum time period from the start of a row access to the start of a new row access (the row-cycle time (tRC)) may range from about 45 nS to about 60 nS (data rate in the range of about 16-22 MHz).
DDR SDRAM devices may use multiple memory cell arrays ("banks"), with each bank having its own sense amplifiers and buffering logic to increase performance. Some current DDR SDRAM devices support as many as 8 banks per device. Multi-bank SDRAM devices allow for the access of a new row of memory data from one bank while reading the data from an open page of another bank. Once a row within a particular bank is activated (opened), it is most efficient to get as many consecutive accesses to different columns within that same row. However, access to a different row within that bank may be limited by the tRC or other row access parameters.

Memory controller with bank sorting and scheduling


Provided is a flame retardant adhesive sheet having an adhesive agent layer on at least one surface of a base material, which even when the adhesive agent layer does not contain a flame retardant agent, has both excellent flame retardant properties and adhesive properties. The present invention is concerned with a flame retardant adhesive sheet including an adhesive agent layer on at least one surface of abase material, wherein the base material has flame retardant properties adapted to VTM-0 in a test according to the UL94 standard; a thickness per surface of the adhesive agent layer is 0.6 μm or more, and a total thickness of the adhesive agent layer is not more than 2.2 μm; the adhesive agent constituting the adhesive agent layer does not contain a flame retardant agent but contains (A) an acrylic copolymer and (B) a specified urethane resin.

Flame retardant properties are required in members which are used in various fields inclusive of those related to electronic components or connected with electronic appliances, aircrafts, atomic power stations, and the like. In order to respond to this, the flame retardant properties are also imparted to members which are used in the above-described fields and adhesive tapes or sheets for immobilizing these members. As means for imparting flame retardant properties to the adhesive tapes or sheets, it is known to blend a flame retardant agent such as a halide, a phosphorus compound, aluminum hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, melamine, etc. in a base material and/or an adhesive agent.
For example, PTLs 1 to 4 propose adhesive tapes in which an adhesive agent which does not have flame retardant properties is applied on a flame retardant base material using a flame retardant agent of every sort and kind.
On the other hand, PTL 5 proposes an adhesive agent containing an encapsulated solid flame retardant agent and an inorganic oxide.
Furthermore, PTL 6 proposes an adhesive tape in which by partially applying an adhesive agent which does not have flame retardant properties on the surface of a flame retardant base material, not only flame retardant properties of a film base material are not impaired, but adhesive properties are not conspicuously lowered.


A surveillance system controller comprising a housing, a first control module and a second control module. The first control module is located in a first location in the housing, and it is rotatable around a first axis so that the first control module can be rotated to a first angular position. The second control module is located in a second location in the housing, and it is rotatable around a second axis so that the second control module can be rotated to a second angular position independent of the first angular position.

This invention relates to surveillance systems and, in particular, to a controller for use in a surveillance system. As used herein the term surveillance system includes building management and security systems.
The controllers have been used in the surveillance systems to select and control video cameras. The controller usually provides a number of keys to perform various functions and a joystick to control the pan, tilt and zoom of the camera under present control. Security personnel may operate these controllers for extended periods, which can become tedious and tiring. The prior art controllers have their keys and joysticks fixed in position. The security personnel operating the controller must position themselves as best they can in relation to the controller and then hold their hands in a position that may not be ergonomically suited to the operator. Accordingly, there has been a long felt need for a surveillance system controller that provides an ergonomic advantage to the operator while still providing the required video controls.


A process and an apparatus for economically igniting microwave plasmas wherein no undesirable reaction products in the reaction chamber impair the quality of cladding produced thereby. The plasma is ignited on the gas outlet side of the reaction chamber by means of a high voltage that is applied at least for a short period of time. High-frequency pulses or low-frequency high voltages with frequencies in the range from 10 to 100 kHz are utilized. The high voltage is synchronized with the microwave pulses. According to a further process, the microwave pulses are excessively increased for a short time at least at their beginning. Also periodic excessive increases of the microwave pulses are possible A switchable high-voltage source is connected by way of a delay member and a current supply unit to the microwave device The output of the switchable high-voltage source is applied to the gas discharge line of the reaction chamber.

1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for the ignition of CVD plasmas in a reaction chamber for the cladding of substrates wherein a reaction gas is passed through the reaction chamber wherein the plasma, after ignition, is stimulated by means of microwave pulses and is maintained for a predetermined time span. The invention also concerns an apparatus for performing the process.
2) Background Art
For the cladding of substrates, particularly glass substrates, the latter are exposed to a plasma in a cladding chamber. Depending on the type of coating desired, appropriate reaction gases are employed which, however, differ with respect to their ignition tendency. Ignition tendency is understood to mean a low ignition voltage of the gas and/or a low extinction voltage. Microwave plasmas, in particular, exhibit the property of being difficult to ignite, especially if the plasma contains a gas acting as an electron captor. Particularly significant ignition troubles occur with gases for pulse-shaped plasmas since the plasma must be reignited after each pulse interval. Such plasmas are described, as PICVD plasmas, for example, in J. OPT. COMM. 8/1987, pages 122, et seq.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,088 discloses a process for the ignition of a microwave down-stream plasma wherein the reaction gases are stimulated in a chamber upstream of the reaction chamber. The ignition of this plasma takes place at the end of the reaction chamber on the gas inlet side by coupling in 1 MHz of high voltage.
The use of high frequency represents an expensive solution because the initial investment outlay for the high-frequency components generally rises with the frequency which they are intended to handle.
The placement of the ignition electrode on the gas inlet side according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,088 is not damaging for the application disclosed but can be disadvantageous in other microwave cladding methods, such as, for example, the PICVD method, inasmuch as the reaction gases are combined and intermixed even upstream of the substrate. Ignition of the reaction gases in the zone upstream of the reaction chamber then leads to reaction of the gases with one another; this, in turn, has the consequence that a portion of the reaction gases will be deposited already upstream of the reaction chamber. Besides, undefined reaction products, such as dust, for example, are formed, causing dullness of the layer applied to the substrate. The layers formed on the vessel walls by the partial deposition of the reaction gases on account of the ignition procedure are generally of poor adherence and peel off easily; as particles, they additionally impair the quality of the layers produced on the substrate.
A further drawback resides in that an accurate maintenance of the layer thickness is no longer possible, in spite of predetermination of the mass flow of the reaction gases, since an undetermined proportion of the reaction gases is consumed in the zone of the ignition electrode during ignition.
A process and an apparatus for the surface treatment of workpieces by corona discharge has been known from DOS 3,322,341. In order to avoid ground discharges and thus damage to the workpiece, on the one hand, and to prevent reoccurrence of ignition problems, on the other hand, the voltage pulses exhibit in each case in the initial zone a pulse peak for igniting the corona discharge and subsequently pass over into a region with an amplitude suitable for maintaining the corona discharge. This method, making it possible to carry out cladding, hardening, annealing, and the like, differs from processes working with microwave plasmas in that the workpiece is connected as the cathode and the wall of a vacuum vessel surrounding the workpiece is connected as the anode to a voltage source of several 100 to 1,000 volt. However, this conventional process cannot be utilized for the cladding of glass substrates, for example.

Process and apparatus for the ignition of CVD plasmas


Equations have been developed to predict the amount of sludge formed during, and the values of several other characteristics of, zinc phosphating processes. Using these equations, novel compositions that achieve low sludge without sacrificing other characteristics of good zinc phosphate coatings have been discovered.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for forming a zinc containing phosphate conversion coating layer on an active metal surface, more particularly a surface selected from the group consisting of (i) steel and other non-passivating ferrous alloys that contain at least 50% by weight of iron, (ii) galvanized steel, and (iii) other surfaces of zinc or its alloys that contain at least 50% by weight of zinc.
2. Statement of Related Art
It is well known that zinc phosphate conversion coating processes produce a solid byproduct called "sludge" in addition to the desired solid conversion coating on the metal being phosphated. In order to continue using a liquid conversion coating composition, sludge eventually has to be removed from the bath and disposed of in an approved landfill site. Sludge reduction is of interest because the number of available landfill sites for disposal of this byproduct is dwindling and known recycling alternatives through chemical treatment are not economical at this time.
A phosphate species that is insoluble, is almost always generated in the phosphating of any iron containing material, even if the principal surface that is conversion coated is zinc, and is most likely be found in sludge, is FePO.sub.4. However, when sludge from zinc phosphating of steel or galvanized steel is analyzed, it is most often found to contain zinc and iron in a 1:3 ratio, indicating that there are other components that also precipitate during the operation. Sludge is generated through three main pathways: Zinc dihydrogen phosphate, the zinc phosphate species with which most zinc phosphating liquid compositions are most nearly at equilibrium, is less soluble at higher temperatures than at lower temperatures, so that some sludge may form during the heating of the composition. The solubility of zinc dihydrogen phosphate is also pH dependent. As a result, some sludge will also form during the neutralization of the bath necessary to maintain the optimum free acid value during continued use of a composition. The third, and unavoidable, source of sludge when treating iron, stems from the reactions that produce the phosphate conversion coating itself.
A typical zinc phosphating bath includes phosphate ions, divalent metal ions, hydrogen ions, and an oxidizing compound such as nitrite or chlorate as the process accelerator. The mechanism of the reaction involves acid attack on the substrate metal, iron in this instance, at micro anodes and deposition of phosphate crystals at micro cathodes. It also involves the liberation of hydrogen and the formation of phosphate sludge. Changes in accelerator can affect the amount of sludge formed, but in general no completely satisfactory theoretical analysis for predicting the amount of sludge under a wide variety of operating conditions has been known.

Sludge reducing zinc phosphating process and composition


A cushioning conversion machine for converting a sheet-like stock material into cushioning products is provided. The machine includes an outlet extension which forms a continuous passageway for the cushioning products from the machine outlet to an appropriate exit location. The outlet extension is coupled to the outlet in such a manner that it is selectively adjustable relative to the outlet to provide for a plurality of exit locations for the cushioning products.

In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, a protective packaging material is typically placed in the shipping container to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some commonly used protective packaging materials are plastic foam peanuts and plastic bubble pack. While these conventional plastic materials seem to perform adequately as cushioning products, they are not without disadvantages. Perhaps the most serious drawback of plastic bubble wrap and/or plastic foam peanuts is their effect on our environment. Quite simply, these plastic packaging materials are not biodegradable and thus they cannot avoid further multiplying our planet's already critical waste disposal problems. The non-biodegradability of these packaging materials has become increasingly important in light of many industries adopting more progressive policies in terms of environmental responsibility.
The foregoing and other disadvantages of conventional plastic packaging materials have made paper protective packaging material a very popular alterative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and renewable; making it an environmentally responsible choice for conscientious companies.
While paper in sheet form could possibly be used as a protective packaging material, it is usually preferable to convert the sheets of paper into a low density cushioning product. This conversion may be accomplished by a cushioning conversion machine, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,026,198; 4,085,662; 4,109,040; 4,237,776; 4,557,716; 4,650,456; 4,717,613; 4,750,896; 4,968,291; 5,123,889; and 5,322,477. (These patents are all assigned to the assignee of the present invention and their entire disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference.) Such a cushioning conversion machine converts sheet-like stock material, such as paper in multi-ply form, into low density cushioning products, or pads.
A cushioning conversion machine, such as those disclosed in the above-identified patents, includes a machine frame having an upstream end and a downstream end. ("Upstream" and "downstream" in this context corresponds to the flow of stock material through the machine.) The conversion assembly of such a machine may include a stock supply assembly, a forming assembly, a feed assembly, and a separating assembly, some or all of which are mounted on the machine's frame. During operation of such a cushioning conversion machine, the stock supply assembly supplies the stock material to the forming assembly. The forming assembly causes inward rolling of the lateral edges of the sheet-like stock material to form a three-dimensional strip of dunnage. The feed assembly pulls the stock material from the stock supply assembly and advances it through the forming assembly to form the continuous strip. The dunnage strip then travels downstream to the separating assembly (preferably a cutting assembly) which separates/cuts the coined strip into cushioning products of a desired length.
The cushioning products emerge from the machine's outlet at an appropriate exit location. The appropriate exit location for the cushioning products depends greatly upon the particular packaging situation in which the cushioning conversion machine is employed. For example, if short cushioning products are to be accumulated in a receptacle positioned below the machine outlet, an appropriate exit location would be at low elevation near the receptacle's opening. Alternatively, if longer cushioning products are to be used to package articles situated on a table, an appropriate location would be at higher elevation, adjacent the table's work platform.
In the past, an appropriate exit location has been acquired by adjusting the height of the machine to the desired location. For example, an elevated exit location has been acquired by placing stilts on a self-standing machine which elevate the machine (and thus its outlet) to the appropriate height of the exit location. (See e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/155,155.) Also, an appropriate exit location has been obtained by placing a machine on a cart and adjusting the vertical height of the cart (and thus the machine and its outlet opening). Adjustments have additionally been accomplished by using a machine mounting stand in which the machine (and thus its outlet opening) may be vertically and/or angularly adjusted relative to the stand, such as the stand disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,477.
While the above-discussed stilts, carts, and/or stands have been successful in establishing an appropriate exit location in many circumstances, they do not address all situations. For example, while stilts are effective in elevating the exit location of the machine, they are unable to lower the exit location. Also, carts have conventionally provided only a limited range of vertical adjustment compatibility. As for machine-mounting stands, they are sometimes incompatible with existing packaging systems because the stands may interfere with other equipment. Moreover, with such stilts, carts and/or stands, providing a plurality of exit locations requires adjustment of the entire machine.
An appropriate exit location has also been accomplished in the past by providing a fixed outlet extension forming a continuous passageway from the machine's outlet to the desired exit location. (See e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/155,931, assigned to the assignee of the present invention.) However, such an outlet extension does not provide convenient adjustment to a different exit location in that a different outlet extension would have to be provided for each desired exit location. As such, adjustment of the exit location requires removing the extension and perhaps replacing it with a different extension.
Accordingly, a need remains for a cushioning conversion machine in which the exit location of the cushioning products could be adjusted without adjusting the position of the machine and/or without changing outlet extensions.


A starting system for starting the propulsion engines of gas turbine powered aircraft that combines power sources delivered by the APU so that essentially then entire power delivered by the APU for pneumatic, hydraulic and electric power is applied to corresponding starters on each propulsion engine during MES simultaneously.

Modern aircraft secondary power systems are becoming large with increasing demands for electric power and large power for starting the prime propulsion engines. These aircraft have a gas turbine powered auxiliary power unit (APU) on board to provide electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic power for operating systems aboard the aircraft when the propulsion engines are shut down as well as to provide power for starting the propulsion engines. Typically, pneumatic power, provided by a load compressor within the APU, has been used to start the propulsion engines. The load compressor has also been used to provide compressed air for the environmental control system (ECS) aboard the aircraft before and after the propulsion engines are started.
The main engine start (MES) requires much more compressed air from the APU than the ECS load. Since the load compressor is used for both the MES mode and the ECS mode, the APU is sized well above the needs by the MES requirement. The APU is thus oversized for the ECS mode and it is heavier, more costly and less efficient than if it were sized to match the ECS load alone. The heavier APU and its support structure detract from the aircraft fuel load or payload. The excess APU weight therefore shortens the range of the aircraft or reduces its payload.
Although increasing power demands that are due to factors other than MES requirements, such as more electric power cabin services, added avionics functions and large radar load for some military aircraft are also driving up the size and weight of APUs for modern aircraft, by far the most significant factor is the MES requirements.


A patient weighing system includes novel load sensing casters (12) or load lift modules (92) installed on a hospital bed or other patient housing device. The casters and load lift modules each include pneumatic lifts (54, 106). The lifts are operative to load and unload the weight of the device onto a piezoelectric load cells (60; 150, 152). The load cells are electrically connected to control units (14, 98) which include visual displays (16). In operation, the discharge time constants for the load cells are calculated by first raising the weight of the bed off the load cells with the lifts. Thereafter, the load is reapplied to the load cells by exhausting the air from the lifts. The control unit compensates for the short duration and decay of the sensor signals and sums the weights sensed by the load cells to determine a total weight. The control unit is then operative to subtract the total weight from a stored value representative of the weight of the bed without the patient, and to display the weight of the patient to a health care professional.

Many illnesses require patients to be confined to hospital beds for extended periods of time. It is often critical to monitoring a patient's medical condition to have information about changes in their weight.
Unfortunately, all prior art systems known for monitoring the weight of a patient have drawbacks.
The preferred way of determining the weight of a patient is to have them stand or sit on a scale. For many patients with severe medical conditions this is not possible as they cannot leave their bed.
Another alternative is to weigh the bed and the patient together. This is sometimes possible when the patient is confined to a standard hospital bed that has casters. The hospital bed may be moved over a scale mounted in the floor and weighed periodically. This approach has very limited accuracy however, because the hospital bed usually weighs several times more than the patient. The scales that are available for weighing such heavy loads are often not sufficiently accurate for medical diagnostic purposes.
Some special beds have been designed to enable weighing of a patient therein. These beds are very expensive. In addition, such systems are complex and may be subject to failure. Due to the costs associated with these special weighing beds there is usually an insufficient number of these available for the number of patients who would benefit from accurate weighing on a frequent basis.
Most hospitals already have a large number of standard movable beds. These beds include four casters which include large wheels that enable the bed to be moved about the hospital either with or without a patient therein. It would be desirable to be able to use these standard portable beds for purposes of weighing a patient.
Standard hospital beds are subject to rough service environments. This is due to the fact that they are often pushed over floors, curbs and elevator openings while carrying heavy loads. In addition, they are often subject to rough treatment during movement when patients are not confined therein. Such treatment can result in large transient loads as well as vibration. These conditions have made it impractical to mount sensors on conventional hospital beds because available sensors would tend to be damaged.
Similarly it is also often desirable to weigh patients who are confined to a chair for a medical procedure. Currently available systems are not well suited to this purpose.
Thus, there exists a need for a system that is inexpensive and reliable and can be installed on a hospital bed or chair and is capable of accurately determining a patient's weight. There further exists a need for a system which may retrofitted to existing hospital beds to enable the portable bed to be used to accurately weigh patients confined thereto.


An apparatus for repairing a shroud in which one or more seam welds are cracked. The repair involves the attachment of a splice bracket to the shroud so that the bracket bridges the cracked weld seam and is applicable to both vertical and horizontal weld seams. The bracket is intended to structurally replace the shroud seam weld which is cracked. Multiple splice brackets can be placed along the length of a crack. Each splice bracket is attached to the shroud by a plurality of tapered fastener assemblies. Each tapered fastener assembly includes a first fastener element having a threaded surface and a conical surface coaxial with the threaded surface; a slotted sleeve having an internal surface which matches the conical surface of the first fastener element and an external surface which matches a circular cylindrical surface, and a flange which extends radially outward beyond the external surface; and a second fastener element having a threaded surface threadably engaged with the threaded surface of the first fastener element. The sleeve fits inside aligned holes in the splice bracket and shroud.

A conventional boiling water reactor is shown in FIG. 1. Feedwater is admitted into a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) 10 via a feedwater inlet 12 and a feedwater sparger 14. The feedwater flows downwardly through the downcomer annulus 16, which is an annular region between RPV 10 and a core shroud 18. The core shroud 18 is a stainless steel cylinder which surrounds the nuclear fuel core 20, which is made up of a plurality of fuel bundle assemblies 22 (only two 2.times.2 arrays of which are shown in FIG. 1). Each array of fuel bundle assemblies is supported at the top by a top guide 24 and at the bottom by a core plate 26.
The water flows through downcomer annulus 16 to the core lower plenum 25. The water subsequently enters the fuel assemblies 22, wherein a boiling boundary layer is established. A mixture of water and steam enters the core upper plenum under the shroud head 28. The steam-water mixture flows through standpipes 30 and enters steam separators 32.
The BWR also includes a coolant recirculation system which provides the forced convection flow through the core necessary to attain the required power density. A portion of the water is sucked from the lower end of the downcomer annulus 16 via recirculation water outlet 34 and forced by a centrifugal recirculation pump (not shown) into jet pump assemblies 36 (only one of which is shown) via recirculation water inlets 38. The jet pump assemblies are circumferentially distributed around the core shroud 18.
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is a known phenomenon occurring in reactor components, such as structural members, piping, fasteners, and welds, exposed to high-temperature water. The reactor components are subject to a variety of stresses associated with, e.g., differences in thermal expansion, the operating pressure needed for the containment of the reactor cooling water, and other sources such as residual stress from welding, cold working and other inhomogeneous metal treatments. In addition, water chemistry, welding, heat treatment, and radiation can increase the susceptibility of metal in a component to SCC.
Stress corrosion cracking has been found in the shroud seam welds or heat affected zones of the core shroud 18. This diminishes the structural integrity of the shroud, which vertically and horizontally supports the core plate 26, the top guide 24 and the shroud head 28. Thus, there is a need for a method and an apparatus for repairing a shroud which has cracks in or near the shroud seam welds.

Reactor core shroud repair using splice plate to bridge weld seam


A touch-based mobile device and a method for performing a touch lock function of the mobile device are provided. In the method, the device displays a touch lock screen in which a cover layer is superimposed over a specific underlying screen and allows the underlying screen to be visible. When an input of a touch moving gesture is detected, the device moves the cover layer depending on the touch moving gesture, and determines whether a distance of the touch moving gesture reaches a predefined critical distance. If so, the device removes the cover layer from the touch lock screen and switches the touch lock state to a touch unlock state, thus allowing a user to more conveniently switch the touch lock state to the touch unlock state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a touch lock function of a mobile device and, more particularly, to a mobile device based on a touch screen and a method of performing a touch lock function of the mobile device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With remarkable growths of related technologies, a variety of mobile devices is increasingly popularized in these days. Mobile devices not only provide a basic voice call service, but also offer a data transmission service and other various additional services, thus evolving into multimedia communication devices. Moreover, as market demands for touch-based or touch-sensitive mobile devices are increased, there is a growing tendency to apply a touch screen technology to recent mobile devices.
In order to prevent an improper operation due to an unexpected touch error, most of the touch-based mobile devices have normally a touch lock function. In some mobile devices currently being used, a touch lock function is realized by means of a touch lock/unlock guide screen that contains a certain handler. In such mobile devices, when a user touches a handler displayed on the guide screen and then moves it in a guided direction, a touch lock state is unlocked.
Unfortunately, this may be often inconvenient to a user since a handler displayed on the guide screen requires an exact touch and its movement is restricted to a guided direction only to operate properly. Furthermore, a specific direction fixed for moving a touched handler is not suitable for the use of both a right-handed user and a left-handed user.

Touch-based mobile device and method for performing touch lock function of the mobile device


A method and installation for processing a mass of pumpable foodstuff material, for example a ground meat mass. The installation comprises a hopper and a positive displacement pump having an inlet and an outlet. A tube structure connects to the outlet of the pump and has a mouth, e.g. leading to a molding device or a sausage machine. A controllable vacuum assembly causes controlled evacuation of air from the mass in the trajectory of the mass from the hopper to a pump chamber. A controllable aeration assembly causes controlled introduction of a gas into the mass at one or more locations in the trajectory of the mass between the pump outlet and the mouth. A gas pressure control device introduces gas into the mass at a controlled pressure that is at least equal to the actual pressure of the mass at the location of introduction of the gas.

For example from WO00/30458 and WO2004/002229 an installation is known for the production of shaped food products from a pumpable mass. This installation has a moulding device with a frame and a mould member having multiple mould cavities, each having a filling opening for the introduction of foodstuff material into the mould cavity. The mould member is movably supported by the frame, and a mould member drive is provided for moving the mould member along a path, the path including a fill position for filling the mass into a mould cavity and a product release position remote from the fill position for releasing a moulded product from the mould cavity.
In order to introduce a portion of the mass into a mould cavity, a mass feed member is supported by the frame and has a mouth at the fill position along the path of the mould member. The mass feed member is connected to a pump via a fill tube. The mass feed member is adapted to transfer the mass into a mould cavity of the mould member when the filling opening thereof is in communication with the mouth at the fill position.
The known installation also comprises a hopper that is adapted to receive a batch of the mass of pumpable foodstuff material, e.g. ground meat that is produced in a grinding process using a meat grinder. The mass is discharged from the hopper via a positive displacement pump that is positioned between the hopper and the fill tube to which the pump is connected. In general the pump has an inlet to receive mass from the hopper and an outlet connected to the fill tube. The pump forms one or more pump chambers that each are successively in communication with the pump inlet for the introduction of mass into the pump chamber and with the pump outlet for the discharge of mass from the pump chamber.
In the production of moulded food products with an installation of this type, e.g. for the production of shaped meat products from ground meat, e.g. from beef, pork, poultry meat, many properties of the finally obtained products are monitored as they are considered relevant. For example the weight of the moulded products lies desirably within narrow tolerances, e.g. for hamburger meat patties supplied to large fast-food establishments.
It is known to use—in the installation of the type discussed above—a controllable vacuum assembly that is adapted to cause evacuation of air that is dispersed and also available as (macro) air pockets within the mass, the evacuation taking place at one or more locations in the trajectory of the mass from and including the hopper to and including the pump chamber at a position where it is in communication with the pump inlet. For example it is known to use a combination of a positive displacement pump, e.g. a vane pump, and a vacuum pump, which combination is often part of a vacuum filler used for production of sausages, wherein a ground meat mass is stuffed into a sausage casing. The evacuation may already take place in the hopper, commonly the hopper being provided with a lid or access valve to allow the creation of a vacuum in the hopper filled with the mass. As an alternative, or in combination with evacuation of the hopper, it is known to create a vacuum in the pump, e.g. near the inlet of the positive displacement pump. e.g. such that the vacuum assists the flow of mass into the pump chamber via the inlet of the pump.
In the practice until now, as is also common for sausage production, the meat mass is evacuated as much as possible by the vacuum assembly. This is commonly done by the operator setting the vacuum to the highest level possible for a certain meat mass. It is noted that a relatively fluid meat mass requires a somewhat reduced level of vacuum as otherwise the meat mass is sucked into the vacuum assembly in an undesirable manner. This "complete evacuation" has as an advantage that the uniformity of the weight of the products is increased significantly and can be kept within relatively narrow tolerances compared to a non-evacuated meat mass.
Weight of the products is not the only parameter that is considered relevant for the products. For instance many parameters, such as texture, bite, juiciness of a meat product once it has been properly prepared for human consumption, e.g. by frying, grilling, cooking, or other heating process, are also considered relevant.

Processing a mass of pumpable foodstuff material

Marvell Townsend Further Processing B.V.