Chopper chopper-stabilized instrumentation and operational amplifiers having ultra low offset. The instrumentation amplifiers use current-feedback, and include, in addition to a main chopper amplifier chain, a chopper stabilized loop for correcting for the offset of the input amplifiers for the input signal and for receiving the feedback of the output voltage sense signal. Additional loops, which may include offset compensation and autozeroing loops, may be added to compensate for offsets in the chopper stabilized loop for correcting for the offset of the input amplifiers. Similar compensation is disclosed for decreasing the offset in operational amplifiers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of instrumentation amplifiers.
2. Prior Art
An Instrumentation Amplifier is often made up of 3 operational amplifiers (OpAmps). The first two amplifiers are buffer amplifiers. The third amplifier is an amplifier with a four-resistor bridge as a feedback network. This configuration has two main disadvantages: Firstly, the common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR) is limited by the unbalance of the resistive bridge. Secondly, the input voltage common-mode (CM) range cannot include the negative rail because of the overall feedback from the output to the input by the OpAmps ("Operational Amplifiers", Johan Huijsing, Kluwer Academic Publishers).
Therefore, the current-feedback instrumentation amplifier is a better alternative. Its topology is shown in FIG. 1. It is excellently suited to allow the negative or positive supply rail voltage to be included into the input common-mode range ("Indirect current feedback instrumentation amplifier with a common-mode input range that includes the negative rail", B. J. van den Dool et al., IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 38, No. 7, July 1993, Pgs. 743–749). The reason is that the input signal and feedback signal are independently sensed by the voltage-to-current (V-I) converters G3 and G4. For instance, if these V-I converters are composed of identical differential P-channel pairs, the negative supply rail can be included. For obtaining a better accuracy and CMRR, the V-I converters can be each composed of two high-transconductance composite P-channel transistors with a degeneration resistor between the sources. This also improves the matching of the two identical transconductances G3 and G4 for better overall gain accuracy.
The instrumentation amplifier of FIG. 1 further consists of an output stage G1 and an intermediate stage G2. A nested Miller compensation with CM11, CM12, CM21, CM22 provides a preferred straight roll-off of the frequency characteristic.
To obtain low offset, choppers can be inserted in the signal path around the input stages, as shown in FIG. 2. With choppers, the offset can roughly be reduced by a factor 100–1000, from 10 mV to 100–10 μV. But there are several limitations. Firstly, a square wave at the chopper frequency of the size of the offset referred to the input will appear around the correct average signal value. To erase this square wave, a low-pass filter has to be placed after the instrumentation amplifier. This reduces the bandwidth of the instrumentation amplifier to below 0.1 (10%) of the chopper frequency. If the chopper frequency F1 is 10 kHz, the bandwidth will be reduced to several hundreds Hz.
Secondly, there are several effects that limit the offset reduction. One of them is an imperfect 50% duty cycle of the chopper frequency. Another is an unbalance of the charge injection in the choppers by the switching signal. Further, the initial offset will not fully be averaged out due to parasitic capacitors between the first chopper inputs in combination with attenuation resistors at the inputs. Most of these limitations, except charge injection, would vanish if the initial offset of the input amplifiers could be reduced by trimming or by autozeroing. Trimming is undesirable and not preferred in mass-production due to additional test time, cost and complexity, and lack of stability over temperature and time. One cannot simply autozero an instrumentation amplifier as was done in the prior art for OpAmps (U.S. Pat. No. 6,734,723, Huijsing et al.), because in accordance with FIGS. 1 and 2, the input voltage is not zero, but instead, the input stages carry the input and feedback voltages, respectively. In that regard, FIG. 3 presents a prior art chopper-stabilized OpAmp. Because an OpAmp is a high gain amplifier used with negative feedback, the closed loop differential input voltage to amplifier g3 is zero, so that the input to chopper Ch2 is simply the accumulated offsets of amplifiers g3, g2 and g1 as referred to the input of amplifier g3.
As used herein and in the disclosure and claims of the present invention to follow, the word stability and the various other forms of the word sometimes refer to stability in the sense of the absence of significant drift over time and temperature, not stability in the sense of absence of self oscillation or ringing, or hangup on either rail.


An automatic answering telephone apparatus for sending an out-going message through a telephone line and recording at least one incoming message on a magnetic tape using a tape recorder which can record a conversation between an operator and a conversation partner on the magnetic tape not in the automatic answering mode, the tape recorder further having rewinding, fast-forward winding and stop functions, and including: a position detector for detecting a tape travelling position; a memory for storing the detected tape traveling position such as to store the detected tape travelling position of the end of the latest incoming massage; a line status detector for detecting a change in status of the telephone line; and a controller responsive to an output of the line status detector, the detected tape travelling position, and the stored tape travelling position for positioning the magnetic tape to the stored tape travelling position using the fast-forward winding and the stop functions when the line status detector detects the change. The change may be caused by a ring signal, off-hook action, or busy state of the telephone line. The positioning may be carried out when rewinding or reproducing is being performed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic answering telephone apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An automatic answering telephone apparatus is known, which comprises a telephone, a first tape recorder for answering, and a second tape recorder for recording an incoming massage, wherein the second tape recorder can record an ordinary conversation between an operator and his conversation partner in response to a recording switch. In such prior art automatic answering telephone apparatus, the operator can playback the magnetic tape where the conversation is recorded after their communication.
However, in such prior art answering telephone apparatus, there is a problem as follows:
If a call occurs when the second tape recorder reproduces a recorded message, the second tape recorder stops reproducing automatically at an intermediate tape-travelling position of the recorded messages. Then, the caller begins to communicates with the operator. If the operator tries to record his conversation with the caller, he cannot record it immediately because the tape is stopped at a tape position where the messages had been recorded. That is, he must carry out the fast-forward to an end tape position of recorded messages and then, he must start to record. If not, message recorded in the tape which have not been heard are erased.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A microwave component has a cavity including a plurality of geometrically shaped elements therein wherein the shape profile and position of the elements in relation to the cavity act to define the guiding properties of the cavity and therefore to define operational characteristics of the component.

Present waveguide design techniques rely on the fields generated by physical attributes such as internal contours and slot arrays but these physical attributes are difficult to control by reason of limiting manufacturing tolerances, operational variations, environmental changes and the target performance requirements. As a result, the present devices have associated with them undesirable performance losses and/or costs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An electronic device comprises an image-capturing device that captures an image of a subject, a recording device that records image files of images captured by the image-capturing device into a recording medium, a specifying information forming device that forms image specifying information for specifying an image file in the recording medium separately from the image files, a communication device that transfers image files recorded in the recording medium to an external recording device, a transfer instruction operation unit that issues an instruction for the communication device to transfer the image file specified in the image specifying information and a processing device that processes the image files differently depending upon whether or not image specifying information has been formed in the recording medium with respect to the recorded image files.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic device and an electronic system that includes an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an electronic camera such as a digital still camera, data of a photographed image are recorded in a memory internally provided in the camera or in a recording medium such as a memory card mounted at the camera. Following the photographing operation, the image data may be transferred to a recording device such as a personal computer or the like via a communication cable. There is a technology in the related art that allows specific images to be saved for later use by attaching a transfer marking to the images to be saved during the photographing operation or an image reproduction operation and transferring in a batch only the images having the transfer marking attached thereto to the PC side. After the transfer, the image data having been recorded in the recording medium are erased so that new image data can be recorded in the recording medium. In addition, since a recording medium mounted at an electronic camera has a limited recording capacity, unnecessary image data, i.e., image data with no transfer marking attached thereto, are normally erased from the recording medium to allow image data obtained through a subsequent photographing operation to be recorded into the recording medium.
However, there is a possibility of the image data with the transfer marking attached thereto, i.e., the image data that the user wishes to save, being erased by mistake while erasing unnecessary image data in the electronic camera in the related art.

Electronic image processing device and system for image data transfer operation


In an apparatus for recording and/or reproducing data on and/or from an optical card having a plurality of tracks, each of which includes a data portion and ID portions provided at both ends of the data portion, in said data portion the data is recorded in a plurality of sectors in a reciprocal manner by projecting from an optical head a recording or reproducing light beam onto the optical card, while the optical card is moved with respect to the light beam, a relative position of the optical card with respect to the optical head is detected to derive a sector position signal. A start point of a sector for which the data will be recorded or reproduced is determined by counting the sector position signal. The sector position signal is derived by counting pulses generated by a rotary encoder coupled with the motor for moving the optical card to derive a count value and a comparator for comparing the count value with a reference value which is generated in accordance with a predetermined track format. The sector position signal may be also derived by counting PLL clock pulses which are generated on the basis of a signal obtained by reading PLL synchronizing regions in the ID portion.

1. Field of the Invention and Related Art Statement
The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording and/or reproducing data or information on and/or from an optical card.
In the above mentioned recording and/or reproducing apparatus using the optical card, the recording and/or reproducing operation is carried out by moving the optical card having a plurality of tracks arranged in parallel with each other and an optical head including an objective lens for projecting a recording and/or reproducing light beam onto the optical card relative to each other in a reciprocal manner.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing schematically an example of the optical card for use in the above mentioned recording and/or reproducing apparatus. An optical card 1 includes a plurality of tracks 2 which extend in a direction parallel to a longer side of the rectangular sheet-like optical card in parallel with each other. As illustrated in FIG. 2, each of the tracks 2 of a preformatted optical card consists of ID portions provided on both ends of the track and a data portion situating between the ID portions, the data being recorded in said data portion. The ID portions include ID marks 3a and 3b,respectively indicating start points of the ID portions and ID regions 4a and 4b,respectively indicating track information such as a track address. In the present optical card, the data portion includes four sectors 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d divided by five sector marks 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d and 5e. Usually these ID portions and sector marks have been pre-recorded on the optical card 1. In order to make an area of the data record region as wide as possible, the ID portions are not provided for each sectors.
When the above mentioned optical card is actually used, an amount of the data to be recorded in a track, i.e., data portion, on the optical card varies in accordance with particular applications. Therefore, in order to utilize efficiently the data record region having a limited area, it is necessary to prepare a number of track formats each having different sector sizes or lengths suitable for respective applications. In one solution for this it may be conceived that plural kinds of the sector marks are pre-recorded on a single optical card to from a plurality of track formats each having different sector lengths. However, in such an optical card, tracks having the sector sizes which are not suitable for an application are not used and thus the data record region is wasted.
In order to solve the above mentioned drawback, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Kokai Sho No. 63-4476, there is proposed a recording and/or reproducing apparatus using an optical card having tracks, in which a plurality of independent data are recorded in a single track without pre-recorded sector marks for dividing the track into a plurality of sectors. In this known data recording and/or reproducing apparatus, there are formed two different kinds of tracks, one being a data track which is composed of a single sector and the other being a directory track in which a plurality of independent data for managing the recorded condition of data tracks are recorded. A known method of recording a plurality of directory data on the directory track will then be explained with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3D. FIG. 3A depicts a reproduced signal which is obtained by scanning the directory track and FIG. 3B shows an output signal of a retriggable one-shot multivibrator to which the reproduced signal is supplied. High level of the output signal of this multivibrator indicates that an area in which a single directory data block has been recorded is just reproduced. FIG. 3C illustrates a signal which is generated in response to a trailing edge of the output signal shown in FIG. 3B and lasts for a predetermined time period which corresponds to an interval between successive directory data blocks. FIG. 3D shows a new directory data block which is to be recorded on the optical card next to the last directory data block. This directory data block is generated in response to a trailing edge of the signal shown in FIG. 3C. In this manner, a start point for recording a new directory data block is determined on the basis of the end of a last recorded data block in the same track.
The known recording and/or reproducing apparatus disclosed in the above mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication Kokai Sho No.63-4476 has a problem in that an access time is liable to be long. That is to say, in the optical card, in order to shorten the access time, it is preferable that the recording and/or reproducing is effected in opposite directions of the relative movement of the optical card and optical head in a reciprocal manner. However, in the known apparatus the recording start point is determined by detecting the end point of the last recorded sector, so that the recording and/or reproducing can be performed only in one predetermined direction. This results in an increase in the the access time. Further, in the known apparatus the recording has to be effected orderly, and thus it is impossible to record a third directory data block after recording a first directory data block without recording a second directory data block. In other words, when the above explained data recording method is applied to record data in a plurality of sectors in a data track, it is impossible to record data in arbitrary sectors in the track in a random order.

Apparatus with position detecting means for recording and/or reproducing data on and/or from optical card


A method and apparatus is provided for rapidly and safely estimating the high-rate load test voltage of a storage battery utilizing open-circuit voltage, temperature and a dynamic parameter such as conductance or resistance. An output indicative of the condition of the battery is provided as a function of the estimated load test voltage of the battery compared to industry standards without the necessity to charge the battery or discharge the battery with high-rate loads using bulky load testing equipment.

The present invention relates to testing storage batteries. More specifically, the present invention relates to predicting a high-rate load test result for a storage battery by using a dynamic parameter testing technique such as a conductance testing technique.
Storage batteries, such as lead acid storage batteries of the SLI (Starting, lighting and ignition) type used in the automotive industry, have existed for many years. However, understanding the nature of such storage batteries, how such storage batteries operate and how to accurately test such batteries has been an ongoing endeavor and has proved quite difficult.
There has been a long history of attempts to accurately test the condition of storage batteries for starting and other high-rate applications. A standard technique for testing a battery is referred as the Adjustable Load Test. This test is conducted on a charged battery according to the Battery Service Manual of the Battery Council International:    1) Measure the temperature of a center cell. Cover battery with a damp cloth.    2) Connect a voltmeter and load test leads to the appropriate battery terminals. Be sure the terminals are free of corrosion.    3) Apply a test load equivalent to 50% of the Cold Cranking Ampere Performance (CCA) at 0° F. rating of the battery for 15 seconds.    4) Read and record the voltage at 15 seconds; remove the load.    5) Determine the minimum passing voltage based on the battery's test temperature:
a)70° F. and above:9.6 Vb)60° F.9.5 Vc)50° F.9.4 Vd)40° F.9.3 Ve)30° F.9.1 Vf)20° F.8.9 Vg)10° F.8.7 Vh) 0° F.8.5 V    6) If the test voltage is above the minimum, return the battery to service.    7) If test voltage is below the minimum and the stable battery open circuit voltage is above 12.4 volts (75% state of charge), the battery should be replaced.    8) If test voltage is below the minimum and the stable battery open circuit voltage is below 12.4 volts, the battery should be charged and the load test repeated. If the battery fails again, it should be replaced.
Although the load test provides data that is useful for determining the condition of a battery that has been in service, it has certain drawbacks. First, the load test requires that the battery be sufficiently, and preferably fully, charged in order that it can supply the battery's maximum power to the load. Second, the battery becomes somewhat depleted as a result of the test discharge and therefore leaves it in a less than ideal condition. Third, the standard load test equipment is quite heavy and bulky to handle heavy current loads and as such is not very portable. Fourth, sparks may be produced during the load test. Fifth, the load test takes a finite time to discharge the battery and the equipment must often be cooled between tests to prevent overheating. Sixth, the battery is often at a temperature that departs from ambient testing conditions (70° F.) and as such operators are not always aware of the correct comparison voltage to determine if the battery should be replaced. Typically, operators remember the 70° F. value of 9.6 volts only. Therefore, it is desirable to obtain such load test voltage data by using a more amenable testing technique than the method described above.
More recently, techniques have been pioneered by Dr. Keith S. Champlin and Midtronics, Inc. for testing storage batteries by measuring the conductance and other properties of the batteries. Aspects of these techniques are described in a number of United States patents, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,911, issued Mar. 25, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,708, issued Sep. 30, 1975, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,768, issued Mar. 28, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,170, issued Apr. 25, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING; U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,038, issued Nov. 14, 1989, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH AUTOMATIC VOLTAGE SCALING TO DETERMINE DYNAMIC CONDUCTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,416, issued Mar. 27, 1990, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTING DEVICE WITH STATE-OF-CHARGE COMPENSATION; U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,269, issued Aug. 18, 1992, to Champlin, entitled ELECTRONIC TESTER FOR ASSESSING BATTERY/CELL CAPACITY; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,380, issued Aug. 30, 1994, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPRESSING TIME VARYING SIGNALS IN BATTERIES UNDERGOING CHARGING OR DISCHARGING; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,136, issued Nov. 5, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,355, issued Nov. 12, 1996, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTION AND CONTROL OF THERMAL RUNAWAY IN A BATTERY UNDER CHARGE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,416, issued Dec. 10, 1996, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STEP-CHARGING BATTERIES TO OPTIMIZE CHARGE ACCEPTANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,728, issued Dec. 17, 1996, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR LOW STATE-OF-CHARGE; U.S. Pat. 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No. 60/330,441, filed Oct. 17, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/348,479, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled CONCEPT FOR TESTING HIGH POWER VRLA BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/046,659, filed Oct. 29, 2001, entitled ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE; U.S. Ser. No. 09/993,468, filed Nov. 14, 2001, entitled KELVIN CONNECTOR FOR A BATTERY POST; U.S. Ser. No. 09/992,350, filed Nov. 26, 2001, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/341,902, filed Dec. 19, 2001, entitled BATTERY TESTER MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/042,451, filed Jan. 8, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGE CONTROL DEVICE, U.S. Ser. No. 10/073,378, filed Feb. 8, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS USING A CIRCUIT MODEL TO EVALUATE CELL/BATTERY PARAMETERS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/093,853, filed Mar. 7, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH NETWORK COMMUNICATION; U.S. Ser. No. 60/364,656, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH LOW TEMPERATURE RATING DETERMINATION; U.S. Ser. No. 10/098,741, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AUDITING A BATTERY TEST; U.S. Ser. No. 10/101,543, filed Mar. 19, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,114, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/109,734, filed Mar. 28, 2002; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,105, filed Mar. 28, 2002, entitled CHARGE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/112,998, filed Mar. 29, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER WITH BATTERY REPLACEMENT OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/119,297, filed Apr. 9, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING CELLS AND BATTERIES EMBEDDED IN SERIES/PARALLEL SYSTEMS; U.S. Ser. No. 10/128,790, filed Apr. 22, 2002, entitled METHOD OF DISTRIBUTING JUMP-START BOOSTER PACKS; U.S. Ser. No. 60/379,281, filed May 8, 2002, entitled METHOD FOR DETERMINING BATTERY STATE OF CHARGE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/143,307, filed May 10, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 60/387,046, filed Jun. 7, 2002, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASING THE LIFE OF A STORAGE BATTERY; U.S. Ser. No. 10/177,635, filed Jun. 21, 2002, entitled BATTERY CHARGER WITH BOOSTER PACK; U.S. Ser. No. 10/207,495, filed Jul. 29, 2002, entitled KELVIN CLAMP FOR ELECTRICALLY COUPLING TO A BATTERY CONTACT; U.S. Ser. No. 10/200,041, filed Jul. 19, 2002, entitled AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/217,913, filed Aug. 13, 2002, entitled, BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 60/408,542, filed Sep. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST OUTPUTS ADJUSTED BASED UPON TEMPERATURE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/246,439, filed Sep. 18, 2002, entitled BATTERY TESTER UPGRADE USING SOFTWARE KEY; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,399, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; and U.S. Ser. No. 10/263,473, filed Oct. 2, 2002, entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER WITH RELATIVE TEST OUTPUT; U.S. Ser. No. 60/415,796, filed Oct. 3, 2002, entitled QUERY BASED ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER; U.S. Ser. No. 10/271,342, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled IN VEHICLE BATTERY MONITOR; U.S. Ser. No. 10/270,777, filed Oct. 15, 2002, entitled PROGRAMMABLE CURRENT EXCITER FOR MEASURING AC IMMITTANCE OF CELLS AND BATTERIES; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,515, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,490, filed Dec. 5, 2002, entitled BATTERY TEST MODULE; U.S. Ser. No. 10/310,385 entitled ELECTRONIC BATTERY TESTER, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,255, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled REMAINING TIME PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,224, filed Dec. 31, 2002, entitled DISCHARGE VOLTAGE PREDICTIONS, U.S. Ser. No. 60/437,611, entitled REMAINING TIME PREDICTIONS, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
In general, battery testers, which determine the condition of the battery as a function of measured dynamic conductance of the battery, carry out the conductance measurement by injecting or drawing a small AC current (less than about 2 amperes) through the battery and measuring the resulting AC voltage. Since this technique only involves the use of a small AC current to determine conductance, it is easy to perform, does not discharge the battery, is relatively rapid and is free from sparking.

Electronic battery tester configured to predict a load test result based on open circuit voltage, temperature, cranking size rating, and a dynamic parameter


A two-stage Monte Carlo method of tolerancing components of an assembly is provided. Statistical measures of component features are not time invariant, but change over a production run. That is, the mean value of component feature measures and the standard distribution of the component feature measures about the time dependent mean are not invariant over a production run, but shift with time and throughput. According to the invention, these "shifted" or "adjusted" parameters are utilized in a Monte Carlo simulation to determine discrete values for the individual points of each output distribution, x(i), y(i), z(i). The individual points of the output distributions, x(i), y(i), z(i), are combined in a second Monte Carlo simulation step for individual assembly final fit F(x(i), y(i), z(i)). The statistics of the individual assembly final fits are then compared to manufacturing specifications.

1. Electronic Circuit Packages
The general structures and manufacturing processes for electronic packages, including the use of positive photoresists in the fabrication of electronic packages, are described in, for example, Donald P. Seraphim, Ronald Lasky, and Che-Yo Li, Principles of Electronic Packaging, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, New York, (1988), and Rao R. Tummala and Eugene J. Rymaszewski, Microelectronic Packaging Handbook, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, N.Y. (1988), both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
As described by Seraphim et al., and Tummala et al., an electronic circuit contains many individual electronic circuit components, e.g., thousands or even millions of individual resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, and transistors. These individual circuit components are interconnected to form the circuits, and the individual circuits are further interconnected to form functional units. Power and signal distribution are done through these interconnections. The individual functional units require mechanical support and structural protection. The electrical circuits require electrical energy to function, and the removal of thermal energy to remain functional. Microelectronic packages, such as, chips, modules, circuit cards, circuit boards, and combinations thereof, are used to protect, house, cool, and interconnect circuit components and circuits.
Within a single integrated circuit, circuit component to circuit component and circuit to circuit interconnection, heat dissipation, and mechanical protection are provided by an integrated circuit chip. This chip is referred to as the "zeroth" level of packaging, while the chip enclosed within its module is referred to as the first level of packaging.
There is at least one further level of packaging. The second level of packaging is the circuit card. A circuit card performs at least four functions. First, the circuit card is employed because the total required circuit or bit count to perform a desired function exceeds the bit count of the zeroth and first level packages, i.e., the chip and chip modules. Second, the circuit card provides for signal interconnection with other circuit elements. Third, the second level package, i.e., the circuit card, provides a site for components that are not readily integrated into the first level package, i.e., the chip or module. These components include, e.g., capacitors, precision resistors, inductors, electromechanical switches, optical couplers, and the like. Fourth, attachment to the second level package provides for thermal management of the chip and module, i.e., heat dissipation. The primary purpose of the package remains electrical interconnection.

Monte carlo simulation design methodology

International Business Machines Corporation


A boundary scan test circuit (JTAG) interface is used to provide data for a set of configuration latches within a Configuration Register. The Configuration Register is included within the JTAG structure as a Test Data Register (TDR). Each configuration bit within the Configuration Register consists of a Configuration Latch, and each configuration latch has an output used as a configuration control signal within an output logic macrocell. The configuration register's input signal is selectably provided from either a set of serially connected configuration bit non-volatile element sense latches or from the JTAG Test Data In (TDI) data pin for reconfiguration, prototyping, and testing.

Programmable logic devices (PLDs) that implement the use of non-volatile elements are well known. In the early development of PLDS, an array was used which basically consisted of a grid of conductors forming rows and columns with a fusible link at each cross point. The data output was programmed to be the desired combinatorial function of the device's address signals. Later, integrated circuits (ICs) were designed specifically for the purpose of generating sum-of-product (SOP) logic. The non-volatile memory elements were connected within the IC in such a way as to form logical AND gates (product terms). By connecting the outputs of two or more AND gates as inputs to a logical OR gate, the output of the OR gate would constitute an SOP logic function. The SOP form was chosen because it is widely known in the art that a combinational function of any complexity may be reduced to SOP form. Therefore, any such combinatorial function may be realized within such an IC, if there are sufficient such AND and OR gates available within the IC.
Further evolution of PLDs involved the addition of configuration bits (CBs) to allow programmable alteration of the output format of the SOP function. This led to the development of output logic macrocells (OLMCs). The OLMC is made of programmable logic circuits that can be configured either for a combinational output or input or for a registered output. In the registered mode, the output comes from a flip-flop. OLMC combinational mode configurations are automatically set by programming. FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a typical OLMC 500 that has two configuration bits. The first configuration bit, 501, determines whether the OEMC operates in registered mode (through the flip-flop 504) or in combinational mode. The second configuration bit, 502, determines whether the output is "active-LOW" or "active-HIGH". The 1 of 4 multiplexer 505 connects one of its four input lines to the output tristate buffer 507 based on the states of the two configuration bits, 501 and 502. The 1 of 2 multiplexer 506 connects either the output 508 of the tristate buffer 507 or the Q output of the flipflop 504 back through a buffer 509 to the programmable array. In a typical PLD, several OLMCs are used, one for each SOP term, with a common clock pin for all OLMC registers. More recent product term based PLDs have included many more configuration bits within each OIMC in order to increase device flexibility without increasing the number of product terms. In addition to output polarity and registered vs. combinatorial output signal selection, these CBs perform functions such as: routing individual product terms for use other than as OR gate inputs, selecting between alternative clock, set and preset sources for device registers, and selecting between alternative output enable functions.
Including many CBs for each OLMC results in OLMCs that can be configured in any of a large number of ways. (For N binary level CBs, up to 2.sup.N such configurations may be possible.) One of the difficulties involved with a large amount of configurations is that the IC manufacturer has to program each OLMC to each of the possible configurations (potentially 2.sup.N combinations), and test each configuration to insure that all of the configurations operate correctly. Although the amount of testing may be somewhat reduced by programming and testing CBs that control independent functions separately, testing CBs constructed from non-volatile elements may be prohibitively expensive. For example, some such non-volatile elements take 100 msec or longer to erase and reprogram. Non-volatile element programming often takes even longer than erasure. As the testing of high density, performance PLDs often has a cost that is based on time, any additional time required for erasing and reprogramming the device adds more to the cost of producing the device. It is therefore beneficial to be able to minimize the amount of time required to erase and reprogram the CBs during the testing phase of manufacturing the PLDS.
One method that can be used to provide a faster means for reprogramming the CBs is shown in FIG. 5. In this method, a bistable configuration latch (CL) 603 is included within the IC for each configuration bit (CB) 604. The output of the CL 603 is then used by the macrocell to generate the configuration control signal 605. Upon initial power-up of the IC, the Sense Enable Signal 601 is pulsed, allowing the state of the CL 603 to be set by the non-volatile element of the CB 604. Subsequently, the CL 603 may be set by a separate data input signal by raising the Override Enable Signal 602, thereby overriding the non-volatile data previously stored in the latch. Simple bistable latches can be set in a few nanoseconds or less, so this significantly reduces the time required for changing the CB's logic state. By including a CL for each CB, the time required for testing CB operation is no longer limited by CB reprogramming, but rather by how many test vectors need to be asserted for each configuration and how quickly the vectors can be applied. Since advanced test equipment can apply the test vectors extremely fast, the overall time and cost of configuration bit testing can be significantly reduced.
However, previous designs of such CL test capability have required the use of many external device pins to provide input data for the latches. The large number of pin connections complicates test hardware, adding time and cost to the development and sustaining of such hardware. Many methods have been developed for addressing other IC test requirements, some of such methods use a minimal number of external device pins. One such method is described in IEEE specification 1149.1, commonly referred to as the Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) specification. FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the external pin connections and internal circuitry required to implement JTAG testing. This method teaches the use of an Instruction Register (IR) 701, a Test Access Port (TAP) 704, a TAP controller 703 containing a TAP State Machine, and Test Data Registers (TDRs) 702 to implement test functions using a standardized 4 pin (or optionally 5 pin) external interface. The 4 (or 5) pin external interface is known as the Test Access Port (TAP) 704. Besides the small number of external pins required, this JTAG method also has the advantage of being useful for a wide number and variety of device test and operational functions. And since this method is standardized, development of test system hardware and software to support new test features using this method is relatively simple and therefore inexpensive for both the device manufacturer and the device user. More details regarding the implementation of the JTAG method will be provided below.

Configuration control in a programmable logic device using non-volatile elements


A non-linearly frequency-converted Q-switched laser is “injection seeded” with short pulses from another laser, called a seed laser. Radiation produced by the Q-switched laser is frequency converted in a non-linear process. The injection seeding can enhance peak power and frequency conversion efficiency while reducing damage to a non-linear medium used to frequency convert radiation generated by the Q-switched laser.

Q-switched lasers are often based on Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) as the laser material. This material lases at several wavelengths including 1064 nanometers. Such lasers often have application not at the 1064-nm wavelength of Nd:YAG, but at the harmonics of Nd:YAG: 532 nm and 355 nm, and perhaps in the future at higher harmonics. Frequency converting crystals, e.g. Lithium Triborate (LBO) convert the 1064-nm fundamental radiation from the Nd:YAG to the higher harmonics. The efficiency of conversion to the harmonics is quite good at low (20 kHz and under) repetition rates, with the power at the harmonic being 50% or more of the power that can be achieved at the fundamental infra-red wavelength. However, in many laser applications, such as precision micro-machining, higher repetition rates, e.g., as high as 100 kHz and above are desired. Such high repetition rates allow removal of material in small increments, in a way that is cleaner and more precise than is possible at low repetition rates.
Unfortunately, at these high repetition rates, the efficiency of conversion to the harmonics is greatly reduced. A laser which can be specified at an average power of 10 Watts of 355 nm output at a repetition rate of 10 kHz can only provide 2 Watts at 200 kHz. It would be desirable to maintain the high efficiency over a much higher range of repetition rates.
In addition, at high repetition rates, the Q-switched pulses lengthen as well as decline in energy, so that the peak power of the laser is greatly reduced. For some applications, the peak power goes below the threshold at which materials processing can take place. It would be desirable to maintain a high peak power, even as the energy per pulse is reduced at high repetition rate.
In the unsaturated regime, efficiency of non-linear frequency conversion is proportional to peak power, and high peak power can result in higher conversion efficiency. The peak power can be enhanced by optical amplification. Unfortunately, amplification of a broadened pulse to high peak powers can damage non-linear materials used for frequency conversion.
Thus, there is a need in the art, for a laser system that overcomes the above disadvantages.

Injection seeding of frequency-converted Q-switched laser


A system and method for detecting path failure in a network are described. The system and method include a network interface which receives packets over particular connections, and an agent able to monitor the network interface and start a no-traffic timer for each particular connection when a packet is received on the connection. The agent is further able, when the no-traffic timer expires, to check for outgoing data on the particular connection, and compare a count of previously sent test packets against a limit. If the count is below the limit the agent sends a new test packet on the particular connection, the test packet provides an indication of the state of a network path associated with the particular connection. If the count is above the limit the agent initiates failover procedures for the associated path.

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet protocol suite. Using TCP, applications on networked hosts can create connections to one another, over which they can exchange data or packets. In the Internet protocol suite, TCP is the intermediate layer between the Internet Protocol (IP) below it, and an application above it. Applications often need reliable pipe-like connections to each other, whereas the Internet Protocol does not provide such streams, but rather only unreliable packets. TCP does the task of the transport layer in the simplified OSI model of computer networks.
One of the strengths of TCP is its ability to guarantee reliable delivery data. TCP accomplishes this reliability by tolerating packet loss through (most generally) timing out and repeatedly retransmitting. Because of the time-out and retransmit mechanism used by TCP, it will take TCP a long time to detect a failed path in the network.
Generally, a failed path will be seen by a TCP sender as a "lost packet", which is in turn detected because a data carrying packet that the sender has transmitted is not acknowledged by the receiver within a timeout period. However, not all lost packets imply path failure. In fact, it is quite common for IP packets to be dropped somewhere in the network resulting from the "best-efforts" delivery model that is intentionally part of the IP design (it would be very undesirable to require guaranteed-delivery at the IP level for reasons well understood in the art). Transient packet loss is caused either by network congestion (when a router queue overflows) or data corruptions (e.g., because of errors on a wireless link). TCP normally assumes that a packet loss indicates network congestion, and so TCP normally retransmits lost packets multiple times, with the goal of ensuring reliable delivery.
TCP also effectively reduces its transmission rate to compensate for the implied congestion. Otherwise, the too-aggressive use of retransmissions would worsen the network congestion. In times of no packet loss, TCP gradually increases its transmission rate, to try to maximize network utilization.
The choice of timeout for detecting packet loss is a compromise. If the timeout is too long, TCP will not utilize the available network capacity, and the overall throughput of useful data will be less than optimal. However, if the timeout is too short, TCP will retransmit too soon (too aggressively) and will cause unnecessary congestion, which can actually have a worse effect on overall throughput.
TCP, therefore, uses an adaptive algorithm to set its timeout value, There is an initial timeout value that is dynamically set based on measurements of the round-trip time (RTT) and its variance. The retransmission timeout starts out with this value, but with a lower bound (typically one second) so that it never exceeds a limit of one retransmission per second. However, each time a retransmission fails to elicit a response within the current timeout period, the timeout is doubled, up to a configured maximum, and TCP re-attempts retransmission. Because of this "exponential backoff," which is specified so as to prevent congestion, TCP can take a long time to realize that detect failed network paths (i.e., that there is a persistent failure of connectivity, rather than transient packet loss due to causes such as congestion).
If fast link detection is a priority, it would be a mistake to tune TCP's timeout and retransmission mechanisms solely for fast failure detection, since this can lead to network congestion through excessively aggressive retransmission as described. Instead another mechanism for quickly detecting path failure would be desirable.
Previous solutions for fast path failure detection, other than waiting for TCP to detect the failure, fall into several categories. First. using a TCP keepalive timer: TCP includes an optional "keepalive" timer, which sends a special TCP probe packet if the connection has been idle for 2 hours. This is a rather long time to detect path failure; also, the keepalive mechanism is not meant for use when there is pending data to send. Other path failure detection schemes use a periodic heartbeat: For example, the SCTP transport protocol periodically exchanges "heartbeat" packets when no other data is being sent. This can detect path failures, but the recommended heartbeat interval is 30 seconds. This could be too long for useful failover, but a shorter heartbeat could create excessive network loads. Also, the heartbeat mechanism is not meant for use when there is pending data to send.
Other schemes modify the TCP retransmission mechanism parameters: Given that the normal TCP mechanisms take too long to detect path failure, it would be possible to detect path failures faster by changing parameters. However, reducing the interval between retransmission timeouts can lead to network congestion. Note that TCP normally "probes" the path using a full-sized data packet. There are various TCP mechanisms that cause TCP to prefer to send the largest possible amount of data with each packet. As one cause of packet loss is congestion rather than path failure sending large packets as network probes may actually exacerbate the problem. In fact, in many contexts, congestion is far more likely than path failure. So it is inadvisable to do excessive full-packet probing when there is a possibility of congestion. since it is likely to make congestion worse, perhaps even converting minor congestion into apparent path failure.
Yet another scheme sends periodic ICMP pings: If sending large packets as probes is a problem, one alternative is to send small non-TCP packets as probes for path connectivity. The obvious implementation is to send an ICMP protocol Echo Request packet at intervals, expecting an Echo Reply packet in response. Because these packets are near-minimal in length, they are less likely to contribute to congestion than TCP retransmissions would. However, an excessive ping rate could still add to congestion. If the pinging process is not intelligent enough to be aware of the status of the TCP connection, there is still an undesirable compromise between pinging too frequently (and thereby wasting bandwidth and CPU time), and pinging too rarely (and failing to detect failure soon enough). Test pings may also need to be sent over paths that are not currently in use for TCP data transfer (and so which need not be monitored for failure), thereby wasting network and CPU resources.
In summary, previous solutions suffer one or more of the following flaws: slow detection of path failures; contributing to network congestion; wasting network resources; wasting CPU (host) resources; injecting multiple probes, using TCP's retransmission mechanism, into the network when there are multiple connections between hosts, even when only one is necessary, thereby further increasing congestion.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method of depositing a uniform dielectric thin film is provided that includes pre-cleaning a substrate surface, using a deposition apparatus, by exposing the substrate to a plasma, where the plasma can include a nitrogen plasma, a hydrogen plasma, an ammonia plasma, or a plasma containing nitrogen-hydrogen radicals in a plasma chamber of the deposition apparatus, where the substrate comprises a semiconductor of type III-V, and exposing the pre-cleaned substrate surface, using the deposition apparatus, to alternating cycles of the plasma, using the plasma chamber, and pulses of a precursor containing Ti, using a deposition chamber of the deposition apparatus, where less than 10% TiN or Ti—O—N bonding is present on said substrate surface, where a uniform substantially TiO2 dielectric thin film is formed on said substrate.

III-V semiconductors have much lower carrier effective masses than Si, which allows for high velocities. They are currently under active investigation to replace Si as the channel in large-scale integrated digital circuits. The advantage of a low carrier mass is, however, offset by a low density of conduction band states, which limits achievable carrier densities and thus negatively affects the transistor transconductance. This issue has become known as the "density of states bottleneck". To allow for device scaling to nm-dimensions, gate dielectrics with very high dielectric constants (k) are required for large capacitance densities, low tunneling leakage, and to mitigate the density of states bottleneck.
To date, significant efforts have focused on optimizing the interface quality of high-k/III-V interfaces, with remarkable success. For example, the midgap trap densities (Dit) for gate stacks with high-k HfO2 and ZrO2 dielectrics, which can achieve sub-nm equivalent oxide thickness (EOT), are now in the 1012 cm−2 eV−1 range. Such interfaces allow for excellent transistor performance, including subthreshold slopes of 61 mV/dec and record transconductance. Near-ideal subthreshold slopes indicate that the interface is not degraded by interface traps. A common attribute of nearly all high quality high-k/III-V interfaces is the presence of an Al-oxide interface layer, which is either deposited intentionally, or forms during a pre-deposition cleaning process. For example, high-performance HfO2 and ZrO2 dielectrics use an in-situ, cyclic, pre-deposition tri-methylaluminum (TMA)/nitrogen plasma cleaning process that leads to the formation of a thin Al2O3 layer at the interface. The presence of Al2O3 severely limits capacitance (or equivalent oxide thickness, EOT) scaling, because the interface layer is connected in series with the high-k dielectric and Al2O3 has a very low dielectric constant (˜8). Further EOT scaling will therefore require either significantly thinning this layer, or replacing it with one that has a higher capacitance density. Furthermore, this must be achieved without degrading other key properties, in particular, interface trap density and leakage.
Highly-scaled gate dielectric stacks with low leakage and low interface trap densities are required for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor technology with III-V semiconductor channels. HfO2 and ZrO2 gate stacks with extremely high accumulation capacitance densities, low leakage current, low frequency dispersion, and low midgap interface trap densities are desired.
What is needed is an interface containing TiO2, with only trace amounts of Ga-oxides or As-oxides, or As—As bonding are present to control leakage and frequency dispersion in high-k/III-V gate stacks.

High capacitance density gate dielectrics for III-V semiconductor channels using a pre-disposition surface treatment involving plasma and TI precursor exposure

The Regents of the University of California


A self-cleaning filter for use in a valve is disclosed. The valve can include a bore, an orifice disposed in the bore for accommodating a fluid flow therethrough, and a filter disposed in the bore between the input port of the fluid flow being filtered and the orifice being protected. The filter can include an entrance head in predetermined spaced relationship with the bore of the valve to define a filter entrance and a body portion. The entrance head can be configured to prevent particles of a predetermined size from entering the filter entrance. The body portion can include at least a portion that has a different shape than the entrance head which cooperates with the bore to define a fluid passage. The fluid passage can have an exit port which is communicable with the orifice to send filtered fluid to the orifice. The filter can include an offset portion which extends beyond an end face of the bore which is useful to develop pressure gradients which provide for a self-cleaning function. In some embodiments, the filter can include an integral orifice.

Hard small particles, collectively called "contamination," are among the most frequent cause of failures in typical hydraulic systems. Contamination is carried by the fluid flowing through the hydraulic system, penetrating virtually every flow passage. To combat this problem, a typical hydraulic system is equipped with a replaceable low-pressure filter that is usually located in the return-to-tank line at the end of the entire hydraulic circuit. The filter's role is to separate and store the maximum possible amount of contamination over multiple passes of the fluid.
Most hydraulic systems use hydraulic valves to control flow parameters and to steer the various flows in desired directions. Their need for precision and tight clearances can make hydraulic valves very sensitive to contamination. So called "two-stage valves" are particularly sensitive to contamination. A two-stage valve is a valve in which the main element is controlled by a smaller flow, called a "pilot flow." Small flows, such as pilot flows, are typically created by limiting the flow of fluid through a small orifice. If the orifice is exposed to contamination, then the particles that make up the contamination may not pass through and, eventually, may block the orifice. A blocked orifice is a common cause of valve failure or hydraulic system failure.
Most two-stage, or piloted, valves have an additional small filter built inside the valve to protect the pilot flow orifice from blocking. Existing "in-valve" filters are not very effective, however. In most cases, after being exposed to a contaminated fluid an in-valve filter has to be factory cleaned, which involves removing and rebuilding the entire valve. Furthermore, existing in-valve filters tend to be expensive.
Filters that are used for inner passage fluid filtration in high and low pressure hydraulic applications typically operate on a separation by restriction and storage principle. In such filters, fluid is passed through multiple small openings of a filter that is installed in front of an orifice. These filters are usually made from a metal screen or perforated material, and are classified by their percentage of open area.
In general, the more open area a filter has, the better it tends to be. However, in some applications, filters with large open areas are not practical because of space constraints. For applications that are space sensitive, small yet highly open filters may be used. However, the latter type of filter has its own drawbacks, which are most evident in high-pressure applications. One drawback is that the filter element is structurally weak and requires additional support to withstand differential pressure force when the filter is clogged with debris. Another drawback of small, highly open filters is that they tend to permit large particles to enter.


A track shoe fastened on a chain of the caterpillar vehicle includes a body and a buffer block. The body includes an first surface adjacent to the chain, a second surface opposite to the first surface, a third surface, a fourth surface opposite to the third surface, a groove defined on the second surface and through the third surface and the fourth surface, and the holes defined through the first surface and the second surface to communicate with the groove. The buffer block includes an embedded portion capable of being embedded within the groove of the body, and multiple lock holes defined through the buffer block to respectively communicate with the holes of the body. The buffer block is secured on the body through the embedment between the embedded portion and the groove, and secured on the chain by the fastening members within the holes and the lock holes.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a track shoe, and more particularly to the track shoe for a caterpillar vehicle which can facilitate assembly process and reduce manufacture cost.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional tracks are applied to various huge machines, such as excavators, road planers, asphalt pavers etc., for machinery movement, and mostly includes a rubber track shoe to extend the life thereof and to prevent the vehicle from making a large noise from direct between the wheels of the vehicle and the road. Moreover, the rubber track shoe can decrease the frictional resistance and absorb the vibration to drive the machine smoothly.
Refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of conventional track shoe for a paver. The track shoe 110 is located on the chain of various machines, and includes a metal plate 111, a support plate 112, and a rubber block 113. The rubber block 113 is combined with the metal plate 111 during the vulcanization molding process, and the support plate 112 located between the rubber block 113 and the metal plate 111 enhances the strength and the durability of the rubber block 113.
However, the rubber block 113 belongs to a consumptive cushion material, and needs to be replaced after predetermined abrasion occurs. The rubber block 113 cannot be demounted from the metal plate 111 such that both the metal plate and the rubber block need to be replaced simultaneously. Therefore, the metal plate 111 is wasted and the material cost is increased.
In order to solve this mentioned problem, the rubber block and the metal plate are currently manufactured separately and then combined with each other. Refer to FIG. 2. The discrete track shoe 120 includes a metal plate 121, a rubber block 122, multiple bolts 123, and multiple nuts 124.
Regarding the fabrication of the discrete track shoe 120, the bolts 123 are set through the first holes 1211 of the metal plate 121 to secure the metal plate 121 on the chain (not shown). Moreover, the bolts 125 are set through the chain and the second holes 1212 of the metal plate 121. The bolts 125 are secured with the nuts 124 embedded in the rubber block 122 thereby fastening the rubber block 122 on the metal plate 121.
In addition to the abovementioned discrete track shoe 120, there is also another discrete track shoe wherein the nuts are embedded within the rubber block during the vulcanization molding process such that the rubber block can be fastened on the metal plate through the engagement between the nuts and the bolts.
Although the discrete track shoe 120 can solve the rubber block replacement problem of the track shoe 110, the discrete track shoe 120 needs two assembly processes to be fastened on the chain. In this way, the assembly is complicated, and the cost is thereof raised because of the extra fastening members. Beside, the fastening members of the nuts and the bolts must be separated from the track shoe before the rubber block replacement to extend the replacement period and increase human cost.


A kit and method for making beaded pictures whereby a base card is impressed and printed with the outline of a picture. An adhesive is applied to the base card along the imprinted outline and strings of beads are applied thereto to outline sections of the picture. Adhesive is thereafter spread over the bead outlined areas and beads are placed thereon until the entire picture surface is beaded. The completed picture is coated with a film of transparent glue to preserve the beading. The size of bead and type of bead can be varied such that kits suitable for use by all ages and levels of skill are possible.

The paint-by-number method of making pictures has been available for many years and pictures of varying complexity have been sold for use by different age groups. These are on the market as kits which include the picture printed on a cardboard back with numbers denoting different colors in the various outlined areas, and the paints corresponding to those numbers. Needlepoint projects are also sold as fabric imprinted with the design coded as to color. Ellwein added three dimensional appliques to the needlework to form parts of the picture such as a face, flower or balloon (U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,230).
Lovejoy (U.S. Pat. No. 2,148,632) teaches a method of using flexible strands on a board to outline a picture. A craft section in Popular Mechanics shows the use of a necklace chain to form the profile of a face. The shape can be changed to make any number of humerous profiles (October 1961, vol. 116, no. 4, page 206). Urbach (U.S. Pat. No. 2,784,513) uses adhesive impregnated fiber strands of different colors affixed to a background or support to form decorative designs or pictures.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,575, Leika teaches a method of making a picture with colored powders or granules. The picture is formed from a base sheet coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive over which is placed a thin cover sheet which is die cut in sections. The sections are numbered corresponding to specific colors. As each section of the cover sheet is removed, the adhesive is exposed and dusted with a powder or granules of one of the specified colors. When all of the sections of the cover sheet have been removed and color applied, a picture results, Lemmeyer (U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,722) shows a similar board with numbered cover sections which are removed to expose adhesive to which colored yarns are applied to form a picture. Hamanaka used yarn with a pressure sensitive adhesive to make designs on flat and three dimensional surfaces (U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,740).
A graphic arts toy utilizes string or yarn which is retained by flexible fingers attached to a board. Any color can be used and the designs are retained until the user chooses to remove them and start again. (Fogarty et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,540,375).
A recent U.S. Patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,305; Grant) discloses a kit which comprises a base sheet outlined with numbered areas, adhesively backed colored foil segments and a transparent overlay carrying a design outlined in black. When the numbered areas are filled with the appropriate foil segments and the cover sheet is set in place, a picture results in which the colors are highlighted by the black outline.
An old Russian craft involved sewing beads onto a fabric to produce pictures which were framed and hung as works of art. The technique was time consuming and tedious. The beads were applied in strings, but there were stitches between each two beads to affix the strings of beads to the fabric. The instant invention attempts to achieve the appearance of the old craft, but provides a much easier method of attaining that end. A base card is imprinted with the design and has numbered sections to designate the color to be used. The beads are applied in strings and affixed along the imprinted outline with an adhesive. The sections are then filled in with additional beads. The final picture has the appearance of the stitched beads. The method can be utilized by children as well as adults, and can be accomplished with beads of different sizes, though the size of beads used in any one design is uniform.


A detergent stable alkaline protease, its use and a method for producing the protease are described. The protease is isolated from Bacillus pumilus. The protease according to the invention is suitable for use in compositions for cleaning and washing purposes.

Thermostable and detergent compatible proteases are widely used in food and detergent industries. Common household detergents contain proteolytic enzymes, of which the majority are produced by the members of the genus Bacillus. Although subtilisins have long been the enzymes of choice for detergent formulations, they are not the ideal detergent enzymes because they possess low thermal stability in the presence of detergents and short shelf-life. Enzymes like this have been known for some time. For example, reference is made to the following patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,160 to Branner-Jorgensen describes a thermally de-stabilized Bacillus serine protease, modified such that the thermal stability is reduced to a level at which the proteolytic activity may be deactivated by a heat treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,822 to Vetter et al. describes alkaline Bacillus proteases, their use and a method for producing these proteases. These are in particular Bacillus proteases from Bacillus pumilus DSM 5777.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,936 to Moeller et al. describes alkaline Bacillus lipases in combination with proteases, which are suitable for cleaning, washing and bleaching purposes.
An enzyme's resistance to denaturing agents, such as sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) or urea, is one indication of strong proteolytic activity. Proteases withstanding 1% SDS without undergoing denaturation have commonly been considered as SDS-resistant. Proteases, such as alcalase from B. licheniforms and subtilisin from B. subtilis, have long been used in detergents. Deane et al (1987) reported a SDS-resistant protease but not a SDS-stable protease because the enzyme's proteolytic activity can be restored only after removing SDS. So far, proteinase K (EC 22.214.171.124) from fungal Tritirachium album limber has been considered as the most powerful microbial protease in terms of its stability against SDS. Proteinase K could still retain about 65% its original enzymatic activity in the presence of 6% SDS in its reaction system (Bajorath et al., 1988a).
Enzymes from various sources differ greatly in their catalytic and physical properties. Since it is still unclear so far about the exact function of each amino acid in contributing to the structure of proteins, artificial modification of proteins may not always produce expected results. While site-directed mutagenesis may provide information on the role of some specific amino acid side-chains in protein functionalities, wild-type proteins with some novel properties will give more information on structure-function relations and this in-turn will guide further mutagenic studies in protein science.

Detergent-stable alkaline protease from bacillus pumilus


A method for simulating a microemulsion system in a chemical enhanced oil recovery process is disclosed. The method includes receiving a geological model of a subsurface reservoir that defines a grid having a plurality of cells, determining a surfactant concentration for each cell based on a volume of surfactant and a volume of water within the cell and independently from a volume of oil in the cell, and simulating fluids flowing in the subsurface reservoir. Results from simulation can be used to optimize a chemical enhanced oil recovery process in a subsurface reservoir.

One technique for recovering oil or hydrocarbons from a hydrocarbon-bearing formation involves chemical enhanced oil recovery processes. In chemical enhanced oil recovery processes, a chemical solution (i.e., an injection fluid including at least one surfactant, co-surfactant, alkali, or co-solvent) is injected into a subsurface oil reservoir. For example, in surfactant flooding processes, surfactant mixes with the oil and water present in the reservoir forming microemulsion systems having one or more fluid phases. Various types of microemulsion systems may form having a microemulsion of oil, water (or brine), and surfactant. In particular, a single-phase system, two-phase systems, or a three-phase system are possible. The single-phase system includes a microemulsion phase. The two-phase system can include a microemulsion phase and an excess oil phase. Alternatively, the two-phase system can include a microemulsion phase and an excess aqueous phase. The three-phase system includes a microemulsion phase, an excess oil phase, and an excess aqueous phase.
The number of phases formed, and the composition(s) of the phases vary depending upon variables associated with the microemulsion system, for example, the salinity, the surfactant concentration, temperature, and pressure. It is desirable to model microemulsions in chemical enhanced oil recovery processes in reservoir simulations to accurately simulate fluid flow and forecast field scale oil recovery.
Identification of where microemulsion systems reside in the subsurface reservoir at each time step during fluid flow simulation is a critical component for modeling microemulsion systems in chemical enhanced oil recovery simulations. Typically, reservoir simulators allow for construction of a grid or mesh to discretize the subsurface reservoir model. The grids are generally composed of a plurality of cells that are associated with various rock and fluid properties of the subsurface reservoir. One skilled in the art will recognize that various approaches can be used for generating grids or meshes. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/049,877 (filed on 9 Oct. 2013), titled "Method for Efficient Dynamic Gridding," discloses an exemplary method for generating grids for use in reservoir simulations, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Once a grid is constructed, cells can be labeled as having a micro-emulsion phase when a cell's surfactant concentration reaches a predetermined amount (e.g., greater than a lab measured critical micelle concentration (CMC) for the chemical solution being injected into the reservoir). To determine when a cell's surfactant concentration reaches a predetermined amount, a surfactant concentration must be calculated for each cell. A widely-adopted definition for surfactant concentration used in reservoir simulators is given as:
                    SC        =                              V            surfactant                                              V              oil                        +                          V              surfactant                        +                          V              water                                                          (        1        )            where Vsurfactant, Voil, and Vwater represent volumes of surfactant, oil and water components, respectively. Thus, the surfactant concentration is equivalent to a volume of surfactant component divided by a sum of a volume of oil component, a volume of surfactant component, and a volume of water component. If the cell's surfactant concentration is greater than lab-measured CMC for the surfactant used, then the cell would be labeled as having a microemulsion phase; otherwise, no microemulsion phase exists in the cell.
For cases where water mobility is greater than oil mobility, an oil bank tends to form near the injection front. Accordingly, oil volumes increase while surfactant and water volumes decrease within cells near the injection front. Based on the above SC definition in equation (1), this can make surfactant concentration near the injection front where the oil bank forms fall below the CMC, which results in the disappearance of the micro-emulsion phase. If in some cells, the surfactant concentration is above CMC and in neighboring cells the surfactant concentration is below CMC, the simulation solution exhibits a checkerboard pattern in micro-emulsion phase distribution. The checkerboard pattern is an unphysical solution (not what is actually happening in the physical system) due to the definition from Equation (1) (e.g., domination of the Voil component).
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a user interface 10 in which micro-emulsion phase saturation is shown from simulation for a typical chemical injection during an enhanced oil recovery project (e.g., surfactant flooding). In FIG. 1, a checkerboard pattern is exhibited near the injection front. In particular, some cells 1A in the simulation grid that are shaded in a lighter color exhibit a microemulsion phase while neighboring or adjacent cells 1B that are shaded in a darker color are shown not having a microemulsion phase. This numerical solution is unphysical because the surfactant concentration calculated for cells 1B in equation (1) falls below a predetermined threshold value (e.g., lab measured critical micelle concentration (CMC) that is input into the simulator). For example, the predetermined threshold value, such as a lab measured critical micelle concentration (CMC), can be entered into the reservoir simulator as a constant parameter value (e.g., 10−4).
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method of predicting and simulating microemulsions in chemical enhanced oil recovery processes such that unphysical solutions are eliminated in chemical enhanced oil recovery simulations.

Process for optimized chemical enhanced recovery


A motion vector detecting apparatus detects only motion vectors generated by fluctuation of a video camera even if an object subject to imaging moves within a picture. This detecting apparatus comprises a distance information detecting circuit for detecting distance information from objects corresponding to detection windows obtained by dividing a picture into a plurality of blocks to an imaging device, an information detecting circuit for detecting motion information substantially corresponding to the plurality of divided detection windows, and a calculation circuit for determining weighting coefficients on the basis of at least the distance information and for determining motion vectors on the basis of the weighting information and the motion information.

This invention relates to a motion vector detecting apparatus suitable in carrying out correction of unintentional movement of the hands of, e.g., a video camera.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are views for explaining motion vector in a picture.
At present, in order to prevent distrubance (blurring) of an image, which takes place by unintentional movement (trembling) of the hands of a video camera, there is known a technique to detect movement of an image by unintentional movement of the hands to permit an image to be corrected by motion vectors obtained by detection of unintentional movement of the image.
Hitherto, in order to detect motion vector, as shown in FIG. 1A, a picture 1 taken is divided into a plurality of blocks to assume respective blocks as detection windows la to detect the direction of movement and a quantity of movement per each block. Then, a mean value of all the motion vectors which have been detected from the respective detection windows 1a of the picture 1 at a motion vector detecting circuit.
However, in FIG. 1B, in taking, by using a video camera, a picture of a moving object 1b moving from the right to the left of the picture 1, if this video camera fluctuates from the upward direction to the downward direction of the picture 1, different motion vectors All and C11 would take place within the picture 1. In this figure, a vector occurring by fluctuation of the video camera is a motion vector A11, a vector occurring by movement of the moving object 1b is a motion vector B11, and a resultant vector of the motion vectors A11 and B11 is a motion vector C11.
In FIG. 1A, motion vectors C11 are detected from detection windows 1a encompassed by dotted lines, and motion vectors All are detected from detection windows 1aexcept for the above. The moving object 1b corresponds to the detection windows 1a encompassed by dotted lines.
Meanwhile, the above-described motion vector detecting circuit for averaging motion vectors detected from all the detection windows 1a to detect it as a motion vector of the picture 1 detects a motion vector of the picture 1 as an average value of the motion vectors A11 and C11.
Accordingly, the conventional motion vector detecting circuit was unable to detect the motion vector A11 by itself. In this connection, the motion vectors A11 are necessary for preventing disturbance (blurring) of an image occurring by unintentional movement of the hands of a video camera.

Motion vector detecting apparatus for detecting motion of image to prevent disturbance thereof


A heterogeneous network control system uses an application platform to connect a signal processor through a first signal telecommunication, and connect the signal processor to a signal converter through a second signal telecommunication, and connect the signal converter to a terminal through a third signal telecommunication. When signals are transmitted from the application platform to the terminal via a signal transmission path, the first signal is converted into a second signal by the signal processor, and the second signal is converted into a third signal by the signal converter. When signals are transmitted from the terminal to the application platform via the signal transmission path, the signal is converted in an opposite way. The first signal is a 3G, 4G, WiFi, powerline or Bluetooth signal, and the second signal is a WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, powerline, EnOcean or Zwave signal. The system provides a communication mode for a heterogeneous network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network system, and more particularly to a heterogeneous network system including a master base station, a relay station and a terminal capable of transmitting and receiving signals of different communication protocols.
2. Description of the Related Art
To satisfy the requirement for different network bandwidths and applications, various wireless communication technologies with different specifications are provided and applied in our daily products such as 3G and 4G products applied in a mobile communication system. Users may logon a network instantly through the connection of a mobile phone and a base station, and thus improving the convenience of use of the mobile phone significantly. In near-field wireless network system such as WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Zwave, RFID, and EnOcean systems applied for different purposes. The WiFi system can create a specific area network and encrypts such area network, so that only authorized uses may use the area network. The Bluetooth system is used extensively in many areas such as the data transmission of a wireless earphone, a wireless keyboard and mouse or between mobile phones. Since Bluetooth 4.0 comes with a better power saving mechanism, the Bluetooth system will be well developed in the future. The Zigbee, Zwave, and EnOcean systems feature low power consumption and low transmission rate, so that they are usually used for wireless sensing or detection and control such as household power supply control and medical treatment. The RFID system provides a relatively shorter transmission distance, so that the RFID system is generally applied in the areas of electronic fee collection system, identity recognition, logistics management, etc.
Since the wireless communication protocols with different specifications have different packet formats and operating frequencies, therefore the communication devices with different protocols cannot transmit/receive signals to/from each other, and the users' devices require the installation of different interface converting devices before they can communication with each other. In addition, the interface converting device can change the signal of a certain specific communication protocol only, but it cannot receive or transmit signals of different communication protocols.
To overcome the aforementioned drawback of the prior art, it is a main subject of the present invention to design and develop a heterogeneous communication network system that integrates signals of different communication protocols, so that devices of different communication protocols can communicate with each other. In addition, the system has a good encryption effect.


A lubricating oil composition of the invention contains longifolene represented by the following formula (1), that is, (1S,3aR,4S,8aS)-4,8,8-trimethyl-9-methylene-decahydro-1,4-methanoazulene.

A lot of carbon materials derived from petroleum resources are still used today. However, exhaustion of the resources is becoming reality and novel carbon materials different from those derived from petroleum resources have been demanded. As an example of the novel carbon materials, an attempt has been made to use oils and fats and essential oils which are derived from natural plants, as a lubricating oil.
For instance, plant-derived fats and oils representative of soybean oil, wood oil, palm oil and the like can be obtained by expressing and extracting plants to provide crude oil and purifying the crude oil by distillation and the like. The plant-derived fats and oils are saturated or unsaturated fatty acid triglyceride and used in various fields such as cooking, fuels, medicine and lubricating oils. Moreover, an attempt to obtain a lubricating base oil exhibiting excellent low-temperature fluidity, oxidation stability and lubricity from the above plant-derived oils and fats according to an ester exchange method is also disclosed (see Patent Literature 1).
The plant-derived essential oils contain alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, phenols, hydrocarbons and the like as components. Hydrocarbons are exemplified by terpenes and sesquiterpenes. Known examples of terpenes include: chain terpenes such as alloocimene, ocimene, myrcene and dihydromyrcene; and cyclic terpenes such as α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, camphene, α-phellandrene, terpinene, terpinolene and 3-carene. Terpenes, which are often used in perfumes, are hydrocarbons having a molecular formula of C10H16. Since terpenes exhibit low viscosity, low flash point and the like although having high hydrolytic stability and volume resistivity, terpenes are not suitable for using as lubricating oils. Known examples of sesquiterpenes include: chain sesquiterpenes such as farnesene; and cyclic sesquiterpenes such as cedrene, β-caryophyllene, cadinene, valencene, Thujopsis and Guaiene. Sesquiterpenes are hydrocarbons having a molecular formula of C15H24. Since sesquiterpenes exhibit a high hydrolytic stability, a high volume resistivity, and further suitable viscosity and flash point, sesquiterpenes are usable as a low-viscous material for a lubricating oil.
In recent years, fuel efficiency regulations have been reinforced in each country because of growing awareness of environmental problems. In order to respond to such growing needs to improve a fuel efficiency, a continuously variable transmission (hereinafter, also referred to as CVT) tends to be employed. Since a speed is continuously variable in CVT, the most suitable engine speed can be selected corresponding to required output torque, resulting in a large improvement in the fuel efficiency. Moreover, since the engine speed is variable without a shock and is free from a fall in elevating a shift in CVT, an acceleration performance is improved and drivability is excellent. CVT is exemplified by a metal belt type CVT, a chain type CVT and a traction drive type CVT, each of which requires a high transmission efficiency. Accordingly, it is required to improve a transmission efficiency by developing a lubricating oil having a high traction coefficient. Above all, the traction drive type CVT is the most suitable for a high-class car since the traction drive type CVT transmits power through an oil film to make less noise.
On the other hand, since a lubricating oil for a continuously variable transmission is for transmitting power from a driving section to a driven section through an oil film, a higher traction coefficient of the lubricating oil results in a higher transmission efficiency. Accordingly, the traction coefficient is desired to be sufficiently large during an actual use.
Particularly, since the lubricating oil for the traction drive type CVT also serves as a typical lubricating oil in CVT, the lubricating oil for the traction drive type CVT needs to have a high viscosity enough to retain a sufficient oil film even at high temperatures for prevention of friction wear.
On the other hand, the lubricating oil for the traction drive type CVT needs to have a low viscosity at low temperatures (i.e., low-temperature fluidity) for a low-temperature starting performance in cold areas such as North America and North Europe. Accordingly, the lubricating oil for the traction drive type CVT requires a low dependency of a viscosity on temperatures, that is, a high viscosity index. In order to respond to such a demand, as shown in, for instance, Patent Literature 2, fluid for traction drive type CVT having a viscosity index of at least zero and containing a bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane derivative has been developed.

Lubricating oil composition and lubricating oil composition for continuously variable transmission


A terminal for decoding decodable indicia includes a plenoptic imaging subsystem comprising an image sensor array and plenoptic imaging optics operable to project a plenoptic image of a space containing the decodable indicia onto the image sensor array, a hand held housing encapsulating a least a portion of the plenoptic imaging subsystem, a trigger for initiating operation of the plenoptic imaging subsystem to obtain plenoptic image data of the decodable indicia, and an illumination source for projecting illumination onto the decodable indicia; an aimer for projecting an aimer pattern onto the decodable indicia. The terminal is operable, responsive to detecting that the trigger has been actuated by an operator, to obtain plenoptic image data from the image sensor array, to obtain first rendered image data based on at least a portion of the plenoptic image data, and to attempt to decode the decodable indicia represented in the rendered image data.

Indicia reading devices, also referred to as scanners, laser scanners, image readers, indicia readers, etc., typically read data represented by printed or displayed information bearing indicia, also referred to as symbols, symbologies, bar codes, etc. Barcodes, such as UPC codes, use thin and thick bar patterns to represent data while more complex coding systems, known as 2D matrix codes, use intricate patterns of blocks and arrangements to store information.
One-dimensional (1D) or linear optical bar code readers are characterized by reading data that is encoded along a single axis, in the presence and/or widths of bars and spaces, so that such symbols can be read from a single scan along that axis.
Two-dimensional (2D) or area optical bar code readers utilize a lens to focus an image of the bar code onto a multiple pixel image sensor array, which often is provided by a CMOS-based or CCD-based image sensor array that converts light signals into electric signals.
In conventional 2D imaging, the output of the 2D imaging hardware is a grid of integer values proportional to the light intensity at each pixel. For example, a point on a barcode that is in sharp focus on the sensor array results from a cone of rays (light rays having different directions) emerging from the point on the barcode, which rays are refracted by the lens, and fall on a single pixel on the sensor array. The light output value of the pixel is equal to the sum of all the rays having different directions falling onto the pixel.
A light field camera, also called a plenoptic camera, is operable to capture additional information regarding light rays having different directions emerging from a scene. One approach includes a microlens array placed in front of the sensor such that a main lens is focused on the microlens array and the microlens array is focused on the sensor array. In the light filed camera, for example, a cone of rays from a focused point in the scene that falls on a microlens of the microlens array diverts the rays to different pixels on the sensor. Another approach employs a mask instead of a microlens array. The additional information allows software algorithms to manipulate the captured image to refocus portions of the image and change the perspective or point of view of the image after the image has been captured by the imaging hardware.
There is a need for further indicia reading terminals, and more specifically, to indicial reading terminals and methods for decoding decodable indicia employing light field imaging.

Indicia reading terminals and methods employing light field imaging


Alkali metal carboxylate salt brines, such as cesium formate brine, are used in oil and gas drilling procedures. Contamination with chloride ions can be controlled by treatment with a silver salt solution, and removing silver chloride formed. High density brines can be obtained, suitable for re-use.

It is commonplace in drilling for oil and gas, to use fluids such as brines as well servicing fluids. In general, such fluids have desirably a high density. In particular, highly concentrated alkali metal salts of carboxylic acids have been developed for use in oil and gas well drilling and completion operations. Such a fluid may be based upon cesium and potassium salts such as formates, which can provide brines of specific gravity values of 1.6 to 2.3, depending upon solution concentrations.
During use of such brines, they may be contaminated with sodium chloride from sea water or from water or salt entrained within the rock and mud during application in the well bore. Chloride ions can cause severe corrosion of steel pipework and additionally may be incompatible with the rock matrix, causing damage to or near the well bore area. Such problems may result in users of such brines refusing to re-use chloride-contaminated brines. A charge of cesium formate solution for use as an oil field brine may cost in the order of $10M, so there is considerable need to improve the prospects for recycling such a brine.
Further, if a diluted brine is returned to high density by evaporation of water, any chloride concentration will increase by this process, thereby rendering the brine less suitable for re-use.