A conveying device with a revolving, extensively extended conveying member having an upper run section and a lower run section, wherein the conveying member is deflected in two head-end regions that lie opposite one another. The conveying device includes a drive device arranged in a head-end region and having an electric drive motor and a drive shaft coupled thereto. The drive motor includes a motor shaft that leads away from the motor at both sides and that is connected to drive shafts arranged on both sides. The motor shaft and the drive shafts are arranged coaxially, and the drive device is arranged within the conveying device between side limitation devices, the upper run section, and the lower run section and, in the conveying direction is arranged between the two head-ends of the conveying member.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of conveying technology and concerns a conveying device. The conveying device includes a revolving, extensively extended conveying member with an upper run section and with a lower run section which is deflected in two head-end regions which are distanced to one another, a support device with at least one support unit for the rolling support of the conveying member in the region of the upper section, and a drive device with at least one electrical drive motor and with at least one drive shaft coupled to the at least one drive motor and having at least one drive member for the direct drive of the conveying member which at least partly wraps the drive member. The drive device is arranged in a head-end region wherein the drive device forms a deflection location for the conveying member.
2. Description of Related Art
Conveying devices with a revolving, extensively extended conveying member such as a conveyor belt or mat chain are known in the state of the art. The conveying members as a rule are driven at one or two deflection locations by way of a deflection shaft. These are led in a sliding manner between the deflection locations, e.g. on slide rails, for supporting the conveying members in the region of the upper run section. Conveying devices are also known, with which the conveying member rolls on rolling bodies between the deflections locations. Such a conveying device is disclosed e.g. in WO 2010/148523.
The mentioned conveying devices are applied for example as worker-rider belts. The construction height of such worker-rider belts however should not be too large. Thus today conveying devices are common, which for such specific applications have construction heights of maximal 120 mm to 170 mm, wherein the free height between the base rest and the lower run section of the conveying member is included in this dimension. The comparatively low construction height however represents a challenge with regard to the fashioning and design of the drive device.
DE-C-44 07 163 describes a conveying device of the known type, with a conveyor belt revolving around two deflection shaft-like pivots. The conveyor belt is driven via one of the deflection shaft-like pivots, wherein the drive motor is arranged outside the driven conveyor belt. The defection shaft-like pivot is driven via a gear with a chain drive. It is obvious that the drive units with the drive motor and gear should be arranged between the upper and lower run section of the conveying member as well as between the side limitation devices, since conveying devices of the mentioned type should also be designed in an as compact and space-saving manner as possible.
DE-U-93 16 012 likewise concerns itself with the problem of the limited space between the conveying section and deflection section of the revolvingly led conveyor belt of a conveying device. The conveyor belt in the deflection section wraps a drive wheel. The drive motor is arranged between the upper and the lower run section of the conveying member as well as between the side limitation devices. For reasons of space, the drive shaft of the drive unit lies at right angles to the rotation axis of the drive wheel. The transmission of torque is effected via a gear with a bevel gear. The conveyor belt between the deflection regions is led in a sliding manner via side cheeks.
DE 1 887 279 describes a conveying device of the known type, with a revolving, extensively extended conveying member which is driven via a deflection shaft-like pivot. The drive motor is arranged between the two deflection regions within the conveying device, wherein the device comprises a gear with drive belts for transmitting the torque from the motor shaft onto the driven deflection shaft-like pivot.
DE 1 060 782 also describes a conveying device of the known type, with a revolving, extensively extended conveying member which is led over two deflection locations which are distanced to one another. The conveying member here in contrast to the solutions described above, is not driven in the region of the deflection, but in the region of the conveying section and return section, via a positive-fit connection in each case to a drive member. The drive members are driven by a drive motor which is arranged between the deflection locations within the conveying device.
DE 10 2006 010 974 describes a conveying device comprising a conveyor belt as well as an essentially horizontal guide frame with two lateral side cheeks extending horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt, at whose ends a deflection roller for the conveyor belt and driveable via a drive is rotatably mounted. The drive is arranged between the two side cheeks.
DE 103 03 195 A1 describes a conveying device for transporting containers in cleanrooms, which receive wafers. The transport device comprises two narrow belts which are distanced to one another, arranged adjacent to two side limitation devices and are supported via support rollers attached on the side limitation devices. The drive motor is arranged between the side limitation devices.
The solutions known in the state of the art however have disadvantages. Thus for example complex gear arrangements are necessary, in order to transmit the torque from the drive motor onto a drive shaft. The gears for their part however also again take up much space. If moreover the drive motor is arranged between the two head-ends between the upper and the lower run section, then this is effected at the cost of a uniform support of the conveying member between the deflection locations in the region of the upper run section, since the conveying member may not be satisfactorily supported in the region of the drive arrangement.

Conveying device with a planar conveying element


A single piece of material that changes from a cuboid to a wedge includes a central panel bounded by four creases and four sidewall panels extending therefrom, respectively. A fold-over panel extends from the second sidewall panel. The third and fourth sidewall panels each define first and second portions sharing a crease angled from the respective third or fourth crease. The central panel, fold-over panel, and sidewall panels define the top, bottom, and sides of the cuboid, respectively, with an interior label. In the wedge: the second sidewall panel and the first portions extend downward from the central panel, the second portions are folded inward from the first portions, the central panel overlies and is inclined at the angle with respect to the fold-over panel, which is attached to the first sidewall panel, and the label is exterior. Each crease is pre-formed in the piece.

In material handling facilities, such as order fulfillment centers, retail items may arrive at the fulfillment center already packaged in a container that is not satisfactory for shipping. In these instances, the first container may be placed into a second outer container, such as a corrugated fiberboard box, that is satisfactory for shipping. The second outer container bears the shipping label. By initially placing the shoes in a Ship in Own Container ("SIOC") capable package prior to delivery to the fulfillment center, the need for the second outer container is eliminated.


According to one embodiment of the present invention, a controller that partitions a media library for multiple host applications can, for each partition, assign a base element address for an element type and associate physical element addresses for elements of an element type with an index value. For a partition, the logical element address corresponding to a physical element address for an element can be determined by adding the index number associated with the physical element address to the base element address for that element type. The physical element address corresponding to a logical element address for an element can be determined by subtracting the base element address for the element type from the logical element address for the element. The result of subtracting the base element address from the logical element address is an index value for which the associated physical element address can be found.

Data represents a significant asset for many entities. Consequently, data loss, whether accidental or caused by malicious activity, can be costly in terms of wasted manpower, loss of goodwill from customers, loss of time and potential legal liability. To ensure proper protection of data for business and legal purposes, many entities back up data to a physical storage media such as magnetic tapes or optical disks. Traditionally, backup would occur at each machine controlled by an entity. As the sophistication of network technology increased, many entities turned to enterprise level backup in which data from multiple machines on a network is backed up to a remote media library. Centralized data backup allows storage problems to be identified at one location and has the advantage of increased efficiency.
One example of a media library commonly used in enterprise backup systems is a magnetic tape library. In a typical magnetic tape library, tapes are contained in cartridges and the tape library contains multiple cartridge slots in which tape cartridges can be stored. The tape cartridges are physically moved between cartridge slots and tape drives by a robot. The robot is controlled by access commands received from the host devices on the network. When specific data is required, the host device determines which cartridge slot contains the tape cartridge that holds the desired data. The host device then transmits a move-media command to the robot and the robot moves the tape cartridge.
In a SCSI tape library, devices that are part of the library are typically addressed on a network or bus by target number and logical unit numbers ("LUN"). Thus, each drive and media changer of a tape library typically has a target number and LUN. Cartridge slots, on the other hand, are addressed by element addresses that are used by the robot to locate the slots. Because the robot also places tape cartridges in the drives, each drive is also associated with an element address. The robot is also assigned an element address. If multiple tape libraries are connected to a single device (e.g., a Fibre Channel to SCSI routing device), the tape libraries may be further addressed by bus number.
The operation of traditional media libraries leads to problems when multiple hosts attempt to access the media library. For instance, two or more hosts may attempt to access the same cartridge slot at the same time, but for data at different locations on the tape. In this situation, there is a conflict and the tape library system must somehow resolve the issue of which host's access request the system will respond to. The conflict becomes even more apparent when the tape library system has more than one tape drive. The system then has to resolve not only the question of which access request to respond to, but also which tape drive the tape should be loaded into. Therefore, it is desirable to control access to media libraries by multiple hosts in a manner that reduces or prevents conflicts. Moreover, many host applications expect that all types of element addresses in a media library will be contiguous. Indeed, contiguous element addresses are required by the SCSI Media Changer ("SMC") and SMC-2 standards. Therefore, the mechanism that provides access to the media library should provide access in a manner that allows each host application to see contiguous element addresses.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for presenting contiguous element addresses for a partitioned media library


If a washer switch is turned on in a state in which a wiper determining portion determines that a wiper switch is in an OFF state, and a vehicle speed determining portion determines that a vehicle speed is equal to or more than a predetermined speed, a simultaneous operation control portion ejects the washer fluid in a state in which the wiper is positioned at a lower reversing position. The simultaneous operation control portion causes the wiper to reciprocate at least once simultaneously with the ejection. The simultaneous operation control portion additionally ejects the washer fluid at least once, in a state in which the wiper is positioned at an intermediate position between the lower reversing position and an upper reversing position. Accordingly, it is possible to inhibit a lack of the washer fluid from being generated on the surface to be wiped.

The present invention relates to a vehicle wiper/washer control apparatus, and a vehicle wiper/washer apparatus provided with the control apparatus. The control apparatus simultaneously performs ejection of a washer fluid onto a surface to be wiped in a windshield exposed to a relative wind, with wiping of the surface to be wiped by a wiper.
A vehicle wiper/washer control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-185908 simultaneously operates a wiper apparatus and a washer apparatus. If a washer switch is turned on, the wiper/washer control apparatus controls the washer apparatus in such a manner as to eject (supply) washer fluid onto a surface to be wiped. Further, the wiper/washer control apparatus controls the wiper apparatus in such a manner as to start wiping the surface to be wiped by a wiper. A wiper blade pivots in a reciprocating manner between a lower reversing position and an upper reversing position.
There has been known a wiper/washer apparatus on which a washer nozzle is directly arranged in a wiper arm or a wiper blade, which are wiper components. In this case, the washer fluid is ejected to the surface to be wiped at a close proximity. Accordingly, the washer fluid ejected from the wiper is hard to be affected by a relative wind before reaching the surface to be wiped. Accordingly, it is easy to supply the washer fluid to a desired place on the surface to be wiped.
In the case of operating the washer apparatus provided with a washer nozzle in the wiper component simultaneously with the wiper apparatus as described in the publication mentioned above, the washer fluid is supplied to the surface to be wiped in a state in which the wiper blade is positioned at a lower end of a windshield. In other words, in a state in which the wiper blade is parallel to a vehicle width direction, the washer fluid is ejected to the surface to be wiped. In a state in which the wiper blade is parallel to a vehicle width direction, the relative wind is simultaneously applied to a distal end and a proximal end of the wiper blade. This state is referred to as a state in which the wiper blade extends perpendicular to the relative wind. The wiper sweeps and spreads the washer fluid on the surface to be wiped, on the basis of the pivoting motion in a reciprocating manner.
However, there is a case where the relative wind moves the washer fluid on the surface to be wiped along the wiper blade in a state of being perpendicular to the vehicle width direction. In general, since the vehicle windshield is inclined, the relative wind is brought into contact with the proximal end of the wiper blade in the state in which the wiper blade is perpendicular to the vehicle width direction, flows along the wiper blade, and passes through the distal end of the wiper blade. The state in which the wiper blade is perpendicular to the vehicle width direction is referred to as a state in which the wiper blade is parallel to the relative wind. In this case, there is a risk that the washer fluid on the surface to be wiped is concentrated at the distal end of the wiper blade. In other words, the washer fluid on the surface to be wiped moves toward an upper end of the windshield. Particularly, when the vehicle runs at a high speed and the relative wind is strong, the uneven distribution of the washer fluid is significant. Since the washer fluid on the surface to be wiped is exposed to a centrifugal force on the basis of the rotation together with the wiper blade, the washer fluid tends to be concentrated at the distal end of the wiper blade.
Accordingly, there is a risk that the washer fluid on the surface to be wiped becomes insufficient in a portion corresponding to the proximal end of the wiper blade. Particularly, when the vehicle runs at a high speed and the relative wind is strong, the washer fluid can be insufficient.

Vehicle wiper/washer control apparatus and vehicle wiper/washer apparatus


To eliminate unnecessary generational management, a device to be snapshot and a snapshot control device capable of controlling snapshot commands are connected to a storage system connected to a server provided with a snapshot operating section. The storage system has a differential data storage area for the purpose of generational management of differential data in the device to be snapshot. A snapshot command control section carries out command processing upon receiving snapshot control command issue requests from the server. A designated snapshot update volume managing section manages the update differential volume for snapshot processing, compares a previously designated update volume and an actual update volume, and implements processing for provisional generational management of the update differential in accordance with the designated update volume. A designated snapshot volume reporting section reports management status and processing results to the server in accordance with management of the update differential volume and generational management.

The present invention relates to a computer system; and, more particularly, the invention relates to a method and device for acquiring snapshot data in a storage system for receiving data from an information processing system and for controlling the writing and reading of data to and from a plurality of storage devices, and to a computer system provided with a snapshot acquiring function of this kind.
A computer system is constituted by one or a plurality of information processing devices (hereinafter, also called servers), a data storage system (hereinafter, also called a storage system) for writing or reading data by means of requests from the servers, and various networks connecting these various elements together. In a storage system of this kind, in order to be able to restore the original data from the start of a time period to replace the data updated during that time period, with respect to at least two or more time periods, data (generational data) divided up for each of the respective time intervals is acquired as a snapshot. Specifically, in order to restore the data of a previous time period prior to the time period in which the data has been updated (to restore data of a previous generation), snapshot processing is carried out with respect to the data of the previous time period prior to the data (current generation data) of the time period in which the data is updated by an updating command; and, hence, the data of this time period is acquired as snapshot data and is saved. The data acquired as a snapshot is stored in a prescribed data storage region, in the form of a change (differential data) between the update time period and the time period prior to update, in the same sequence as the time intervals for which the snapshots are acquired, in other words, in a generational order. Patent Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2002-278819, for example, discloses a method for managing the generation of snapshot data.

Method and device for acquiring snapshots and computer system with snapshot acquiring function


The present invention provides an apparatus, method and system for delivery of commercial cargo containers shore side without container terminals. The present invention utilizes containers made autonomous by coupling a container with a detachable propulsion system, having a motor and navigation and steering controls, permitting the rapid, controlled, efficient and safe delivery of cargo containers individually by water. Ballast units, deployment systems and control via remote units are also disclosed. These improvements allow the containers, utilizing their inherent buoyancy, to approach a shore autonomously according to a preplanned or remote controlled route to a specific location and in a specific order of arrival, thereby reducing the number of cargo handlers required, speeding the delivery process to the shore, and eliminating the need for high-technology pier-side equipment. The present invention allows the transfer of cargo at primitive shore sites as well modern pier facilities, and expedites the delivery of such cargo wherever needed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to maritime operations, and more particularly to systems for moving cargo containers.
2. Related Art
In the past, maritime cargo operations consisted of moving numerous small items like boxes, drums, and crated goods, using cranes and physical labor to load and off-load these from the transport ships. Although dockside transport was more efficient, it was still common to move goods to or from undeveloped shorelines. With the increased volume of international trade, much more efficient means of moving goods arose within the maritime shipping industry. Today, the vast majority of maritime cargo is moved via intermodal containers, allowing for huge volumes to be efficiently moved between key ports. As a result, most of today's shipping is configured for carrying and utilizing commercial cargo containers.
Commercial cargo containers are, for the most part, manufactured according to specifications set by the International Organization for Standardization (known as the "ISO"). These specifications include standards for strength, water-tightness, mobility, and security. Their size is typically forty feet long, eight feet wide and eight feet, six inches high (i.e., 40′×8′×8′6″), and can weigh over thirty-four tons fully loaded with a capacity of over 2,720 cubic feet. Other ISO standard containers can measure 20′×8′×8′6″, 45′×8′×8′6″ or 45′×8′×9′6″. When referring to commercial containers, we mean these or similarly strong and large (4′ or more) containers for cargo, regardless of use for commercial, non-profit or governmental purposes.
Today's deep draft, large cargo vessels, which are configured for carrying and utilizing ISO standard cargo containers and the like, cannot approach shallow shores or even ports. They must use modern port facilities with special cargo handling equipment (e.g., cranes, etc.) or must be off-loaded outside the surf zone and their containers transferred to the beach via smaller craft. The latter method is highly inefficient because it requires delicate alignment of the containers while transferring containers between dynamic, floating platforms with the transfer crane introducing additional motion. Also, the smaller craft must return from the beach empty to pick up another load, greatly reducing their productivity.
Several systems exist which may deliver cargo containers either through or over the surf zone. The most commonly used method is lighterage which uses a small boat that is large enough to hold one or more commercial containers in its well deck. The smaller boat pulls along side the container ship and a container is placed aboard it using a crane. The smaller boat is then driven to the beach by its crew. This type of boat has a shallow draft that allows it to approach the beach and a ramp that is dropped onto the beach to allow the cargo container to be transferred to the beach. The emptied small boat must then return to the container ship to repeat the cycle. This solution, however, also suffers from a low transfer rate due to required return trips to the large ship while empty. This is further impacted by the required distance the large ship must remain off shore.
Greater transfer rates are possible from ships from which the containers on wheels may be driven off. These ships are called roll-on, roll-off (RO-RO) ships. Their use at a primitive beach or shore facility, however, requires a beach with an atypically steep slope that allows the deep container ship to approach the shore or the construction of a pier.
Thus, while today's intermodal container system is a huge benefit to all and critical to international trade, it also gives rise to the drawbacks highlighted above. Because of the expense of a high-volume dockside container facility, these tend to cater to specialized ships. These ships in turn only operate efficiently—sometimes only—at the larger ports, which have the high-volume facilities. If goods being transported by containers are destined for small ports or unimproved shoreline, they must be transported by land or broken up and re-loaded as break-bulk goods for local operations. Further, because of the volume of shipment by intermodal containers, there are fewer vessels in service equipped for break-bulk or lighterage transport, and the time and expense for secondary transport (after container transport to a large port) is increasingly prohibitive. Moreover, in some applications where it is still highly desirable to use container shipment to primitive locations (e.g., military logistics), significant expense and time is needed to set up temporary off-loading facilities. This is far from ideal, because it is too expensive for commercial operations, but still slow and vulnerable to attack. With respect to amphibious lighters, these are difficult to load in an open sea. The relative motion of the rolling container ship, the container's swinging on the crane bridle, and the lighter's bobbing on the waves make insertion of a container into the lighter a slow operation. RO-RO ships used on an average beach require construction of a temporary causeway that allows the containership's ramp to discharge its containers to it while the ship stays in water deep enough for its draft. This process, however, adds to the time required before cargo is transferred and increases the costs involved.
Given the advantages and dependence on maritime container shipping, but the disadvantages noted above, what is needed is an improved apparatus, system and method for moving maritime cargo containers to locations that are not equipped with a high-volume container facility.

Advanced Engineering & Planning Corporation, Inc.


An external device for applying a substance to the perineum comprises: a bottom wall; and an elastic side wall extending from the bottom wall; wherein said bottom wall and side wall together form an open cup-shaped body for holding the substance.

Methods of cleaning the perineum are known, including using a washcloth, water cupped in the hands, or douching. Additionally, it is known to crouch down in front of a tap and splash the water onto the perineum. However, such methods have drawbacks. For example, if a woman is menstruating, the use of a washcloth is generally not desired because of staining that could occur. Cupping water in the hands or crouching in front of a tap is awkward and requires direct contact between the hands and the perineum, which may not be desired in a daycare or healthcare setting. Additionally, if a woman is menstruating or has an infection, she may not wish to directly touch her perineum. Finally, douching has many drawbacks, including disruption of the natural flora and the pH of the vaginal microenvironment. An example of a device for douching is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,186,243. To date, there is no known tool or device available for cleaning the perineum.
Therefore, although there are many methods for cleaning the perineum, there is still a need to identify alternative approaches.


Disclosed are methods, systems, canisters, and other implementations, including a method of filling a filter canister with a particulate filter material to a desired packing density comprises providing a canister having a fill opening through which the particulate filter material is introduced into the canister, introducing the particulate filter material through the fill opening, and subjecting the canister to centrifugal forces for a time until the desired packing density is reached is provided.

This disclosure relates to the filling of a ventilation respirator canister with particulate filter material.
Respirators are used to remove hazardous particles or vapors from the air, and are typically used in situations such as construction or chemical cleanup where those hazardous materials can be found in high concentrations. Due to the potential dangers of inhaling hazardous particles or vapors, it is important that a properly functioning ventilation device (respirator) be used when operating in such hazardous environments. One way to improve the effectiveness of filter canisters for use in ventilation respirators is to pack the filter material—for example, an activated carbon—to a density that is as effective at filtering out toxins or particles as possible, without restricting the breathing of the user.

Systems and methods for centrifugal force-based canister filling


A tool for removal of a fuel line from a vehicle fuel module by engagement of and displacement of a locking member, said tool including first and second arms with semi-cylindrical sections at each end that may be used in combination to engage the locking member.

In a principal aspect, the present invention relates to a tool useful for disconnection of both the inlet and outlet fuel supply lines to the fuel tank of a vehicle. The disconnect tool may be used in other environments, however, to disconnect fluid transport lines of the type which utilize a biased locking cylinder lock for engagement with a fitting compatible with the tube or line.
Various modern vehicles utilize fluid transfer lines which incorporate a cylindrical fitting at the end of the line capable of engaging and locking into a fitting. For example, the fuel lines of General Motors vehicles utilize a fuel module which includes an inlet line and an outlet line. Each line includes a cylindrical locking member which is biased in a longitudinal direction so as to lock against a fitting. To remove the fuel line from a fuel module fitting, it is necessary to push the cylindrical locking member against the biasing force. Once positioned in a release position, the cylinder lock no longer engages the fitting and the fuel line may be removed from the fitting. Various other motor vehicles utilize such fitting constructions.
Heretofore, there have been made available certain tools for the removal of such lines from fittings. For example, Snap-On Tools provides a fuel line disconnect tool set, Model YA9457 for such use. The described tool is in the form of a pliers which include elements at the distal or outer ends of the arms of the pliers. These elements may be positioned to engage the locking members to effect their disengagement from a fuel module.
Nonetheless, there has remained the need to provide a simple and inexpensive tool to disconnect fuel lines from fuel modules, particularly those associated with General Motors vehicles, but also for other vehicles and other instances where such lines are to be disconnected from a fitting. Such a tool, desirably, must be useable in a number of environments where access to the connection assembly is limited. These among other needs led to the development of the present tool.

Tool for disconnecting a fuel line from a fitting


A coil electronic component includes a body including metal powder particles having shape anisotropy and a coil unit disposed in the body and having an axis perpendicular with respect to a thickness direction of the body. The metal powder particles having shape anisotropy are arranged such that a plane-shaped surface thereof is parallel to a direction of flow of magnetic flux.

An inductor, a type of coil electronic component, is a passive element that can be used together with a resistor and a capacitor in an electronic circuit to cancel noise therefrom.
An inductor may be manufactured by forming a magnetic material around a coil unit and forming external electrodes connected to the coil unit. Ferrite, which may be generally used as a magnetic material, has a very low saturation magnetization value, such that there is a limitation in that inductance thereof may be greatly changed according to current application. Thus, research into an inductor using a metal having a high saturation magnetization value as a magnetic material is ongoing.


A method and a system for generating a hyper-entangled high-dimensional time-bin frequency-bin state, the method comprising generating a hyper-entangled state composed of a time-bin and frequency-bin encoded state, and individually modifying at least one of: i) the amplitude and ii) the phase of the state components at different frequency-bins and different time-bins of the hyper-entangled state. The system comprises a non-linear medium exited with multiple pulses in broad phase-matching conditions, a frequency mode separator and an amplitude/phase modulator, the frequency mode separator temporally and spatially separating frequency modes of the hyper-entangled state, the amplitude/phase modulator individually modifying at least one of: i) the amplitude (and ii) the phase of the state components at different frequency-bins and different time-bins of the hyper-entangled state.

Quantum information processing, especially quantum metrology and quantum computation, uses quantum effects such as superposition and entanglement for increasing the sensitivity of measurement tools beyond classical limits, and for the realization and implementation of powerful computing algorithms, for problems such as sorting or factorization, for example, which are exponentially faster than classical approaches.
For quantum metrology, so-called Greenberger-Home-Zeilinger states ("GHZ states") are of interest because the measurement sensitivity that may be achieved using such states scales with the number of parties in the state.
For quantum computation, the measurement-based quantum computation approach, also referred to as "universal one-way quantum computation", proposed by Briegel and Raussendorf in 2001 [1, 2] requires duster states. Cluster states, being formed of many parties, are multipartite states characterized by a maximal connectedness, each pair of qubits—here photons—being able to be projected with certainty into a maximally-entangled state by performing single-qubit measurements on the other qubits, and the projected state thus depending on the measurement outcome.
Measurement-based quantum computation thus implements algorithms exclusively by means of single-qubit measurements on duster states. To increase the efficiency of such computations, both larger duster states as well as the simultaneous use of several such states are required. Furthermore, the scalability of the duster state source is important, especially with increasing quantum state complexity.
For these reasons, the realization of compact, low-cost, and stable devices for high-dimensional multi-partite quantum state generation and control, which may be multiplexed and packaged, needs to be addressed.
Several different methods to realize optical Greenberger-Home-Zeilinger states and duster states have been demonstrated. For example, using two different spontaneous parametric down-conversion processes in a nonlinear optical crystal, four-photon polarization-entangled states have been created and turned into Greenberger-Home-Zeilinger states or duster states by means of beam splitters and through the individual manipulation of the polarization states [3, 4]. With approaches encoding the quantum resources into more degrees of freedom, such as polarization and spatial modes, two-photon four-mode duster states have been generated by means of nonlinear optical crystals [5], which allowed increasing the generation rate of the quantum states. Instead of exploiting single photons, coherent and squeezed states have been used to generate four-mode multi-entangled states using the coherent locking of multiple optical parametric oscillators [6]. Using this squeezed state method, the ability of generating multiple duster states has also been addressed by exploiting different nonlinear processes from differently phase-matched nonlinear crystals in an optical parametric oscillator [7] or using two or more differently-colored optical waves for exciting optical parametric oscillation [8].
Currently, multi-partite Greenberger-Home-Zeilinger and duster state sources rely on bulk nonlinear crystals and complex free-space optical setups, which makes them very expensive and impractical for use in practical applications. High-dimensional multi-partite Greenberger-Home-Zeilinger or duster states have not been achieved in any quantum platform. Indeed, scaling up the number of quantum states generated in parallel, for bulk four-photon sources or two-photon four-mode sources, would require building up many such free-space setups in parallel, which would lead to footprint sizes not manageable today.
Moreover, a direct transfer of these methods to current integrated photonics platform is currently limited since the currently exploited photon degrees of freedom are impractical for on-chip realizations.
Furthermore, although the use of an optical parametric oscillator, such as a nonlinear crystal in a cavity, allows to massively scale up the number of quantum states generated, the generated quantum states still rely on free-space cavities that need complicated stabilization techniques, making them very impractical for efficient use in practice. Additionally, such sources generate squeezed states which are very vulnerable to optical losses, limiting their usability for quantum computing applications. Moreover, the free-spectral range of the free-space optical parametric oscillators is in the 100 MHz range, making it very complicated to individually manipulate the generated state modes. Finally, these methods are not compatible with current telecommunications technology.
Integrated photonics makes use of the well-developed semiconductor industry to fabricate optical waveguides and functional devices on compact and mass-producible chips, which are increasingly being used to realize stable, low-cost and practical components for optical quantum systems. Such on-chip optical quantum sources are devices emitting single photons [9], as well as two-photon entangled states making use of the polarization [10.11], spatial [12,13], or temporal [14,15] degree of freedom for example. Recently, it has been shown that in contrast to polarization- and/or path-entanglement, which do not allow to access high-dimensional quantum states, except for a massive increase in quantum circuit complexity, the time-bin and frequency-bin entanglement methods may give access to on-chip generation of more complex states. Based on the quantum frequency combs generated from integrated nonlinear micro-cavities, the realization of four-photon states has been demonstrated by using time-bin entanglement [16], and the realization of high-dimensional states has been demonstrated by using frequency-bin entanglement [17].
There is still a need in the art for a system and a method for the generation and control of high-dimensional multi-partite quantum states.

Method and system for generation and control of high-dimensional multi-partite quantum states


A delineator includes a post having a bottom portion and a stem extending from the bottom portion. At least a portion of the post is moveable in a lateral direction between an at-rest position and an impact position. An anchor includes a top and an elongated receptacle. In one aspect, the stem is removably inserted in the receptacle and is moveable in a longitudinal direction between at least a first position and a second position relative to the receptacle as the flexible post is moved between the at-rest position and the impact position respectively. A first portion of the length of the stem is disposed in the receptacle when the stem is in the first position and a second portion of the length of the stem remains disposed in the receptacle when the stem is in the second position, wherein the first portion is greater than the second portion. Methods of removably retaining a boundary in a pathway and of installing a boundary in a pathway are also provided.

The present invention relates to a removable delineator post and method for the use thereof, and in particular, to a delineator post that is easily installed and removed without any retention mechanism but is self-retaining upon impact from an errant vehicle or other object.
Delineators are commonly used to create boundaries and mark lanes for defined flow of traffic, including without limitation vehicular and pedestrian traffic. For example, delineators can be used for gate closures, reversible lanes, lane redirection, parking lots and garages and event management. It may be desirable for the delineators to remain or return to an erect or upright position when impacted, for example by an errant vehicle, such that they retain their marking function. This may be particularly applicable when the delineators are not being monitored. To solve this problem, many delineators are fixedly attached to an anchor and/or the ground, such that they are difficult to install and cannot be easily removed after use.

Removable delineator post and method for the use thereof


A storage subsystem includes a charge pump that receives a power signal from a host system, and generates a regulated power signal that is provided to the storage subsystem's controller. When the power signal from the host is interrupted, the charge pump additionally acts as a backup power supply to enable the storage subsystem to continue to operate temporarily, and power isolation circuitry in the storage subsystem prevents power from flowing back to the host system. The storage subsystem further includes a digitally programmable voltage detection circuit that accepts various supply voltages and asserts a busy signal to the controller when an anomaly in the power signal is detected. The controller includes logic circuitry that will block the host system from performing write operations to the storage subsystem either when the voltage detection circuit asserts a busy signal or when the controller is busy executing memory operation commands.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to storage subsystems. More specifically, the present invention relates to circuits for protecting storage subsystems from damage and data loss caused by irregularities in a power signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A significant problem in the area of storage subsystems relates to data loss, data corruption, and circuitry damage caused by interruptions and other irregularities in the power signal supplied by the host system. For example, in the context of a flash memory subsystem, an unexpected power loss can cause a sector write operation to terminate prematurely, resulting in a mismatch between a sector's data and ECC portions. In addition to losing the write data, the storage subsystem's controller may thereafter respond to the ECC mismatch condition by treating the sector as defective, and unnecessarily replacing the sector with a spare sector. Incomplete sector write operations can also result in data loss and sector replacement in disk drives that store data on a rotating medium. Other types of power signal anomalies, such as power surges and spikes, can additionally cause permanent damage to the circuitry of the storage subsystem.

Storage subsystem with embedded circuit for protecting against anomalies in power signal from host


An audio encoding-decoding system is constructed between a transmitting station and a receiving station which are connected together through communication lines. The transmitting station corresponds to an encoder which performs an encoding process on audio signals input thereto to produce compressive coded bit streams. Herein, the encoder uses a code book or conjugate structure code books to perform vector quantization on residual signals corresponding to residuals of an analysis of linear predictive coding which is performed on the audio signals. Indexes are produced in response to a result of the vector quantization. The encoder produces the compressive coded bit stream based on the indexes and a result of the analysis of the linear predictive coding. A bit rate mode is determined for the compressive coded bit stream in response to conditions of the communication lines. For example, when a congestion occurs in communications of the communication lines, the bit rate mode designates a low bit rate, so that the encoder reduces an amount of information of the bit stream by eliminating a part of the indexes which has a low influence to reproduction of the audio signals, e.g., a part of the indexes which corresponds to high frequency components of the audio signals. The receiving station corresponds to a decoder which receives the compressive coded bit streams which are transmitted thereto via the communication lines together with the bit rate mode. The decoder performs a decoding process, which is reverse to the encoding process of the encoder, on the compressive coded bit streams in response to the bit rate mode.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to audio encoding and decoding systems (hereinafter, simply referred to as audio encoding-decoding systems) which perform encoding and decoding with respect to audio signals transmitted on communication lines. Particularly, this invetion relates to audio encoding systems which perform compressive encoding on audio signals by performing vector quantization, using code books, on residual signals corresponding to results of analysis of linear predictive coding made on audio signals.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, the encoding method of so-called `CELP` type (where `CELP` is an abbreviation for `Code-Excited Linear Prediction`) is known as the compressive encoding method which is capable of performing compressive encoding (or compressive coding) on audio signals with a low bit rate and with high quality. According to the encoding method of the CELP type, vector quantization is performed using a code book with respect to residual components which correspond to results of the analysis of the linear predictive coding (hereinafter, simply referred to as `LPC analysis`). Herein, the LPC analysis is effected on audio signals which are extracted from waveforms by certain intervals so as to calculate LPC coefficients. Quantization is performed on the LPC coefficients. In addition, the method calculates residual signals based on the LPC coefficients to produce gains which are then subjected to quantization. Using the gains, the residual signals are subjected to normalization. Thereafter, the method uses the technique of so-called MDCT (where `MDCT` is an abbreviation for `Modified Discrete Cosine Transformation`), for example, to convert the residual signals of time series into signals of frequency ranges. Those signals are divided to match with appropriate sub-frames and are then subjected to vector quantiation using the code book. Thereafter, the method performs composition on `quantized` LPC coefficients, gains and vector quantization indexes to produce bit streams of compressive coding (simply, referred to as `compressed` bit streams). Thus, a series of operations of the compressive coding are completed. Next, the decoding method performs decomposition on the compressed bit streams to reproduce the LPC coefficients, gains and vector quantization indexes, which are then subjected to reverse quantization and composition to produce decoded signals.
Among the known encoding methods of the CELP type, there is provided a method using conjugate structure code books which improve durability of transmission errors in communications. An example of this method is shown by the paper entitled "8 kbit/s audio encoding using conjugate structure CELP", provided by the Japanese people of the names of Kataoka, Moriya and Hayashi, which is written on pp 273 of the lecture paper collection of Japanese Acoustics Society, dated October of 1992. According to this method, vector quantization is performed using a pair of code books which are in conjugate relationship with each other. Thus, this method is capable of providing an advantage which copes with an error event that a transmission error occurs in an index of one side of a communication line, as follows:
Even in the above error event, it is possible to reduce a degree of influence due to the transmission error on the basis of an index of another side of the communication line.
In addition, the conventional technology provides another type of the method which uses two-stage vector code books to further improve quality of reproduction of original sound. According to this method, a first vector is selected to be an optimum one for a main code book; then, a second vector is selected from a supplementary code book. Herein, the second vector is combined together with the first vector to provide a "combined" vector. So, the second vector is selected from the supplementary code book in such a way that the combined vector approaches a target vector as close as possible.
The conventional audio encoding-decoding system described above has a variety of advantages as follows:
The conjugate structure code books are used to raise redundancy of transmitting information, so it is possible to improve durability of the system against transmission errors. Therefore, it is possible to perform transmission of information with high quality even in a poor environment of communications. Further, it is possible to perform transmission of information with high quality by two-stage coding.
However, the conventional system suffers from a problem that a bit rate is increased to damage real-time performance of communications. In the conventional system, a bit rate of transmission is directly determined by a coded mode which is set in advance. If transmission of audio signals is performed in real time under a specific environment, such as an environment of the Internet, where communication bands vary in real time in response to a degree of congestion of communication lines, the conventional system has a difficulty to enable transmission of information without pauses by the preset bit rate when the lines are congested. Such a situation damages real-time performance of transmission.
Moreover, the conventional system has another kind of problem with respect to the recording of audio information to recording media. That is, to raise a sound quality of recording, an amount of audio information which can be accumulated in the recording media should be reduced. In general, a sound quality of reproduction depends upon an amount of information secured. For this reason, it is difficult to directly set an amount of coded information to be recorded in the recording media.

Audio encoding and decoding system realizing vector quantization using code book in communication system


A waste vitrification apparatus (10) having rotatable mixer impeller (16) functioning as a shaft electrode (60) and metallic vessel (14) functioning as a vessel electrode (62). A stream (12) of waste material and vitrifiable material are mixed and melted in the vessel (14) for vitrification. The waste vitrification method converts a feed stream (12) by mixing the feed stream into a glass melt (13) and melting glass batch of the feed stream (12) to form a foamy mass. The stream is dispersed by the impeller (16) to form a foam which is then densified in a settling zone (22), recovered through a spout (24) and solidified in storage containers. Means are provided to adjust the location of the mixing impeller (16) in the vessel (14) to change the depth of the settling zone (22). The impeller (16) is mounted on a drive shaft (18) having a recirculating coolant flow.

Disposal of hazardous waste is a pressing environmental problem. Hazardous waste such as radioactive materials from nuclear reactors have long term radioactivity which makes conventional methods of solid waste disposal inappropriate. There is significant danger of such materials leaching from a solid waste disposal facility and entering the water supply.
Vitrification of hazardous solid wastes has been proposed and implemented on a relatively small scale. Problems associated with vitrification processes developed previously include low throughput resulting in a high disposal cost per unit of hazardous waste material. As used herein, radioactive wastes, hazardous wastes and toxic chemical waste shall be referred to as "hazardous waste".
The United States Department of Energy, working in conjunction with six other countries in a cooperative technical exchange, has developed a method of vitrifying radioactive waste material in boro-silicate glass. The U.S. Department of Energy project resulted in the development of an electric glass furnace. The glass furnace developed was electrically powered and operated on an aqueous waste stream having 40 percent solids content. The solids in the waste stream were approximately 60 percent boro-silicate glass frit and 40 percent radioactive waste sludge. A primary problem with the resultant static glass furnace was that its output was limited to a rate of 4 pounds of vitrified waste per hour per square foot of furnace surface area.
Boro-silicate glass was selected for its chemical durability and low melting point. The special boro-silicate glass combines with the waste material to form a vitrified output that will be referred to herein as "waste glass".
The furnace included the use of Inconel 690 as electrodes and other parts of the furnace. (Inconel is a trademark of International Nickel Corporation).
In addition to the low throughput of the electric furnace, the cost of melters developed in the cooperative project was considerable. In addition, start-up and shut-down procedures require considerable time.
Soda lime glass melters having a mixing element and electrical heating have been developed for the purpose of improving productivity of soda lime glass manufacturing processes. An example of such a melter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,606 to Rough and U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,350 to Pellett, et al.
Such melters were tried by Owens-Illinois but were abandoned due to the inability of the melters to produce high quality glass having an acceptable level of gaseous occlusions. The intended electrical flow path in the melters was between the electrodes extending upwardly from the floor of the melter and the mixing element. This general arrangement resulted in problems including high electrical charge concentration at the tips of the impeller which resulted in excessive wear and consumption of the impeller. Further, high volume waste processing is adversely effected by the use of components which must be replaced.
These and other problems are overcome by the glass vitrification melter of the present invention as summarized below.

Method and apparatus for waste vitrification


In a semiconductor memory device operable in synchronism with a clock signal externally supplied thereto, there are provided a first part which detects a state of a predetermined signal after a given command is input to the semiconductor memory; and a second part which sets, on the basis of the state of the predetermined signal, the semiconductor memory device to a self-refresh mode in which a refresh operation is carried out without an external signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly to a synchronous dynamic random access semiconductor memory device (SDRAM device) capable of operating in synchronism with an external clock. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a refresh operation of such an SDRAM device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of semiconductor memory devices, such as SRAM and DRAM devices have been proposed and have been selectively used in terms of applications and so on. A recent advance of application programs and systems requires a large number of DRAM devices. Under the above situation, SDRAM devices have been attracted because the SDRAM devices can operate in synchronism with a very high-speed external clock.
The SDRAM devices require refresh operations as in the case of general-purpose DRAM devices. Recent DRAM devices are equipped with a plurality of refresh modes such as an automatic refresh (auto-refresh) mode and a self-refresh mode. In the auto-refresh mode, an external clock and an external address are needed to perform the auto-refresh operation. The self-refresh mode does not require the external clock and the external address. In the self-refresh mode, it is possible to hold data in a system standby state without any external signals.
The general-purpose DRAM devices have a mode selecting operation in which given signals such as a column address strobe signal (/CAS) and a row address strobe signal (/RAS) are controlled at given timings. The above operation is called a command entry. For example, a CAS-before-RAS command entries the auto-refresh mode. The self-refresh mode can be entered by holding the /CAS signal during a given time after the CAS-before-RAS command. It should be noted that the symbol "/" denotes a low-active signal.
In the SDRAM devices, the auto-refresh mode and the self-refresh mode can be entered by controlling a clock enable signal CKE, a chip select signal /CS, a write enable signal /WE, the /CAS signal and /RAS signal. The clock enable signal CKE is used to make a decision as to whether an external synchronizing clock signal CLK should be received. For example, the auto-refresh mode can be entered when the clock enable signal CKE is at a high (H) level for two consecutive cycles and when /CS=/RAS=/CAS=L (low level) and /WE=H. Further, when /CS=/RAS /CAS=L and /WE=H at the time of a change of the clock enable signal CKE from H to L, the self-refresh mode can be entered. In the SDRAM device which is in the self-refresh mode, it is possible to stop the control thereof from an external device at any time by input a command synchronized with the clock signal. The command is interpreted by a command decoder built in the DRAM device.
However, the entry of the self-refresh mode in the SDRAM devices has the following disadvantages.
Generally, a system such as a computer, or a peripheral device uses a group of SDRAM devices. Such a group is called a chip set. Each of the DRAMs in the chip set requires the respective chip select signal /CS, low address strobe signal /RAS, column address strobe signal /CAS and write enable signal /WE. That is, these signals are respectively generated for each of the SDRAM devices in the chip set. On the other hand, the clock enable signal CKE used to determine whether the synchronizing clock signal CLK should be received is used common to the SDRAM devices of the chip set. Hence, the clock enable signal CKE has a very heavy load, as compared with the signals /CS, /RAS, /CAS and /WE. The difference between the load burdened by the clock enable signal CKE and the loads burdened by the other signals causes a timing error between the signals. More particularly, a change of the clock enable signal CKE lags behind the changes of the other signals. The timing error affects the command entry operation, particularly entry of the self-refresh mode.
The above timing error makes it impossible to detect the command for entry of the self-refresh mode of the SDRAM device (detect the situation in which /CS=/RAS=/CAS=L and /WE=H at the time when the clock enable signal CKE changes from H to L). In other words, the command entry of the self-refresh mode in the SDRAM device is defined, but cannot be substantially carried out under the situation in which a plurality of SDRAM devices are grouped as a chip set.


A system is disclosed for handling post transactional credit disputes in real-time via a variety of transactional environments and architectures. The system includes one or more workstations linked to a communication channel and one or more servers with at least one having capability of displaying a plurality of pre-existing dispute handling forms. A party in dispute may access the forms, choose an appropriate dispute handling form, provide data in the pre-defined requested fields on the form, and transmit the form over the communication channel to a server for processing. A server accepts a User ID and password from a user, retrieves and displays a set of dispute handling forms, receives input entered on the forms, routes the forms to a second user in dispute, and makes the forms available for viewing to the second user. The program may further index the data entered on the forms using a code-based method.

With increasing popularity, consumers worldwide are purchasing goods and services on credit. For many purchasers, the most convenient form of payment is a plastic card with a magnetic stripe, an embossed account number and/or a smart chip called a credit card (hereafter "card" or "cards").
Cards may be used at service establishments (S/Es) (e.g., automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale (POS), and instances when no card is used during the transaction such as purchases over the Internet) that have entered into agreements with an Acquirer for the S/E to accept cards from cardmembers to charge purchases of goods and services or for cash access. An Acquirer may be, for example, a nonfinancial or financial entity that specializes in the marketing, installation and support of POS card acceptance at S/Es. Acquirers generally negotiate a contract with the S/E to accept a brand of cards (e.g., AMERICAN EXPRESS®, VISA®, MasterCard®, DISCOVER CARD®).
Card Issuers are typically banks and other financial organizations (e.g., Bank of America®, Citibank®, MBNA America®, Chase Manhattan Bank®) operating under the regulations of a card issuing association or entity. The cardmember enters into an agreement and establishes a card account with the Issuer. The Issuer's name generally appears on the card and cardmember's payments are typically sent to that Issuer.
Occasionally cardmembers may receive unsatisfactory goods or services from the S/E, be involved with a dispute over price with the S/E, or the S/E may have failed to comply with the regulations and/or terms of its card acceptance agreement with the Acquirer. Typically the cardmember then notifies the Issuer about the dispute with the S/E, which prompts the Issuer to begin a dispute resolution process with the Acquirer on behalf of the cardmember. Alternatively, the Issuer may begin the dispute process in the absence of any cardmember complaint, for example when the S/E fails to comply with regulations and/or terms.
In order to substantiate the dispute claim, the Issuer may first make a "retrieval request" to the Acquirer. The receipt for a cardmember's purchase or credit transaction containing the details of any transaction carried out at the S/E is called the record of charge (ROC). A retrieval request may include a request for either an original ROC, a legible reproduction of the ROC, or any other transactional documentation from the Acquirer. The documentation supplied by the Acquirer in reply to a retrieval request is called "fulfillment."
A typical "chargeback" is a reversal of a credit transaction which is "chargedback" to the Acquirer from the Issuer. The Acquirer may refute the chargeback and process a "second presentment" to the Issuer with additional documentation. A "final chargeback" by the Issuer to the Acquirer occurs if the Issuer refutes the "second presentment" by providing additional documentation.
The aforementioned dispute handling process between cardmembers, Issuers, Acquirers and/or S/Es is largely a manual documentation gathering process. Each step, beginning with the retrieval request, includes copying, mailing or faxing documentation. The entire manual process may consume valuable employee time and resources. Furthermore, while the dispute is being settled, the charge remains pending on either the cardmembers account or on unreconciled billings.
Communication between the parties (i.e., cardmember, Issuer, Acquirer, S/E) is on-going until the dispute is settled. In the above-described known dispute processes involving non-electronic transmission of documentation, communication may only occur during normal business hours. This can be difficult due to varying time zones. Thus, there exists a need for streamlining post-transactional credit disputes by providing electronic transmission of documentation.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a credit dispute system and method that increases the efficiency of the process. More particularly, there is a need for a system and method of processing a credit dispute that allows an initiator (such as an Issuer) to begin a dispute process by, for example, initiating a retrieval request to a responder (such as an Acquirer), then allowing the responder to fulfill the request in a real-time processing environment.
Moreover, data interchange between parties can be problematic if the interchange is between disparate users and systems. For example, each party (e.g., Issuer and Acquirer) may have their own systems infrastructure which may include, for example, their own servers respectively. Alternatively, a central server may be used, but the process of multiple parties accessing the server from their own infrastructures may be inefficient, costly and/or complicated. Thus, there exists a need for a credit dispute system and method that provides a well-defined and adaptable data interchange format to facilitate communication with multiple parties, and their respective system infrastructures with minimal error.

System and method for facilitating the handling of a dispute using disparate architectures

American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.


The invention describes a long-range optical device with two observation parts and a first observation beam path and a measurement beam path, in which the two observation parts are arranged essentially parallel next to each other and spaced a predefinable distance apart via at least one connection element. In a plan view of the device 1 with respect to a plane, in which the longitudinal axes of the observation parts are arranged, the sub-regions of the observation parts facing each other lie directly opposite each other over a length aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the observation parts of 20% to 90%, preferably 30% to 80% of a length of the observation parts. In addition, the observation beam path and the measurement beam path are arranged outside the sub-regions of the observation parts.

The invention relates to a long-range optical device having at least two tubes corresponding to the features in the preambles of claims 1 to 4.
Binocular field glasses with a laser range finder are known, in which a functional element of the laser range finder is also integrated into one of the two visual beam paths. Thus, as described in DE 10 2004 054 182 B4, the objective-side beam path of one of the two observation beam paths of the field glasses simultaneously forms a part of the beam path of the laser receiver and the laser radiation reflected by the object is deflected to the laser receiver or detector respectively by means of an optical splitter. On the other hand a separately constructed beam path is provided for the laser transmitter, arranged in the region of the hinging axis of the field glasses and aligned parallel to the observation axes of the visual beam path. A collimation lens is provided for this purpose in front of the laser transmitter on the light output side. A disadvantage of these binoculars with a laser range finder is that the handling of the device is made more difficult and none of the desired ergonomics is possible in such binoculars with this corresponding configuration.
Furthermore, it is already known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,753,951 B2 to provide a laser range finder in a long-range optical device which can be used to observe a remote object via a visual beam path. In this arrangement a laser beam is introduced into the visual beam path between the eye of the observer and user of the visual beam path and a focusing device for the visual beam path, and the laser beam reflected by the object is fed to a laser receiver for analysis via an optical system in front of the eye of the user. A disadvantage of this is that a rotating screen driven by a motor is required, in order to maintain a separation of the emitted laser beam and the reflected laser beam.
Further known long-range optical devices have dedicated beam paths both for the visual beams and the laser beam and the reflected laser beams, which are directed towards the remote object via separate optical devices. The focusing of the laser beam in such arrangements, both for the emitted laser beam and for the laser beam reflected from the object, is effected via respectively dedicated focusing devices, which are drive-connected to the focusing device for the visual beam path activated by the operator. Due to the complex structure, a large number of mechanical and optical components are required.
Other long-range optical devices, for example that in DE 197 27 988 A1 and those of DE 69 18 690 U, DE 295 18 708 U1, DE 101 22 936 A1 and DE 27 14 412 A1 also described a very wide range of configurations of laser range finders in connection with visual beam paths, wherein an exact measurement result cannot be achieved however, due to the complex structure and the guiding of the beam.


Embodiments relate to a method and mobile node in a wireless communication system for determining when to transmit a signal. The mobile node operates in the wireless communication system comprising a first cell and a second cell where the mobile node is synchronized to the first cell. The method comprises determining a timing reference based on a reception of a downlink transmission in the first cell. The method further comprises transmitting the signal, to be received in the second cell, at a point in time based on the timing reference and a timing advance value of the first cell.

User equipment (UE), also known as mobile stations, wireless terminals and/or mobile terminals are enabled to communicate wirelessly in a wireless communication system, sometimes also referred to as a cellular radio system. The communication may be made e.g. between two user equipment units, between a user equipment and a regular telephone and/or between a user equipment and a server via a Radio Access Network (RAN) and possibly one or more core networks. The user equipment units may further be referred to as mobile telephones, cellular telephones, laptops with wireless capability. The user equipment units in the present context may be, for example, portable, pocket-storable, hand-held, computer-comprised, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices, enabled to communicate voice and/or data, via the radio access network, with another entity, such as another user equipment or a server.
The wireless communication system covers a geographical area which is divided into cell areas, with each cell area being served by a network node, or base station e.g. a Radio Base Station (RBS), which in some networks may be referred to as "eNB", "eNodeB", "NodeB" or "B node", depending on the technology and terminology used. The network nodes may be of different classes such as e.g. macro eNodeB, home eNodeB or pico base station, based on transmission power and thereby also cell size. A cell is the geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the network node/base station at a base station site. One base station, situated on the base station site, may serve one or several cells. The network nodes communicate over the air interface operating on radio frequencies with the user equipment units within range of the respective network node, i.e. within the cell served by the network node. It is to be noted that the expression (serving) cell sometimes is utilised when referring to the carrier serving the user equipment, which may be the case also in this disclosure. Also the term component carrier is used interchangeable for cell in this context. Among the serving cells of a terminal operating with carrier aggregation there is always a primary cell or component carrier—PCell—and one or multiple secondary cells or component carriers—SCell.
In some radio access networks, several network nodes may be connected, e.g. by landlines or microwave, to a Radio Network Controller (RNC) e.g. in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The RNC, also sometimes termed a Base Station Controller (BSC) e.g. in GSM, may supervise and coordinate various activities of the plural network nodes connected thereto. GSM is an abbreviation for Global System for Mobile Communications (originally: Groupe Spécial Mobile).
In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), network nodes, or base stations, may be referred to as eNodeBs or even eNBs. They may in turn be connected to one or more core networks, possibly via a gateway e.g. a radio access gateway. The 3GPP is responsible for the standardization of LTE, and is continuously developing and updating new releases of LTE, such as e.g. LTE Rel. 8 and LTE Rel. 10.
LTE is a technology for realizing high-speed packet-based communication that may reach high data rates both in the downlink and in the uplink, and is thought of as a next generation mobile communication system relative to UMTS.
In the present context, the expressions downlink, downstream link or forward link may be used for the transmission path from the network node to the user equipment. The expression uplink, upstream link or reverse link may be used for the transmission path in the opposite direction i.e. from the user equipment to the network node.
LTE uses Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) in the downlink and Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT)-spread OFDM in the uplink. The basic LTE downlink physical resource may thus be seen as a time-frequency grid as illustrated in FIG. 1A, where each resource element corresponds to one OFDM subcarrier during one OFDM symbol interval.
In the time domain, LTE downlink transmissions are organised into radio frames of 10 ms, each radio frame comprising ten equally-sized subframes of 1 ms, which is illustrated in FIG. 1B.
Furthermore, the resource allocation in LTE is typically described in terms of Resource Blocks (RB), where a resource block corresponds to one slot (0.5 ms) in the time domain and 12 subcarriers in the frequency domain. A pair of two adjacent resource blocks in time direction (1.0 ms) is known as a resource block pair. Resource blocks are numbered in the frequency domain, starting with 0 from one end of the system bandwidth.
The LTE Rel-10 specifications have recently been standardized, supporting Component Carrier (CC) bandwidths up to 20 MHz (which is the maximal LTE Rel-8 carrier bandwidth). Hence, an LTE Rel-10 operation wider than 20 MHz is possible and appear as a number of LTE carriers to an LTE Rel-10 terminal.
In particular for early LTE Rel-10 deployments it may be expected that there will be a smaller number of LTE Rel-10-capable terminals compared to many LTE legacy terminals. Therefore, it is necessary to assure an efficient use of a wide carrier also for legacy terminals, i.e. that it is possible to implement carriers where legacy terminals may be scheduled in all parts of the wideband LTE Rel-10 carrier. The straightforward way to obtain this would be by means of Carrier Aggregation (CA). CA implies that an LTE Rel-10 terminal may receive multiple CC, where the CC have, or at least the possibility to have, the same structure as a Rel-8 carrier. CA is illustrated in FIG. 1C.
During initial access an LTE Rel-10 terminal behaves similar to an LTE Rel-8 terminal. Upon successful connection to the network a terminal may—depending on its own capabilities and the network—be configured with additional CCs in the UL and DL. Configuration is based on Radio Resource Control (RRC). Due to the heavy signalling and rather slow speed of RRC signalling it is envisioned that a terminal may be configured with multiple CCs even though not all of them are currently used. If a terminal is activated on multiple CCs this would imply it has to monitor all DL CCs for PDCCH and PDSCH. This implies a wider receiver bandwidth, higher sampling rates, etc. resulting in high power consumption.
In order to preserve the orthogonality in UL the UL transmissions from multiple UEs need to be time aligned at the eNodeB. Since UEs may be located at different distances from the eNodeB, see FIG. 2, the UEs would in such case need to initiate their UL transmissions at different points in time. A UE far from the eNodeB needs to start transmission earlier than a UE close to the eNodeB. This may for example be handled by Timing Advance (TA) of the UL transmissions, i.e. that a UE starts its UL transmission before a nominal time given by the timing of the DL signal received by the UE. This concept is illustrated in FIG. 3, in which timing advance of UL transmissions, depending on distance to eNodeB is illustrated.
The UL timing advance is maintained by the eNodeB through timing alignment commands to the UE based on measurements on UL transmissions from that UE.
Through timing alignment commands, the UE is ordered to start its UL transmissions earlier or later. This applies to all UL transmissions except for random access preamble transmissions on Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), i.e. comprising transmissions on Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).
There is a strict relation between DL transmissions and the corresponding UL transmission. Examples of this are the timing between a DL-SCH transmission on Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to the HARQ ACK/NACK feedback transmitted in UL (either on PUCCH or PUSCH). Yet such an example is the timing between an UL grant transmission on Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to the UL-SCH transmission on PUSCH.
By increasing the timing advance value for a UE, the UE processing time between the reception of the UL grant in DL and the corresponding UL transmission decreases. For this reason, an upper limit on the maximum timing advance has been defined by 3GPP in order to set a lower limit on the processing time available for a UE. For LTE, this value has been set to roughly 667 μs which corresponds to a cell range of 100 km. Note that the TA value compensates for the round trip delay.
In LTE Rel-10 there is only a single timing advance value per UE and all UL cells are assumed to have the same transmission timing. The reference point for the timing advance is the receive timing of the primary DL cell.
In LTE Rel-11 different serving cells used by the same UE may have different timing advance. Most likely the serving cells sharing the same TA value (for example depending on the deployment) will be configured by the network to belong to a so called TA group. If at least one serving cell of the TA group is time aligned, all serving cells belonging to the same group may use this TA value. To obtain time alignment for an SCell belonging to a different TA group than the PCell, the current 3GPP assumption is that network initiated random access may be used to obtain initial TA for this SCell (and for the TA group the SCell belongs to).
In LTE, as in any communication system, a mobile node may need to contact the network (via the eNodeB) without having a dedicated resource in the Uplink (from UE to base station). To handle this, a random access procedure is available where a UE that does not have a dedicated UL resource may transmit a signal to the base station. The first message of this procedure is typically transmitted on a special resource reserved for random access, a physical random access channel (PRACH). This channel can for instance be limited in time and/or frequency (as in LTE). FIG. 4 is a principal illustration of random-access-preamble transmission. The resources available for PRACH transmission is provided to the terminals as part of the broadcasted system information (or as part of dedicated RRC signalling in case of e.g. handover).
Signalling over the air interface for the contention-based random access procedure used in LTE is illustrated in FIG. 5. The UE starts the random access procedure by randomly selecting one of the preambles available for contention-based random access. The UE then transmits the selected random access preamble on the physical random access channel (PRACH) to eNodeB in the Radio Access Network (RAN). The RAN acknowledges any preamble it detects by transmitting a random access response (MSG2) The MSG2 is transmitted in the DL to the UE.
When receiving the response the UE uses the grant comprised in MSG2 to transmit a message (MSG3) that in part is used to trigger the establishment of radio resource control and in part to uniquely identify the UE on the common channels of the cell. MSG4 which is the contention resolution message is transmitted from the network to the UE.
The procedure ends with RAN solving any preamble contention that may have occurred for the case that multiple UE transmitted the same preamble at the same time.
The UE may also perform non-contention based random access. A non-contention based random access or contention free random access can e.g. be initiated by the eNB to get the UE to achieve synchronisation in UL. The eNB initiates a non-contention based random access either by sending a PDCCH order or indicating it in an RRC message. The later of the two is used in case of HandOver (HO).
Similar to the contention based random access the MSG2 is transmitted in the DL to the UE. The UE considers the contention resolution successfully completed after it has received MSG2 successfully.
For the contention free random access as well as for the contention based random access, the MSG2 contains a timing alignment value. This enables the eNB to set the initial/updated timing of subsequent UL transmissions.
In LTE the Rel-10 random access procedure is limited to the primary cell only. This implies that the UE may only send a preamble on the primary cell. Further MSG2 and MSG3 are only received and transmitted on the primary cell. MSG4 may however in Rel-10 be received on any DL cell.
In LTE Rel-11, the current assumption (RAN2#75, August 2011) is that the random access procedure will be supported also on secondary cells, at least for the UEs supporting Rel-11 carrier aggregation. So far only network initiated random access on SCells is assumed.
To enable frequency-domain processing of RA reception LTE uses RA preambles with a cyclic prefix. The cyclic prefix should cover maximum Round Trip Time, RTT, in the cell plus maximum expected delay spread. To be able to cope with a wide variety of deployment scenarios LTE defines 5 different preamble formats, which are illustrated in FIG. 6.
RA preamble format 4 only has a cyclic prefix length of approximately 15 μs. Assuming a maximum delay spread of 5 μs the maximum supported RTT becomes approximately 10 μs.
In LTE Rel-11 it has been agreed that UEs should support to simultaneously aggregate cells from network nodes at different physical locations, even for UL. This requires the UEs to have multiple TA values due to different propagation delays in the UL. A TA value needs a timing reference. A UE starts UL subframe transmission to cell i at TAi seconds earlier than the timing reference for cell i.
Which timing reference should be used for SCells in Rel-11 is currently discussed in 3GPP RAN2 and alternatives brought up are the PCell or an SCell. In Rel-10 the PCell downlink is used as timing reference for all cells.
Technical advantages for using the PCell downlink as timing reference are, for example, that Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) is only done for the PCell which makes the timing reference reliable. Also, if an SCell is used as timing reference, complexity is needed to handle what should happen when this SCell is deactivated; this would be avoided if the PCell is used as timing reference since the PCell cannot be deactivated. Aside from these technical aspects it is strived for to align behaviour between LTE releases.
However, it has been identified that if the PCell downlink is used as timing reference for an SCell configured with preamble format 4 the RA preamble could reach the SCell receiver outside of the preamble reception window and the RA procedure then fails as the SCell receiver does not detect/receive the preamble signalling from the UE.

Method and mobile node for determining a point in time for transmissions


The fluid expander includes a housing, a drive shaft mounted for rotation within the housing, a piston-cylinder assembly including a cylinder and a piston disposed within the cylinder for converting energy from a working fluid to rotational energy output via a drive shaft. Various adjustment assemblies are provided for adjusting speed, torque, stroke length, and thermodynamic cycles of the device. The fluid expander assembly can be used with external combustion systems, with solar or geothermal energy systems, or with internal combustion systems.

The present invention relates to a fluid expander and, in particular, to a rotary fluid expander having an adjustable configuration.
Internal combustion engines are commonly used in various applications to generate electrical or mechanical power. For example, internal combustion engines have been used in automobiles and other vehicles, electrical generators, lawn mowers, pumps, etc. While suitable for their conventional uses, internal combustion engines produce objectionable exhaust gases, even when expensive pollution control devices are utilized, require periodic servicing to prevent build-up of deposits caused by the combustion of fuel, require heavy engine blocks in order to contain the explosion of fuel and safely convert its force into useful mechanical motion, and may, due to the sequential firing of individual cylinders, require the use of a heavy flywheel to provide a smooth flow of power.
As an alternative to internal combustion engines, gas turbines are employed in various applications. For example, gas turbines are used to generate electrical power, and they have also been used to power vehicles and airplanes. Gas turbines have not been commonly used for vehicular and stationary applications because the extremely high rotor speeds used to achieve efficiency lead to a potential safety hazard in case of rotor failure. High speeds also require extensive gear reductions to reduce turbine output speeds to usable speeds.
Most internal combustion engines and gas turbines are powered by fossil fuels. Because the world's supply of fossil fuels is finite, alternatives such as systems that generate power from solar radiation and geothermal energy have been investigated. These systems develop energy, for example, by transferring heat energy to a working fluid, pressurizing the fluid based on the transferred heat energy, and obtaining work from the pressurized fluid via a fluid expander. However, solar and geothermal systems typically generate working fluid pressures too low to efficiently power conventional fluid expanders, thereby limiting usefulness of solar and geothermal energy sources.
Fluid expanders have been proposed in which pistons are reciprocated in cylinders while rotating around a drive shaft to power the drive shaft. Fluid expanders may utilize external combustion, useful for solar or geothermal systems, or internal combustion, useful for gasoline or diesel systems. U.S. Pat. Nos. 839,300; 980,481; 1,345,808; 3,654,906; 3,695,237; 3,939,809; 3,968,776; 4,779,579; 5,070,825; 5,094,195; 5,253,473; and 5,285,633 disclose various rotary fluid expander designs, both external and internal combustion. A drawback of these devices is that the performance characteristics of the devices are limited by the fixed nature of the structure of the devices. For example, in order to obtain a full range of torque and speed from these devices, a gearing reduction system such as a transmission is required, which can be complicated and costly.


A spring connector includes a barrel, a plunger and a spring. The barrel includes a longitudinal space formed therein, an opening formed at a top thereof, a bottom plate formed at a bottom thereof and a narrow portion formed from a middle portion and to the bottom thereof. The plunger includes a contact portion protruding from the opening, a sliding portion received in the longitudinal space, and a limit recess formed in the lower sliding portion. A top end of the spring is received in and limited by the limit recess, and a bottom end and a middle portion is limited by the narrower portion to restrict the spring being compressed along a longitudinal direction thereof. The spring is also prevented from deviating from the longitudinal direction thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a spring connector, and more particularly to a spring connector with a limit means.
2. The Related Art
Please refer to FIG. 1. A conventional spring connector 900 includes a barrel 902, a plunger 904 and a coil spring 906. The barrel 902 has a cylindrical body 908, a bottom plate 910 sealed a bottom of the cylindrical body 908, a first shoulder 912 extended inward from a top of the cylindrical body 908 and a longitudinal space 914 formed therein. The first shoulder 912 is formed an opening 916 at a middle portion thereof. The bottom plate 10 extends outward to form a foot portion 918.
The plunger 904 includes an upper contact portion 920 and a lower sliding portion 922. The diameter of the lower sliding portion 920 is larger than the upper contact portion 18 to form a second shoulder 924 therebetween. A top of the upper contact portion 918 is formed a semi-spherical tip 926. The lower sliding portion 920 is formed a limit recess 928 opening at the bottom thereof. The top of the limit recess 926 is formed a slanting surface 930.
If the spring connector 900 is assembled, the lower sliding portion 922 of the plunger 904 will be received in the longitudinal space 914 of the barrel 902. The upper contact portion 920 of the plunger 904 protrudes upward from the opening 916 of the barrel 902. The coil spring 906 is of a longitudinal shape and is compressed in the longitudinal space 914. A top end of the coil spring 906 is received in the limit recess 928 of the sliding portion 922 of the plunger 904 and abutted against the slanting surface 930. A bottom end of the coil spring 906 abuts against a middle portion of the top surface of the bottom plate 910 positioned in the longitudinal space of the barrel 902.
The plunger 904 is biased to slide upward by the coil spring 906 in an extension position. The second shoulder 924 of the plunger 904 abuts against the first shoulder 912 of the barrel 902 to limit the upward movement of the plunger 904. If the spring connector 900 is used in a restricting position, the plunger 904 will be pressed to slide downward. The upper contact portion 920 of the plunger 904 is slid into the longitudinal space 914 of the barrel 902.
The coil spring 906 is vertically compressed along a longitudinal direction of the longitudinal space 914. Because the top end of the coil spring 906 abutted against the slanting surface 930 of the plunger 904, the plunger 904 is biased to be slanted and contacts to the barrel 902.
Because the top end of the coil spring 906 is received in and limited by the limit recess 928, the top end of the coil spring 906 is compressed along the longitudinal direction in the restricting position. The bottom end and a middle portion of the coil spring 906 is apt to be deviated away the longitudinal direction because there is not any limit means in a bottom portion of the longitudinal space 914 for limiting the bottom end of the middle portion of the coil spring 906. The elastic of the bottom end of the coil spring 906 will be apt to be fatigued after long-term used.