A dicing tool having: a foodstuff holder for holding a block of foodstuff and a cutting base; the cutting base having: a rectangular framework for sliding the foodstuff holder therealong; a first part having an triangular shaped front edge, equally spaced triangular cutting blades being arranged in a triangular arrangement that follows the profile of the triangularly shaped front edge; a handle; a second part having a second upper surface and a right front edge and a left front edge arranged in a deep V shape, with continuous blades attached to the right and left front edges; wherein the second upper surface is always parallel to the first surface and can be slidingly reciprocated between an upper position and a lower position where the horizontal blade is substantially on a level with the first surface and the base of the triangular cutting blades.

Frequently, there is a desire to chop fruit, vegetables, cheeses, breads, meats and other foodstuffs into cubes or dice. For small quantities, an appropriate knife may be used. The foodstuff is first sliced in one direction. Then the slices are themselves sliced in a second direction, perpendicular thereto, providing chips. Finally, the chips are cut into cubes. The slices and chips may be further sliced or cut individually. For speed and convenient, the sliced foodstuff is turned through ninety degrees to form a stack of slices that is then sliced through in two mutually perpendicular directions.
Knives make one cut at a time, and manually dicing is time consuming, labor intensive and risks cutting fingers, particularly where occasional cooks attempt to dice foodstuffs. Additionally any technique that relies on making one cut at a time, relying on the eye of the knife wielder to ensure that the foodstuff is cut into equal lengths, will invariable result in uneven lengths. With one dimensional objects, this is not necessarily too bad, but where the foodstuff is to be diced into cubes, miscalculation of length leads to an unaesthetic result.
There have been several attempts to mechanize the slicing, chipping and dicing processes. For example, the egg slicer has a concave receptacle for receiving an egg, and an array of wires that can be drawn down at once, thereby slicing the egg into slices. Since the wires are equally spaced, the egg is sliced into slices of the same thickness, and the egg slicer is valuable when making large quantities of egg sandwiches. Although wires can be used for cutting cheese as well, an array of wires is really only useful for slicing eggs, soft cheeses, bananas and other foodstuffs of similar low resistance. It cannot be used on firmer vegetables, such as potatoes, and cannot be used on soft-fruit or vegetables, such as tomatoes, for example.
A grid of criss-crossing knife blades has been used as the cutting means of potato chipping devices, where the potato is forced through the grid and is cut into chips thereby. Such a device is useful for chipping.
Although a further guillotine blade could be added in front of the grid, at a fixed distance therefrom, to cut the extruded chips into cubes, such a guillotine blade would only make one cut at a time, and would be inherently dangerous. Furthermore, the extrusion through grid of blades is good for materials that can be forced through without suffering damage in consequence, such as potatoes, for example. Such a device would not be suitable for fresh summer fruits or for making an Israeli style, tomato and cucumber salad for example.
At the same time, there are also numerous electric vegetable slicers or food processors for household use or designed for use in industry. These are multi-purpose machines and are generally-sophisticated appliances which, apart from their high cost, often have the disadvantage of being inconvenient to use and also difficult to assemble and clean.
United Kingdom Patent No. GB 2 032 260 to Leung Chi Shih describes a vegetable slicer comprising a holder, a table on which the holder may be slid back and forth, a horizontal knife blade at a distance above the table, such that sliding the holder back and forth causes vegetables and other foods within the holder to be sliced by the knife blade. A series of upright knives can be caused to protrude above the table top, which together with the horizontal blade, cuts the food into chips.
German Patent Number DE3642704A1 to Haushaltsprodukte Vertriebsges describes a food cube cutting appliance—having a cutting board and food holder with engaging guide grooves or rails.
The device described serves for cutting foodstuffs into pieces, preferably for dicing onions. It is composed of a cutting board having a plurality of vertical knives which are arranged on the cutting board and project upwards from the grating surface of the latter, and of a horizontal knife which is arranged at a predetermined distance above and parallel to the grating surface of the cutting board. On the longitudinal sides of the cutting board there are provided guiding grooves, into which engage the guiding webs of a holding device, which contains a cylindrical supporting body which is open on its underside and a cylindrical insert which is arranged inside the said supporting body, accommodates the foodstuff and can be rotated with respect to the supporting body. The said insert has toes which are arranged at regular intervals around its circumference on its underside and engage in baffles which are provided on the grating surface, so that the rotatable insert is rotated through a predetermined number of degrees. The food is slid back and forth tangentially with respect to the horizontal cutting blade. By rotating the food, the orientation of the food with the plurality of vertical cutting blades is varied. Since the food to be cut impacts the horizontal cutting blade head on, even where the blade is sharp, such a system, though no doubt ideal for cubing onions, the intended purpose thereof, is unable to slice ripe tomatoes without squashing them.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,732,622 to Vincent Jacques, titled "Safety manual vegetable cutter" relates to a manual vegetable cutter for selectively varied cutting, that comprises a frame fitted with at least one cutting blade mounted transversely facing a slot through which the cut vegetables pass and also two side rails providing guidance in to and fro translational motion for a guide chamber equipped with a loading volume for the vegetables to be cut up and acting in conjunction with a press-down cap which the user grips in order to move the guide chamber to and fro along the guide rails while constantly exerting pressure on the vegetables contained in the loading volume so that they are pressed against the cutting blade or blades fitted to the frame and can be cut up by the blade or blades. This device appears to slice, but not to dice foodstuffs.
PCT Application Number WO 2005/097434 to Klotzz and Scramm describes a device for comminuting foodstuffs. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 thereof, the blade thereof is a V shaped cutting blade. This type of blade slices both sides of a tomato or the like that is forced thereagainst, with the blade being held at a sharp angle to the side of the tomato. Usefully, the blade can be lowered to the height of, or below the height of the slit, thereby protecting it between use and also keeping it effectively sheathed and away from fingers.
United Kingdom Patent Number 264,427 to Herzmann describes yet another machine for cutting fruit or vegetables into cubes, strips or slices.
German Patent Number DE 3500959 describes a vegetable cutter with an adjustable cutting thickness that has an elongate basic body, having a handle at one end, and a slide path which is formed by a pushing-on surface, a blade and a pushing-off surface. The pushing-on surface is clamped to the basic body on one side in the region of the handle and is adjustable in its inclination by means of a displaceable wedge device. As a result, an adjustable gap is produced between the free end of the pushing-on surface and the blade. The wedge device is formed by a slide which is displaceable below the pushing-on surface towards the free end thereof and engages on a wedge surface (wedge rib) which acts in the longitudinal direction between the pushing-on surface and the slide. The device described does not appear to be able to chip or cube vegetables, merely to slice them.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,254 to Borner describes a kitchen utensil for cutting foodstuffs such as vegetables or fruit into strips and particularly to a blade member therefor, the blade member comprising a strip of material such as metal which is integral with a plurality of spaced substantially vertical cutting blades which project from the plane of the strip, the strip being embedded in a guide plate, over which the foodstuff is moved during cutting, so that the blade member is securely held, the vertical blades projecting above the guide plate. The strip has cuts in one longitudinal edge and the metal between the cuts is bent up to form the vertical blades. The blade member described by Borner is one directional and allows cutting by pushing or pulling, but not by both.
Despite the many tools and techniques described in the prior art and commercially available, there is a need for a foodstuff dicer that can cut soft fruit and vegetables into cubes, the blades thereof cutting in both directions and the opposite faces of the cube being perfectly parallel. The present invention addresses this need.


A development device includes a development case, a first agitating/conveying member and a second agitating/conveying member. The first agitating/conveying member is arranged below the second agitating/conveying member to convey the developer in a first direction. The second agitating/conveying member conveys the developer in a second direction as an opposite direction to the first direction to supply the developer to the developer carrier. The development case includes a first conveyance chamber, a second conveyance chamber, a first communicating portion communicating end parts of the first conveyance chamber and second conveyance chamber in the first direction, and a second communicating portion communicating end parts of the first conveyance chamber and second conveyance chamber in the second direction. The developer carrier has a first ferromagnetic area having magnetic force stronger than another area of the developer carrier, in which the first ferromagnetic area corresponds to the first communicating portion.

The present disclosure relates to a development device including an agitating/conveying member agitating/conveying two-component developer and an image forming apparatus including the development device.
In a development device visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum to a toner image by using two-component developer consisting of a toner and a carrier, an agitating/conveying member agitating, frictionally charging and conveying the toner and carrier is provided.
Recently, a demand for space saving of an image forming apparatus is risen, and moreover, in a color multifunction peripheral and a color printer in a tandem type arranging a plurality of development devices in parallel, it is necessary to miniaturize the development device and to narrow a distance between the photosensitive drums. Thereupon, there is a development device having two agitating/conveying members disposed vertically to narrow the distance between the photosensitive drums.
In a case where the agitating/conveying members are disposed vertically, the developer is circulated between an upper conveyance chamber having an upper agitating/conveying member and a lower conveyance chamber having a lower agitating/conveying member. When the developer is drawn up from the lower conveyance chamber to the upper conveyance chamber, it is necessary to move the developer against gravity. As a feeding member drawing up the developer, a magnet roller connected coaxially to a developer carrier may be applied.
However, in a case where the magnet roller is connected coaxially to the developer carrier, a length in an axial direction of the developer carrier is lengthened and the development device is enlarged. Further, due to a complicated structure connecting the developer carrier and feeding member, cost increase is brought.
In a case where the agitating/conveying members are respectively arranged in the upper and lower conveyance chambers, a developer amount fed to the developer carrier is decreased in a communicating portion between the upper conveyance chamber and lower conveyance chamber. As a result, there are problems that a toner amount becomes insufficient and image density is lowered.
Because of this, the development device may be configured so that the agitating/conveying member and developer carrier is lengthened more than the photosensitive drum and image forming is carried out at a center part of the developer carrier except for the communicating portion. However, a length of the development device in an axial direction of the photosensitive drum is lengthened and the development device is enlarged.

Development device and image forming apparatus


Establishing a telephone call includes enabling display of a visual indicator of a call destination entity and detecting selection by a user of the visual indicator. The availability of the user to receive a first telephone call is determined. Voice communications between the call destination entity and the user are established in response to detection of the selection by the user of the visual indicator and conditioned on the user being determined to be available to receive the first telephone call. Establishing voice communications includes enabling placement of the first telephone call to the user to establish a first PSTN link with the user and enabling a voice communications link to be setup with the call destination entity.

Communication technology has changed significantly in recent years with the advent of the Internet. Electronic communication methods between users across the Internet, such as instant messaging and e-mail, have developed that enable users to communicate with each other quickly, efficiently, and at a relatively low cost, irrespective of geographic distance. Moreover, with the rise of the World Wide Web (WWW), users now have the ability to easily access an unprecedented amount of information, to congregate and communicate with each other in online communities, and to purchase products or services online. Businesses have been able to increase sales and profits by advertising products and services on the WWW and by using the WWW as another distribution channel to the customer.


A memory coherence protocol is provided for using cache line access frequencies to dynamically switch from an invalidation protocol to an update protocol. A frequency access count (FAC) is associated with each line of data in a memory area, such as each cache line in a private cache corresponding to a CPU in a multiprocessor system. Each time the line is accessed, the FAC associated with the line is incremented. When the CPU, or process, receives an invalidate signal for a particular line, the CPU checks the FAC for the line. If the CPU, or process, determines that it is a frequent accessor of a particular line that has been modified by another CPU, or process, the CPU sends an update request in order to obtain the modified data. If the CPU is not a frequent accessor of a line that has been modified, the line is simply invalidated in the CPU's memory area. By dynamically switching from an invalidate protocol to an update protocol, based on cache line access frequencies, efficiency is maintained while cache misses are minimized. Preferably, all FACs are periodically reset in order to ensure that the most recent cache line access data in considered.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a system and method for providing memory coherence in a multiprocessor system. In particular, the present invention uses cache line access frequencies to determine when to switch from an invalidation protocol to an update protocol.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cache, or memory, coherence protocols are used in shared memory systems, such as symmetric multiprocessor systems (SMPs), to enable efficient program execution. In such systems, multiple copies of data may exist, for example, in multiple private caches associated with the processors. Each processor in the system may have its own private cache, with the private caches kept coherent with each other. In order to maintain memory coherency between the multiple private caches in an SMP system, a cache coherence protocol is used. Two prior art cache coherence protocols that are used are the Invalidation Protocol and the Update Protocol.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram that depicts a prior art invalidation protocol. Central processing unit (CPU) 105 includes cache manager 110 for controlling access to cache 115. Cache 115 is a private cache used by CPU 105. Similarly, CPU 125 includes cache manager 130 for controlling access to cache 135. Cache 135 is a private cache associated with CPU 125. Cache 115 and cache 135 are kept coherent with each other through the use of an invalidation protocol. CPU 105 and CPU 125 are connected to each other, and to shared memory 140, via bus 120. When CPU 105 writes data to cache 115, all remote copies of the specific cache line (or lines) are invalidated. For example, cache manager 110 writes a line of data to cache line 145 in cache 115. Validation bit 150 is set to "Y" to indicate that the data in cache line 145 is valid. Then, cache manager 110 sends an invalidate signal on bus 120 that tells all other cache managers to invalidate their copy of the cache line. Cache manager 130 receives the invalidate signal from bus 120 and invalidates cache line 155 in its private cache 135. Validation bit 160 is set to "N" to indicate that cache line 155 is not valid.
One problem with the prior art invalidation protocol is that there are situations where the modify requestor (for example, CPU 105 in FIG. 1) is not the process or CPU that most frequently accesses the line. In such instances, cache misses may occur to the private caches of a process or CPU that more frequently accesses the line. For example, CPU 125 will get a cache miss if it attempts to access line 155.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram that depicts a prior art update protocol. CPU 205 includes cache manager 210 for controlling access to cache 215. Cache 215 is a private cache used by CPU 205. Similarly, CPU 225 includes cache manager 230 for controlling access to cache 235. Cache 235 is a private cache associated with CPU 225. Cache 215 and cache 235 are kept coherent with each other through the use of an update protocol. CPU 205 and CPU 225 are connected to each other, and to shared memory 240, via bus 220. When CPU 205 writes data to cache 215, the modified data is broadcast on bus 220 so that other caches with copies of the data can obtain a copy of the modified data. For example, cache manager 210 writes a line of data to cache line 245 in cache 215. Cache manager 210 then broadcasts the updated line by sending the modified data on bus 220. Because CPU 225 has a copy of the particular cache line in its private cache 235, it obtains a copy of the modified data. Cache manager 230 receives the updated data from bus 220, and writes the data to cache line 255 in cache 235.
While the update protocol results in fewer cache misses than the invalidation protocol, it is inefficient, as not every process or CPU will need to keep the modified data in their private cache.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for efficient memory coherence in a multiprocessor system.

Memory coherence protocol enhancement using cache line access frequencies

International Business Machines Corporation


A computing device includes a processor and associated memory. The processor is configured to execute a personal information management service stored in memory to send a first calendar entry for display on a calendar interface for a user. The first calendar entry is for a first account of the user of a first domain. The processor sends a second calendar entry for display on the calendar interface. The second calendar entry is for a calendar of a second account of the user of a second domain. The processor receives a request for an availability of the user from a requesting user having a third account of the first domain. In response to the request, the processor sends to the requesting user the first calendar entry including first calendar entry details, and the second calendar entry without second calendar entry details.

Many personal information management services include calendars containing availability information viewable by others in the same organization. For example, a user's work calendar may indicate when the user is free for a coworker to schedule a meeting. However, many people maintain multiple calendars, such as a work calendar and a personal calendar, and items on one calendar may affect the user's availability during free times on the other calendar. In this case, scheduling an event shared by multiple participants may take substantial back-and-forth communication to find a workable timeslot. In an attempt to prevent this hassle, some users add entries to their work calendars to block off time for personal events to better represent their work availability, but they run the risk of exposing personal information or forgetting to manually add such an entry.

User availability in personal information management service


A driver pulley system for use in a torque converter comprises a torque transmission device. The torque transmission device is used to transmit torque between components of the driver pulley system.

The present disclosure relates to torque converters. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to driver pulley systems for use in torque converters.
Torque converters are used on vehicles as a type of transmission between an engine of the vehicle and a wheel (or other ground-engaging element) of the vehicle. A torque converter is variable in that it can upshift and downshift in response to engine speed (i.e., engine rpm) and torque (i.e., rotational resistance) encountered by the wheel. Such torque occurs, for example, when the vehicle travels up a hill.
A torque converter typically includes a belt trained about a driver pulley system and a driven pulley system. The driver and driven pulley systems are adjustable in response to engine speed and torque to vary the drive ratio of the torque converter.

Driver pulley system for use in torque converter


A lens unit includes a lens holder having an opening and an inner wall, the lens having an optical axis passing through the opening, a first lens having an outer circumference, and arranged in the lens holder along the optical axis, a second lens having an outer circumference, and arranged in the lens holder along the optical axis, and three strut portions provided on the inner wall of the lens holder. The strut portions position the first lens and the second lens. The strut portions have surfaces facing the optical axis, respectively, the surfaces of the strut portions slanting with respect to the optical axis and contacting the outer circumference of the first lens and the outer circumference of the second lens. This lens unit has the lenses positioned accurately.

FIG. 7 shows a sectional view of a conventional lens unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 04-166905. Cylindrical lens holder 1 includes projections 3 having arc sections on its inner wall. Projections 3 extend along the inner wall and are situated at places which divide the inner wall into quarters. The center of a circle inscribed on the respective tops 3A of projections 3 agrees with optical axis 5 of lens 2, and lens 2 agrees with the inscribed circle. Lens 2 is inserted into lens holder 1, and adhesive 4 has lens holder 1 rigidly hold lens 2.
This lens unit encounters with difficulty of preventing light reflection on the surface of the lens 2 or the surface of lens holder 1. Insertion of lens 2 into lens holder 1 needs clearance 6. Optical axis 5 can be adjusted at accuracy as rough as several tens of micrometers.
FIG. 8A shows a perspective view of another conventional lens unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 05-113529. FIG. 8B shows a sectional view of the lens unit shown in FIG. 8A. Outer circumference 12 of lens 11 slants by angle θa with respect to optical axis 15. Inner wall 14 of lens holder 13 also slants by angle θa with respect to optical axis 15. Outer circumference 12 fits to inner wall 14 of lens holder 13, so that lens 11 tightly and solidly contacts inner wall 14 and is held by holder 13.
This lens unit also encounters with difficulty of preventing light reflection on the surface of lens 11 and the surface of lens holder 13. Outer circumference 12 of lens 11 and inner wall 14 of holder 13 slant, hence being manufactured difficultly.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


This invention relates to the preparation of thermally stable, substantially polycrystalline silicon carbide ceramic fibers using borosilazane resins. The method comprises spinning fibers from the resin, infusibilizing the spun fibers and pyrolyzing the spun fibers at a temperature greater than about 1700.degree. C.

This invention relates to the preparation of thermally stable, substantially polycrystalline silicon carbide ceramic fibers using borosilazane resins. The method described herein provides a simple yet effective method of preparing desirable fiber at a relatively low cost.
Silicon carbide ceramic fibers are known in the art for their mechanical strength at high temperatures. Because of this property, they have found utility in numerous areas such as reinforcement for plastic, ceramic or metal matrices to produce high performance composite materials or the formation of fibrous products such as high temperature insulation, belting, gaskets and curtains.
Several methods have been developed to manufacture such fibers. For instance, it is known that organosilicon polymers may be spun into fibers, infusibilized (cured) and pyrolyzed at elevated temperatures to form a ceramified fiber. Unfortunately, this method suffers from the disadvantage that substantial amounts of oxygen and/or nitrogen are often incorporated into the fibers either directly through the polymer or indirectly by incorporation during spinning, infusibilization or ceramification. When these fibers are heated to temperatures above 1400.degree. C., the oxygen and nitrogen is lost causing weight loss, porosity and decreased tensile strength.
Recently, polycarbosilane preceramic polymers having a Si-C skeletal structure have been used to minimize the incorporation of nitrogen and oxygen. Yajima et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,052,430 and 4,100,233, for example, teach a method of producing silicon carbide fibers by spinning, infusibilizing and pyrolyzing various polycarbosilanes. Nippon Carbon Co., moreover, utilizes this technology to produce a SiC ceramic fiber sold under the trade name NICALON.TM.. These fibers too, however, are known to contain about 9-15% oxygen and, thus, degrade at temperatures as low as 1200.degree. C. (see Mah et al., J. Mat. Sci. 19, 1191-1201 (1984)
Borosilazanes are also known in the art. For instance, Japanese Kokai Patent No. Hei 2-84437 describes the formation of borosilazanes by reacting a silazane with a boron compound. The reference describes the resultant materials as useful in the formation of ceramics. In "International Symposium on Organosilicon Chemistry Directed Towards Material Science", Abstracts, P. 95-96, Sendai, Japan, 25-29 Mar. (1990), the same inventors describe the use of these materials in the formation of fibers. However, since the fibers contained insufficient carbon and were only pyrolyzed up to 1700.degree. C., the resultant product is described as an amorphous silicon boron nitride fiber. The fibers claimed in the present application, on the other hand, are predominantly crystalline, silicon carbide.
European Patent No. 364,323 describes a method of forming polymers based on boron and nitrogen comprising reacting a silazane with a trihalogen borane. The resultant materials are taught therein as being useful in the formation of boron nitride ceramics, including fibers.
Takamizawa et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,367 teach the preparation of an organoborosilicon polymer by mixing an organopolysilane with an organoborazine compound, spinning fibers and then ceramifying the fibers by heating to temperatures in the range of 900.degree.-1800.degree. C. The organoborosilicon polymer therein, however, is described as having a skeletal structure comprising Si, C, N and B compared to the Si, B and N chains of the present invention. Moreover, this reference teaches that the tensile strength of the fibers drops off dramatically when heated above 1500.degree. C. (note the graph on the cover of the reference)
U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,173 granted to Niebylski describes the formation of organoborosilazane polymers by the reaction of a polysilazane with a boroxine. The reference states that the resultant materials are useful in the formation of ceramic fibers but fails to teach the methodology.
Seyferth et al., J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 73, 2131-2133 (1990) likewise teach the formation of borosilazane polymers by the reaction of silazanes with boranes. The reference teaches that the resultant materials are useful in the production of borosilicon nitride ceramic fibers.
The present inventors have now unexpectedly found that thermally stable, substantially polycrystalline SiC fibers can be formed by firing borosilazane fibers having greater than about 0.2% boron and greater than about 0.1% free carbon incorporated therein to a temperature greater than about 1700.degree. C.

Preparation of substantially crystalline silicon carbide fibers from borosilazanes


Disclosed are an apparatus, system, and method for generating a post-order set of members referenced by an MDX query statement invoking a post-order function. The apparatus includes an input module that receives the MDX expression specifying the relevant data set. A pre-order module generates a set of the members in pre-order organization. An initialization module generates an empty post-order set and inserts the first member of the pre-order set into the post-order set. An ancestor module determines whether the next member in the pre-order set has an ancestor in the post-order set and the location of the closest ancestor of the member if it exists. An insertion module then inserts the member immediately before the closest ancestor if the ancestor exists, or puts it in the rightmost position of the post-order set if an ancestor does not exist. An iteration module invokes the ancestor and insertion modules for each member of the pre-order set until the post-order set is filled.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to creating a set in post-order organization from a set originally in pre-order organization. More specifically, the invention relates to generating a post-order organization of the result set of an MDX query that is in pre-order organization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Online analytical processing (OLAP) is a valuable resource for interpreting and understanding raw data in new and meaningful ways. OLAP also allows this data to be accessed in a more efficient manner and is a valuable resource in business intelligence.
OLAPs generally store data in data cubes, which are specified as a set of dimensions such as time, customer, and product. Each dimension can be further divided into a set of ordered levels. For example, the time dimension may include levels for years, and each level includes dimension members such as 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. These dimension members may be further organized hierarchically within the dimension; thus, the year 2004 has four children (quarters 1 through 4) and each child may have further children (for example, quarter 1 has children January, February, and March).
The MDX query language has become a standard for query language in the OLAP environment, and is used for multiple OLAP APIs, including OLE DB for OLAP, XML for Analysis, and ADOMD.NET. MDX allows a user to access information in the data cubes, much like SQL allows access to information in relational tables. For example, an MDX query may specify:
Select [Time].members on columns,   [Measures].members on rows,From [SalesCube]Where [Product].[Food]This query returns a two dimensional result set with a full list of members along the x-axis and a full list of measures associated with the cube along the y-axis. The data represented in the result set specifies the combination of time and measure members on the axes as specified. For example, the result set may read:
20066Q16Q26Q36Q420077Q17Q27Q37Q4Sales500100100100200600200100100200Qty102233204466Profit1001020304020040505060
The results shown above are listed in pre-order, meaning that the dimension member will appear in the resulting ordered list before any of its descendants. Thus, 2006 appears before its children, the quarters 6Q1, 6Q2, 6Q3, and 6Q4. If additional granularity were presented (say, at the month level), the pre-order list would specify: 2006, 6Q1, January, February, March, 6Q2, April, May, June, etc. . . .
The MDX query language supports a function named "hierarchize." The hierarchize function places members of the dimension into hierarchical order in a pre-order format. The hierarchize function receives as a parameter a relevant set of data from the data cube, and puts members of that set into pre-order form as shown in the table above.
However, many users require data to be presented in post-order hierarchize form. Post-order hierarchize form means that the dimension member will appear in the resulting list or set after all of its descendants. Thus, the list: 6Q 1, 6Q2, 6Q3, 6Q4, 2006, 7Q1, 7Q2, 7Q3, 7Q4, 2007, is in post-order form where 6Q1 represents the first quarter of 2006, 6Q2 represents the second quarter, and so on. Again, if the granularity were at the month level, the list or set would be ordered: January, February, March, 6Q1, April, May, June, 6Q2, July, August, September, 6Q3, October, November, December, 6Q4, 2006.
Since the hierarchize operation is essentially an ordering operation on members of a set, the most efficient approaches (whether pre- or post-order) are order (n log n), where n is the number of members in the set to be ordered. Accordingly, a need exists for generating a post-order list or set of members from a pre-ordered set that preserves the (n log n) order. Ideally, such a solution does not require the storage of additional information such as identifiers to facilitate the post-order arrangement of members.

Apparatus, system, and method for processing MDX post-order hierarchize expressions


To provide a vehicle control apparatus which can suppress a shock in a clutch from being generated at a time of starting an engine by a motor in a vehicle having the clutch provided therein between the engine and the motor, thereby improving a drivability of the vehicle. Provided is a vehicle control apparatus, comprising: an engine, a motor generator connected to vehicle wheels of a vehicle, and a clutch that switches a transmission state between a disengaging state and an engaging state, in which the vehicle control apparatus switches the clutch in the engaging state to start the engine by the motor generator. When the engine is started by the motor generator, the vehicle control apparatus constantly keeps the compensation torque of the motor generator smaller than the clutch torque of the clutch.

In recent years, a hybrid vehicle is focused on as one type of vehicle of environment-friendly automobiles. The hybrid vehicle is generally provided, as power sources, with an internal combustion engine (hereinafter simply referred to as engine) powered by fuel such as gasoline or the like, and an electric motor (hereinafter simply referred to as motor) powered by electric power from a battery.
There is already developed an above mentioned type of a hybrid vehicle having mounted thereon a vehicle control apparatus comprising, for example, an engine, a motor, a clutch to engage or disengage the engine and the motor with each other, and a control unit (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). To start the engine of the type of the hybrid vehicle when the hybrid vehicle is being driven by the motor while the engine is not in operation, the vehicle control apparatus is adapted to engage a clutch to crank the engine by the motor.
To start the engine when the hybrid vehicle is being driven by the motor while the engine is not in operation, a torque that works as motor load is raised by the clutch being engaged to push-start the engine. For this reason, the rotational speed of the motor is sharply reduced even if the reduction is small, so that it is likely that there is generated a shock to prevent the vehicle from operating smoothly.
To suppress the vehicle from being prevented from operating smoothly by the shock, the control unit is adapted to calculate the amount of the load estimated to be increased in the motor by the push-start of the engine prior to engaging the clutch and to set the calculated amount of the load as a compensation torque of the motor. The control unit is further adapted to increase the output torque of the motor by the amount of the compensation torque at the timing of the engagement of the clutch. By the construction as set forth in above definition, generation of the shock due to the sharp increase of the motor load by the clutch being engaged is suppressed, thereby making it possible to start the engine while maintaining a smooth operation of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, as a result of diligent researches by inventors of the present invention, a fact was clarified that in this type of clutches there is some dispersion in property of each of clutches even among the clutches of the same kind due to errors in manufacturing and assembly by each of the clutches. To be more specific, as shown in a hatched region 100 in FIG. 10, there is some dispersion in timing of rise and amount in a torque at the engagement of each of the clutches (hereinafter simply referred to as clutch torque) even among the clutches of the same kind.
Within the dispersion range 100 of the clutch torque, each of the clutches takes its own unique rising line of the clutch torque 101. The rising line 101 of the clutch torque as shown in FIG. 10 is one example of the rising lines of clutch torque. Actually the rising line of the clutch torque is not limited to the rising line 101, but each of the clutches takes the rising line different from each other within the dispersion range 100 of the clutch torque.


This invention relates to an integrated circuit device comprising a memory and at least one application program residing within said memory. This invention is characterized in that the application program comprises at least one configurable variable and a list of at least one reference element, and in that said memory includes, on the one hand, at least one means for initializing said variables, wherein said means is configured with several parameters, one of which parameters is said reference element list, and on the other hand, a command for sending data that contain, in particular, values to be assigned to the configurable variables. This invention can be applied, in particular, to smart cards.

These devices are, in particular, portable items such as smart cards having application programs relating to the fields of health, mobile telephony, as well as banking transactions.
Such smart cards comprise a card body into which an electronic unit is integrated, which contains, in a conventional way, a control unit (such as a central processing unit or CPU) and a memory. This memory comprises at least one application program containing unitary elements which are assigned values so that the program can be executed, wherein these elements are not modified when the application program is executed. These elements are referred to as configurable variables.
In view of configuring said variables, the state of the art provides devices that use files containing data assigned to variables in a so-called initialization phase. This initialization phase is necessary for a proper execution of the application program. In order to do so, these devices comprise control means for modifying the values of initialization data within said files and then assigning these data to said variables. When the variables are permanently stored within the memory, they maintain their initial value even if the card is no longer powered.
Although these devices allow an application program to be configured, the initialization values are duplicated within two memory spaces having substantially identical sizes, one of which contains the initialization data files and the other being the memory space allocated to variables which are initialized with said data, which can be problematic because of the limited available memory of smart cards. Moreover, the execution time of such application program is substantially increased, in particular due to the requirement to perform the initialization phase on every execution of the program even if the initialization values have not changed, as the initialization phase is an integral part of the application program. Finally, there are cases where either the application program has no privilege for file access, or the card simply has no file associated with it.

Device and method for initializing an applicative programme of an integrated circuit card


A new barbecue fork for lifting and turning food stuffs on a cooking surface. The inventive device includes an elongate shaft and a handle. The proximal end of the shaft is coupled to the first end of the handle. A pair of spaced apart hooked-shaped prongs are coupled to the shaft with the prongs located towards the distal end of the shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to barbecue cooking utensils and more particularly pertains to a new barbecue fork for lifting and turning food stuffs on a cooking surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of barbecue cooking utensils is known in the prior art. More specifically, barbecue cooking utensils heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art barbecue cooking utensils include U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,525; U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,721; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 351,092; U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,998; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 299,997; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,751.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new barbecue fork. The inventive device includes an elongate shaft and a handle. The proximal end of the shaft is coupled to the first end of the handle. A pair of spaced apart hooked-shaped prongs are coupled to the shaft with the prongs located towards the distal end of the shaft.
In these respects, the barbecue fork according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of lifting and turning food stuffs on a cooking surface.


An oscillator (30) supplies a high frequency signal (S) to a frequency divider (31). A phase comparator (32) produces a signal measuring phase difference between the divided frequency signal (QA) and a reference signal. A low-pass filter (34) controls the oscillator on the basis of the measurement signal. A measurement window, of duration defined by counting cycles of the high frequency signal, is generated in response to each active edge of the divided frequency signal. The measurement signal is activated during the measurement window so that it comprises, when an active edge of the reference signal falls within the window, a first pulse between the start of the window and this edge and a second pulse, opposite to the first, between this edge and the end of the window.

A PLL conventionally comprises a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) delivering a high frequency signal, a frequency divider converting the high frequency signal into a divided frequency signal, a phase comparator producing a signal measuring a phase difference between the divided frequency signal and a reference signal, and a low-pass filter to which the measurement signal is applied and the output of which controls the VCO.
In its application to modulation, instantaneous variations of the division factor applied by the frequency divider are introduced to obtain corresponding variations in the frequency or phase of the VCO output signal.
The phase comparator can be built to activate the measurement signal during a measurement window in response to each active edge of one of the input signals of the phase comparator. The activation of the measurement signal comprises, when an active edge of the other phase comparator input signal, if necessary delayed by a predefined time, falls within the measurement window, a first pulse between the start of the measurement window and this active edge and a second pulse opposite to the first pulse between the active edge and the end of the measurement window. A drift in the phase of the loop relative to its operating point is reflected in an imbalance between the two pulses, that the low-pass filter assimilates to apply a compensation to the VCO control input.
An example of such a phase comparator is described in EP-B-0 835 550. The advantage of this comparator is that it does not present what is known as a dead zone. In ordinary phase comparators, the dead zone results from the non-zero response times of the logic gates of the comparator: phase differences smaller than these response times are not detected, so the response of the comparator presents a zero slope band (dead zone) in the vicinity of the origin. Such a dead zone affects the precision of the PLL and in practical terms prevents it from being used as a phase or frequency modulator.
The phase comparator with no dead zone described in EP-B-0 835 550 has the further advantage of presenting a dual slope response around its nominal operating point, which gives it excellent sensitivity for its application to modulation.
In this comparator, the duration of the measurement window varies according to the measured phase difference, and it depends on the delays introduced by capacitive and resistive elements of the phase comparator. The result of this is the presence of noise in the output of the comparator and therefore of a phase noise in the output of the VCO.


A distributed policy proxy system offloads network policy processing from an overloaded network element to policy proxy network elements. A network controller detects that policy resources are overloaded at a network element, and assigns a range of endpoints to each policy proxy network element. Each policy proxy network element is assigned to handle policy processing for traffic belonging to a corresponding assigned range of endpoints. The network controller provides instructions to the policy proxy network elements to enable each policy proxy network element to apply the network policy for its assigned range of endpoints. The network controller also provides instructions to the overloaded network element to redirect a packet from the first endpoint to a first policy proxy network element based on a destination of the packet.

Micro-segmentation based on Application or Virtual Machine (VM) workloads enables modern data centers to secure East-West communication with granular white-list/allow-list policies. The micro-segmentation may be applied in the network elements, or in a hypervisor for virtualized workloads, or in the hosts using agents. Amongst these three options, providing micro-segmentation in the network allows the operators to cover multiple possible workload environments, such as physical servers, different hypervisor environments, and/or Mainframe/Internet of Things (IoT) workloads. Additionally, network-based micro-segmentation is not impacted by host/hypervisor vulnerabilities.
However, network-based micro-segmentation with highly granular white-listing security policies may strain the limit of physical resources, such as Ternary Content Addressable Memory (TCAM) elements, that are available at network devices. Once the physical resource limits are reached, network operators may be limited to coarser policies that fit in the finite resources, or offload additional security policies to an external firewall or in-network dedicated policy proxy with more policy resources (e.g., a larger TCAM).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Distributed policy enforcement proxy with dynamic EPG sharding


An IC includes a plurality of functional blocks each having a discrete block-level architecture. The functional blocks are connected to one another via metal interconnect lines defined by an interconnect architecture. One or more of the functional blocks includes a spare (i.e., unused) repeater amplifier. Where a repeater amplifier inserted in a particular long line of the interconnect structure would decrease the signal propagation delay through the long line, the interconnect architecture is modified so that the long line is routed through the spare repeater amplifier. Such modification decreases the signal propagation delay of the long line without requiring a modification of the block-level architecture.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to the design of digital circuits, and more particularly to the reduction of delay times associated with relatively long lines in complex digital integrated circuits (ICs).
2. Description of Related Art
Modern very-large-scale integration (VLSI) techniques enable design engineers to combine many independent components, or functional blocks, on a single piece of silicon. Examples of typical functional blocks are floating point units, input buffers, and dynamic memories. Such blocks are combined to form e.g. a complete microprocessor as a single IC.
Complex ICs, such as those of the Sparc family of microprocessors available from Sun Microsystems of Mountain View, Calif., are typically designed by teams of design engineers, working in parallel, each team creating the architecture for one or more functional blocks. Once the block-level architectures are completed, another team of design engineers creates an interconnect architecture for interconnecting the various functional blocks. When the IC is manufactured, the interconnect architecture is realized using a high-level interconnect process, such as a conventional metalization process.
The speed performance of a complex IC is largely determined by the propagation delay time of electrical signals travelling through the relatively long conductors, or long lines, used to define various signal paths of the interconnect architecture. Consequently, individual functional blocks are arranged so that interconnect lines forming signal paths between the functional blocks are as short as possible. Nevertheless, the operation of routing interconnect lines for complex ICs typically results in a number of signal paths formed by relatively long lines. Some of these signal paths limit the overall speed performance of the resulting IC, and are therefore identified as critical paths.
To improve the speed performance of a given IC, design engineers must pay particular attention to reducing the signal propagation delay time of critical paths. It is commonly known that inserting one or more repeater amplifiers (i.e. "repeaters") into a long line can decrease the signal propagation delay time through that line. Thus, where a critical path is formed by a relatively long line, the signal propagation delay associated with that critical path can be advantageously decreased by rerouting the long line to include a repeater amplifier.
Unfortunately, because critical paths are typically identified while designing the interconnect architecture for the IC, design engineers cannot be sure which lines form critical paths until after the block-level architectures are completed; thus, inserting repeater amplifiers into a long line to decrease the delay time associated with a critical path can require architectural changes to one or more functional blocks of the IC. (For a detailed discussion of the use of repeater amplifiers for optimizing delay times through long lines, see the aforementioned application entitled "Method of Optimizing Repeater Placement In Long Lines Of A Complex Integrated Circuit.")
Changing a block-level architecture to include one or more repeater amplifiers requires several steps. First, the IC design process must return from interconnect-level design to block-level design so that the design engineers responsible for the architecture of the discrete functional blocks of the IC (i.e., block-level design engineers) can make the required changes. Second, the addition of a repeater amplifier within a functional block is not trivial; the new repeater amplifier and/or the associated connections affects the placement and operation of adjacent components, which in turn effect the placement and operation of other components. In short, block-level modification takes time, an especially valuable commodity in the rapidly evolving semiconductor industry. Consequently, there is a need for a more timely method of decreasing the signal propagation delay time of critical paths on an IC.

Spare repeater amplifiers for long lines on complex integrated circuits


Shelves for removably receiving circuit board packages including telecommunications equipment are made according to existing design standards thus allowing interchangeability of various shelves among various housing structures, e.g., electrical equipment cabinets. Components of such shelves, consistent with the design standards, but providing certain improvements include two kinds of clips for rigidly but removably securing various cables to the shelves; a recessed handle for a cover plate of the shelves; and two types of brackets for improved and interchangeable mounting of various shelves in various supporting frame assemblies.

This invention relates to equipment mounting structures, and particularly to such structures including cabinets, racks, frames and the like for removably housing circuit board packages used for telecommunications purposes.
In telecommunication networks, changes are constantly occurring, both in the subscribers connected to the network and to the services provided to the various subscribers. For accommodating rapid changes, the recent practice has been to terminate subscriber communication lines, e.g., metal wires and optical fibers, on circuit board packages removably housed within equipment shelves. The shelves, in turn, are mounted on various mounting structures, referred to as racks or frames and the like, which, in turn, can be mounted within enclosed cabinets. The circuit board packages include various electrical and/or optical components for processing signals arriving at the circuit board packages, and the mounting structures provide means for housing the circuit board packages and include cables for routing signals and electrical power to, between and from the various circuit boards. Changes in the network are readily achieved by replacing various circuit board packages or changing the signal routing therebetween.
For greatest flexibility of use, design standards have been established whereby different circuit board package receiving shelves can be interchanged with one another in the same and different mounting structures located in a common telephone control office or different central offices. A problem caused is that the design standards are often so complete and detailed that desired changes in the various components of the mounting structures, arising from experience with use of the mounting structures or in the design of replacement structures, are difficult to make within the existing standards.
The present invention addresses this problem primarily in the context of providing improved components for use in existing mounting structures or, owing to advantages provided by the new components, for use in new mounting structures made according to new standards.

Cable retainer clip for electrical and/or optical equipment mounting structures


A method of making a thermally curable solder-resistant ink, which comprises the following steps: polymerizing an aliphatic diamine monomer having a long carbon chain, an aromatic dianhydride monomer, an aromatic diamine monomer having a carboxylic acid group, and an anhydride monomer having a carboxylic acid group in an aprotic solvent to obtain a polyamine acid; cyclizing the polyamine acid to obtain a polyimide; and mixing the polyimide and a curing agent to obtain the thermally curable solder-resistant ink. By the steps mentioned above, the thermally curable solder-resistant ink made from the method has a dielectric constant less than 3.00 and a dielectric loss less than 0.01 and thereby is applicable to high frequency electronic equipments. Also, the thermally curable solder-resistant ink has good electrical properties, folding endurance, solder resistance, warpage resistance, flame resistance, acid endurance, alkali endurance, good solvent resistance and low water absorption.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermally curable solder-resistant ink and a method of making the same; particularly relates to a thermally curable solder-resistant ink with low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss, and a method of making the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art(s)
Cover layer and thermally curable solder-resistant ink are used to protect circuits of the flexible printed circuit board. Compared to the calibration requirement for attaching a cover layer on the flexible printed circuit board, the thermally curable solder-resistant ink can be directly coated on the flexible printed circuit board. By using the thermally curable solder-resistant ink, the process of making the flexible printed circuit board can be simplified. Therefore, the thermally curable solder-resistant ink has gradually replaced the cover layer.
The commercial epoxy-based thermally curable solder-resistant ink can meet the requirement of general electronic equipments, but the commercial epoxy-based thermally curable solder-resistant ink has dielectric characteristics that cannot meet the requirement of high frequency electronic equipments. Therefore, the commercial epoxy-based thermally curable solder-resistant ink cannot be applied on high frequency electronic equipments.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides a thermally curable solder-resistant ink with low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss and a method of making the thermally curable solder-resistant ink to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

Thermally curable solder-resistant ink and method of making the same


Disclosed is a catalyst precursor, useful to make catalysts useful in the polymerization of olefins, comprising the product obtained by adding a preformed magnesium source to a solution comprising a solvent having dissolved therein a transition metal compound and an alkyl halide.

It is known that olefins such as ethylene can be polymerized by means of a solid catalyst which comprises: a compound of a transition metal such as titanium in the trivalent or tetravalent state, and a co-catalyst comprising a reducing agent, such as an organo-metallic or, more specifically, an organo-aluminum compound.
Although these catalytic systems have an attractive degree of activity, when polymerization is concluded they generally result in the formation of polymers containing more than 100 parts per million by weight of transition metal. For most of the uses of such polymers, this makes it virtually essential to remove the catalytic residues by a special treatment.
It is also known that catalytic activity is substantially improved by complexing the transition metal with a support such as MgCl.sub.2. See, for example, Barbe, P. C., Cecchin, G., Noristi, L., "The Catalytic System Ti-Complex/MgCl.sub.2 ", Advances in Polymer Science (1987), 81, pp. 1-81. Typically, a quantity of MgCl.sub.2 and one or more titanium procatalysts are mixed together in a nonpolar solvent to yield a material capable of polymerizing olefins in the presence of a cocatalyst such as an aluminum alkyl.
It is also known that it is possible to very substantially increase the catalytic activity of the aforementioned reduced transition metal compounds by means of a preactivation treatment. This treatment involves contacting the transition metal compound with magnesium and one or more alkyl halide(s). The reduced transition metal compounds which are preactivated by this treatment result in catalysts which make polymers having good physical characteristics and capable of being processed by injection molding or by extrusion. By virtue of the high degree of activity of the preactivated catalysts, removing the catalytic residues contained in the polymers becomes unnecessary.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,771, issued to Michel Avaro and Pierre Mangia on Aug. 16, 1977, discloses one type of preactivation treatment. In Avaro's treatment, the magnesium used was in the form of powder or turnings because it is said to be preferable to have the magnesium in a high state of purity. In order to facilitate preactivation of the solid transition metal compounds, the magnesium is used in a reactive form which is substantially devoid of impurities due in particular to oxidation of the metal. Avaro et al. state that, in practice, the magnesium in the industry is activated before being introduced into the medium in which preactivation is effected. According to Avaro et al., previous activation of the magnesium can, for example, comprise grinding the metal in an inert atmosphere or in an inert liquid such as an aliphatic solvent. This preliminary operation can also be effected by treating the magnesium with iodine. It is stated to be more convenient, however, to activate the magnesium within the medium in which preactivation is effected.
There are several problems with the procedure disclosed by Avaro et al. For one, the reaction depends on the magnesium source and its state of purity. Therefore, reproducibility of experimental results can be a problem. Also, when the procedure involves the added step of grinding the magnesium, additional equipment is required. Furthermore, when iodine is used to activate the magnesium, unreacted magnesium and iodine may contaminate any subsequent reactions. Lastly, catalysts prepared by Avaro et al.'s procedure produce unacceptable amounts of fine polyolefin particles, i.e., particles of polyolefin having a diameter of less than 180 microns. Consequently, an undesirable elutriation of the catalyst is required to remove fine catalyst particles before polymerization can occur in a commercial reactor.
Use of a preformed alkylmagnesium halide as a magnesium source in the preactivation treatment of olefin polymerization catalysts is also known in the art and solves some of the aforementioned problems. U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,143, issued to Lassalle on Oct. 19, 1982, discloses the use of organomagnesium halide in the preactivation treatment of catalysts used for the polymerization of olefins.
Lassalle discloses that the catalyst may be preactivated by reaction of one or more compounds of tetravalent titanium, and an organomagnesium halide compound having the formula MgXR or the formula MgR.sub.2 wherein X is a chlorine or bromine atom, and R is an alkyl radical which may contain from 2 to 8 carbon atoms.
Example C of Lassalle's patent discloses a procedure for preparing the catalyst. In that example, a preformed alkylmagnesium halide is first prepared by reacting powdered magnesium in a flask with an alkyl halide in heptane with an iodine crystal. A solution of titanium compounds is added to the resulting suspension of alkylmagnesium halide over a period of 2 hours, and the resulting product forms by precipitation.
It is advantageous to make a catalyst that minimizes the amount of fine particles of polyolefin that remain after polymerization. It is also advantageous to create a catalyst which can produce polyolefin having a higher melt index at lower concentrations of hydrogen. The present invention provides these advantages.

Transition metal-magnesium catalyst precursors for the polymerization of olefins


An improvement in a unit closure for a vial container, which helps ensure the smooth depression of the unit closure with a relatively small force from the air-expelling posture to the hermetically sealing posture and eliminate a fear of destroying the unit closure and container in depressing the protector whereby hermetic sealing and tamperproof are achieved. To this end, the locking means is of flexible locking tongues arranged such that they are inclined diametrally inwardly of the skirt and upwardly towards the ceiling of the protector, whereby, upon depressing the unit closure to its hermetically sealing posture, the locking tongues deflect radially outward of the skirt and, on completion of the depression of the unit closure, the locking tongues snap resiliently into place underneath a flange of the mouth of the container to hold firmly the unit closure in the hermetically sealing posture.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an improvement of a closure for a vial container.
2. Prior Art
Conventional vial containers generally have the following construction. As shown in FIG. 16, a breaking portion 3 encompassed by easily breakable lines 2, such as scores, is formed on the upper surface of a protector 1 made of an aluminum material, an engagement protrusion 5 formed on the inner surface of a synthetic resin cover (hereinafter referred to as a flip-off cap) 4 is fixed to this breaking portion 3 by an eyelet structure, a rubber stopper 6 having a vent slot 7 therein is fitted to a stopper portion 6a inside the protector 1, a drug inside a vial bottle 8 is freeze-dried in such a posture that the rubber stopper 6 is fitted to a bottle mouth 8a of the vial bottle 8 in a lift state, the rubber stopper 6 is fitted completely and air-tightly after freeze-drying, and the skirt portion of the protector 1 is thereafter wound and fastened by a winding machine. This vial container is used in the following way. As shown in FIG. 16, the breaking portion 3 is broken through the flip-off cap 4, the exposed upper portion of the rubber plug 6 is sterilized, a liquid such as distilled water is injected into the vial bottle 8 by piercing a needle such as a syringe so as to dissolve the freeze-dried drug, and the chemical solution is collected into the syringe for injection.
Conventional vial containers are known to have the following problems.
(a) The vial container is made of four kinds of materials, glass, aluminum, synthetic resin and rubber material which must be separated at the time of disposal requiring a great deal of time and labor.
(b) During the process in which the aluminum protector is allowed to stay inside a hopper and then put on a vial bottle through a feeder, aluminum dust is produced which might contaminate the flip-off cap.
(c) The rubber stopper can be lifted off during the transfer to the freeze-drying apparatus.
(d) Since the mouth portion of the vial bottle corresponding to the winding/fastening portion of the aluminum protector is opaque, inspection of the bottle mouth portion is difficult.
(e) When the cover is removed and the breaking portion is exposed, a torn portion of aluminum is formed around the breaking portion which can catch sanitary cotton used for sterilization, and hinder the sterilization of the exposed portion of the upper surface of the rubber stopper.
In an attempt to solve these problems, the applicant of the present invention had previously proposed the vial container shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 165252/1995. This vial container has the construction shown in FIG. 17. A synthetic resin protector 11 has an opening or a needle piercing window portion 12 closed by seal means 13 which can be easily pierced by a needle, on the top wall thereof, and vent means 17 communicating with the inside of a bottle container 20, inside a cylinder portion 11a thereof. A stopper 15 for sealing the gap between the inner surface of the top wall and the upper surface of a bottle mouth 20a is fitted into the protector 11. Engaging means 18 is disposed on the inner surface of the cylinder portion 11a to keep the protector 11 in a semi-stopping freeze-drying posture before freeze-drying and in a full-stopping seal posture after freeze-drying.


The present invention provides, among other things, methods of treating a cardiac disease or condition in a patient having muscular dystrophy that can include administering to a subject suffering from, susceptible, or diagnosed with muscular dystrophy an angiotensin (1-7) peptide.

Muscular Dystrophy (MD) refers to a group of diseases in which muscle fibers are abnormally susceptible to damage. Some subtypes, like Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), typically manifest very early in life. Current treatments for muscular dystrophy include corticosteroid administration, use of orthopaedic devices to support locomotion and prevent contractures, and physiotherapy. Unfortunately, none of the currently used treatments have proven capable of arresting or reversing the progression of the disease.

Methods of treating cardiomyopathy associated with genetic disorders


A mobile communication system and method for transmitting signals through a plurality of transmission antennas by space-time coding the signals. The signals are transmitted using a low density parity check code. A lifting low density parity check matrix is formed by expanding values of elements in a low density parity check matrix with a sub-matrix corresponding to a number of the transmission antennas. The signals to be transmitted are coded using the lifting low density parity check matrix. Thereafter, the coded signals are serial/parallel converted and transmitted through the transmission antennas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an encoder/decoder of a wireless communication system using a plurality of antennas, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for space-time coding/decoding using low density parity check codes.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to a space-time coding technique, signals output through a coding scheme are transmitted through a plurality of transmission antennas in such a manner that the coding scheme used in a time region can be also embodied in a spatial area, thereby achieving a low error rate.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a transmitter/receiver utilizing a space-time scheme. Referring to FIG. 1, the transmitter/receiver includes a space-time encoder 100, a space-time decoder 102, a plurality of transmission antennas 110 to 114 for transmitting signals output from the space-time encoder 100, and a plurality of reception antennas 120 to 124 for receiving signals output from the transmission antennas 110 to 114. The number of the transmission antennas 110 to 114 can be different from the number of the reception antennas 120 to 124.
The space-time encoder 100 codes input signals (input data) according to a predetermined coding rate. If the number of input data is k and the number of data output from the space-time encoder 100 is N, the coding rate of the space-time encoder 100 is k/N.
The transmission antennas 110 to 114 sequentially transmit symbols output from the space-time encoder 100. If symbols are transmitted through NT transmission antennas, the coding rate of the space-time encoder 100 is
      N    T                k      N        .
Each of the reception antennas 120 to 124 receives symbols transmitted through the transmission antennas 110 to 114. The first reception antenna 120 receives symbols transmitted through the first to NT transmission antennas 110 to 114. The second reception antenna 122 receives symbols transmitted through the first to NT transmission antennas 110 to 114. The NR reception antenna 124 receives symbols transmitted through the first to NT transmission antennas 110 to 114.
The space-time decoder 102 decodes symbols received through the reception antennas 120 to 124 according to a predetermined decoding rate. The decoding rate of the space-time decoder 102 is determined according to the coding rate of the space-time encoder 100. That is, if the coding rate of the space-time encoder 100 is k/N, the decoding rate of the space-time decoder 102 is N/k.
The space-time decoder 102 searches signals transmitted from the transmission antennas 110 to 114 by decoding received symbols. The space-time encoder 100 will be described in more detail herein below.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a conventional layered space-time encoder. The term "layered" signifies that channel coded data is transmitted through each transmission antenna according to a predetermined scheme.
Referring to FIG. 2, a channel encoder used in the layered space-time encoder utilizes a predetermined channel coding scheme. A coding rate of the layered space-time encoder is NT×R, wherein R is a coding rate of a channel encoder and NT is a number of antennas. The layered space-time encoder includes a channel encoder 200, a serial/parallel converter 202 for converting serial signals into parallel signals, a plurality of antenna interleavers 204 to 206, signal mapping units 208 to 210 used for each antenna, and multiple antennas 212 to 214. In FIG. 2, Π1 is an ith antenna interleaver. The number of the antenna interleavers 204 to 206 and signal mapping units 208 to 210 is determined according to the number of multiple antennas 212 to 214.
Input data is coded through the channel encoder 200 in order to produce a signal having high reliability. Output data of the cannel encoder 200 passes through the serial/parallel converter 202 in order to be transmitted to NT antennas. Output data of the serial/parallel converter 202 is input into antenna interleavers 204 to 206, which sequentially interleave input data.
In addition, output data of the antenna interleavers 204 to 206 is mapped into desired signals by means of signal mapping units 208 to 210, before the output data is transmitted to the transmission antennas. The signal mapping units 208 to 210 determine input bit symbols as signals to be transmitted through the transmission antennas based on a constellation corresponding to a set of k bits.
Accordingly, the constellation may vary depending on a size n of, i.e., the number of, input bits. For example, if a value of n is 1, the constellation can be embodied through a BPSK (binary phase shift keying) scheme in which a phase of a signal is converted corresponding to a transmission code using a carrier having constant amplitude and frequency. If a value of n is 2, the constellation can be embodied through a QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) scheme. Further, if a value of n is 3, the constellation can be embodied through an 8 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) scheme.
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a conventional layered space-time decoder. More specifically, the space-time decoder illustrated in FIG. 3 is called a "layered space-time decoder" corresponding to the layered space-time encoder illustrated in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 3, a frame data array transmitted through a plurality of transmission antennas is received in a predetermined reception antenna. If three reception antennas are provided, all of three reception antennas may receive the frame data array transmitted through three transmission antennas. The layered space-time decoder includes NR reception antennas 300 to 302, a detector 304, a decoder 312, NR antenna de-interleavers 306 to 308, NR antenna interleavers 316 to 318, a parallel/serial converter 310, and a serial/parallel converter 314.
Each of NR reception antennas 300 to 302 receives signals transmitted from each of transmission antennas. Data received in the reception antennas 300 to 302 is detected by the detector 304, and a transmission signal for each transmission antenna is detected. Output data of the detector 304 is input into antenna de-interleavers 306 to 308 corresponding to antenna interleavers 204 to 206 of the layered space-time encoder. That is, antenna interleaved data of the layered space-time encoder is de-interleaved to obtain original data.
Output data of the antenna de-interleaver is input into the parallel/serial converter 310, which converts parallel data into serial data, such that the output data is converted into serial data. In addition, output data of the parallel/serial converter 310 is input into the decoder 312. The decoder 312 is corresponding to the encoder of the layered space-time encoder and is used to reliably restore the signal.
Output data of the decoder 312 is identical to signals, which have not been decoded in the transmitter, if there is no error caused by channel environment. However, if the error occurs due to the channel environment, an iterative decoding is performed in order to precisely decode the reception signal.
Accordingly, output data of the decoder 312 passes through the serial/parallel converter 314, which converts serial data into parallel data, and is input into antenna interleavers 316 to 318. Output data of the antenna interleaver is again input into the detector and an iterative decoding is performed. The iterative decoding may improve reliability of restored data.
If the signal is reliably restored in the decoder 312 through the iterative decoding, an output of the decoder 312 is determined as a reception signal.
An object of the next generation wireless mobile communication system is to provide a multi-media service using a ground communication network and a satellite communication network. In order to provide the multi-media service, a high transmission rate and a low error rate are required. Therefore, in order to continuously transmit data with a high quality and a high reliability in an inferior transmission environment, an efficient channel coding technique must be used in the space-time coding.
The channel coding technique may vary according to the property of the channel. For example, an error-correcting code is used for the channel coding technique. An object of the error-correcting code is to obtain reliable communication under inferior channel environment. That is, data is coded using a channel code before data is transmitted through the channel, and then, information identical to original information is extracted from a channel output at a reception terminal.
A basic characteristic of such a system is based on Shannon's channel coding theory. According to Shannon's channel coding theory, if an optimal coding is performed with regard to information, there is a limitation to reduce an error occurring in a channel having noise without causing loss of an information transmission rate. Such a coding theory has been developed for several decades.
Among concatenated codes using convolutional codes, turbo codes using an iterative decoding technique are provided for a high-reliable channel coding technique for 3rd generation wireless communication IMT-2000, which provides voice and low-speed multimedia services of several hundreds Kbps to few Mbps. The turbo codes, which were presented in 1993, may perform the coding operation by using parallel concatenated RSC (Recursive systematic convolutional) codes and perform the decoding operation through the iterative decoding technique. In addition, the turbo codes represent superior performance approaching the Shannon's limitation in view of a bit error rate (BER) if a size of an interleaver is large and the iterative decoding is sufficiently performed.
However, if the turbo codes are employed, the number of operations may increase, thereby causing complexity. In addition, as the number of interleavers and iterative decoding operations increase, a time delay may occur, making a real time process difficult.
4th generation wireless communication systems have been developed in order to provide voice and high-speed multimedia services. An error correcting code for the 4th generation wireless communication system has not been yet determined. Because the 4th generation wireless communication system requires a lower error rate (voice and data: 10−6 to 10−9), it is necessary to provide a new error correcting code.
Consequently, a low density parity check (LDPC) code has been suggested. The LDPC code has superior coding characteristics as compared with conventional turbo codes, in view of complexity and performance. The LDPC code is a linear block code in which most elements of a parity check matrix (H) are "0". The LDPC code could not be technically embodied at that time of invention due to the complexity of the decoding. As a result, the LDPC code has not been implemented for a long time.
Mackay and Neal have recovered the LDPC code and found that the LDPC code represents superior performance, if a simple probabilistic coding technique of the LDPC is used.
More specifically, the LDPC code is defined by a random parity check matrix H in which the number of "1" in the matrix is sparsely distributed. The parity check matrix H is a matrix for determining if the coding is normally performed with regard to the reception signal. If a value obtained through multiplying a coded reception signal by the parity check matrix H is "0", an error does not occur.
A predetermined parity check matrix, which results a value of "0" when it is multiplied by coded reception signals, is firstly designed, and then, a coding operation is performed at a transmitter encoder according the predetermined parity check matrix. The parity check matrix H has structural characteristics as follows.
First, each row is formed with elements having a value "1" with k-weights, where k is as uniformly formed as possible.
Second, each column is formed with elements having a value of "1" with j-weights. Generally, j is 3 or 4.
Third, an overlap between two columns is randomly made in such a manner that the overlap is not larger than "1". Herein, the weight signifies the number of elements, which have values other than "0", existing in each column of the parity check matrix. In addition, the overlap between two columns means an inner product between rows. Accordingly, the weight of the row and column is very small as compared with a code length.
The LDPC code can be decoded in a factor graph using an iterative decoding algorithm based on a sum-product algorithm. By employing a decoding technique using the iterative decoding algorithm based on the sum-product algorithm, a decoder employing the LDPC code has complexity that is lower than that of a decoder using the turbo code, and a parallel processing decoder can be easily embodied.
If the LDPC code is represented in the factor graph, a cycle is formed in the factor graph of the LDPC code. As generally known in the art, the iterative decoding in the factor graph of the LDPC code having the cycle is a sub-optimal decoding. In addition, an experiment shows that the LDPC code represents superior performance through the iterative decoding. However, if a plurality of cycles having a short length exist in the factor graph of the LDPC code, performance of the LPDC code may be degraded. Therefore, a number of studies have been continuously carried out in order to design the LDPC code such that the cycles having a short length may not exist in the factor graph of the LDPC code.
Due to a characteristic of a generating matrix having a high weight, the coding procedure of the LDPC code is performed using a parity check matrix having a low weight density. In particular, if a partial matrix corresponding to a parity of the parity check matrix has a uniform formation, the LDPC can be effectively coded.
Because the LDPC includes codes with various values, other than "0", it is very important to develop effective coding and decoding algorithms for various LDPC codes in order to practically utilize the LDPC code. In addition, because the parity check matrix of the LDPC code may determine performance of the LDPC code, it is very important to design the effective parity check matrix having superior performance. That is, the effective parity check matrix having superior performance and the effective coding and decoding algorithms must be simultaneously considered in order to create the LDPC code having superior performance.
As described above, the LDPC code is defined by the parity check matrix, in which most elements thereof have values of "0" and remaining elements thereof have values of "1". For example, the (N, j, k) LDPC code is a linear block code having a block length of N, in which j-elements having values of "1" are provided in each column and k-elements having values of "1" are provided in each row. Elements, except for the elements having values of "1", are defined by the parity check matrix having a sparse structure including elements having values of "0".
The LDPC code is called a "regular LDPC code", if j-weights are regularly formed in each column of the parity check matrix and k-weights are regularly formed in each row of the parity check matrix. However, if the number of weights in each column and each row of the parity check matrix is irregularly formed, the LDPC code is called a "irregular LDPC code". Generally, the irregular LDPC code has superior performance as compared with the regular LDPC code. In the irregular LDPC code, the weight in each column of the parity check matrix is not identical to the weight in each row of the parity check matrix. Accordingly, the weights in each column and each row of the parity check matrix must be properly adjusted to ensure superior performance.
Accordingly, the space-time encoder/decoder illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 can have superior channel coding/decoding performance, if the space-time encoder/decoder performs the coding/decoding operation using the LDPC code.
The conventional layered space-time code must perform various channel coding operations in order to obtain an optimum coding gain with respect to various antennas. Therefore, it is difficult to use various antennas. That is, a channel encoder used for two antennas cannot be used for three antennas. Using the layered space-time code, it is possible to obtain a high coding gain under high correlation between signals transmitted to antennas. However, it is impossible to make high correlation between transmission signals if a random channel code is used.
That is, using the layered space-time code, the signals are individually transmitted to the antennas, and superior performance cannot be ensured. More specifically, when the above LDPC code is used, superior performance may be ensured as correlation between bits transmitted through a multiple antenna becomes high. However, if the LDPC code is randomly designed, it is difficult to improve correlation between signals transmitted to antennas.

Method and apparatus for space-time coding using lifting low density parity check codes in a wireless communication system


A vehicle-side current transmission device (4) for the stationary charging of electrical energy stores of vehicles (7) at charging stations includes current-supplying contact surfaces (13, 14, 14) arranged above the vehicle (7), wherein a charge current collector (4) formed as an articulated arm system (4) is multi-pole and has, for making stationary contact with the current-supplying contact surfaces (13, 14, 15), at least two isolated electrical contact elements (1, 2, 3) that transmit different electrical phases. The collector enables electrical contacts by a single current collector, which transmit different electrical phases while grounding the vehicle. The articulated arm system allows for an especially compact design with low weight, and enables the vehicle driver to simply position the vehicle below the overhead charging station, coupled with a reliable contacting of the contact surfaces.

Transportation systems are generally known from the state of the art in which electrically driven vehicles are supplied with electrical energy via overhead lines. Means of transportation of this kind are used in particular in public local passenger transport as rail-bound trolley cars or as lane-bound trolley busses. For supplying traction current, a current collector with electrical sliding contacts is in constant sliding contact with the current-carrying overhead wire hanging above the vehicle. Transportation systems of this kind require substantial investments in the traffic infrastructure to be provided, in particular in terms of the costs for installation and maintenance of the overhead line system. Moreover, a transportation system of t his sort is bound to a fixed traffic routing in contrast to "free" traffic. In addition to this dependence on rails and lanes, the appearance of overhead lines is often perceived as unaesthetic, especially in the area of the city center.
In the course of increasing electro-mobility, these disadvantages can be overcome by the use of vehicles with rechargeable energy stores. However, on the one hand, these means of transportation require a charging infrastructure including charging stations at which the accumulators of the electric vehicles can be stationarily charged at certain distances. These charging stations can preferably be arranged in stop bays in the form of overhead charging stations for public transportation vehicles so that the charging process can take place during the stay of the vehicle at a stop.
On the other hand, in addition to the electric drive concept, the vehicles must be equipped with devices for current transmission, i.e. for the electrical contacting of the overhead charging stations and for collecting the charging current. Previously known current collector systems are only designed for transmitting a driving current, i.e. for supplying power while the vehicle is in motion, the supplied electrical energy being directly converted into kinetic energy via an electric drive device without being stored.

Current transmission device for charging electrical energy stores of vehicles at overhead charging stations


A glass plate is heated in a heating furnace and is bend-shaped to be a complexly curved glass plate while the glass plate is passed on curved rollers wherein support pads of a pushing mechanism push the complexly curved glass plate from an upstream side to a downstream side of a transferring device in a state that a rear edge of the complexly curved glass plate is supported by the support pads whereby the complexly curved glass plate is delivered to a cooling device side while a turning movement of the complexly curved glass plate is controlled during the transfer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for bend-shaping a glass plate for windows for transporting machines such as automobiles, ships, airplanes and windows for buildings, in particular, for windows of automobiles.
2. Discussion of Background
In recent years, there has been used a glass plate having radii of curvature not only in a single direction but also plural directions (hereinbelow, referred to as a complexly curved glass plate) in a window for an automobile For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,246 discloses a method for forming such complexly curved glass plate. The specification of the patent describes a method for forming a complexly curved glass plate by transferring by means of a plurality of rollers a glass plate heated to the nearly softening temperature in a heating furnace.
In this case, the glass plate softened by heating is transferred by the rollers wherein the central portion of each of the rollers are curved downward in a direction perpendicular to a transferring direction (hereinbelow, referred to as a transfer perpendicular direction). Then, the central portion of the glass plate drops due to its dead weight whereby it is bend-shaped in the transfer perpendicular direction so as to follow a radius of curvature of the curved rollers. Further, the plurality of curved rollers are arranged to have an inclination in the transferring direction. When the glass plate is transferred on the curved rollers, it is bent so as to follow the inclination of the curved rollers whereby bend-shaping is conducted to the glass plate with respect to the transferring direction. Thus, the glass plate is bend-shaped in the transferring direction and the transfer perpendicular direction whereby the complexly curved glass plate having radii of curvature in two directions is formed.
The complexly curved glass plate after having been bend-shaped is transferred to a cooling device where it is quenched and toughened by cooling air blasted from the cooling device.
The method described in the above-mentioned specification has the problem as follows. A contacting surface area between the complexly curved glass plate bend-shaped and the rollers tends to decrease. In transferring the complexly curved glass plate, therefore, the gravity center of the complexly curved glass plate is sometimes shifted toward the deepest portion of the curved rollers. Accordingly, the complexly curved glass plate may shift in the transferring direction and the transfer perpendicular direction, and may turn on the curved rollers.
On the other hand, for the purpose of substantially uniformly cooling the complexly curved glass plate, the cooling device is so constructed as to adjust the position and the height of nozzles for blasting cooling air depending on a shape of the complexly curved glass plate. In this case, the position and so on of the nozzles of the cooling device are determined on the premise that the complexly curved glass plate is transferred in a state free from turning. Accordingly, when the complexly curved glass plate is transferred to the cooling device in a state of turning on the curved rollers, the turning complexly curved glass plate partially comes closer to or separate from the nozzles.
Since efficiency for cooling the complexly curved glass plate depends on a distance between the nozzles and the complexly curved glass plate, a portion easily cooled and a portion difficult to cool are produced in the turning complexly curved glass plate. As a result, a temperature distribution wherein there are a portion of higher temperature and a portion of lower temperature is formed in the complexly curved glass plate. Thus, in such case of turning of the complexly curved glass plate, there are disadvantages that the complexly curved glass plate can not uniformly be quenched and that the complexly curved glass plate may be broken due to a tensile stress or a compressive stress caused by a temperature distribution.
The present invention has been achieved in view of the problems in the conventional technique and to provide a method and an apparatus for bend-shaping a glass plate which avoids the turning of a complexly curved glass plate; equalizes substantially a temperature distribution in the complexly curved glass plate when it is cooled in a cooling device; and prevents a deformation of the complexly curved glass plate.

Method and apparatus for bend-shaping a glass plate