An electromagnetic shielding structure including at least a first transparent substrate, a conducting element, optionally a transparent backing sheet and a transparent tie sheet and a transparent additional sheet or covering sheet, and an electrical connector configured to be connected to the conducting element to ground the conducting element. At least one of the backing sheet, the tie sheet or the additional sheet or covering sheet, when present, is, at least on one of its sides, placed set back toward the interior of the structure relative to the associated free edge of the transparent substrate so as to leave a portion exposed on at least one of the faces of the conducting element, the connector being placed against and/or connected to this exposed portion.

An electromagnetic shielding structure is, for example, used in a display, such as a plasma display.
A plasma display has a plasma gas mixture (Ne, Xe, Ar) trapped between two glass plates, and phosphors placed on the internal face of the rear plate of the display. Ultraviolet light radiation emitted by the plasma gas mixture during the plasma discharge between the two glass plates interacts with the phosphors on the internal face of the rear plate in order to produce the visible light radiation (red, green or blue). A gas particle deexcitation mechanism competes with the UV emission, which generates infrared radiation between 800 and 1250 nm, the propagation of which radiation, mainly through the front face of the display, may be the source of very troublesome interference, especially as regards equipment located nearby and controlled by infrared, for example by means of remote controls.
Moreover, like all electronic apparatus, plasma displays possess addressing systems (drivers) that may generate parasitic radiation which must not interfere with other devices, such as microcomputers, mobile telephones, etc.
To eliminate, or at the very least attenuate, the propagation of such radiation, one solution consists in placing against the front face of the display a structure that is both transparent and metallized in order to provide electromagnetic shielding.
A known example of a shielding structure, as illustrated in FIG. 1, comprises two glass substrates 10 and 11 between which two PVB thermoplastic sheets 12 and 13 and a PET sheet 14 are sandwiched, a copper mesh 15, constituting the conducting element for electromagnetically shielding the structure, being deposited by photolithography on the PET sheet 14, the latter being sandwiched between the two PVB sheets 12 and 13. The electrical connection of the copper mesh to ground is performed by means of flat conductors, such as busbars 16, soldered on one side to the copper mesh 15 and connected, on the other side, to a grounded metal frame 17. This metal frame constitutes the frame of the display and serves as support for the shielding structure associated with the display.
To keep the flat conductors 16 in position, for the purpose of soldering them to one of the faces of the copper mesh 15, the conductors form a return over the edge of the PET sheet 14 and the soldering takes place while the PET sheet and the PVB sheets are being joined together by heating the thermoplastics.
However, improper handling of the PVB sheets and/or incorrect joining of the PVB sheets to the PET sheet with the conductors may result in defects in the structure, such as blisters between the plastic sheets. Such defects are visible to the naked eye and such a product therefore cannot be used in displays.
In addition, the operation of folding the flat conductors over the edge of the PET sheet and of bonding them thereto, in a suitable manner and without any defects, in order to form the returns, is not a rapid step in an industrial manufacturing process. Furthermore, if this folding-over is poorly implemented, it may result in a breakage at the corner of the returns.
Consequently, the joint dependence of the electrical connection means, consisting of the flat conductors, on the conducting shielding element and on the PET backing sheet of the conducting shielding element does not allow the shielding structure to be easily manufactured.


A water flow guide stationarily mounted in the water box of an underwater pelletizer to selectively direct the pressurized water flowing through the water box in order to more efficiently cool and rigidify the extruded polymer strands and enable the rotary cutter blades to more effectively shear the strands into pellets and to convey the sheared pellets away from the die face and rotary cutter blades of the pelletizer to the water box outlet. The water flow guide provides an accurately guided pressurized water flow which enables pelletization of polymers of various diameters and a wide range of specific gravity and rheological characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to improvements in underwater pelletizers and more particularly to providing a water flow guide for the water box of an underwater pelletizer to more efficiently utilize pressurized water flowing through the water box. The water flow guide of this invention produces an accurately guided pressurized water flow which improves pelletization of polymers of various diameters, especially micropellets, and polymers having a wide range of specific gravity and rheological characteristics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Underwater pelletizers are well known and include a die plate with multiple orifices through which molten polymer strands are extruded with the orifices terminating at a die face on the die plate. A powered rotary cutter including a cutter hub mounted on a shaft with a plurality of blades supported from the cutter hub is associated with the die face for shearing the extruded polymer strands into pellets as the polymer is extruded beyond the die face. A water box encloses the die face, cutter hub and blades to form a cutting chamber through which water flows to quench and rigidify the extruded polymer strands, thus enabling the cutting blades to better shear the extruded strands into pellets. The flow of water through the cutting chamber defined by the water box also conveys a slurry of the water and sheared pellets through the outlet of the water box to a pellet dewaterer and/or a dryer. The above described underwater pelletizers are disclosed in related U.S. patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,123,207, 4,251,198, 4,621,996, 4,728,276 and 5,059,103, all owned by the assignee of this invention. Additional U.S. patents which relate to pelletizers are as follows:
3,207,8184,245,9724,978,2883,341,8924,300,8775,215,7633,353,2134,846,6443,862,2854,943,218
U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,892 illustrates cutter hub assemblies directing water flow to the cutting area of the die plate. However, the water enters through the pelletizer shaft and is routed through the cutter hub with the water serving as an aid to pelletization. The water is not pressurized in the cutting chamber and gravity is relied upon to actually get the pellets into a solid stream of water to transport the pellets to the lower portion of the cutting chamber where the pellets exit. This patent also illustrates a flute style spray nozzle assembly that introduces a spray of water directed at the cutter blades where its purpose is to assist in so-called "hot face" die plate pelletization.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,285 illustrates a cooling system for the production of plastic sheets incorporating a flow guide design. U.S. Pat. No. 4,245,972 illustrates the use of flow control that is actually designed to keep water away from the cut pellets until centrifugal force and gravity transport the pellets to a water ring formed within the bowl (formed at 14 and 10 in the patent).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,877 uses the cutter hub as an integral component of the flow control which could result in plastic contamination and cause tedious cleanup issues for operating personnel. U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,644 illustrates what is called a high speed "cooler" and is essentially a water ring pelletizer somewhat similar to the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,877 and which does not use water to encapsulate/transport the pellets as they are cut.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,207,818 illustrates a cutting process where the specific gravity of the polymer plays an important role in operation. The "chamber" has no specific water (or process medium) flow guiding devices. The flow guide of this invention operates independently of any specific gravity considerations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,288 illustrates a water ring pelletizer where water is again isolated from the pelletizing process until well after cutting has taken place and U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,763 also illustrates a water ring pelletizer.
While the above listed patents disclose various structures associated with underwater pelletizers, the invention disclosed in the instant application utilizes the controlled flow of water not only to assist in cutting or shearing the pellets but also to quench and isolate pellets immediately after cutting has occurred. The type of pelletization known as "hot face", as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,892, uses an assist spray and is not underwater pelletization as utilized in the present invention. Underwater pelletization as in the present invention utilizes the pressurized water to encapsulate and isolate the pellets and also uses the pressurized water to transport the pellets away from the cutter hub.
The water flow guide of the present invention produces a pressurized water flow, accurately guided, to allow the underwater pelletization of polymers of nearly any diameter, even micropellets, i.e. pellets formed from polymer strands extruded through orifices having a diameter less than or equal to 0.050 inches, as well as polymers of a wide range of specific gravity/rheological characteristics. The flow guide within the underwater pelletizer relies on the water pressure/flow as opposed to gravity, such as is used in water ring pelletizers, and the pressurized water actually transports the pellets from the moment they are cut until they are introduced into a drying structure.


Provided is a single-piece magnetic pocket square that folds over a pocket, and that uses magnets to retain its position and shape about the pocket. The pocket square provides adornment or an accessory that adds visual flair to the pocket in the same manner as a handkerchief or traditional pocket square while retaining its shape and position. The pocket square includes an inner rigid material extending between an upper half and a lower half, a bend plane at which the upper half folds towards the lower half, magnets attached to the upper half and lower half of the inner rigid material, and a fabric covering the pocket square. The pocket square works by placing the lower half in the pocket, and by folding the upper half over the pocket to create a magnetic force that couples the upper half to the lower half with the pocket edge disposed in between.

Business suits, sport coats, dress shirts and other clothing with a breast pocket may be adorned with handkerchiefs and/or other fabric to accessorize and/or provide the breast pocket with visual flair. However, handkerchiefs and/or other fabric may easily lose their form after being inserted in the breast pocket. The loss of form may occur from regular movements and because of the loose nature of the material and how it is simply inserted in the breast pocket. With improper insertion and/or sufficient movement, the handkerchief may not only lose its visual flair, but may also create an undesirable bulge in the breast pocket.


A method for controlling parallel threads such that the speed of running programs increases and system resources are used efficiently. The method includes monitoring a number of running threads performing parallel processing and a number of standby threads that are in a standby state, and terminating standby threads in accordance with the number of the running threads and the number of the standby threads.

The present invention relates to multithreading, and more particularly, to a method for controlling multithreading in a system that performs parallel processing with multiple threads so as to increase the speed of programs and efficiently use system resources.
In a system that executes programs, such as scientific calculations, threads are used to perform parallel processing. This increases the speed of programs. An operating system (OS) program generates threads in accordance with application programs. The OS allocates system resources to each of the generated threads and runs programs associated with the threads in a parallel manner.
It takes time for the OS to generate a thread. Thus, once a thread is generated, the thread remains undeleted so that it can be used again. This increases the system processing speed.
In more detail, when a thread completes execution of a program, the OS registers the thread as a standby thread in a table. Then, if there is a request for generating the thread, the standby thread registered in the table is used to run a program. This decreases the time for generating threads.
In the prior art, all of the generated threads are managed as standby threads. Thus, if the number of the running threads that are actually running is small, the system would have a large number of unnecessary standby threads. This wastes memory resources since system resources are allocated to the standby threads.
For example, if 200 parallel threads are run at a certain time, and then only two threads are run at a later time, 198 unnecessary standby threads would be occupying the memory. This is undesirable when operating a system that has low resources and would significantly affect the speed of other programs.


Systems and methods are provided for transferring data. In one implementation, a method is provided for transferring data between a sending device (e.g., a server) and a receiving device (e.g., a client). The method may include sending, from the receiving device, a data query to request data from the sending device and receiving, form the sending device, a data result model in response to the data query. The data result model may include a table block. The method may also include analyzing the data result model to regenerate the data for storage at the receiving device. Analyzing the data result model may comprises reading at least one column definition and at least one data row from the table block, the data row including a row flag, a null location list, and a row payload field including the non-null data to be transferred to the receiving device. The method may further include processing each mapped data row to provide the regenerated data for storage at the receiving device.

I. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to the field of data processing and to systems and methods for enabling the transfer of data. More particularly, and without limitation, the invention relates to systems and methods for transferring data between, for example, a server and a client.
II. Background Information
Various techniques and methods are known for transferring data from point-to-point. The data is typically represented by an electro-magnetic signal that is transmitted over a wired or wireless communication channel. The communication channel may be part of a network that connects the devices or points between which the data is transferred.
When transferring data point-to-point, several considerations must be addressed. One such consideration is the format of the data. Another consideration, particularly when the bandwidth of the communication channel is limited, is the size of the data to be transferred. The format of the data is a consideration because the data may need to be transferred according to a specific data format anticipated or required by the receiving device (e.g., a client device). The same is true if data also needs to be communicated back to the sending device (e.g., a server). In addition to ensuring data compatibility and/or interoperability, the size of the data should be minimized to permit maximum efficiency in the data transfer rate. Conventional techniques for addressing the size of the data include compression and coding.
In certain systems and applications, the amount of data to be transferred may be substantial. For example, in certain environments, large volumes of business, financial, and/or manufacturing data may need to be transferred on a real-time, daily or otherwise frequent basis. In addition to addressing the size of the data to be transferred, the format of the data is often a critical consideration because the devices communicating or sharing the transferred data may utilize disparate data formats and/or protocols.
In the area of manufacturing, a wide variety of devices may share and transfer data. Examples of such devices include enterprise resource planning (ERP) components and plant floor systems. In such environments, real-time visibility into manufacturing exceptions and performance issues is required, so that manufacturers and their suppliers better respond to changes, such as increases or decreases in demand. As a result, it may be necessary to transfer historical manufacturing data and/or other data types in an efficient, reliable, and flexible manner.
Conventional protocols and other techniques are known for transferring data, such as historical manufacturing data. One such example is the Lighthammer Illuminator Streaming to Applet (LISA) data protocol. The LISA protocol is a data protocol that can be used by, for instance, SAP xApp Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (xMII), xMII Applets, and xMII Universal Data Servers (UDSs). The LISA protocol, as well as other know data protocols for transferring data, possesses a number of disadvantages, such as those described below.
Conventional data protocols fail to transfer data in an efficient manner. For example, with the LISA protocol, it is possible to transfer Null data, but the LISA protocol overloads a real value to do so. Compatibility, forwards and backwards, is also a common disadvantage with conventional data protocols, as many fail to include a mechanism to update or provide compatibility among versions. Other drawbacks with known data protocols include limited extensibility, such that message and column metadata can not be transferred without prior knowledge, and/or limited flexibility, which results in some fields being required by the protocol even though they do not apply to the data transferred.
Furthermore, with conventional data protocols, it is often necessary to know if a data set has an error before the data transfer begins in order to handle the error. This approach severely limits the error-handling ability of the data protocol, reducing the efficiency and accuracy of the data transfer.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems and methods for transferring data. Among other things, there is a demand for a more robust data protocol to enable the efficient and reliable transfer of data. There is also a need for improved systems and methods that overcome other disadvantages with conventional data protocols, such as extensibility and forward/backward compatibility.

Systems and methods for efficient data transfer


A device and method for obliterating or occluding a body cavity or passageway, in particular, the left atrial appendage of a patient's heart. The procedure can be carried out intraoperatively, but is preferably carried out percutaneously by use of a delivery catheter to position an occluding device adjacent a patient's left atrial appendage. The occluding device may prevent the passage of embolic or other material to or from the left atrial appendage by volumetrically filling the appendage, closing the opening of the appendage with an occluding member, or pulling the tissue around the opening of the appendage together and fixing it in a closed state.

Embolic stroke is the nation's third leading killer for adults, and is a major cause of disability. There are over 80,000 strokes per year in the United States alone. The most common cause of embolic stroke emanating from the heart is thrombus formation due to atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation is an arrhythmia of the heart that results in a rapid and chaotic heartbeat that produces lower cardiac output and irregular and turbulent blood flow in the vascular system. There are over five million people worldwide with atrial fibrillation, with about four hundred thousand new cases reported each year. Atrial fibrillation is associated with a 500 percent greater risk of stroke due to the condition. A patient with atrial fibrillation typically has a significantly decreased quality of life due, in large part, to the fear of a stroke, and the pharmaceutical regimen necessary to reduce that risk.
For patients who have atrial fibrillation and develop atrial thrombus therefrom, the clot normally occurs in the left atrial appendage (LAA) of the heart. The LAA is a cavity which looks like a small finger or windsock and which is connected to the lateral wall of the left atrium between the mitral valve and the root of the left pulmonary vein. The LAA normally contracts with the rest of the left atrium during a normal heart cycle, thus keeping blood from becoming stagnant therein, but often fails to contract with any vigor in patients experiencing atrial fibrillation due to the discoordinate electrical signals associated with AF. As a result, thrombus formation is predisposed to form in the stagnant blood within the LAA. Blackshear and Odell have reported that of the 1288 patients with non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation involved in their study, 221 (17%) had thrombus detected in the left atrium of the heart. Blackshear J L, Odell J A. Appendage obliteration to reduce stroke in cardiac surgical patients with atrial fibrillation. Ann Thorac. Surg., 1996.61(2):755-9. Of the patients with atrial thrombus, 201 (91%) had the atrial thrombus located within the left atrial appendage. The foregoing suggests that the elimination or containment of thrombus formed within the LAA of patients with atrial fibrillation would significantly reduce the incidence of stroke in those patients.
Pharmacological therapies for stroke prevention such as oral or systemic administration of warfarin or the like have been inadequate due to serious side effects of the medications and lack of patient compliance in taking the medication. Invasive surgical or thorascopic techniques have been used to obliterate the LAA, however, many patients are not suitable candidates for such surgical procedures due to a compromised condition or having previously undergone cardiac surgery. In addition, the perceived risks of even a thorascopic surgical procedure often outweigh the potential benefits. See Blackshear and Odell above. See also Lindsay B D. Obliteration of the left atrial appendage: A concept worth testing. Ann Thorac. Surg., 1996.61(2):515. What has been needed is a less invasive system and method for containment or elimination of thrombus formation in the LAA of patients with atrial fibrillation. The present invention satisfies these and other needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Filter mesh for preventing passage of embolic material form an atrial appendage


Embodiments of an apparatus including a pixel array and a color filter array optically coupled to the pixel array, the color filter array including a plurality of tiled minimal repeating units. Processing circuitry is coupled to the pixel array to correct fixed pattern noise (FPN) in an image captured by the pixel array. The processing circuitry corrects the values of pixels that are part of a correction group, and wherein the corrections comprise a combination of a color ratio correction that is based on the ratios of selected colors within the minimal repeating unit, and one or more crosstalk corrections that are based on a chief ray angle (CRA) correction and the color ratio correction.

Image sensors are widely used in digital still cameras, cellular phones, security cameras, medical, automobile, and other applications. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor ("CMOS") technology is used to manufacture low-cost image sensors on silicon substrates.
Most image sensors include a two-dimensional array of pixels that are used to capture images. Color image sensors—that is, image sensors capable of capturing color images—assign color to each pixel in the pixel array using a color filter array ("CFA") coupled to the pixel array. The particular pattern of colors in the color filter array—that is, the colors used and the way they are arranged within the filter array—can improve the quality of the color image captured by the pixel array, but different color filter patterns can have different effects on the fixed pattern noise (FPN) in the image captured by the pixel array.

Correction of image sensor fixed-pattern noise (FPN) due to color filter pattern


In an electro-optical device of the present invention, data lines and scanning lines, thin film transistors (TFTs) and pixel electrodes formed correspondingly to intersections thereof, and an alignment film formed on the data lines, the scanning lines, the TFTs and the pixel electrodes are provided on a TFT array substrate. The TFT array substrate has an image display area defined as an area to form the pixel electrodes and the switching elements and a peripheral area which defines the periphery of the image display area, and convex portions are formed in the peripheral area. According to the electro-optical device, such as a liquid crystal device having the convex portions, it is possible to display images with a high quality, without causing deterioration of image quality due to cut dregs generated when performing a rubbing process on the alignment film.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to an electro-optical device, such as an active matrix addressing liquid crystal display device, an electrophoresis device, such as an electronic paper, and other devices. In addition, the present invention relates to an electronic apparatus including such an electro-optical device.
2. Description of Related Art
Related art electro-optical devices include pixel electrodes arranged in a matrix, thin film transistors (hereinafter "TFTs") connected to each of the electrodes, and data lines and scanning lines which are connected to each of the TFTs and arranged in parallel in row directions and column directions, respectively, and in which a so-called active matrix addressing can be performed.
In addition to the elements described above, a liquid crystal display device, which is an example of the above electro-optical device, further includes a counter electrode arranged to face the pixel electrodes, a liquid crystal layer interposed between the pixel electrodes and the counter electrode, and alignment films formed on the pixel electrodes and the counter electrode, and can display images. That is, liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer having a predetermined alignment state depending on the alignment films can properly change the alignment state due to a predetermined potential difference set between the pixel electrodes and the counter electrode, and as a result, transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer can be varied, so that an image display can be formed.
In this case, specifically, the alignment film performs the function of holding the liquid crystal molecules to which an electric field is not applied in a predetermined alignment state. In order to perform this function, the alignment film can be made of polymeric organic compounds, such as polyimide, and then is subjected to a rubbing process. Herein, the rubbing process means a process of rubbing the surface of the alignment film after baking with a buff cloth wound around a rotational metal roller, etc., in a predetermined direction. As a result, a main chain of a polymer is elongated in the predetermined direction, so that the liquid crystal molecules are arranged in the direction of elongation.
However, in the rubbing process, cut dregs of the alignment film are generated. If the cut dregs remain between the pixel electrodes and the counter electrode, realization of a predetermined alignment state corresponding to the potential difference applied between the two electrodes may be reduced or prevented (that is, alignment failure may be caused), so that deterioration of image quality may occur (for example, light leakage may occur).
A related art technology to address or solve the above problem is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-333182 (hereinafter "JP 182"). In this technology, regarding the array pitch of the pixel electrodes, by arranging at least one row or one column of non-display dummy pixel pattern in which the array pitch deviates from the pitch of the electrodes, the cut dregs are captured by the non-display dummy pixel, thereby reducing or preventing the deterioration of image quality. Since the array pitch of the non-display dummy pixel deviates from that of pixel electrodes, the coefficient of friction is increased in the rubbing process, so that even employing fewer non-display dummy pixel rows or columns, effects similar to several rows or columns of non-display dummy pixels can be obtained.

Electro-optical device and electronic apparatus comprising convex and projected portions formed in the alignment film at the periphery of the image display area


A microstrip switch includes N-input switch arms and an output port formed from a microstrip transmission line. Each input switch arm includes one or more p-i-n diodes. The input switch arms as well as the output port are connected at a radially combined center patch. In order to improve the insertion losses at millimeter wave frequencies, the center patch is air suspended in order to reduce the parasitic shunt capacitance in order to extend the low pass frequency response of the switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microstrip switch for use in RF switch applications and more particularly to a broadband radially combined single pole N-throw microstrip switch with an improved insertion loss characteristic at millimeter wave frequencies, formed with a low loss air suspended radially combined patch which reduces the parasitic shunt capacitance and thus extends the low-pass response of the device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Microstrip switches are used in various RF applications. Various configurations for such microstrip switches are known. For example, cascaded switches and orthogonal arms switch configurations are known. Radial combined switches are also known which offer symmetrical switch arm performance and the consolidation of multiple switch arms in a relatively small area compared to cascaded switches and orthogonal arm switches. The relatively small size of radially combined switches is especially attractive for low cost, high volume applications, such as automotive radar.
There is a limit to the bandwidth and low insertion loss which can be achieved by a radially combined microstrip switch. More particularly, two fundamental performance limitations exist at high frequencies: the cutoff frequency performance of the semiconductor switch; and the effective low pass characteristics of the microstrip radially combined microstrip switch. Both of these factors degrade the performance of the radially combined microstrip switch to a greater extend as the number of switch arms is increased.
An exemplary N-way radially combined single pole N-throw microstrip switch, generally identified with the reference numeral 20, is illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown, the microstrip switch 20 includes N input switch arms, identified in FIG. 1 with the reference numerals 22-36, and an output switch arm 38. The input switch arms 22-36 and the output switch arm 38 are connected at a radial combined patch 40. Each input switch arm 22-36 includes a pair of serially coupled p-i-n diodes 40 and 42, connected between an input microstrip transmission line 44, which acts as an input port, and an interconnecting microstrip transmission line 46 for each of the input switch arms 22-36. The interconnecting microstrip transmission lines 46 for each of the input switch arms 22-36 are coupled together at the radially combined patch 40. A microstrip transmission line 48 is connected to the radial combined patch 40 to provide an output port for the switch. The input and output microstrip 44 and 48 are illustrated as being 50 .OMEGA..
Given the specific p-i-n diode process technology, the effect of gain-bandwidth or low loss bandwidth tradeoff of the microstrip switch 20 is adjusted by either scaling the size of the p-i-n diodes 40, 42 or by adding multiple p-i-n diodes in series, parallel or combinations thereof for each of the input switch arms 22-36. For high frequency operation, the p-i-n diodes 40,42 for each of the input switch arms 22-36 is configured such that the low pass cutoff frequency of the diodes 40,42 is beyond the operating frequency of interest.
FIGS. 2b and 2c represent the equivalent circuit models of a typical 2-.mu.m i-region GaAs p-i-n diode with a cutoff frequency with f.sub.c >2 THz for a p-i-n diode of a particular size as illustrated in FIG. 2a. As shown in FIG. 2c, the series off capacitance is relatively substantial. In order to reduce series off capacitance, two p-i-n diodes in series may be utilized in order to extend the bandwidth response at the expense of insertion loss. Because of the use of 2-.mu.m GaAs p-i-n diodes with cutoff frequencies f.sub.c >2 Thz and the relatively small size of the p-i-n diodes, the individual input switch arms 22-36 of the radially combined microstrip switch 20 will have a frequency response beyond the frequency of interest. It is the low pass roll-characteristic of the radially combined microstrip switch which will be the limiting performance factor for an N-way microstrip switch at millimeter-wave frequencies.
In general, for a large number of radially combined input switch arms 22-36, the radially combined patch 40 will be of significant area and will contribute to the dominant low-pass loss characteristics of the N-way switch 20 at millimeter-wave frequencies. By reducing the size of the radial combined patch 40, the associated parasitic impedances can be minimized and the frequency response extended. However, the width of the output 50 .OMEGA. microstrip transmission line 38, for example 70 .mu.m for a 4 mil GaAs substrate, will ultimately limit how small the radial combined patch 40 can be made as generally illustrated in FIG. 9.
FIG. 3 illustrates a lumped element equivalent circuit of the single pole N-throw radial combined microstrip switch 20 illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown, the radially combined patch 40 can be represented by a L-C low pass network 41. When the Nth input switch arm 36 is switched on and all of the other N-1 inputs switch arms 22-34 are switched off, the thru-path of the Nth input switch arm 36 can be represented by the equivalent circuit illustrated in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the low pass response of the microstrip switch 20 can be characterized by a simple low pass filter network formed from a series inductance L.sub.feed and the effective parallel combination of the shunt capacitors C.sub.off (N-1)/2 and C.sub.feed. For very high performance Schottky p-i-n diodes with cutoff frequencies f.sub.c >2 THz, the shunt capacitant C.sub.feed can typically account for .gtoreq.15% of the total effective shunt capacitance. When the radially combined patch 40 is large in diameter to accommodate a typical wide 50 .OMEGA. fixed output microstrip transmission line 38, the shunt capacitance C.sub.feed is large and the associated series inductance L.sub.feed is small. If the electrical and physical restraints allow the reduction of the diameter of the radially combined patch 40, the shunt capacitance of the radially combined patch 40 will become relatively smaller; however, the input microstrip transmission lines 44 will become more inductive. Thus, there is only a marginal benefit gained by changing the size in geometry of the radially combined patch, since the low pass pole, determined by series inductance L.sub.feed and shunt capacitance C.sub.feed, will not significantly change. Thus, enhanced frequency performance of a radially combined microstrip switch has not heretofore been known to be obtained by simply changing the size of the radially combined patch.

Low-loss air suspended radially combined patch for N-way RF switch


A method for controlling power in a mobile network. The method includes, for each server station s, where s=1, . . . , A, belonging to a group of A server stations, where A≧2, each emitting with a power Ps(b), where b=1, . . . , B, in B sub-bands of frequencies, with B≧1, the following steps: a) receiving, from mobile terminals served by the server station s, measurements of radio parameters performed by these mobile terminals; b) calculating a predetermined value Vs,t(b), where bε[1, . . . , B] and tε[1, . . . , A], by using the measurements; c) transmitting to at least one other server station t, or an associate device, the respective value Vs,t(b), and reception, from at least the server station t or by the associated device, of the analogous value Vt,s(b); d) calculating, by using the value Vt,s(b), derivatives

It is well known, for example in cellular mobile networks, that the interference phenomena between the multiple signals emitted by the base stations and received by a mobile terminal greatly limit the QoS (acronym for "Quality of Service") offered to the users of the network, and also the overall quantity of traffic that the network can manage. The effect of the intercellular interference is particularly noticeable along the cell boundaries, since for a user situated in the center of a cell, the strength of the useful signal greatly exceeds that of the interfering signals; the QoS therefore especially depends on the users situated at the cell boundary; this is why the engineers responsible for the optimization of the network from the operational perspective invest much of their efforts in the optimization of the network at the cell boundary.
It is possible to combat the intercellular interference phenomena by planning accordingly the power of each base station within the band, or each sub-band, of frequencies of the emission spectrum: this is referred to as "power control".
The article by R. Combes, Z. Altman, and E. Altman entitled "Self-organizing fractional power control for interference coordination in OFDMA networks" (IEEE ICC 2011) provides a dynamic method for power control in mobile networks of the OFDMA type (acronym for "Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access"). In this method, it is considered that, within a cellular mobile network, a group of A base stations each emitting with a power Ps(b), where s=1, . . . , A and b=1, . . . , B, in B sub-bands of frequencies. Each base station implements, in an iterative manner (for example periodic), the following steps:                a) reception, from mobile terminals served by said base station s, of measurements of radio parameters performed by these mobile terminals,        b) calculation, for b=1, . . . , B and t−1, . . . , A, of predetermined values Vs,t(b) by means of said measurements,        c) transmission to the other base stations of said values Vs,t(b), and reception, from the other base stations, of the analogous values Vs,t(b),        d) calculation, by means of said values Vt,s(b), of the derivatives
            ∂      U              ∂              P        s                  (          b          )                      ,where U is a predetermined utility function for said network, and                e) update of the transmission powers Ps(b) so as to reduce the value of said utility function U.
More precisely, according to this method:
      U    =                  ∑                  s          =          1                A                          U        s              ,where Us is a predetermined function of the data rates delivered by the base station s.
With regard to the step a), if said radio parameters comprise the attenuation (also referred to as "Reference Signal Received Power", or RSRP), the measurements may for example be in accordance with the standard 3GPP TS 36.214, "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical layer", Section 5.1.1 ("Measurements"). The transmission of these measurements to the server base station is, for example, in accordance with the standard 3GPP TS 36.331 "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Radio Resource Control (RRC); Protocol Specification", Sections 5.5 ("Measurements") and 6.3.5 ("Measurement information elements").
With regard to the step c), the communications between neighboring base stations belonging to an OFDMA network of the 3GPP LTE type (acronym for "Long Term Evolution") can, for example, use the "X2" interface.
This known method has several drawbacks:
it optimizes a metric associated with the instantaneous QoS of the network; however, such metrics cannot be directly linked to the mean quality criteria, which are the true measurements of quality in which the operator is interested, for example the communications blocking rate or the mean time for file transfer;
the optimality (even partial) of this method has not been proven; it is therefore possible for there to be some scenarios in which this known method degrades the state of the network instead of improving it; and
nor has the stability of this method been proven; the question of the stability is essential in the sense that no operator will wish to implement such a method in their network without cast-iron guarantees with regard to the stability and the resistance to noise.
This method converges toward a stable configuration only with the assumption—obviously unrealistic—of a constant number of users over time and of infinite durations of communication. As it does not converge toward a stable configuration under real conditions of use, it is impossible, based on the observation, even over a very long time, of the dynamic behavior of an implementation of the method, to deduce from this a planning for the emission power of the base stations within the band, or the sub-bands, of frequencies.
It is clear that the aforementioned problem of interference affects practically all the types of mobile networks, whether they be cellular (2G, 3G, and so on) or wireless (WiFi, Bluetooth, and so on). The present invention relates to all these types of networks, in which mobile terminals exchange radiofrequency communications with equipment (base stations, access points, relay-stations, and so on) that will all be denoted under the name of "server stations".

Method for controlling power in mobile networks

Abstract: ∂      U              ∂              P        s                  (          b          )                      ,where U is a predetermined utility function for the network, and e) updating transmission powers Ps(b) to reduce the value of the utility function U.


A small engine fuel system has a tank with an integrally formed filler tube having the lower end located at a level below the upper portion of the tank wall which is formed of vapor impermeable material which may include HDPE interspersed with EVOH or polyamide. In one exemplary embodiment the filler neck is disposed in a depression in the upper portion of the tank wall; and in another exemplary embodiment the filler tube has an insert which extends into the tank to a position below the upper portion of the tank wall to form a vapor space. The tank includes a fill limiting vapor vent/tipping valve with its outlet connected to a storage canister which outputs to the engine and which has an atmospheric air vent.

Small engines of less than 50 horsepower (37.4 kilowatts) are widely used in applications such as garden tractors, lawn mowers, portable generating sets and small boat marine applications. Such engines typically employ a fuel tank mounted proximate the engine and arranged for gravity feed of fuel from the tank to the engine carburetor, although in applications approaching 50 horsepower fuel pumps may be employed in certain applications.
Heretofore, small engines have not been subject to fuel vapor emission requirements as are of motor vehicles; however, it has recently been mandated that small engines for such applications to have fuel systems which prevent vapor emission to the atmosphere both during engine operation and during periods of engine shut down. *Fuel tanks for small engines typically employ an open vent in the fuel filler cap for passage of make-up air as fuel is withdrawn during engine operation; and, to prevent pressure build up in the tank from fuel vapor.
The requirement that the tank vent be sealed has caused additional complexity and cost in reworking small engine fuel systems to meet the vapor emission requirements, particularly because engines of this type are manufactured in very high volume and the tooling is of the permanent type and represents a significant expenditure. Requirements for changes in design of the fuel system and fuel tanks will thus result in substantial increase in cost for the engine manufacture. Accordingly, it has been desired to provide a way or means of implementing fuel vapor emission controls to small engines without requiring extensive redesign and retooling of the fuel tank and fuel system components.
Thus it has been desired to minimize the amount of space required for the additional components required to provide the sealed tank system for controlling fuel vapor emission in such small engines.

System and method for controlling fuel vapor emission in a small engine


A wall mounted shelving unit comprises a pair of shelf supporting wall mounting brackets, each including an upright rear segment and an upright front segment with horizontal crosspieces extending between and connected to the rear and front segments of each bracket. Each crosspiece includes a pair of spaced apart upwardly extending loops or a pair of spaced apart downward extending troughs, and a rear segment of each bracket includes loops for attachment to a wall. Wire shelves rest on the crosspieces, and the upwardly extending loops engage wires on the shelves to prevent relative movement between the shelves and the brackets. Alternatively, the shelf includes downwardly extending shelf trusses that rest in the troughs of the crosspieces.

The present invention relates to a wall mounted shelving unit, and more particularly to a shelving unit with adjustable shelves and adjustable shelf brackets.
Prior to the present invention numerous shelving systems have been developed, but in many instances these systems are difficult to assemble and install due to various conditions of the wall structure to which they are attached. Accordingly, a real need exists for a wall mounted shelving unit which is simple to install under varying conditions of the wall structure to which the unit is attached.

Metal Masters Foodservice Equipment Co., Inc.


A battery-powered computing system (20) including video decoding capability, particularly as pertinent to the H.263 standard, is disclosed. The system (20) includes a main integrated circuit (30) having an on-chip central processing unit (CPU) (32) and on-chip shared memory (33) for the temporary buffering of video image data that is retrieved and generated during the video decoding process. The CPU (32) is programmed to perform a combined P and B prediction process (46) upon a previously predicted P frame (P.sub.T-1), with accesses to internal buffers in shared memory (33) instead of to main memory (40). Preferably, inverse transform processes (48, 52) also access shared memory (33) rather than main memory (40). The combined P and B prediction process (46) preferably handles unrestricted motion vectors using edge pixels (P.sub.edge) stored in an edge buffer (44e) in the on-chip memory (33), by modifying (58, 60) motion vector components (MVx, MVy) that point outside of the displayable video image, and retrieving the corresponding edge pixels (P.sub.edge) from the edge buffer (44e) in this event. The on-chip memory (33) preferably also includes a buffer (NEWBFR) for storing current predicted P blocks, such that the previous predicted P frame (P.sub.T-1) and the current predicted P frame (P.sub.T) can share the same memory space (old/newframe). The power requirements of the video decoding process are thus much reduced, as memory accesses to large, off-chip, main memory (40) are limited.

This invention is in the field of telecommunications, and is more specifically directed to the decoding of video signals communicated over relatively low bit-rate communications lines.
As is evident in the art, the extent and rate of telecommunication of information around the world, particularly by way of the Internet, has greatly increased in recent years. In particular, the high bit rates at which modern communications systems operate have permitted the communication of a wide range of information, from simple text, to audio signals, to graphics images, and up to and including motion picture video information. Data compression techniques, in combination with the improvement in available bit rate, have also enabled such communication, particularly of video information. As a result, end users have become accustomed to receiving information of all of these types, at data rates and display quality that approaches "real-time" viewing of the information, particularly at workstations that are connected to high-speed digital communications networks. This ability to display such information, particularly motion picture video information, in real time has resulted, of course, in a substantial increase in the production and distribution of such video information, as motion picture video is often a preferred medium for communication of information.
However, high-speed telecommunication facilities are not available in all locations, or in all applications. For example, most home computer systems effect telecommunication over analog telephone lines, using modems of bit rates up to on the order of 28.8 and 56.6 kbps. The use of mobile computing devices, such as notebook computers, to effect telecommunications is also increasing at a dramatic rate, with the telecommunication of information being carried over cellular and wireless links. In response to this demand, video compression approaches have been developed to serve the need of communication of motion picture information over low bit-rate (less than 64 kbps) facilities. Well-known examples of these video compression techniques include the H.261 and H.263 video compression standards, developed in conjunction with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and based upon the well-known MPEG standards developed by the Moving Pictures Experts Group. These approaches have enjoyed popularity in the communication of compressed video information over these low bit-rate facilities. Additionally, compression according to an H.263-like algorithm is included within the currently-proposed MPEG4 standard.
The receipt of compressed video information, including information compressed according to the H.263 video compression standard, requires the receiving workstation or computer to perform video decoding of the communicated information, in order to effect display of the motion picture. Such video decoding operations conventionally include the execution of data processing instructions, including memory read and write accesses, by the receiving computer.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation of a conventional video decoding system in receiving and decoding compressed video information, according to the H.263 standard, will now be described by way of further background. As is fundamental in the art, H.263 video decoding predicts motion from frame to frame in a video sequence by way of motion vectors, which are two-dimensional vectors that provide offsets from the coordinate position from a prior, reference, frame to coordinates in the frame currently being decoded. The redundant, or non-moving, information from frame-to-frame is encoded by way of a transform, for example a discrete cosine transform (DCT), the inverse of which is performed by the video decoding system. The inverse transform of the redundant portion of the transmitted frame, in combination with the results of the motion vectors, produce a displayable frame.
FIG. 1 illustrates the general nomenclature and temporal sequence utilized in the generation of predicted frames in H.263 video decoding. According to the H.263 standard, the incoming bitstream of video data corresponds to displayable video frames which are predicted over time, using the currently decoded frame and the previously decoded frame in the sequence. As illustrated in FIG. 1, frame P.sub.T-1 is a previously predicted frame corresponding to the immediately preceding frame in the video sequence to that currently being decoded, and is referred to as a "P" frame, as it is predicted from its prior neighbor frame. Past P-frame P.sub.T-1 is then used to predict a future (or current) P frame P.sub.T ; as will be described hereinbelow and as known by those in the art familiar with the H.263 standard, the forward-prediction of frame P.sub.T is based upon past P frame P.sub.T-1 and upon motion vectors derived from the frame currently being decoded. According to the H.263 standard, a forward prediction from the past P-frame P.sub.T-1 and a backward prediction from the future P-frame P.sub.T are used to predict a current B frame B.sub.T (the "B" indicating that frame B.sub.T is bidirectionally predicted). The combination of the decoded P frame P.sub.T and B frame B.sub.T is referred to as the "PB" frame in the H.263 standard, and serves as the basis of the displayed frame. The H.263 standard is thus particularly well-suited for low bit rate telecommunication channels, as its coding scheme is intended to take advantage of temporal and spatial redundancy.
A conventional algorithm for performing the generation of the decoded P frame P.sub.T and B frame B.sub.T is illustrated by way of the pictorial representation of FIG. 2. This implementation corresponds to a C language computer program (Version 1.3) available from Telenor at http://www.nta.no/brukere/DVC/h263.sub.-- software/ (February, 1995), and includes the extensions of allowing motion vectors to point outside of the frame (i.e., unrestricted motion vectors) and of using extra motion vectors to compensate for motion according to the overlapped block motion compensation (OBMC) approach. In this exemplary implementation, input bitstream IBS includes a stream of data which is initially decoded in process 2 to generate motion vectors MV, and uncompensated decoded macroblocks 3, 3'. Decoded macroblock 3 corresponds to a P block of information from input bitstream IBS, while decoded macroblock 3' corresponds to a B block of information from input bitstream IBS. Elements MV, 3, 3' of the input bitstream are to be used, in combination with previous P-frame P.sub.T-1, in the prediction of the decoded frames P.sub.T and B frame B.sub.T. As is known in the art, each frame (P-frame or B-frame) includes multiple macroblocks, typically arranged in the QCIF format as nine rows of eleven macroblocks; each macroblock in the H.263 standard corresponds to six blocks of DCT coefficients derived from an eight-by-eight array of pixels; these six blocks generally include four blocks of luminance (Y) data and two blocks of chrominance (Cr, Cb) data.
FIG. 2 illustrates that the previous P-frame P.sub.T-1 is stored in memory as array signal oldframe. In process 8, the video decoding system adds a border of image blocks (e.g., forty-four macroblocks) around the perimeter of previous P-frame P.sub.T-1 ; these border image blocks permit so-called "unrestricted" motion vectors, in that the motion vectors may extend to outside of the viewed image area, resulting in a decompressed image that is less susceptible to visible edge effects. The resulting bordered P-frame Pext.sub.T-1 is stored in memory as array signal edgeframe, as illustrated in FIG. 2.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, each macroblock of bordered P-frame Pext.sub.T-1 is applied to forward P prediction process 9 which, in combination with motion vectors MV from decoding process 2 generates intermediate P frame Pnew.sub.T, which is stored in memory as array signal newframe. FIG. 3 illustrates, by way of a flow diagram, the operation of conventional forward P prediction process 9, in the case where OBMC motion compensation is enabled. As illustrated in FIG. 3, forward prediction process 9 begins with the retrieval, in process 9a, of bordered prior frame Pext.sub.T-1, including its luminance (Y) and chrominance (Cr, Cb) information. An OBMC index i is initialized to zero in process 9b, and four passes of motion compensation upon the luminance data in the prior frame Pext.sub.T-1 is then performed. In conventional video decoder systems, the OBMC motion compensation is performed by calling and applying a function to the luminance data of prior predicted frame Pext.sub.T-1, using motion vectors MV, for the index i, as indicated by process 9c in FIG. 3. Processes 9d, 9e increment and test the index i as shown, to determine the completion of the luminance OBMC compensation routine. For OBMC compensation of luminance data, processes 9b through 9e are generally performed on a macroblock basis, with each of the four luminance blocks processed one at a time through the loop of processes 9c and 9d. Following decision 9e determining that the loop of processes 9c, 9d is complete (decision 9e being YES), process 9f then performs motion compensation upon the upon the chrominance Cr information in the bordered prior frame Pext.sub.T-1, using motion vectors MV, and process 9g similarly performs motion compensation upon the chrominance Cb information. The resulting predicted frame Pnew.sub.T is then stored as array signal newframe.
As is known in the art, motion compensation modes other than OBMC are utilized in H.263 video compression and decompression. These alternative modes are similar to, but simpler than, the OBMC mode described above; conventional algorithms for these simpler motion compensation modes are known in the art.
In conjunction with forward P prediction process 9, each decoded P macroblock 3 is applied to inverse discrete cosine transform (IDCT) process 4, producing a transform P block 5 corresponding to the redundant spatial domain frame-to-frame information; this transform P block 5 is summed with corresponding macroblocks of predicted intermediate frame Pnew.sub.T in process 10 to produce future predicted frame P.sub.T. Frame P.sub.T replaces predicted intermediate P frame Pnew.sub.T in memory as array signal newframe, as shown in FIG. 2.
Bordered past predicted frame Pext.sub.T-1 is also applied to forward B prediction process 12 to generate first intermediate B frame B1.sub.T, which is stored in memory as array signal Bframe. FIG. 3 also illustrates the details of forward B prediction process 12 which is performed after forward P prediction process 9 described hereinabove. As is known in the art, the four-vector OBMC compensation process is not applied in the generation of B frames. Process 12 begins with the retrieval, in process 12a, of the prior predicted and bordered P frame Pext.sub.T-1, including the luminance and chrominance information. Processes 12b, 12c, 12d apply motion compensation to the luminance, chrominance Cr, and chrominance Cb information from bordered P frame Pext.sub.T-1, using the motion vectors MV from decoding process 2, typically in a macroblock-by-macroblock manner. The resultant B frame B1.sub.T is then stored in memory as array signal Bframe, in process 12e.
Backward B prediction process 14 retrieves frame B1.sub.T from array signal Bframe in memory and future predicted frame P.sub.T from array signal newframe in memory, and combines these retrieved frames B1.sub.T, P.sub.T to produce second intermediate B frame B2.sub.T, which replaces first intermediate B frame B1.sub.T in memory as array signal Bframe. Decoded B macroblocks 3' are sequentially applied to IDCT process 4' to produce transform B macroblocks 5' which is added to corresponding macroblocks of second intermediate B frame B2.sub.T in summing process 16, the result of which is current B frame B.sub.T. Frame B.sub.T is stored in memory as array signal Bframe, replacing second intermediate B frame B2.sub.T, as shown in FIG. 2.
As noted above, the PB frame corresponding to the combination of predicted frames P.sub.T and B.sub.T are used to derive the displayed frame, decoded from input bitstream IBS. Decoding of the next received frame is then performed in similar manner, with the current P frame P.sub.T becoming previous P frame P.sub.T-1 for the next decoding operation; this swap is conventionally performed simply by swapping the pointers for array signals newframe and oldframe, as frame P.sub.T-1 from the generation of P frame P.sub.T is no longer needed.
It has been observed, however, that the large quantity and high rate of information received in connection with compressed video, and the processing requirements for decoding the information, can result in substantial power dissipation by the receiving computer. Power dissipation is especially of concern in mobile computers, such as notebook computers, which are powered by batteries. In particular, the heavy rate at which complex data types are accessed from main memory resources (typically off-chip memory), in decoding and displaying compressed video information, has been observed to be a significant drain of battery power, thus reducing the usability of such mobile computers in receiving and displaying decoded video information.
In particular, it has been observed that conventional video decoding algorithms have been written with ease of program control being of paramount importance. However, as is evident from the above description of a conventional H.263 process, repeated memory accesses are performed to effect the motion compensation and prediction operations. For example, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, each pixel in array signal edgeframe is written once (by process 8) and read twice (in processes 9, 12) for each decoded frame. Similarly, referring to FIG. 2, each pixel in array signal Bframe is written three times (in processes 12, 14, 16) and read twice (in processes 14 and 16) for each decoded frame, and each pixel in array signal newframe is written twice (in processes 9, 10) and read once (in process 14).
In this regard and by way of further background, the impact of memory-related power consumption in video and image processing is described in F. Catthoor, et al., "Global Communication and Memory Optimizing Transformations for Low Power Signal Processing Systems", VLSI Signal Processing VII, (IEEE, 1994), pp. 178-187. This paper further discloses that transformations of the video decoding specifications can obtain significant power reduction in and of themselves. Examples of transformations to optimize memory access operations, from the standpoint of power reduction, are disclosed. However, the implementation of these concepts into a particular video decoding scheme, such as those based on the H.263 standard, is not discussed in this article; it is believed that such implementation has not heretofore been disclosed or effected in the art.

Low power video decoder system with block-based motion compensation

Inter-University Microelectronics Center (IMEC)


A method of communicating with a remote user. The method can include receiving a plurality of server requests from the remote user via a communications network. The plurality of server requests can be processed in a single user session without re-authenticating the user, and can include at least one server request that includes voice data and at least one server request that includes non-audio data. A portlet can be provided to process the voice data and the non-audio data server requests. Responsive to the server requests, data can be provided to the remote user via the communications network.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of network communications, and more particularly, to voice enabled network communications.
2. Description of the Related Art
A portal is a web site that proposes to be a major starting site for users when the users connect to the World Wide Web (Web). For instance, many browsers connect to a portal by default and a large number of access providers offer portals to the Web for their own users. Such portals are typically accessible using computers or similar devices having a graphical user interface (GUI) based web browser.
Expanding access to the Web, voice portals have been developed which offer voice applications that take advantage of features provided by portal servers. For example, one can place a voice call via a telephone and access a voice portal, typically by authenticating to a voice portal server. Such voice portals often provide to voice callers information that is also available to conventional GUI based web browsers via the Internet. In some respects, accessing the information via a voice portal can be a more pleasant experience than using a GUI, especially when complex menu navigation is required to retrieve the information.
Currently, however, users cannot in a single user session switch between voice and web views. Thus, users cannot easily take advantage of the voice mode of a portal while simultaneously accessing the portal using a conventional web browser.

International Business Machines Corporation


A damper including a damper tube, a piston assembly, a piston rod attached to the piston assembly, and a monolithic base. The piston assembly is slidingly disposed within the damper tube. The monolithic base includes a closed end, an open end, a base portion at the closed end, and a wall portion. The base portion is joined to and seals one end of the damper tube. The base portion includes a concave depression that tapers inwardly from a base portion perimeter to a cup bottom. The wall portion extends longitudinally from the base portion perimeter to the open end such that the cup bottom is positioned between opposing sides of the wall portion. Integrally formed fastening eyes are provided in the opposing sides of the wall portion.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In general, dampers are installed alongside a spring (as a stand-alone shock absorber) or inside a spring (as part of a coil-over shock and strut assembly) and placed in front and rear suspension systems. They are used to absorb and dissipate the impact and rebound movement of a vehicle's suspension system, and keep the vehicle's tires in contact with the ground. The shock absorber is installed to the vehicle frame by an upper mount and to the suspension by a lower mount with a loop or U-bracket.
A conventional hydraulic damper or shock absorber comprises a cylinder which is adapted at one end for attachment to the sprung or unsprung mass of a vehicle. A piston is slidably disposed within the cylinder with the piston separating the interior of the cylinder into two fluid chambers. A piston rod is connected to the piston and extends out of one end of the cylinder where it is adapted for attachment to the other of the sprung or unsprung mass of the vehicle. A first valving system, typically incorporated within the piston, functions to create a damping load during the shock absorber's extension stroke. A second valving system, typically incorporated within the piston in a mono-tube shock absorber and in a base valve assembly in a dual-tube shock absorber, functions to create a damping load during the shock absorber's compression stroke.
The lower mount or base assembly of a standard shock absorber typically includes an outer tube, a base plate/cup, and a loop. The primary role of the base plate/cup is to close the pressure tube/gas chamber in a mono-tube shock absorber and to close the pressure tube/reserve tube in a dual-tube shock absorber and support the base valve assembly. Typically, the base plate (or hot closed bottom of the tube) is welded to the loop (closed or split), which connects the bottom end of the shock absorber to a suspension component of the vehicle. The loop has to be made in a separate manufacturing operation from a bar or tube (closed type) or a strip or sheet of metal (split type).

Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Inc.


An installation for extracting energy from a liquid in which swell occurs relative to a bottom. The installation includes a first and second container for placing at a determined horizontal first mutual distance at least partially under the surface of the liquid, each provided with a closed upper side directed toward the liquid surface, closed side walls and an open underside directed toward the bottom for enclosing a gas under the liquid surface. The gas is bounded to the underside of the container by a quantity of liquid entering via this underside, which quantity of liquid varies as a result of the swell. A transport conduit is provided for transporting gas from the first to the second container and vice versa. A generator responding to the variation in the quantity of liquid in at least one of the containers for generating energy from this variation is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an installation for extracting energy from a liquid in which swell occurs relative to a bottom.
Such an installation is particularly suitable for use in extracting energy from waves of water at sea.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known of waves at sea that they can occur in a wide range of amplitudes and frequencies. Extracting energy from swelling sea-water is of particular interest when the waves occurring in the-swelling water have been subjected to wind over very great distances (from hundreds to thousands of kilometers). Such waves may be present practically continuously at determined locations along a sea or ocean coast, wherein the wave length may amount to for instance 60 to 120 meters and the amplitude to for instance 1-3 meters.
It is generally known that variations in the pressure of swelling water decrease from the liquid surface in downward direction such that, at a depth corresponding with roughly half the wave length of the occurring waves, pressure variations are practically no longer detectable. This means that waves with a relatively small wave length have little influence on the dynamic hydrostatic pressure of the underlying water mass. Waves occurring during gales with a wave length of about 30 meters will for instance not penetrate to a depth further than about 15 meters. Pressure variations caused by a swelling water mass, wherein the wave length of the occurring waves amounts to for example about 130 meters will however be felt to a depth of about 65 meters.
It is an object of the invention to provide an installation of the type stated in the preamble, wherein the installation has a high performance, can extract energy from a swelling liquid with large wave lengths and can be placed on for instance the sea-bed.


A heat dissipation system and a making method thereof are disclosed in accordance with a preferred embodiment. The heat dissipation system mainly includes a body, a cover, and a working fluid. The body includes an evaporation chamber having a first side entryway and a first side outlet, a condensation chamber having a second side entryway and a second side outlet, an elongated evaporation passage configured for intercommunicating the first side outlet with the second side entryway, and an elongated condensation passage configured for intercommunicating the second side outlet with the first side entryway. The cover is hermetically secured to the body. The working fluid is contained in the body.

Nowadays, electronic components, such as central processing units (CPUs), have faster operational speeds and greater functional capabilities, as well as being smaller and more compact than previously. Furthermore, when these electronic components are installed in a cramped location, they may generate much heat due to the limited surrounding air space. Thus, it is desirable to quickly dissipate heat generated by such electronic components in order to maintain relatively stable operation thereof.
Many kinds of heat dissipation devices, such as heat sinks or heat pipes, have been developed for cooling electronic components. A conventional heat sink generally includes a substrate and a number of fins extending from a surface of the substrate. The heat sink has many problems, such as an insufficient heat transfer capacity, noisiness of an associated cooling fan, and a large size and heavy weight. In contrast, a heat pipe is a cooling apparatus having advantages such as no noise of an associated cooling fan, good response to applied heat, and good heat transfer.
Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, a typical heat pipe 10 generally includes a hermetical shell 102 defining a hollow chamber 103, together with a wick 104 and a working fluid 106. The shell 102 has two opposite sections, i.e., an evaporation section 102a to take in heat, and a condensation section 102b to dissipate heat. The working fluid 106 is contained in the hollow chamber 102. The working fluid 106 is first vaporized in the evaporation section 102a and subsequently condensed in the condensation section 102b thereby transferring heat from the evaporation section 102a to the condensation section 102b. The wick 104 is attached to an inner wall of the shell 102 to draw the condensed working fluid 106 back to the evaporation section 102a. As such, the heat pipe 10 can continuously dissipate heat out from the evaporation section 102a by circulating the working fluid between the two opposite sections 102a and 102b.
In operation, the condensed working fluid 106 generally forms liquid drops on the wick 104, due to gravity and/or capillary action of the wick 104. At the same time, working fluid vapors from the evaporation section 102a diffuse towards the wick 104. Thus, a shear force would be unduly and readily generated at an interface of the diffusing vapors and the liquid drops. In addition, the shell 102 is generally compressed in the two opposite sections 102a and 102b, and the wick 104 adjacent to the condensation section 102b thereby occupies a relatively large inner space in the chamber 103. This increases the shear force and thus decreases fluidity of the liquid and vaporized working fluid 106. Accordingly, the cyclical speed of the working fluid 106 is reduced, thereby decreasing the thermal efficiency of the heat pipe 10. Therefore, the amount of heat dissipated in a given time frame can be expected to decrease.
Furthermore, the two opposite sections of the heat pipe have a limited heat dissipation/absorption area. This further restricts the thermal efficiency of the heat pipe.
What is needed, therefore, is a heat dissipation system which has a relatively high thermal efficiency.
What is needed, therefore, is a making method of the heat dissipation system.


A pair of thin, flexible, plastic panels are secured to one another at preselected peripheral edges to define a plastic bag and an auxiliary panel having an aperture formed in it is attached at its peripheral edges to an exterior side of a preselected panel of the pair of panels to form an auxiliary chamber. An aperture is also formed in the preselected panel in substantial registration with the aperture formed in the auxiliary panel and a valve head of a valve member is disposed between the apertures. In its position of repose, the valve head overlies the aperture formed in the preselected panel and underlies the aperture formed in the auxiliary panel. A valve neck is formed integrally with the valve head and is secured to the exterior side of the preselected panel so that it allows air being forced out of the bag to lift the valve head from the aperture formed in the exterior side of the preselected panel. The valve head returns to its position of repose when the air is no longer being forced out of the bag and the air in the auxiliary chamber escapes into the atmosphere through the aperture formed in the auxiliary panel. In a second embodiment, the valve neck and head are formed integrally with the auxiliary panel. In a third embodiment, an imperforate plug frictionally engages a socket that encircles an aperture formed in a base that is secured to the bag, and the aperture in the base is in registration with an aperture formed in the bag.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to containers for storing food and keeping the food fresh. More particularly, it relates to a resealable plastic bag of the type having a venting means for releasing air from the container after the main closure means thereof has been sealed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well-known that bacteria need food, warmth and oxygen to thrive, and that food, therefore, is best stored in a cool, airless environment. Plastic bags for storing perishables provide a reasonably good means for minimizing oxygen flow to bacteria, but the oxygen trapped in the bag when the bag is sealed still enables some bacterial growth. Accordingly, a few inventors have developed resealable plastic bags having means for venting air from the bag after the primary closure means has been sealed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,112 to Newburger (1993) discloses a resealable plastic bag having an auxiliary venting means with a structure like that of the primary sealing means. Accordingly, a sandwich is placed in the bag, the primary sealing means is closed, the venting means is opened while air is pressed out of the bag, and the venting means is then closed. The drawback of this approach is that the auxiliary venting means works with the same efficiency as the primary sealing means, i.e., the auxiliary venting means must be manually held open during the venting process, and then quickly closed manually. Air flows so quickly, however, that at least a small volume thereof is able to flow back into the bag through the auxiliary vent opening before it is closed, especially since a near vacuum exists in the bag at the moment the outward airflow ends.
There is a need, then, for an auxiliary venting means having a closure means that does not require manual operation. Specifically, there is a need for an automatic one-way valve auxiliary venting means that opens when air is flowing out of the plastic bag but which closes instantly and automatically if air attempts to flow back into the bag.
However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art how the needed improvements could be provided.

Resealable plastic bag having venting means


Provided are a method and device for designing and optimizing a multi-degree-of-freedom frequency-modulation (FM) signal, and a computer storage medium. The method includes that: a time domain function of the multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal is determined; the constraint condition and the objective function of multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal optimization are established; an algorithm model of augmented Lagrangian genetic algorithm is determined based on the constraint condition and the objective function; characteristic parameters of the first iteration of the algorithm model are initialized, where the characteristic parameters of the first iteration at least include the Lagrange multiplier of the first iteration and the offset of the first iteration; initialization signal of the multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal is acquired, and initialization frequency control points of the initialization signal are determined based on the initialization signal.

Linear frequency modulation (LFM) signal has the high-resolution imaging capability. Thus, it is widely used in the modern advanced radar, such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The sidelobe level caused by the radar using the LFM signal is high. In order to suppress false information caused by the target sidelobe and maintain phase information, generally, windowing process is performed. However, the sidelobe suppression through the windowing process will result in the problem of reducing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of radar system. For example, after the windowing process is performed on the existing SAR radar signal, such as the TerraSAR-X in the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Cosmo-SkyMed, the SNR of the radar system is reduced by about 1 to 2 dB, which is equivalent that the energy of transmitter is reduced by 20% to 37%. In order to overcome the problem of SNR loss caused by the sidelobe suppression, the multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal is favored by many radar signal designers. The multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal can maintain the SNR of the radar system while performing the sidelobe suppression through the windowing process.
In addition, when the windowing process is performed on the LFM signal for the sidelobe suppression, it will inevitably result in a widened main lobe and loss of resolution. The loss degree of the resolution depends on the performance of window function. The multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal has more frequency-modulation degrees of freedom, so that an optimal signal can be found by using an optimization method.
At present, the research on the multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal focuses on signal design and application. The existing research mainly focuses on multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal design in pulse Doppler radar system. There are three design methods: 1) according to the principle of stationary phase, designing a specific window function to obtain the complete signal; 2) based on the least square method and other optimization methods, approximating the power spectrum of the specific window function; and 3) in order to overcome the problem that the multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal is sensitive to Doppler frequency domain, designing the multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal by windowing magnitude in conjunction with the first method. However, when the sidelobe suppression is performed by adopting the methods, the main lobe is widened inevitably and the width of the main lobe is not restricted, which will result in a decrease in resolution.
Based on the advantages of maintaining the SNR of the system of the multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal, in the current SAR radar large time-width signal design and sidelobe control, the urgent problem to be solved is how to design an optimized multi-degree-of-freedom FM signal capable of performing the sidelobe suppression furthest and widening the main lobe minimally.

Method and device for designing and optimizing multi-degree-of-freedom frequency-modulation signal

Institute of Electronics, Chinese Academy of Sciences


The present invention relates to improved cultivars, varieties, lines or plants of annual medics (Medicago genus) wherein the majority of seed pods, upon reaching maturity, remain attached to their respective pedicels. In particular, the present invention relates to improved cultivars, varieties, lines or plants of annual medics (Medicago genus), having a mutant form of the gene for pod shedding, thereby resulting in a “pod holding” trait. The invention also extends to methods for isolating such plants. A yet further aspect of the invention relates to a method of transferring the “pod holding” trait from an annual medic having this trait to another annual medic of the genus Medicago by a process of controlled cross-breeding. A still further aspect of the invention relates to a method of obtaining plants having the “pod holding” trait from a population of annual medics of the genus Medicago.

The present invention relates to improved cultivars of annual pasture and forage legumes of the Medicago genus (annual medics).
The present inventors have had extensive experience and success in the breeding and development of cultivars of pasture legume, in particular cultivars of annuals of the Medicago genus. Some years ago, they recognised that a major impediment to adoption and use of Medicago cultivars was seed cost, and that a major component of that seed cost related to the difficulty of harvesting and cleaning the seed. This is because, at maturity, the seed pods are dropped from the plant, and harvesting of seed entails vacuum harvesting the pods off the ground. The harvesting process is therefore slow, and requires specialised and powerful equipment, with large fuel inputs.
Accordingly, the present inventors sought to develop a medic that does not drop its seed pods and therefore can be harvested cheaply and efficiently with conventional harvesting equipment. This pod holding characteristic has never been recorded in naturally occurring annual medics.
Pod shedding is a result of growth of a layer of cells across the pedicel (pod stalk) at the base of the pod, which cuts off nutrient flows into the maturing pod and leads to effective separation of the pod from the pedicel. At the slightest disturbance, the pod then drops to the ground under its own weight and, by the time the plant has itself matured, the pod has been shed. Research has indicated that control of development of this abscission layer of cells is genetically controlled.

Pasture, forage and seed production technology through pod and leaf retention on annuals of the


An information processing system is disclosed. The information processing system includes a first processor that receives input data and creates a pixel data stream provided over a first channel and a second channel. The first channel provides a signal to affect the output of a pixelated display. The second channel includes location information and symbol information. The information processing system also includes a second processor coupled to the first processor. The second processor receives the location information and the symbol information from the first processor. The second processor receives the input data. The second processor computes a derived version of the inputs based on the location information and the symbol information.

The invention relates generally to control systems, and more particularly to a digital control data processing and display method and apparatus which verifies symbol positioning accuracy by receiving the positioning of a blue pixel on an LCD or other pixelated display, computing derived input information based on detected symbol position and symbol type and comprising the desired input information to the actual input information.
Conventionally, methods and apparatus for verifying the operational status of digital control systems, specifically for flight guidance applications, have been used. For example, there have been known control system apparatuses which project a display symbol in the form of a light image that conveys information concerning the status of an operational state of the system. Such display symbols include pointers and other characters whose position on or direction of movement across the display screen conveys to the observer information about a particular operational state.
Further, a conventional apparatus for determining whether a display symbol conveys the correct information includes the use of a test program which is executed while the control system is off-line. The test program applies known input information to the data processing apparatus which produces output command information in accordance with a known operational control function. A display symbol generator responds to the output command information by projecting a preassigned pointer symbol at a known location on the display screen. A photo detector positioned at the known location receives the light emitted from the pointer symbol and thereby acknowledges the nominal performance of the control system after a successful execution of the test program.
These methods of verifying the operational status of the control data processing and display system are capable of neither verifying the status of the system in real time operation nor providing an adequate test for detecting latent software design defects which arise during the execution of a particular control operational function.
Thus, there is a need for a symbol position and location monitoring system which may be used during flight operations.
It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method that provides one or more of these or other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.

Symbol position monitoring for pixelated heads-up display method and apparatus


A method and apparatus for extracting a higher quality video stream for a given bit-rate by replacing a specific frame by a base layer frame at a predecoder are provided. A predecoding method performed by the predecoder includes selecting a mode by determining frames to be skipped according to a predetermined criterion among frames located at positions where the base layer exists, and extracting a portion of the bitstream according to the selected mode and extraction conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for predecoding and decoding a bitstream including a base layer, and more particularly, to extracting a higher quality video stream for a given bit-rate by replacing a specific frame by a base layer frame at a predecoder.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of information communication technology including the Internet, video communication as well as text and voice communication has explosively increased. Conventional text communication cannot satisfy various user demands, and thus multimedia services that can provide various types of information such as text, pictures, and music have increased. Multimedia data requires a large capacity of storage media and a wide bandwidth for transmission since the amount of multimedia data is usually large in relative terms to other types of data. Accordingly, a compression coding method is required for transmitting multimedia data including text, video, and audio. For example, a 24-bit true color image having a resolution of 640*480 needs a capacity of 640*480*24 bits, i.e., data of about 7.37 Mbits, per frame. When an image such as this is transmitted at a speed of 30 frames per second, a bandwidth of 221 Mbits/sec is required. When a 90-minute movie based on such an image is stored, a storage space of about 1200 Gbits is required. Accordingly, a compression coding method is a requisite for transmitting multimedia data including text, video, and audio.
In such a compression coding method, a basic principle of data compression lies in removing data redundancy. Data redundancy is typically defined as spatial redundancy in which the same color or object is repeated in an image, temporal redundancy in which there is little change between adjacent frames in a moving image or the same sound is repeated in audio, or mental visual redundancy taking into account human eyesight and perception dull to high frequency. Data can be compressed by removing such data redundancy. Data compression can largely be classified into lossy/lossless compression, according to whether source data is lost, intraframe/interframe compression, according to whether individual frames are compressed independently, and symmetric/asymmetric compression, according to whether time required for compression is the same as time required for recovery. In addition, data compression is defined as real-time compression when a compression/recovery time delay does not exceed 50 ms and as scalable compression when frames have different resolutions. As examples, for text or medical data, lossless compression is usually used. For multimedia data, lossy compression is usually used. Meanwhile, intraframe compression is usually used to remove spatial redundancy, and interframe compression is usually used to remove temporal redundancy.
Transmission performance is different depending on transmission media. Currently used transmission media have various transmission rates. For example, an ultrahigh-speed communication network can transmit data of several tens of megabits per second while a mobile communication network has a transmission rate of 384 kilobits per second. In related art video coding methods such as Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-1, MPEG-2, H.263, and H.264, temporal redundancy is removed by motion compensation based on motion estimation and compensation, and spatial redundancy is removed by transform coding. These methods have satisfactory compression rates, but they do not have the flexibility of a truly scalable bitstream since they use a reflexive approach in a main algorithm. Accordingly, in recent year, wavelet video coding has been actively researched. Scalability indicates the ability to partially decode a single compressed bitstream, that is, the ability to perform a variety of types of video reproduction.
Scalability includes spatial scalability indicating a video resolution, Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) scalability indicating a video quality level, temporal scalability indicating a frame rate, and a combination thereof.
The spatial scalability and SNR scalability can be implemented using wavelet transform and quantization, respectively. The temporal scalability is realized using motion compensated temporal filtering (MCTF) or unconstrained MCTF (UMCTF).
FIG. 1 shows the entire configuration of a conventional video coding system supporting the above-mentioned scalabilities. Referring to FIG. 1, an encoder 40 encodes an input video 10 into a bitstream 20 by performing temporal filtering, spatial transform, and quantization. A predecoder 50 truncates a portion of the bitstream 20 received from the encoder 40 or extracts a bitstream 25 according to extraction conditions such as quality, resolution or frame rate determined considering environment of communication with and performance of a decoder 60, thereby implementing scalability for texture data in a simple manner.
The decoder 60 performs the inverse operation of the encoder 40 on the extracted bitstream 25 and generates an output video 30. When the processing power of the decoder 60 is insufficient to support real time decoding of the entire bitstream 20 generated by the encoder 40, the decoder 60 may extract the bitstream 25. Of course, the extraction may be performed by both the predecoder 50 and the decoder 60.
This scalable video coding allows a bit-rate, a resolution, and a frame rate to be all changed by the predecoder 50 and provides significantly high compression ratios at a high bit-rate. However, the scalable video coding exhibits significantly lower performance than conventional coding schemes such as MPEG-4 and H.264 at an insufficient bit-rate because of several reasons.
The degraded performance fundamentally results from a feature of a wavelet transform exhibiting lower degradation at a low resolution than discrete cosine transform (DCT). Another important reason is that encoding is optimized for a specific bit-rate in scalable video coding supporting various bit-rates while the encoding performance is degraded at other bit-rates.
Accordingly, there is a need to develop an efficient predecoding method to reduce degradation in quality, resolution or frame-rate.

Method and apparatus for predecoding and decoding bitstream including base layer


A photographic subject tracking device includes: a first degree-of-similarity calculation unit that calculates degree of similarity between a template image for tracking and an image in search area; a photographic subject position identification unit that identifies a tracked photographic subject position in the input image based on calculated degree of similarity; a second degree-of-similarity calculation unit that calculates a degree of similarity between each of multiple template images for resizing determination, which are generated based on template image for tracking, and image in search area; a matching position identification unit that identifies matching positions of the multiple template images for resizing determination, respectively, in the input image based on calculated degrees of similarity; and a size changing unit that changes an image size of template image for tracking and template images for resizing determination based on a density of the plurality of matching positions identified.

A subject tracking device described below is known. Since this subject tracking device responds to changes in a photographic subject, template matching is performed by using a plurality of different template images and the template images are updated by using a template image with the highest degree of similarity (see Patent Literature 1).

Photographic subject tracking device and camera