The present invention discloses a system for biomass treatment which addresses the need to find economical solutions to transport biomass. In the present invention, small, distributed gasifiers convert the biomass into synthesis gas (“syngas”). The syngas is then transported via a pipeline network to a central fuel production facility.

For a variety of reasons, more and more interest is recently being paid to the production of biofuels. For example, biofuels are renewable and have less emissions when combusted. Biofuels may be categorized according to their feedstock. The feedstocks for first generation biofuels include sugar, starch, vegetable oils, and animal fats. The feedstocks for second generation or next generation biofuels are basically non-food crops and other biomass resources such as switchgrass, agricultural wastes, and forest residues.
To meet the increasing demand for biofuels, technologies for making next generation biofuels are being investigated. Due to the relatively low energy density (per volume) of biomass, the transportation of biomass to biorefineries for biofuels production has been a challenge. Over the past several years, people have been trying to develop various effective ways to improve biomass transportation economics.
One solution to the above challenge is to use pyrolysis technology to convert the biomass on-site into a liquid called bio-oil, and then transport the bio-oil by tank trucks to a central plant for further upgrading. This type of solution employs small, distributed or mobile pyrolysis units to convert the biomass into bio-oil. However, due to its acidity, bio-oil from a pyrolysis unit is not suitable for pipeline transportation, as it could damage the existing infrastructures; also, its fluidity at lower temperature is still an issue due to its relatively higher viscosity. Therefore, alternate systems which can convert biomass into other intermediate products that can also be delivered to a central plant more conveniently and economically are desired.

Small distributed gasification units with syngas transportation via pipeline network for biomass treatment


Rotation of transmission shafts as typically provided by the clutch brake is instead provided by increasing the load on the transmission shafts. In one embodiment, this is achieved by restricting flow through the supply line between the shaft driven pump and the oil cooler. By restricting this flow, the load on the pump increases, and the torque required to drive the pump increases. This, in turn, retards rotation of the transmission shafts to achieve the function typically provided by the clutch brake of stopping rotation. The present invention thus provides the function without the requirement of a clutch brake. The present invention is much more easily serviced or replaced than a clutch brake, and includes only elements which are accessible from outside of the transmission, and thus may be easily serviced or replaced.

This invention relates to a fluid powered clutch brake for transmission.
Presently, when a clutch brake is actuated in a transmission, the driver moves the clutch pedal all the way to the floor. A clutch linkage then moves friction members into engagement with the clutch brake.
The friction engagement between the clutch brake and the members retards rotation of the transmission shafts and gears. The friction elements, however, are susceptible to wear and over-heating. Moreover, when the clutch plate becomes worn, replacement is difficult since it is mounted to surround the input shaft of the transmission. Thus, it is typically required to either cut off the clutch brake or remove the transmission. Current clutch brakes require milling slots in the transmission input shaft, which is expensive and adds stress risers.
Thus, the entire operation and function of the clutch brake has undesirable characteristics and requires high maintenance. Moreover, when maintenance is required it is most difficult as it is often necessary to remove the clutch brake from the transmission input shaft.


An apparatus for fitting or removing tyre to or from a rim 1 of a vehicle wheel comprising a hooked tool 2 which is controlledly moved in a pivotal connection location 4 along a sliding guide 11 and in a second pivotal connection location connected to a link lever, on a tool holder 5, wherein the control movement of a rod-shaped control portion 10 is transmitted to the tool 2 by way of the gear transmission 9.

An apparatus of that kind is known from EP 1 593 533 A2. The known apparatus includes a hooked tool which is mounted movably to a tool holder by way of parallel links in two pivotal connection locations. The one end of the tool is in the form of a hooked engagement end and engages the tyre bead when removing the pneumatic tyre from the rim. Disposed at the other end of the tool is a pivotal connection location which is hingedly connected to the tool holder by way of one of the two link levers. At its one end the link lever is connected to the pivotal connection location and at its other end it is non-rotatably connected to a gear which belongs to a gear transmission mounted on the tool holder. The gear transmission has a further gear which is mounted rotatably to the tool holder and which can be caused to rotate by means of a control portion, to control the tool movement. A second pivotal connection location disposed between the two ends of the tool is supported on the tool holder by way of a second link lever. A relatively large number of hingedly interconnected components are required for controlling the movement of the tool when fitting and removing the pneumatic tyre.

Apparatus for fitting or removing a pneumatic tire to or from a rim of a vehicle wheel


A wind resistant sign enabled with a release mechanism providing for the sign pivoting from a starting point about an axis when the sign is exposed to a user determined threshold wind speed and a mechanism for returning the sign to its starting point when the wind speed decreases below the threshold. The sign pivot is the sign support and can be horizontal or vertical. The sign release mechanism can be as simple as a frangible locking element which is broken under sufficient wind velocity, a lock requiring a human operator to open, a lock controlled by a sensor, such as an anemometer, or a locking element responsive to a radio signal from a remote location. The return mechanism can be as simple as a spring for small signs, or a torque unit, such as a motor, for signs up to hundreds or thousands of kilograms.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to signage and, more specifically, to a sign enabled with a release mechanism providing for the sign pivoting from a starting point about an axis when sufficient air velocity is applied to the sign and a mechanism for returning the sign to its starting point when the air velocity decreases below a threshold.
The sign pivot is the sign support that can be in a horizontal or vertical orientation. The sign release mechanism can be as simple as a frangible locking element which is broken under sufficient wind velocity, a lock requiring a human operator to open, a lock controlled by a sensor, such as an anemometer, or a locking element responsive to a radio signal from a remote location. The return mechanism can be as simple as a spring for small signs, or a torque unit, such as a motor, for signs up to hundreds or thousands of kilograms.
The present invention further provides a sign design having an aerodynamic form, somewhat similar to an airplane wing, having a bulbous edge tapering to a smaller edge so that the bulbous edge creates eddy currents preventing the sign from fluttering in the wind.
The aerodynamic sign, of any dimensions, works in concert with the aforementioned release and return mechanisms provides signage that will inhibit wind damage, allowing said sign a means of self preservation from being ripped down or out of the ground in high and hurricane wind environments.
Forming the sign portion is a rectangular structure having a thickness comparable to a fin with an evenly thinning thickness on either side, whereby in the forward thicker region a post is attached in a rotational manner, in this rotatable attachment a spring is set to a predetermined threshold to store applied force. Between the static in-ground post and rotational sign portion, two opposing collars having holes are provided which rotate against one another where said sign and post meet so that a wire or frangible element may be attached to lock the sign into a position, until a high enough applied torque on the sign causes the wire to break. In the case of high winds sufficient enough to break the wire the present invention will lift and turn into the wind like a rudder until the stored torque in the spring can return it back into place.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other sign devices designed for high wind and storm environments. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 1,250,064 issued to F. L. Whims on Dec. 11, 1917.
Another patent was issued to J. A. Watts on May 21, 1918 as U.S. Pat. No. 1,267,021. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 2,165,704 was issued to J. B. Hood on Jul. 11, 1939 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 12, 1982 to Jennings as U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,179.
Another patent was issued on Feb. 12, 1985 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,657. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,631 was issued to Kelly on Mar. 12, 1985. Another was issued to Krautsack on Feb. 12, 1991 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,335 and still yet another was issued on Aug. 28, 1990 to Werner as U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,407.
Another patent was issued to Frankland on Jun. 6, 1989 as European Patent No. EP0348723. Yet another PCT Patent No. WO9200864 was issued to Hjelm on Jan. 23, 1992. Another was issued to Kunio on Dec. 21, 2001 as Japanese Patent No. JP 2001348821 and still yet another was issued on Dec. 12, 2003 to Molodo as French Patent No. FR2840629.


A detection ECU acquires the position of the preceding vehicle, based on image information captured by an imaging device, and generates the track of the preceding vehicle, based on the position of the preceding vehicle. The detection ECU then performs following travel control for following the preceding vehicle by calculating the amount of control for causing the own vehicle to travel along the track of the preceding vehicle, and by causing the own vehicle to travel, based on the calculated amount of control. During the following travel control, if the width of the preceding vehicle is narrower than a predetermined width, the detection ECU calculates the amount of control such that the curvature variation in the track of the own vehicle is smaller than in the case where the width of the preceding vehicle is not narrower than the predetermined width.

Adaptive cruise control (ACC) has been accomplished which selects a preceding vehicle from among other vehicles located around the vehicle in the traveling direction ahead of the vehicle, and causes the vehicle to follow the preceding vehicle.
In order to cause the vehicle to follow the selected preceding vehicle, the ACC controls acceleration and deceleration such that the vehicle keeps a certain distance from the preceding vehicle.
In the absence of any preceding vehicle, the vehicle is controlled to maintain a steady speed as set by the driver or as specified by the speed limit on the road.
As a technique related to the ACC, PTL 1 discloses a cruise control device.
In the event that the cruise control device described in PTL 1 detects the preceding vehicle meandering (rocking from side to side) while the level of consciousness of the preceding vehicle's driver is less than a threshold value, the cruise control device calculates the amount of travel control by utilizing the position information of the preceding vehicle obtained prior to the detection of meandering.
The vehicle is thus prevented from following the meandering preceding vehicle, whereby the vehicle itself can avoid meandering.


An orbit attitude control device includes a divert thruster including a plurality of nozzles. First group nozzles inject combustion gas in opposite directions along a first axis. Second group nozzles inject combustion gas in opposite directions along a second axis. A control section calculates correction values for opening degree commands based on a detection value of a pressure of the combustion chamber and a command value of the pressure, and corrects the opening degree command values by the correction values. The device further includes a first axis acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration along the first axis and a second axis acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration along the second axis. The correction values for the opening degrees of the first group nozzles are determined by a first axis acceleration, and the correction values for the opening degrees of the second group nozzles are determined by a second axis acceleration.

Technologies for controlling an attitude or orbit of a flying object flying through space or the atmosphere have been developed. In a system typically called DACS (Divert and Attitude Control System), an attitude control thruster for controlling an attitude of the flying object and an orbit control thruster for changing an orbit are used for controlling the attitude and orbit.
Patent Literature 1 discloses one example of a thruster control method. The method includes: detecting a pressure of a combustion chamber, comparing the detected pressure with a predetermined pressure value, and changing discharge areas of a plurality of nozzles for substantially same amount so that the pressure of the combustion chamber becomes the predetermined pressure, based on a difference between the detected pressure and the predetermined pressure.

Orbit attitude control device, and method of controlling orbit attitude


This invention relates to a process for preparation of polyether alkoxylated carbonates. These products may also be referred to as polyether polycarbonates. This process simultaneously transcarbonates and alkoxylates a mixture of one or more carbonate compounds, and one more hydroxyl group containing compounds, with at least one alkylene oxide in the presence of a mixture of catalysts. The catalyst mixture contains at least one DMC catalyst and at least one non-alkaline transesterification catalyst. This invention also relates to novel polyether polycarbonates, a process for preparing polyurethane foams from these novel polyether polycarbonates and to foams comprising these novel polyether polycarbonates.

This invention relates to a process for preparing an alkoxylated carbonate (i.e. polyether carbonate) product. This process simultaneously transcarbonates and alkoxylates a mixture of compounds with at least one alkylene oxide, in the presence of a mixture of catalysts. The present invention also relates to novel polyether carbonates.
A general review of the chemistry of polymerizing propylene oxide with carbon dioxide in the presence of a suitable catalyst to produce polycarbonate polyols is provided by D. Darensburg and M. W. Holtcamp in the article "Catalysts for the Reactions of Epoxides and Carbon Dioxide", Coordination Chemistry Reviews, 153, 1996, pp. 155-174. Cyclic carbonate and/or polycarbonate synthesis via epoxides and CO2 is described, as is ring-opening polymerizations of cyclic carbonates.
Various processes have been used to prepare polyether carbonate polyols from alkylene oxides and carbon dioxide, in the presence of a DMC catalyst. One problem resulting from most of the processes is the formation of a high level of propylene carbonate which is an undesirable by-product of these processes. Efforts to overcome this problem include the combined use of a DMC catalyst with a co-catalyst, and the use of a substantially non-crystalline DMC catalyst.
In spite of the advances made recently in this area, there continues to be a need for alkoxylated carbonate products (i.e. polyether carbonates) with low levels of cyclic carbonate by-products, and new processes for preparing these alkoxylated carbonate (i.e. polyether carbonates) products. We have surprisingly found that reacting alkylene oxides with carbonates using a dual catalyst system offers a very efficient method for preparing polyether polycarbonates with very little formation of cyclic carbonate byproducts.


A coated substrate including a substrate; a stack of coating layers provided on the substrate composed of, in the sequence recited, (i) a first layer of dielectric material which is a composite layer including a sub-layer comprising a selectively absorbent material having a refractive index of at least 1.4, a spectral absorption index k.sub..lambda. of at least 0.4 in the range 380<.lambda.<450 nm and having a ratio of k.sub.380<.lambda.<450 nm /k.sub.650<.lambda.760 nm >2, (ii) a first layer of a metal selected the group consisting of silver, gold, copper and alloys of one or more thereof, and (iii) a second layer of dielectric material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to metal-coated substrates, and in particular to a metal-coated transparent substrate sheet in which the metal is silver, gold or copper or an alloy of one or more thereof.
Such coated substrates find application as, for example, window glazing for buildings or vehicles, in laminated structures and as optical filters.
Panels used as window glazing in buildings desirably have a low solar factor (FS, defined below) so that the interior of the building is not overheated by solar radiation, while also having an adequate level of luminous transmittance (TL, defined below) so as to provide sufficient internal light. These somewhat conflicting requirements can also be expressed as a need for the panel to display good selectivity, i.e. a high ratio of luminous transmittance to solar factor (further defined below). It is also desirable that the glazing panels present both a neutral aspect in reflection, otherwise expressed as a low colour purity, and a low level of reflection but these are properties which tend to be difficult to achieve in combination with high selectivity.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to improve the selectivity of a metallic coating on glazing by increasing the thickness of the metallic layer(s). However this has the disadvantage of imparting to the glazing a purple colour in reflection, which tends to be regarded as aesthetically unattractive. It has therefore been proposed to overcome the disadvantage by use of an oxide layer beneath the metal, the said oxide layer having a higher refractive index than other oxide layers in the coating, whereby interference effects are created between the respective oxide layers which reduce the undesired coloration. French patent specification 2719036 teaches the use as such an underlayer of an oxide selected from niobium oxide and tantalum oxide. Such a high refractive index underlayer does not however favour the achievement of a low luminous reflectance (RL), and consequently of a high selectivity, of the coated substrate. Our earlier GB patent specifications 2229737 and 2229738 describe a substrate of a glazing material carrying a multi-layer coating which comprises a reflective layer of silver sandwiched between a transparent undercoat and a transparent overcoat. The undercoat comprises at least one layer of a metal oxide over which is deposited a layer of zinc oxide up to 15 nm thick. The overcoat comprises a layer of an oxide of a sacrificial metal such as aluminium, bismuth, stainless steel, tin or titanium or of a mixture thereof.


A trocar is provided with a cannula and a housing and valve assembly disposed in the housing which forms a housing seal, and instrument seal, and in some cases a zero seal. A gel material is included in the valve and provides the valve with superior flotation properties for maintaining the instrument seal even when the instrument is moved off-axis. In order to accommodate movement of the gel material, voids can be formed within the valve housing and even within the gel material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to surgical access devices and more specifically to valves and seals associated with such devices.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Access devices are commonly used to facilitate the introduction of surgical instruments into body conduits and body cavities. One such device, which is typically referred to as a trocar, is used in laparoscopic procedures to provide access through the abdominal wall and into the abdominal cavity. In laparoscopic surgeries, the abdominal cavity is commonly inflated or insufflated in order to increase the volume of the working environment. Under these circumstances, valves are provided in a valve housing of the trocar to inhibit the escape of the insufflation gas. The valves form an instrument seal in the presence of an instrument, and a zero seal in the absence of an instrument.
Trocar seals are disclosed and claimed in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,553, which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent discusses the problems which can be encountered when the instrument is inserted off-axis. The solution of floating the valve is discussed in detail.
In this patent it is contemplated that the valve would comprise first portions which define an orifice through the valve and second portions disposed outwardly of the first portions. These second portions are intended to provide a greater flexibility than the first portions. As a consequence, when an instrument is inserted off-axis, the second portions will deform while the first portions, which form the instrument seal, will remain undeformed. One of the embodiments contemplates provision of an excess of material disposed outwardly of the valve orifice which functions generally as a bellows. In this case the first portions of the valve have a first radial length to radial distance ratio while the second portions of the valve have a second radial length to radial distance ratio. The valving mechanism is formed generally of a solid but elastomeric material.

Surgical access device with floating gel seal


Provided is a connector whose miniaturization is easier than before. A connector includes a signal terminal as at least one first terminal having conductivity, a housing having insulating property and holding the signal terminal, a shell having conductivity and covering the housing, and an upper ground terminal as a second terminal having conductivity and a lower ground terminal as a third terminal having conductivity which are held by the housing so as to face each other via the signal terminal with a space left therebetween. Further, the upper ground terminal has a contact portion being in contact with a contact inner surface of the shell.

This invention relates to a connector.
As described in JP-A-2006-310184 (Patent Document 1), a conventional shielded connector has a structure that enhances the noise resistance by providing a double-structure housing and a double-structure shell.
This conventional shielded connector will be described with reference to FIG. 21. As shown in FIG. 21, a connector 301 of Patent Document 1 includes conductive contacts 311, an insulating inner housing 321 holding the contacts 311, a conductive first shell 331 covering the inner housing 321, an insulating outer housing 341 covering the first shell 331, and a conductive second shell 351 covering the outer housing 341.

Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Limited


A multi-beam antenna for a wireless communication network, a method of creating cells for a wireless communication network with a multi-beam antenna held aloft by an aeronautical vehicle and a wireless infrastructure. The multi-beam antenna projects: (1) a first antenna beam to create a first cell upon a generally circular first terrestrial area below the multi-beam antenna and (2) a second antenna beam to create a second cell upon a generally circular second terrestrial area below the multi-beam antenna, the first cell having a smaller radius than, and substantially concentric with, the second cell.

The use of cellular mobile telecommunications has undergone substantial growth over the past few years and is projected to continue expanding as service is improved and new products and features are offered. To retain existing customers and entice others to adopt cellular telecommunications, however, services must be provided at a reasonable price. Therefore, the cost of providing cellular telecommunication services must be reduced.
Conventional terrestrial-based cellular systems provide service to geographical areas divided into hexagonal cells 110 as shown in FIG. 1. The number and size of these cells are selected by the service provider such that geographical coverage is optimized, cost is reduced, and capacity within the service area is maximized. Each cell 110 is equipped with transmitters, receivers, and control apparatus located at a cell site 120, which is typically located near the geographical center of the cell. Each cell site 120 within a particular service area is connected to a central office 130 that serves as a mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) and which controls mobile operation within the cells. The cell-sites 120 connect to the MTSO over data links 125. The MTSO switches calls to other mobile units and to the local telephone system.
As a practical matter, cell boundaries are not precise. The conventional hexagonal cell shape was chosen because it provides a practical way of covering an area without the gaps and overlaps in coverage that would occur if circular cells were used. Although circular cells could be serviced by omni-directional antennas, directional antennas must be used to approximate the hexagonal shape.
Because of the above, and other, limitations of conventional terrestrial-based cellular systems, researchers have begun to design wireless communications systems that use high-altitude aeronautical platforms (HAAP) to carry radio-relay transponders. A HAAP can take, for example, the form of an airship or a piloted, or pilotless, airplane circling over a geographical service area. One advantage of an airborne antenna platform is that it can service a much larger geographical area than conventional terrestrial-based cellular antenna systems.
Attempts to realize an operational HAAP have heretofore relied on geographical service areas divided into conventional adjacent hexagonal cells. The use of conventional cells, however, requires that the HAAP on-board antenna be capable of dynamically changing its radiation pattern as the aeronautical vehicle flies in a circle above the service area. This is because the relative position between each hexagonal cell and the HAAP is not constant and, thus, the antenna beam must be mechanically and/or electronically steerable, which adds cost and complexity to a cellular system employing HAAP-mounted antennas. Thus, from the wireless point of view, the most challenging technical issue in realizing such systems is the sophisticated, steerable multi-beam antennas required onboard the HAAP.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art, is a way of clustering cells that does not require steerable-beam antennas.

Cell-clustering arrangements and corresponding antenna patterns for wireless communication networks employing high-altitude aeronautical antenna platforms


The invention adopts a mist cooling apparatus (3) that cools a heated treated subject M by spraying a cooling mist thereto, the mist cooling apparatus including: a first nozzle (35) that sprays a cooling mist; and a second nozzle (45) that sprays a cooling mist having a particle diameter smaller than the particle diameter of the cooling mist sprayed from the first nozzle.

Patent Document 1 discloses a mist cooling apparatus which is used for the heat treatment on a treated subject such as metal so as to cool the treated subject. The mist cooling apparatus sprays a mist-like cooling liquid to the heated treated subject so as to cool the treated subject using the latent heat of vaporization of the cooling liquid. For this reason, the mist cooling apparatus has high cooling performance compared to a gas ejecting type cooling apparatus of the related art. Further, when the mist ejection amount or the mist ejection time is adjusted, the mist cooling apparatus may easily control cooling speed of the treated subject which is difficult to control in an immersion type cooling apparatus of the related art.

Mist cooling apparatus, heat treatment apparatus, and mist cooling method


A burl plate for use in immersion lithography has a higher burl density in a peripheral portion than in a medial portion so that when a higher pressure differential is applied in the peripheral portion the compression of the burls in the peripheral portion is substantially the same as in the medial portion.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a target portion of a substrate. Lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that circumstance, a patterning device, such as a mask, may be used to generate a circuit pattern corresponding to an individual layer of the IC, and this pattern can be imaged onto a target portion (e.g. comprising part of, one or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer) that has a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist). In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively exposed. Known lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at one time, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through the projection beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction.
It has been proposed to immerse the substrate in the lithographic projection apparatus in a liquid having a relatively high refractive index, e.g. water, so as to fill a space between the final element of the projection system and the substrate. The point of this is to enable imaging of smaller features since the exposure radiation will have a shorter wavelength in the liquid. (The effect of the liquid may also be regarded as increasing the effective NA of the system and also increasing the depth of focus.) Other immersion liquids have been proposed, including water with solid particles (e.g. quartz) suspended therein.
However, submersing the substrate or substrate and substrate table in a bath of liquid (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,852, hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference) means that there is a large body of liquid that must be accelerated during a scanning exposure. This may require additional or more powerful motors and turbulence in the liquid may lead to undesirable and unpredictable effects.
One of the solutions proposed is for a liquid supply system to provide liquid on only a localized area of the substrate and in between the final element of the projection system and the substrate using a liquid supply system (the substrate generally has a larger surface area than the final element of the projection system). One way which has been proposed to arrange for this is disclosed in WO 99/49504, hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings, liquid is supplied by at least one inlet IN onto the substrate, preferably along the direction of movement of the substrate relative to the final element, and is removed by at least one outlet OUT after having passed under the projection system. That is, as the substrate is scanned beneath the element in a −X direction, liquid is supplied at the +X side of the element and taken up at the −X side. FIG. 5 shows the arrangement schematically in which liquid is supplied via inlet IN and is taken up on the other side of the element by outlet OUT which is connected to a low pressure source. In the illustration of FIG. 5 the liquid is supplied along the direction of movement of the substrate relative to the final element, though this does not need to be the case. Various orientations and numbers of in- and out-lets positioned around the final element are possible, one example is illustrated in FIG. 6 in which four sets of an inlet with an outlet on either side are provided in a regular pattern around the final element.
In a conventional lithographic apparatus, the substrate is often clamped to a burl plate (sometimes referred to as a pimple plate or table) by pressure differential between the atmosphere above the substrate and a partially evacuated space below the substrate. The burl plate has a plurality of projections or raised portions (hereafter referred to as burls), such as pimples or concentric rings, distributed over the space within a vacuum wall corresponding to the perimeter of the substrate. The term "burls" sometimes is considered to refer to a swirl configuration but must be considered herein in a broader context to refer to any orientation of projections or raised portions. The substrate rests on the burls and optionally the vacuum wall, which may be made lower than the burls so that there is a controlled leak of air into the space under the substrate, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,615, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. A principal advantage of a burl plate is that the total area of the tops of the burls is very small compared to the area of the substrate so that there is a correspondingly small chance that a contaminant particle on the backside of the substrate will come between the substrate and a burl and hence distort the substrate. Thus, burls may also be used when the clamping force is electrostatic rather than by pressure differential.

Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method


Provided is a board structure for a vehicle, which includes a durable hinge portion while light weight and high rigidity of the board structure are maintained. The board structure includes: hinge portion 11 formed by squashing a part of honeycomb structure 14 that is charged with thermosetting resin 16 the from back side surface member 15 side toward front side surface member 13, in which front side surface member 13 and back side surface member 15 are joined to each other, and flexible hinge sheet 12 provided on the outer side of front side surface member 13 across hinge portion 11. At least a part of hinge sheet 12 in a thickness direction thereof is embedded in front side surface member 13.

Various types of board structures are known for interior automotive trims, such as, for example, a deck board disposed on a floor of a trunk space in which a recessed storage portion for storing spare tires is formed and a parcel shelf for dividing trunk space into an upper space and a lower space, in the interior space of an automobile. For these types of board structures, a predetermined load bearing capability is required, and also, weight reduction is becoming increasingly important from the perspective of the handleability of the board structures and fuel consumption reduction of the vehicles.
For such lightweight boards, there are known boards in which a honeycomb structure is used as a base material, the honeycomb structure including a plurality of small individual chambers (cells) therein, the boards having reduced weight and enhanced rigidity by charging and foaming a foamable thermosetting resin in the cells of the honeycomb structure.
For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a board structure for the interior automotive trim, the board structure being formed by putting a glass fiber mat impregnated with a foamable thermosetting resin on each of opposite sides of a honeycomb structure, and subjecting the resulting honeycomb structure with the glass fiber mats thereon to heat molding, thereby foaming and charging the thermosetting resin in the cells of the honeycomb structure. In addition, Patent Literature 2 discloses a floor covering member for the trunk space of an automobile, the floor covering member including integral hinges formed by thermofusion of a honeycomb layer.
A deck board disposed on a floor of a trunk space in an automobile is intended to enable opening/closing an opening of a recessed storage portion, and to provide a flat floor surface of the trunk space. Since such deck board is formed so as to cover substantially the entire floor surface of the trunk space, it is necessary to open/close the deck board in its entirety in order to access the recessed storage portion. Accordingly, when opening/closing the deck board in its entirety, it is necessary to temporarily take goods loaded on the deck board to the outside of the vehicle, and thus, such deck board is poor in handleability and convenience. Therefore, in order to enhance the convenience of deck boards, a configuration in which a deck board is divided by forming a hinge so that a part of the deck board can pivot with reference to the hinge as a pivot axis, thus enabling opening/closing of only a part of an opening of a recessed storage portion, is employed.

Board structure for vehicle and manufacturing method of the same


A plasma display panel comprising a first panel having a plurality of discharge sustaining electrode pairs, and a second panel having a plurality of address electrodes and facing the first panel. A discharge sustaining electrode pair includes a scan electrode and a sustain electrode having discharge surfaces facing each other, and the scan electrode is closer to the address electrode than the sustain electrode. The plasma display panel requires a reduced address voltage and discharge voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a PDP having improved driving efficiency and brightness.
2. Discussion of the Background
Generally, a PDP displays images by using a discharge effect. It is thin and may have a large screen, as well as high display capacity, high brightness, high contrast, clear latent imagery, and large viewing angle. Therefore, PDPs are considered to be a next generation display device for replacing the cathode ray tube (CRT).
The PDP may be categorized as a direct current (DC) type PDP and an alternating current (AC) type PDP according to its driving voltage waveforms and discharge cell structure. In the DC PDP, charged electrons move directly between corresponding electrodes since the electrodes are exposed in the discharge space. However, in the AC PDP, a dielectric layer covers at least one electrode, and discharge occurs due to an electric field of a wall charge instead of a direct movement of charges between electrodes.
Most PDPs being produced at this time are AC PDPs, and FIG. 1 shows a typical structure for a surface discharge AC PDP. FIG. 2 shows a discharge cell of the PDP of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a PDP comprises a first panel 110 and a second panel 120 facing the first panel 110.
The first panel 110 comprises a plurality of stripe shaped sustain electrodes X1, . . . , Xn and scan electrodes Y1, . . . , Yn on a first substrate 111. A first dielectric layer 114 covers the sustain electrodes X1 . . . Xn and scan electrodes Y1 . . . Yn, and a protective layer 115 covers the first dielectric layer 114. As shown in FIG. 2, the sustain and scan electrodes may comprise transparent electrodes Xna and Yna, which may be formed of a transparent conductive material such as an indium tin oxide (ITO), and bus electrodes Xnb and Ynb, which may be formed of highly conductive material, respectively.
The second panel 120 comprises stripe shaped address electrodes AR1, . . . , ABm formed on a second substrate 121 and substantially orthogonal to the sustain electrodes X1, . . . , Xn and the scan electrodes Y1, . . . , Yn. A second dielectric layer 123 covers the address electrodes AR1 . . . ABM, and barrier ribs 124, which define a plurality of discharge cells, are formed on the second dielectric layer 123. Fluorescent layers 125 are formed on the second dielectric layer 123 and the sides of the barrier ribs 124. The fluorescent layers 125 comprise red, green, and blue fluorescent layers.
A discharge gas is filled in a discharge space formed by joining the first and second panels 110 and 120 together.
FIG. 3 is a timing diagram showing typical driving signals for the PDP of FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, reference numerals SAR1, . . . , SABm represent driving signals applied to the address electrodes AR1, . . . , ABm, reference numerals SX1, . . . , SXn represent driving signals applied to the sustain electrodes X1, . . . , Xn, and reference numerals SY1, . . . SYn represent driving signals applied to the scan electrodes Y1, . . . , Yn.
A basic method for driving a PDP may include sequentially performing reset, address, and sustain periods. The reset period (not shown) provides uniform charge states for all discharge cells.
In the address period A, wall charges are generated in selected discharge cells. Referring to FIG. 3, display data signals are applied to the address electrodes AR1, . . . , ABm while sequentially applying scan pulses of a ground voltage VG to the scan electrodes Y1, . . . , Yn, which are biased to Vscan. When applying the display data signals to the address electrodes AR1, . . . , ABm, a positive address voltage VA selects the discharge cells, and the ground voltage VG is applied when a discharge cell is not to be selected. Accordingly, applying the display data signal of the voltage VA forms wall charges in the corresponding discharge cells, and wall charges are not formed in the corresponding discharge cells when applying the ground voltage VG.
In the sustain period S, sustain discharge occurs in selected discharge cells by alternately applying a voltage VS to the sustain electrodes X1, . . . , Xn and the scan electrodes Y1, . . . , Yn. The discharge occurs when applying a voltage to the cells that exceeds their discharge firing voltage. The voltage applied to the cell includes the voltage VS and its wall voltage.
Referring to FIG. 2, a sustain discharge generates plasma, and ultra violet rays emitted by the plasma excite the fluorescent layers 125 to emit visible light.
Sustain discharges generate meta-stable particles of atoms and molecules. These meta-stable particles ionize neutron particles by colliding with them since the meta-stable particles have a relatively long lifetime, which may decrease the discharge-sustain and discharge firing voltages.
As shown in FIG. 2, the surface discharge type PDP may have a semicircular sustain discharge path. The meta-stable particles generated in these discharge paths may collide with the barrier ribs 124, shown in FIG. 1, and the fluorescent layers 125. Therefore, the meta-stable particles near the barrier ribs 124 and the fluorescent layers 125 may have a relatively short lifetime, which may increase the discharge-sustain and discharge firing voltages.
To solve this problem, Korean Patent Application No. 2002-0072590 discloses a method that generates a linear discharge route formed by disposing the sustain electrode and the scan electrode to face each other.
However, this method may require a high address voltage to induce address discharge, thereby reducing driving efficiency.

Plasma display panel having scan electrode closer to address electrode


A drill guide includes a working portion and a shaft, with a joint formed between the working portion and the shaft so that the shaft is movable relative to the working portion about the joint. The working portion includes at least one drill guide hole which receives a drill for making a hole in a bone. The joint isolates the working portion from unintentional movements of the shaft so that the working portion remains stable against a bone surface. The joint also enables the shaft to be used as a retractor or pry bar against surrounding anatomical structures if desired. The drill guide may be included in a system with an implant component and/or other surgical instruments.

Orthopedic implants are designed to be rigidly fixed within bone, both with and without the use of bone cement. It is imperative than the implants are seated within bone in channels that precisely match the actual shape of the implants in order for them to lie flat or otherwise seat in the way to minimize chance of failure. If the channels created for the implant to seat are in an improper position, orientation, size, or incorrect depth, the implant may not seat correctly, and may be prone to abnormal forces, loosening, or may not function properly.
Loosening of an implanted orthopedic device can cause pain, loss of motion and further tissue destruction, possibly leading to the implant needing to be removed or revised. Reoperation for loose orthopedic implants is a major source of increased costs to the healthcare system. Therefore it is important that implants are implanted precisely the way they were engineered to be placed in order maximize the chance of success.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems and methods, involving: a main magnet configured to generate a magnet field for MRI; a transmit radio frequency (RF) coil assembly configured to transmit an RF pulse into a portion of a subject; an RF coil assembly configured to, in response to the an RF pulse, receive MR signals emitted from the portion of the subject; and a gradient coil assembly having coil windings arranged in a radial layer and a first set of electrical connectors embedded in the radial layer to reduce a radial extent occupied by the gradient coil assembly, an electrical connector in the first set of electrical connectors configured to cross over a portion of the coil windings in the radial layer, the first set of electrical connectors configured to drive the coil windings with a current sufficient to generate a perturbation in the magnet field such that the MR signals encode an MR image based on the perturbation, and the radial layer having a depressed area configured to radially constrain the electrical connector.

In the related art, gradient coils are employed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems. A gradient coil assembly of an MRI system may perturb the main magnetic field during an MRI imaging sequence so that MR signals may encode proton resonance emitted from various parts of a subject during an MR scan and an MR image may be reconstructed based on the MR signals. Gradient coils tend to be physically large and massive components of the MRI system with many layers. Yet, gradient coils typically do not have abundant layer space available for the internal structures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of reducing spatial extent of gradient coil current feeding connectors


A system and methods to provide updates of an oblivious database that is based on an original database without compromising privacy guarantees, and without requiring a periodic downtime to re-initialize the database. According to embodiments of the present invention, update caches are provided at the random servers that are not emptied or sent to the oblivious database after every update in a predictable fashion. Instead, updates are made incrementally to the oblivious database in an order that is independent of how the original database is updated. Hence there is no way for the server to learn which record of the oblivious database corresponds to an updated block from the original database.

A critical privacy protection that users crave is preventing information they consider sensitive from being inadvertently leaked as they query or access Internet services. In other words, users see the problem of preserving their access privacy to online services as an important concern that must be addressed. A cryptographically sound approach to protect access privacy it to use the technique of private information retrieval (PIR). PIR schemes, as are known in the art, allow a user to access data from service providers without the service providers being able to learn any information about which particular data item was accessed or retrieved.
One such PIR scheme requires a database to be replicated to two or more servers that are assumed not to be colluding. A query received from a user is separated into different parts, and each part is sent to a different server. The returned result from each server, based on the portion of the query each received, is returned back to the client where the results are combined to provide a complete response to the full query. However, concerns remain about the practicality of having an organization replicate its database to the servers of multiple different cloud services that are assumed not to collude. Replicating a database to multiple independent cloud servers increases the chances of the data being broken into, used without consent, or used for illegitimate purposes. In short, it is inconceivable that an organization would ever want to give out a copy of its database especially as it may represent their intellectual property, trade secret, or asset.
To address the database replication problem, a random server model of PIR was introduced by Gertner et al. (Yael Gertner, Shafi Goldwasser, and Tal Malkin. A Random Server Model for Private Information Retrieval or how to Achieve Information Theoretic PIR Avoiding Database Replication. In RANDOM '98, pages 200-217, 1998). This model attempts to separate the task of providing query privacy from that of information retrieval using auxiliary random servers running databases containing random data. The database server uses the service of two or more random servers to generate an encrypted and permuted version of its database and to help keep the user queries private. Of particular interest in this solution are universal random servers, which are a type of auxiliary servers holding random data that is completely independent of the content of the database. Gertner et al. proposed a scheme that achieves total independence, i.e., all random servers are of the universal type—they contain no information derived from content of the dataset, thereby addressing the database replication problem. In other words, the scheme provides user privacy according to the underlying PIR scheme used with the scheme, and database privacy (no single server or a coalition can learn any information about the content of the database).
Gertner et al.'s secure multi-party computation (SMC) protocol enables the server holding a database x and two auxiliary random servers each holding a random database α and a pseudorandom permutator π, to compute an initial oblivious database y=π(x⊕α). However, their protocol must be rerun to re-compute y after a large (e.g., sublinear) number of queries have been run or whenever the database x is updated. But, naively updating the oblivious database y with updates from x leaks information about π. In other words, an update to some record xi would require an update to be made to some oblivious database block yj and the server maintaining the database is able to learn that j=π−1(i). Hence, finding a periodic downtime to rerun the SMC is prescribed to update the oblivious database y. As a result, users would have to suspend making query requests during the SMC protocol rerun because the random servers would be preoccupied. Such a wait is undesirable in environments where database changes are frequent and query downtimes are unacceptable. The second problem with this scheme is that it expects the same random database to be used to mask multiple databases belonging to different organizations, which can lead to significant attacks in practice (i.e., the attacker learns r by running several queries across databases and uses this knowledge to learn the blocks of a target y much faster).

Dynamic database update in multi-server private information retrieval scheme


A cable assembly (100) includes a first connector (1), a number of second connectors (2) each having a serial advanced technology attachment interface, and cable means (3) connecting the first and the second connectors. The first connector includes a unitary first longitudinal insulative housing (10) having an upper and a lower elongated side walls (1040, 1041) opposite to each other in a lateral direction and respectively defining a plurality of first and second passageways therein, a number of signal contacts disposed in corresponding first passageways, and a number of power contacts disposed in corresponding second passageways. The cable means includes a plurality of sets of wires, each set electrically connecting with the first connector and a corresponding second connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cable assembly, and more particularly to a high speed Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) cable assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Parallel ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) and parallel SCSI (Small computer System Interface) are two dominant disk interface technologies in past long period. The parallel ATA disks are widely used in desktop PCs and mobile PCs, and the parallel SCSI disks are mainly used in high-volume servers and subsystems. As disk interconnect speeds continue to rise, existing parallel ATA and parallel SCSI buses are reaching their performance limits because that parallel transmissions are susceptible to crosstalk across multiple streams of wide ribbon cable that adds line noise and can cause signal errors—a pitfall that has been remedied by slowing the signal, limiting cable length or both. In view of the requirements for a high-speed transmission, an organization, named Serial ATA (SATA) Working Group proposes a specification defining a SATA interface. SATA interface is developed with a fast signal transmission speed of up to 1.5 Gbps between storage devices (such as hard disks, floppy drives, CD-ROMs, and DVDs) and a motherboard. Numerous advantages of SATA make it gradually replace Parallel ATA and Parallel SCSI interfaces and become the next generation personal computer storage interface. Correspondingly, SATA connectors and SATA cable assemblies have been designed and developed by many companies in the art.
A conventional SATA cable connector assembly is disclosed in art for connecting a first electrical device, such as a motherboard in a personal computer or a server with a second electrical device, such as a hard disk of the personal computer or the server. The cable connector assembly comprises cable means having opposite two ends, and a first and a second connectors each connected to one end of the cable means. The first and the second connectors both receive a plurality of power and signal contacts. The cable means comprises power cables for transmitting power between the first and the second connectors and signal cables for transmitting signal between the first and the second connectors. Therefore, one such one-to-one cable assembly is only for connecting the motherboard with one hard disk. As widely known, a storage device of the personal computer or the server has only a limited storage capability, which is hard to meet users' higher and higher requirements. In this case, a motherboard having at least two SATA interfaces which can simultaneously connect with at least two hard disks gradually springs up in nowaday market. Correspondingly, at least two SATA cable assemblies with mentioned structure are simultaneously used to transmit signal and power between a motherboard and at least two hard disks. However, using large numbers of cable assemblies must increase complexity and occupy larger space in the electrical device.
Another conventional SATA cable assembly entitled "SATA INTERFACE RELAY CONNECTOR AND ITS APPLICATION" is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,719,591. The cable assembly comprises a repeator connector 11 having a signal section 11a and a power supply section 12a, a signal connector 11c, a power input connector 12b, a signal cable 11b for connecting the signal section 11a with the signal connector 11c, and a power cable 12d for connecting the power supply section 12a and the power input connector 12b. The cable assembly is used for transmitting signals between a computer and a peripheral device, such as a 5.25-inch CD ROM, DVD ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW drives as well as mobile racks. However, the similar problem is existed. When the computer wants to communicate with a plurality of peripheral devices, a number of cable connector assemblies have to be used.
Hence, in this art, a new type SATA cable assembly to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art will be described in detail in the following embodiments.

Single-port to multi-port cable assembly


A position sensor has an interface structure between negative dielectrics and a dielectric, and is provided with a configuration in which the plasmon intensity with respect to a microstructure in a surface including the interface structure or in the vicinity thereof is detected by the interface structure, and the positional relationship between the interface structure and the microstructure is thereby detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a position sensor, a method for detecting a position, an alignment apparatus including the position sensor, and a method for alignment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Contact exposure apparatuses, in which a mask pattern is brought into intimate contact with a resist on a wafer and exposure and transfer are performed, are previously known as exposure apparatuses for fabricating high-density semiconductor integrated circuits and the like.
A contact exposure apparatus that uses evanescent light is proposed as one such exposure apparatus in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,730. The invention described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,730 is excellent, and makes a significant contribution to the areas of photolithography and semiconductor manufacturing technology. The exposure apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,730 is shown in FIG. 14.
In the apparatus shown in FIG. 14, a resist film 107 is formed on the surface of a substrate (wafer) 106 so as to prepare an object to be exposed. The substrate is attached on stage 108 and the stage 108 is driven to align the substrate 106 relative to a photomask 101. The stage 108 is driven in a direction normal to the mask surface to bring the photomask 101 into intimate contact with the resist 107 on the substrate 106, and the resist 107 is exposed to evanescent light generated in the vicinity of fine apertures on the front of the photomask 101, by the use of exposure light 110 emitted from an exposure light source 109.
With respect to the alignment between the above-described photomask and the substrate in such a contact exposure apparatus, only the alignment of the substrate (wafer) relative to the photomask has been previously performed in the two-dimensional direction on the mask surface, that is, only horizontal alignment is performed, and performing alignment through the use of a microscope observation is conventional.
However, in known contact exposure apparatuses, no device for measuring and controlling the distance between a mask and a wafer is provided, and only horizontal alignment is performed to align the mask with the wafer, as described above. Consequently, the measurement and the control of the distance between a mask and a wafer required in the case of, for example, exposure to the evanescent light by the use of an intimately contacted mask cannot be performed.
With respect to the horizontal alignment through the use of a microscope observation in a known contact exposure apparatus, the accuracy of the alignment may be on the order of 1 μm, and may not be comparable to the accuracy (100 nm or better) required of an evanescent-light exposure apparatus, for example.
If the construction of the device for measuring and controlling the distance between a mask and a wafer is attempted by the use of, for example, known distance-measuring technology, e.g., laser telemetry, the configuration of the apparatus becomes complicated significantly.

Position sensor, method for detecting horizontal and vertical position, alignment apparatus including position sensor, and method for horizontal and vertical alignment


A coding apparatus includes a fourth layer codebook that shows N number of codes indicating uniquely respective N integers that increment one by one; and first to third layer codebooks that show M number of codes indicating uniquely respective M integers that are a subset of the N integers, and codes a digital signal using any one of the first to fourth layer codebooks. The coding apparatus does not need to do rescaling even when switching one of the first to fourth layer codebooks into another of them.

Efficient variable-length coding methods, as typified by the Huffman coding method, have been adopted for coding audio signals and video signals. For example, an international standard, ISO/IEC 13818-7, commonly called MPEG-2 AAC (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group-2, Advanced Audio Coding) or the like is renowned as a coding method of audio signals. In this coding method, a plurality of Huffman coding methods are used because their coding efficiency is extremely high.
In the case of AAC, in order to achieve compression of data amount, MDCT (Modified Discrete Cosine Transform) coefficients are scaled and quantized into integers, and then the quantized coefficients are represented as Huffman codes. Here, in the AAC Huffman coding, the Huffman codes are assigned to all the integers, as the representative points for quantization, within a range between the determined maximum and minimum values of the quantized integers. The assignment of the Huffman codes like this means representation of the distance between certain maximum and minimum values, as an Euclidean distance, by equally spaced representative points. As a result, it is possible to control quantization errors only in each space, without fail, regardless of the distribution of the objects to be quantized. In addition, the use of a plurality of Huffman codebooks of various quantization resolutions gives the choice between less bit consumption for more quantization errors and more bit consumption for less quantization errors.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a coding apparatus 100 for coding audio signals by the conventional AAC method. The coding apparatus 100 includes a scaling unit 101, a quantization unit 102, a code generation unit 103, a codebook holding unit 104 and a stream generation unit 105. A digital audio signal in the time domain obtained by sampling an analog audio signal at a fixed frequency is split, at a regular time interval, into groups of a fixed number of samples, transformed via MDCT into MDCT coefficients that are data in the frequency domain, and then inputted, as an input digital signal Y, into the coding apparatus 100. The input digital signal Y is inputted to the scaling unit 101, which scales the MDCT coefficients included in each frequency band called a scale factor band, with one certain gain A for each scale factor band. The scaling unit 101 outputs the scaling gain A to the stream generation unit 105, and outputs the MDCT coefficients X obtained as a result of the scaling to the quantization unit 102. The quantization unit 102 quantizes the scaled MDCT coefficients X using a predetermined conversion formula. To be more specific, in the case of the AAC method, rounding off the MDCT coefficient which is expressed as a floating point into an integer value is the quantization thereof. The code generation unit 103 codes the quantized MDCT coefficients with reference to a codebook stored in the codebook holding unit 104, and outputs the codes C thereof to the stream generation unit 105. The stream generation unit 105 adds header information and the like to the gain A inputted from the scaling unit 101 and the codes C within the scale factor band inputted from the code generation unit 103, and outputs them as a stream. In the codebook holding unit 104, a plurality of codebooks of various quantization resolutions are stored. If coding is performed with reference to the codebook of lower quantization resolution, among the codebooks stored in the codebook holding unit 104, the bit amount of the stream can be reduced in return for more quantization errors. On the contrary, if coding is performed with reference to the codebook of higher quantization resolution, the quantization errors can be reduced in return for more bit amount of the stream. In sum, the coding apparatus 100 enhances the coding efficiency by selecting the codebook suitable for the coding from among the codebooks of various quantization resolutions.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of codebooks 201 to 204 of various quantization resolutions stored in the codebook holding unit 104 of the conventional coding apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. 1. In the codebook 201, quantized values can be any of the integers "−1", "0" and "1" between the maximum value "1" and the minimum value "−1", and the codes for the quantized values are represented as binary values using 0 and 1. In the codebook 202, quantized values can be any of the integers "−2", "−1", "0", "1" and "2" between the maximum value "2" and the minimum value "−2", and the codes for the quantized values are represented as binary values using 0 and 1. In the codebook 203, quantized values can be any of the integers "−3", "−2", "−1", "0", "1", "2" and "3" between the maximum value "3" and the minimum value "−3", and the codes for the quantized values are represented as binary values using 0 and 1. In the codebook 204, quantized values can be any of the integers "−4", "−3", "−2", "−1", "0", "1", "2", "3" and "4" between the maximum value "4" and the minimum value "−4", and the codes for the quantized values are represented as binary values using 0 and 1. These codes are just examples, and the present invention is not limited to them.
FIG. 3 shows distributions of representative points (quantized values X′) for quantization of objects to be quantized X with reference to each of the codebooks in FIG. 2, namely, sets of integers that are representative points. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the codebook 201 shows that the codes are assigned to three representative points "1", "0" and "−1". In this case, the MDCT coefficients that are the objects to be quantized X1 are scaled so as to be values around between the maximum value "1" and the minimum value "−1" (but not limited to those values). As mentioned above, the codes require only three values for representing respective representative points in the case where coding is performed with reference to the codebook 201, so only a small number of bits are needed. The codebook 202 shows that the codes are assigned to five representative points "2", "1", "0", "−1" and "−2" as quantized values X2′. In this case, the MDCT coefficients that are the objects to be quantized X2 are scaled so as to be values around between the maximum value "2" and the minimum value "−2" (but not limited to those values). As mentioned above, in the case where coding is performed with reference to the codebook 202, the codes of a larger number of bits are needed for representing five quantized values X2′ than the case where three quantized values X1′ are represented in the codebook 201. Similarly, in the case where coding is performed with reference to the codebook 203, the codes are assigned to seven quantized values X3′ from "−3" to "+3", and the MDCT coefficients that are the objects to be quantized X3 are scaled so as to be values around between the maximum value "3" and the minimum value "−3". In the case where coding is performed with reference to the codebook 204, the codes are assigned to nine quantized values X4′ from "−4" to "+4", and the MDCT coefficients that are the objects to be quantized X4 are scaled so as to be values around between the maximum value "4" and the minimum value "−4". In the case of the AAC as an audio coding method, quantization and coding are performed using the method as mentioned above.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the codebooks 201 to 204 are designed so that the codes of shorter bit patterns are assigned to frequently appearing quantized values.
However, in the conventional method, the objects to be quantized are just quantized into representative points which are equally spaced in both plus and minus directions from 0 as a center, regardless of the actual distribution of the objects. For example, as is obvious from FIG. 3, the representative points 301 to 304 that correspond to the codebooks 201 to 204 are distributed at equal spaces in the plus and minus directions from 0 as a center. It is statistically common that the objects to be quantized are distributed at equal spaces, but it is rather difficult to say that they are always equally spaced from 0 as a center and never be biased toward either plus or minus direction.
Furthermore, in the above conventional method, objects to be quantized are quantized using a plurality of Huffman codebooks of various quantization resolutions for improvement of coding efficiency. However, when a codebook is switched into another codebook of another quantization resolution, the objects to be quantized need to be rescaled for adopting them to the resolution of the other codebook. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedures of the coding processing in the case where the conventional coding apparatus 100 performs coding using codebooks of various quantization resolutions. Here, the case where coding is performed first with reference to the codebook of the highest quantization resolution will be explained as an example of the coding method. It is assumed, in this case, that coding is performed with reference to a codebook of the one-level lower quantization resolution when the number of bits in a scale factor band exceeds a reference value as a result of the coding using the codebook of the highest quantization resolution, and then such coding is repeated until the number of bits in the scale factor band becomes the reference value or less or there is no more codebooks of the lower quantization resolution. First, "N" number of (where N is a natural number) MDCT coefficients (y1, y2, y3, . . . , yN) in each scale factor band are inputted into the scaling unit 101 (S401). The scaling unit 101 scales the inputted MDCT coefficients so that the values thereof fall within a range of representative points in the codebook of the highest quantization resolution (S402). For example, in the case where coding is performed with reference to the codebook 204, the scaling unit 101 scales the "k"th MDCT coefficients yk with a gain A when an equation −4<(yk/A)=xk<+4 holds for all these MDCT coefficients, where k=1, 2, . . . , n. The quantization unit 102 rounds off the scaled MDCT coefficients xk, and the code generation unit 103 reads out, from the codebook 204, the codes Ck which are to be assigned to the quantized values xk′ obtained by the rounding-off. The code generation unit 103 calculates the total number of bits of N codes (C1, C2, C3, . . . , CN) in the scale factor band (S403), and judges whether or not the calculated total number of bits is the target number of bits or less (S404).
When the total number of bits of the codes in the scale factor band is the target number of bits or less in Step S404 (YES in S404), the code generation unit 103 outputs, to the stream generation unit 105, the ID (or the number or the like) of the codebook used for coding the scale factor band and the codes (C1, C2, C3, . . . , CN) in the scale factor band. The stream generation unit 105 outputs a stream including: the ID of the codebook and the codes (C1, C2, C3, . . . , CN) in the scale factor band which are outputted from the code generation unit 103; and the scaling gain A which is outputted from the scaling unit 101 (S405). The MDCT coefficients in the next scale factor band are inputted to the coding apparatus 100, which starts the above-mentioned processing from Step S401.
When the total number of bits of the N codes (C1, C2, C3, . . . , CN) in the scale factor band is larger than the target number of bits in Step S404 (NO in S404), the code generation unit 103 instructs the scaling unit 101 to rescale the MDCT coefficients (y1, y2, y3, . . . , yN) in the same scale factor band so that the values thereof fall within a range of values of representative points in the codebook of the one-level lower quantization resolution. According to this instruction, the scaling unit 101 returns to the processing in Step S402 and rescales the coefficients (S402). To be more specific, for the purpose of coding with reference to the codebook 203 of the one-level lower quantization resolution than the codebook 204, the scaling unit 101 scales the "k"th MDCT coefficients yk with a gain A when an equation −3<(yk/A)=xk<+3 holds for all these MDCT coefficients, where k=1, 2, . . . , n. The quantization unit 102 rounds off the scaled MDCT coefficients xk, and the code generation unit 103 reads out, from the codebook 203, the codes Ck which are to be assigned to the quantized values xk′ obtained by the rounding-off. The code generation unit 103 calculates the total number of bits of N codes (C1, C2, C3, . . . , CN) in the scale factor band (S403), and judges whether or not the calculated total number of bits is the target number of bits or less (S404). In the case where the total number of bits of the N codes (C1, C2, C3, . . . , CN) in the scale factor band is still larger than the target number of bits at this time, the coding apparatus 100 returns to the processing in Step S402, modifies the value of the gain A, and repeats the processing in Steps S402 to S404 until there is no more codebooks of the lower quantization resolution or the total number of bits in the scale factor band becomes the target number of bits or less.
As described above, for the sake of rescaling, not only division needs to be carried out for N number of MDCT coefficients included in each scale factor band, but also each of the real number values of the N number of MDCT coefficients needs to be compared with a range of values of representative points. These division and comparison require an enormous amount of calculations, which causes a problem in coding.
Against the backdrop as mentioned above, an object of the present invention is to provide a coding apparatus that allow more efficient coding without increase in processing load due to resealing and a decoding apparatus.

Coding apparatus and coding method for coding with reference to a codebook


A unified messaging (UM) application benefits from platform independence and human intelligibility of eXtended Markup Language (XML). A finite state machine (FSM) of the UM application is created utilizing an XML feature to create a valid menu state based upon a UM software component. For a UM software component that is a context or setting of the UM application, an XML conditional attribute conditions a prompt, transition or grammar node of the UM FSM. For a UM software component that is an XML snippet, an XML importation element replicates the XML snippet upon compilation, avoiding time-consuming and error prone requirements for manual code duplication. For a UM software component such as an external method, function, variable or action, a function wrapping XML tool validates the existence of such external UM software components at build time and captures version information to verify the availability of the same version upon execution.

Communications technologies are at the forefront of rapidly changing requirements of the information age. Only a few short years ago, fax machine technologies threatened the traditional way of receiving information in the mail by electronically encoding content and delivering messages over phone lines. This technology revolutionized the way business had been conducted for hundreds of years. Almost as soon as fax machines became ubiquitous, a new technology known as electronic mail or e-mail began to overtake many applications that were previously and exclusively in the domain of fax machines. As e-mail applications grew, still yet other communications technologies evolved such as Instant Messaging services which again threatened older forms of communications. Along with text driven technologies such as e-mail and fax machines, voice communications have also changed from hard wired connections to the ever popular and growing wireless technologies of today.
In order to manage the wide range of communications options that are available to many users, Unified Messaging (UM) applications have begun to appear that provide a service for handling the many communications options available to users. Unified Messaging generally implies the integration of voice, fax, e-mail, and the like allowing a user to access any of these messages, anywhere, anytime, from any terminal of choice. One goal of a Unified Messaging system is to simplify and speed up communication processes to achieve time and cost savings within a corporation or other entity.
One common feature of modern communications systems is that users are generally given various configuration options from different style menus in order to tailor these systems for particular communications preferences. Thus, voice mail, Unified Messaging and other Intelligent Voice Recognition (IVR) applications have user interfaces that are typically menu driven. A menu consists of one or more prompts that can be played to an end-user on the phone, for example. A user makes menu selections by one or more methods such as by using dual tone multi frequency (DTMF) keypad. DTMF navigation techniques can prove cumbersome when many input options exist. Moreover, with increased use of hands-free communication devices, DTMF keypad entry may not be convenient or appropriate.
Recently, automatic speech recognition (ASR) has been employed to a certain degree in UM menu applications to make them easier to use. However, given the large variations in languages, dialects, speech patterns, and individual tendencies, ASR must handle a large number of possible speech scenarios in order to avoid a high percentage of failures. As such, hard coded solutions, such as conventional state machines, become impractical as being unable to accommodate new UM features without burdensome code development and testing.


Provided is a processing device capable of, on the basis of data prepared by a recorder that only has recording function, acquiring information related to a time when the data was prepared. The processing device includes an acquisition unit for acquiring the recorded audio data, and an identification unit for detecting a sound signal that is included in the audio data and transmitted from an information transmission device and allows the time at which the signal was recorded to be identified, and identifying the time when other signals included in the audio data were recorded on the basis of the sound signal.

A technique for analyzing sound such as environmental sound, voice and the like, and detecting an event occurred on the basis of characteristics of the sound is known. The sound representing the event occurred is sometimes called an audio event, an audio incident or the like. A technique for preliminarily defining an audio event and, from among collected sound data, detecting and identifying the audio event signifying the same characteristics as a defined audio event is called audio event detection.
For example, a technique for arranging a plurality of audio sensors (in other words, microphones) in a distributed manner, and detecting an audio event in the area in which the sensors are arranged is known. As a related technique, NPL 1 discloses a technique for precisely synchronizing using the same radio broadcast signals in order to synchronize the sampling of the plurality of microphones arranged in a wide area.
In addition, PTL 1 is a literature disclosing a synchronization of internal time of a plurality of recorders. When synchronizing, the recorders are connected to one another, and the time is set using a dedicated circuit.
PTL 2 discloses a technique for including information signifying a starting point of the watermark information (i.e., a synchronizing point) in sound data.
PTL 3 discloses a technique, which is not related to an analysis of sound, for adjusting delay difference of the two transmission lines using a frame identification signal. PTL 4 discloses a technique for setting the time through receiving an electric wave including time information.

Processing device, processing method, and storage medium


A ferrite core constituting a deflection yoke includes a plurality of convex portions in a ridge shape on an inner surface thereof. Among the plurality of convex portions, assuming that the convex portions in a range excluding a range of −20° to +20° with respect to a horizontal axis and a range of −20° to +20° with respect to a vertical axis are diagonal convex portions, the lengths in a tube axis direction of at least horizontal axial convex portions on a horizontal axis or vertical axial convex portions on a vertical axis are larger than those of the diagonal convex portions. Because of this, a color picture tube apparatus with a deflection power reduced can be provided while the degree of freedom in a winding arrangement of deflection coils is secured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color picture tube apparatus used in a television, a computer display, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to reduce a deflection power and suppress the heat generated by a deflection yoke, JP61(1986)-56757U discloses a so-called slot core in which a plurality of convex portions protruding toward a tube axis of a picture tube are provided on an inner surface of a ferrite core constituting a deflection yoke. FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of the deflection yoke with the slot core, taken along a surface vertical to the tube axis at a position close to an electron gun. Reference numeral 9 denotes a ferrite core, and 10 denotes a plurality of convex portions provided on an inner surface of the ferrite core 9. Windings are inserted in grooves between the convex portions 10 adjacent to each other in a circumferential direction, whereby a vertical deflection coil 7 and a horizontal deflection coil 6 are wound therein. Reference numeral 8 denotes an insulating spacer for insulating the vertical deflection coil 7 from the horizontal deflection coil 6. Each convex portion 10 extends over the entire region in a tube axis direction from an end on an electron gun side of the ferrite core 9 to an end on a screen side thereof, along a surface including the tube axis. By providing such convex portions 10, compared with the case where the convex portions 10 are not provided, the ferrite core 9 can be brought close to the picture tube. Therefore, the deflection efficiency can be enhanced, which is advantageous for reducing a deflection power. Furthermore, since a magnetic flux is unlikely to cross the coils 6, 7, an eddy current loss-is reduced, and the heat generated by the deflection yoke also can be decreased.
In the slot core of JP61(1986)-56757U, windings of the horizontal deflection coil 6 and the vertical deflection coil 7 are inserted to be wound in the grooves between the plurality of convex portions 10 extending between both ends in the tube axis direction of the ferrite core 9. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the winding of the horizontal deflection coil 6 and the winding of the vertical deflection coil 7 along the common grooves so as not to allow them to extend off the grooves over the entire length in the tube axis direction of the ferrite core 9. Thus, there is a limit to the degree of freedom in a winding arrangement.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, JP7(1995)-35289Y proposes a ferrite core 9 in which convex portions 10 are provided only in a partial region on an electron gun side in a tube axis direction. FIG. 8 shows a front view of the ferrite core 9 seen from a screen side. In the ferrite core 9 shown in FIG. 8, the convex portions 10 are not formed on an inner surface on the screen side. Thus, by freely setting the winding arrangement of a horizontal deflection coil and a vertical deflection coil in a region where the convex portions 10 are not formed, a deflection magnetic field distribution can be adjusted appropriately, so that a color shift and raster distortion can be reduced.
However, the slot core shown in FIG. 8 cannot sufficiently satisfy the recent request for further reducing a deflection power.

Matsushita Toshiba Picture Display Co., Ltd.


Several embodiments are described for induced electric field or E-field poling of QPM nonlinear crystal materials, such as LiNbO.sub.3, LiTaO.sub.3 and KTP, utilizing approaches which, for the most part, avoid the necessity of depositing or otherwise forming a series of spatially disposed conductive electrodes on one surface of the nonlinear crystal material. E-field poling is accomplished by applying a high voltage electric field in excess, for example, in the range of several kilovolts per cm to several 100 kilovolts per centimeter, at room temperature to provide inverted domains in a pattern of continuously alternating domains corresponding to the regions formed on the first z surface of the crystal. The employment of single, planar-applied liquid electrodes is preferred eliminating any necessity of forming and removing previously formed metal electrodes in the poling process.

There has been much work for providing frequency conversion of the output from presently available laser diode sources to produce wavelengths not readily available from these sources. The most attractive alternative for frequency conversion, such as frequency doubling, sum frequency generation and difference frequency generation, is quasi-phase matching (QPM) of an input radiation beam or beams from a laser diode source and their harmonic waves in second order optical crystals, such as inorganic crystals LiNbO.sub.3, LiTaO.sub.3 and KTP as well as in organic materials, such as polymeric mediums. In the case of such crystals, the QPM conditions must be satisfied between the interacting waves in order to achieve efficient nonlinear optical interaction. QPM allows interactions between lightwaves or radiation polarized such that the nonlinearity is maximized and allows interactions to occur in the crystal for which birefringent phase matching is not possible. Compared to birefringent phase matching, QPM allows both access to new wavelengths and higher conversion efficiencies. Since the refractive index of the crystal is dependent upon wavelength of the light to be converted, it is necessary to provide a periodic inverted domain structure within the crystal so as to have domains in the crystal of nonlinear optical coefficient of periodic inverted sign, e.g., two or more regions or domains of different states of ferroelectric polarization transverse to the path of light to be converted. First order QPM requires sign reversals of the effective nonlinear coefficient with a period equal to two coherence lengths. The light waves produced by the nonlinear polarization periodic pattern in the crystal are in phase at the given wavelength so that the waves intensify each other. In particular, QPM allows nonlinear interactions between waves polarized on the z axis for which the maximum nonlinear coefficient or tensor, d.sub.33, is utilized.
To date, the frequency conversion that is highly desirable is that which generates visible light in the "blue" radiation spectrum, such as wavelengths in the range of about 390 nm to 492 nm, which has many applications such is in color display devices, color projectors and color printers.
In practice, the ability to create finely spaced domains with sufficiently accurate periodicity and well defined domain walls in the crystal is a challenging, if not difficult, task to accomplish, particularly on a continuous yield basis. One of the earliest U.S. patents in the field of applying an electric field is the patent to R. C. Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 3,407,309, which issued in October, 1968.
So far, there are presently several ways to form the periodic domain pattern of desired spontaneous polarization in the nonlinear crystal, i.e., processing regions or domains having a ferroelectric polarization direction that is dominant over all other possible directions. These several ways may be classified, in part, as (1) inverted domain patterns of differing composition, i.e., by surface impurity diffusion or by ion exchange, (2) inverted domain patterns of same composition, i.e., electric field treatment with or without heat, and (3) inverted domains through periodic modulation during crystal growth, i.e., current bias or temperature fluctuation treatment during crystal growth (e.g., by a modified Czochralski process) and (4) electron beam treatment.
An example of the first type of classification is U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,220, now reexamination certificate B1 5,036,220. The first type of classification is generally achieved by the introduction into or by the removal of material from the solid body of the crystal. A most common example is titanium (Ti) diffusion through the z.sup.+ surface of the crystal. The resulting inverted domain pattern is generally only possible in a shallow surface layer and does not provide good vertical wall boundaries in the crystal.
Examples of the second type of classification is U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,407,309 and 5,193,023 and the article W. K. Burns et al., entitled "Second Harmonic Generation in Field Poled, Quasi Phase Matched, Bulk LiNbO.sub.3 ", IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 6(2), pp. 252-254, February, 1994. The second type of classification is generally achieved by the application of a high voltage, electric field through the employment of a pattern of electrodes formed on one major surface of the crystal with a planar electrode formed on the opposite major surface of the crystal forming the opposing field electrode. The applied field is pulsed or cw for a short period of time and is generally accompanied with an applied temperature such as above 100.degree. C. The permanent inversion of the domains is accomplished by means of minute changes in ions in the unit lattice of the crystal due to the application of the electric field. By "permanent", what is meant is that the inverted domain pattern will remain as long as the crystal is not subsequently reheated to high temperature near the Curie temperature of the crystal or subjected to any further high voltage fields.
In about 1963, R. C. Miller recognized that inverted domains could be formed in ferroelectric crystals by cycling an applied electric field to switch the spontaneous polarization of the crystal to form inverted domains. U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,023 teaches periodic poling, using a pattern of electrodes on one side of a crystal and a planar electrode on the opposite side of the crystal across which an electric field is applied. In the examples of U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,023 where an electric field is employed, poling is accomplished in an atmosphere containing oxygen with an applied temperature in the range of 150.degree. C. to 1200.degree. C. and an applied voltage field of several hundreds of volts per centimeter or less.
The field inversion in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,023 is accomplished at relatively lower applied voltages, such as at several hundreds of volts per centimeter (or several kilovolts per centimeter when using pulse voltages) or less, since the crystal is heated to a sufficiently high temperature during the applied E-field process. However, higher voltages can be successfully employed at room temperature, as demonstrated in the articles of Jonas Webjorn et al., Quasi-Phase-Matched Blue Light Generation in Bulk Lithium Niobate, Electrically Poled via Periodic Liquid Electrodes, Electronic Letters, Vol. 30(11), pp. 894-895, May 26, 1994 and "Electric Field Induced Periodic Domain Inversion in Nd.sup.3+ -Diffused LiNbO.sub.3 ", Electronic Letters, Vol. 30(25), pp. 2135-2136, Dec. 8, 1994, which are incorporated herein by reference. This second type of classification, particularly as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,023, has also been discounted by others in the past due to problems of electrodiffusion or due to electrode contamination and migration of electrode contaminants into the crystal during the application of an applied high volt-3 age field. However, the employment of liquid electrodes can help avoid such problems, as disclosed in the articles of Jonas Webjorn et al., supra.
Examples of the third type of classification are, respectively, the articles of A Feisst et al., "Current Induced Periodic Ferroelectric Domain Structures in LiNbO.sub.3 Applied for Efficient Nonlinear Optical Frequency Mixing", Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 47(11), pp. 1125-1127, Dec. 1, 1985 and Duan Feng et al., "Enhancement of Second Harmonic generation in LiNbO.sub.3 Crystals With Periodic Laminar Ferroelectric Domains", Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 37(1), pp. 607-609, Oct. 1, 1980.
An example for the fourth type of classification is the article of H. Ito et al., "Fabrication of Periodic Domain Grating in LiNbO.sub.3 by Electron Beam Writing for Application of Nonlinear Optical processes", Electronic Letters, Vol. 27(14), pp. 1221-1222, Jul. 4, 1991.
Of all of the foregoing classifications, the second type of classification has been found the most successful from the standpoint of providing periodic domains that have accurate periodicity and substantially vertically formed domain walls creating the nonlinear periodic waveguide in the crystal. The use of the applied electric field permits the formation of domains that have accurate periodicity and the domains are formed through the crystal forming domain walls that have some parallelism with the z axis of the crystal. However, in the case of the second type as well as all other types classified, the processing only provides for shallow domain structures that do not effectively extend through the crystal bulk and do not form vertical wall boundaries for the formed inverted domains substantially parallel with the z axis of the crystal. What is needed are high voltage processes that are room temperature applicable that provide for vertically formed domain walls that extend in the z axis direction through the crystal bulk without walkoff, i.e., capable of providing bulk frequency conversion, forming highly uniform periodicity, laterally extending domain patterns which achieve first order intervals over long crystal interaction lengths.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a nonlinear frequency waveguide converter that is fabricated by electric field poling at room temperature.
It is another object of this invention to provide for highly uniform periodicity, laterally extending domain patterns in ferroelectric crystal materials having first order interval capability over long crystal interaction lengths.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a process for high voltage field poling at room temperature of a ferroelectric crystal material useful for bulk frequency conversion.

Periodic electric field poled crystal waveguides