An instantly controllable LED light apparatus provides an LED array (34) formed of red, green and blue LEDs in a regular arrangement. The apparatus also provides a unitary power supply/controller (4) disposed within a unitary housing (20) that is coupled only to the LED array (34) and a power source (56) in one embodiment. The power supply/controller (4) includes a memory device (64) such that, when a button (62) is pressed on the control panel (18) of the power supply/controller (4), a desired illumination color is instantly produced by the combination of the red, green and blue LEDs of the LED array (34).

Conventional light sources, such as used for illumination and display purposes in the entertainment and other industries, typically use a white light source. These light sources work on the principle that white light carries the full spectrum of visible rays of light having various wavelengths and associated colors. In conventional lighting systems, the light source is not directly controlled to provide various colors but, instead, filters, gels, and dichroic glass are used in conjunction with the white light source to color the visible illumination. Dichroic light systems include a white light source and red, green, and blue filters and involve a combination of 3 to 4 light sources or mechanical devices to mix colors. Gels and filters are colored transmissive materials placed over the white light source to produce colored illumination. As such, when different colors of light are desired, the filters, gels or dichroic glass that cover the white light source, must be mechanically changed. This is a time consuming process. The different gels, etc. used to provide the different colors of light may include the primary colors of red, green and blue, and the combinations thereof such as the secondary colors of magenta, cyan, and yellow, as well as the different white light colors conventionally designated in terms of Kelvin degrees (° K).
Other available lighting systems use many, different colored LEDs (light emitting diodes), in combination, to produce various colors of visible illumination. Such systems typically require multiple connections such as to both a power supply and a separate controller such as a computer. As such, these multiple component systems are rather bulky with decreased portability. Many LED lighting systems also include dip switches or other settings that must be physically adjusted in order to select and control the colors produced by the LED light source. Such a requirement to physically toggle switches in order to change colors, is labor intensive and time consuming. Therefore, the various different colors of illumination cannot be selected or changed in an instant.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide an LED lighting apparatus that is lightweight and portable and operates using a minimal number of components. More particularly, it would be advantageous to provide such an apparatus with a single power supply/controller and which can have the illumination color and intensity selected and switched instantly by the press of a button. The present invention addresses these needs.

LED light apparatus with instantly adjustable color intensity


A system of intelligent appliances coupled by common household power lines or wireless links. One or more of the appliances serves as a system controller and may include a further communications interface for coupling to an external communications network, such as the telephone network. The system can thus be accessed and controlled remotely. The system can also communicate with and obtain information from remote sources such as Internet-based facilities.

The use of power lines for the communication of data is well known. Power line communication (PLC) systems and methods have been used in a variety of applications, including the control of household appliances. One manufacturer, X10 Ltd. of Seattle, Wash. provides a system comprising modules for controlling the application of power to appliances connected thereto in accordance with control signals generated by a controller and communicated over 110 VAC power lines. Like the modules, the controller plugs into the power lines. Each module includes a switch for selecting one of a plurality of identifiers by which the module is addressed by the controller, thereby allowing a plurality of appliances in a household to be controlled individually by one controller. The X10 system also includes a wireless controller which communicates via RF with a unit which is plugged into the power lines. The system can also communicate with devices such as battery-powered passive infrared motion detectors and other security-related devices via radio frequency (RF) links. The X10 system also includes a computer interface allowing a personal computer (PC) to control and program the system.
Systems such as the aforementioned suffer from several limitations and drawbacks. For example, the degree of control is limited to simply turning appliances on and off. There is no capability of communicating information between the controller and the appliances or among the appliances. Moreover, the aforementioned system does not provide a method of adding components and modifying the system which is user-friendly and flexible while providing a high degree of security.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A process for producing catalytic cracking gasoline includes the following steps: i) subjecting a heavy feedstock oil to a catalytic cracking reaction in the presence of a first catalytic cracking catalyst to obtain a first reaction product; ii) subjecting a hydrogenated cycle oil to a catalytic cracking reaction in the presence of a second catalytic cracking catalyst to obtain a second reaction product; iii) separating a mixture of the first reaction product and the second reaction product to obtain a catalytic cracking gasoline and a catalytic cracking light cycle oil; iv) subjecting the catalytic cracking light cycle oil or a fraction thereof to hydrogenation to obtain a hydrogenated product; and v) recycling the hydrogenated product to the step ii) as the hydrogenated cycle oil.

With the increased use of heavy crude oils and the rapid growth of demand for light oil products, catalytic cracking techniques for converting heavy oils into light oils have developed rapidly in China. However, a fact that must be faced is that catalytic cracking diesel (also referred to as "light cycle oil (LCO)") normally has a relatively poor quality, high density, high aromatics content, and low cetane value. Thus, it is difficult to meet the increasingly stringent diesel specifications, even through diesel hydrotreatment technology. It becomes an increasingly serious problem to process the catalytic cracking light cycle oil. Another problem is the long-term shortage of finished gasoline in China, in which catalytic cracking gasoline accounts for 80% of the finished gasoline. Therefore, it may be a new way to solve the above problems by maximizing the production of high-octane gasoline through a catalytic cracking process that can produce high-octane gasoline without producing light cycle oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,545 A discloses a catalytic conversion process comprising the step of subjecting a full-range catalytic cracking light cycle oil to hydrotreatment to obtain a hydrogenated light cycle oil, followed by catalytic cracking to produce a gasoline rich in monocyclic aromatics.
Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN1422327A discloses a process for the upgrading of a catalytic cracking light cycle oil, comprising the steps of subjecting a light cycle oil produced by a first catalytic cracking unit using a heavy oil as a starting material to deep hydrogenation, and then passing the hydrogenated light cycle oil to a second catalytic cracking unit. As developed on the basis of this process, Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN1423689A further emphasizes that, to selectively increase the yield of light olefins, the catalyst used in the second catalytic cracking unit is required to comprise 50-95% of a shape-selective zeolite and about 5-50% of a macroporous zeolite having a pore diameter of greater than or equal to about 0.7 nm.
Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN1466619A discloses a process for the conversion of catalytic cracking light cycle oil, in which a catalytic cracking riser reactor is divided into two reaction zones, i.e. a upstream reaction zone and a downstream reaction zone, a heavy oil is sprayed into the downstream reaction zone, the resultant catalytic cracking light cycle oil product is hydrogenated to obtain a hydrogenated light cycle oil, which is then sprayed into the upstream reaction zone. As developed on the basis of this process, the process described in Chinese Patent Application Publication No. CN1425054A adds naphtha to the feed to the upstream zone in addition to the hydrogenated light cycle oil. However, this process has high hydrogen consumption, and the reaction of the hydrogenated light cycle oil in the upstream zone seriously affects the conversion of the downstream heavy oil.
There is still a need in the art for a process that can reduce the production of light cycle oil, increase the production of catalytic cracking gasoline, and simultaneously increase its octane number.

Process for producing catalytic cracking gasoline with a high octane number

RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM PROCESSING, SINOPEC


An induction or propagation apparatus for performing measuring the tensor resistivity of a sample of matter includes a non-conductive, generally cylindrical tubular member adapted to receive the matter therein, a triaxial transmitter, at least one triaxial receiver, and an electronic module. The electronic module is adapted to energize the triaxial transmitter, control acquisition of signals by the at least one triaxial receiver, and perform anisotropic measurements and analysis. The triaxial transmitter and the at least one triaxial receiver are disposed on the generally cylindrical tubular member in axial spaced relationship.

In the oil and gas industry, wells are drilled deep into the earth's crust for the purpose of finding and retrieving petrochemicals. Operating companies, who own or manage such wells, as well as oilfield services companies, evaluate wells in a variety of ways, for example, by acquiring formation cores. These formation cores may be obtained using coring tools. These tools are conveyed on a drilling collar or wireline suspended into the well and are adapted to drill into a side-wall of a borehole to obtain formation samples, also known as cores.
The assessment of formation characteristics acquired from formation cores is often crucial to the decision-making process concerning development plans for petroleum wells that are being evaluated as part of an exploration or production activity. Depending on the results of the evaluation, the well could be drilled deeper, plugged and abandoned as non-productive or cased and tested. The evaluation may also be inconclusive and the determination made that additional evaluation such as, for example, further acquisition of cores of the formation, is required before a decision on the disposition of the well can be made. The results of the core analysis as interpreted from a well log may also help determine whether the well requires stimulation or special completion technologies such as, for example, gas lift or sand control. The decisions made from well evaluations are very difficult, often made with imperfect information, have huge economic impact, and frequently have to be made very quickly. Mistakes, or even mere delay, can be extremely expensive.
There are several different types of tools for obtaining side cores. One approach is to manipulate a rotating hollow cylindrical coring bit into the side-wall of the borehole. As the rotating coring bit is forced into the sidewall, a small sample of the formation, known herein as the core, is collected in the interior of the coring bit. An example of a side-coring tool is the Mechanical Side-Coring Tool (MSCT™) of Schlumberger Technology Corporation. Side-wall core samples are acquired by the MSCT™ using rotary drilling whereby no percussion damage is caused by rotary drilling into the side-wall of the borehole. The Mechanical Side Coring Tool is operable to acquire up to twenty side-wall core samples during a single trip into the borehole. The rotary drilling of the side-wall core by the MSCT™ preserves the properties of the side-wall core samples thereby allowing accurate measurements of parameters such as relative permeability and secondary porosity.
Production company personnel at a well site or other personnel involved in planning a logging job may plan for a side-wall coring job that involves acquiring side-wall cores for particular depths of interest. A coring tool is then lowered to the depth of interest and coring operations are performed at these depths. Core samples are collected in the tool and the entire apparatus retrieved to the surface. Upon retrieving the coring tool, these personnel may discover, to their dismay, that a fewer number of cores were actually acquired during the job than what was planned. An additional problem from the failure to acquire all planned side-wall cores is a difficulty in sorting out which side-wall core associates to a specific planned depth of interest. Furthermore, the lack of core analysis in current coring tools results in delay in testing and updating any reservoir model until such time the acquired side-wall cores are analyzed in the laboratory.
Electromagnetic induction and propagation logging tools are commonly used for determining electrical properties of formations surrounding a borehole. These logging tools give measurements of apparent resistivity (or conductivity) of the formation that, when properly interpreted, reasonably determine certain petrophysical properties of the formation.
Induction tools have been used for many years to measure the resistivity of earth formations surrounding a borehole. Induction logging tools measure the resistivity (or its inverse, conductivity) of the formation by inducing eddy currents in the formations in response to an AC transmitter signal. The eddy currents induce secondary magnetic fields that in turn induce voltages in receiver antennas. Because the magnitudes of the eddy currents depend on formation conductivities, the magnitudes of the received signals thus reflect the formation conductivities. A typical induction tool includes at least two induction arrays having different spacings between the transmitters and the receivers for different depths of investigation (DOI).

Method of and apparatus for measuring tensor resistivity


The present invention relates to an apparatus for removal of a clot from a blood vessel comprising, an embolectomy catheter, one or more sheath introducers disposed within the embolectomy catheter, two removal devices moveably engaged within the sheath introducers, and a balloon catheter with an inflatable/deflatable balloon. Each removal device has a flexible rod and a racquet shaped head integral therewith. Each head has an attached basket for retaining the clot. Each head also has a wire extending from its distal end to the proximal end of the flexible rod for manipulation of the head during capture of the clot.. The invention also relates to a method for removing a clot from a blood vessel comprising the steps of: pre-loading two removal devices; one into each of two sheath introducers; pre-loading the two sheath introducers into an embolectomy catheter; making an incision for insertion of a guide wire into the right jugular vein; inserting the guide wire into the right jugular vein under an image amplifier; passing the guide wire into the pulmonary artery; inserting the pre-loaded embolectomy catheter into the jugular vein and passing the catheter over the guide wire to a point within the pulmonary artery proximate the clot; pushing the removal devices through a distal opening of the two sheath introducers and further through a distal opening of the embolectomy catheter; moving the removal devices toward the clot; capturing the clot between the removal devices; withdrawing the removal devices and the clot into the embolectomy catheter; and removing the embolectomy catheter from the vessel.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for removing a blood clot from a vessel.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Venous thrombosis is the term used to describe a blood clot (thrombus) in a vein of the body. Most commonly these thrombi are found in the veins of the lower extremities; the thighs and calves. Thrombi found in veins deep in thighs or calves give rise to a condition called "deep vein thrombosis" (DVT). Venous thrombosis can occur in healthy as well as sick individuals.
A complication most commonly associated with venous thrombosis is the condition known as "pulmonary embolism." A pulmonary embolus is actually a clot that has broken free from a vein wall and has traveled to the pulmonary artery, then, if not removed, to a lung, causing blockage in an artery of that lung. When an embolus blocks a blood vessel in the lung, breathing is compromised and death may ensue.
It is estimated that in the United States each year, there are approximately 50,000 deaths resulting from pulmonary embolism. For this reason, pulmonary emboli must be removed from the pulmonary artery.
Many catheter systems are designed for percutaneous fragmentation of large pulmonary emboli. The devices generally consist of an impeller rotating at high speed at the end of the catheter for fragmentation of the clot While the developers of these apparatus often boast of quick and thorough fragmentation, particles in the effluent larger than 10 microns account for about 9% of the treated embolus weight. Such particles, once dislodged, may move into the lung and cause serious problems. Moreover, these catheter systems carry natural risks of damage to a vessel wall by the rotating impeller.
An apparatus and method are therefore needed to remove clots from blood vessels without rotating blades or fragmentation.

Apparatus for removing a blood clot from a vessel


A lens module with physically stronger foundations and enhanced stability includes a circuit board, an image sensor thereon, a mounting bracket, an optical filter, and a lens unit. The mounting bracket on the circuit board has the image sensor. The optical filter on the mounting bracket is above the image sensor. The lens unit is connected to the mounting bracket facing away from the circuit board by a frame of adhesive. The surface of the mounting bracket facing away from the circuit board has positioning posts at corners of the surface of the mounting bracket. A surface of the lens unit connected to the mounting bracket has receiving grooves positioned at corners of the surface of the lens unit. The positioning posts are inserted into the receiving grooves.

Portable electronic devices, such as cell phones, tablet computers, and multimedia players, usually include lens modules. The lens module may comprise a circuit board, an image sensor, a hollow mounting bracket, an optical filter, and a lens unit. During assembly, the image sensor is glued to the circuit board. The optical filter is glued to the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket containing the optical filter is then glued to the circuit board, to position the optical filter above the image sensor. Then, adhesive is applied on the mounting bracket, and the lens unit is glued to the mounting bracket by the adhesive.
However, an excess of adhesive may overflow over the mounting bracket. Furthermore, since the lens unit and the mounting bracket are connected only by adhesive, the bonding strength between the lens unit and the mounting bracket may be poor. Thus, the lens unit may be tilted with respect to or separated from the mounting bracket under lateral pressure.
Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.

TRIPLE WIN TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) CO.LTD.


A method for calibrating a dyeing machine, comprising: for each of multiple colors: performing a maximizing stage to determine an effective maximum ink dispensing rate corresponding to an effective maximum colorimetric value for the dyeing machine; performing a linearizing stage, comprising: determining multiple ink dispensing rates for performing the linearizing stage by dividing the effective maximum ink dispensing rate into multiple intervals, calculating from the effective maximum colorimetric value, a linear correspondence between the multiple ink dispensing rates and multiple calculated colorimetric values, dyeing a set of substrates according to the multiple ink dispensing rates, acquiring color values of the dyed set of substrates, interpolating a non-linear correspondence between the multiple ink dispensing rates and the acquired color values, and mapping the linear correspondence to the non-linear correspondence.

Dyeing machines have many mechanical components that are prone to misalignment due to drift, movement, and the like. These misalignments may cause aberrations, and lack of uniformity in the dyeing process, leading to color mismatches. The color in the dyeing process is affected by a number of parameters, among them: ink, dyed substrate parameters, such as ink absorption, whiteness and thickness; process parameters; process speed; ambient temperature; maximal ink dispensing rate; and drying parameters. These parameters and other may vary over time yielding variable dyeing results. For example, inconsistent ink dispensing rates may result in over or under dyeing, yielding a dyed shade that is either too light or too dark.
Thus, to ensure accurately matched dyeing results at a customer site, dyeing machines require regular tuning and calibration. Color calibration is the process of adjusting a dyeing process of a dyeing machine to a known color state, such as a pre-set color state that was measured at the factory. An effective calibration process can ensure consistent dyeing results from the dyeing machine, from run to run, from day to day and between different dyeing machines. Color calibration is the basis for consistent color matching.


A multifamily investment management tool comprises user interface logic and an investment rating engine. The user interface logic is configured to provide a user interface accessible to a user and includes risk profile configuration interface logic configured to permit a user to define a plurality of different risk profiles for a plurality of different investments. The investment rating engine is coupled to the user interface logic and is configured to evaluate the plurality of different investments according to the plurality of different risk profiles.

The present invention relates generally to property investment rating systems and methods. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method for managing a large portfolio of property-related investments or potential investments based on pre-determined criteria such as risk and financial performance.
Multifamily housing refers to housing that is subdivided into five or more independent units. Each unit is configured to house a person or a group of people, herein referred to as residents. The number of units in a multifamily housing property can vary from a relatively small number of units to a relatively large number of units.
Often, the residents of a unit in a multifamily property are not the owners of the individual unit or the multifamily property. The residents of the unit pay rent to the owner of the multifamily property for the right to reside in the unit. The rent provides a stream of income to the owner of a multifamily property. The amount of income is the aggregate of the rent received from each of the residents in the multifamily property such as parking fees, laundry fees, retail space rental, and/or various subsidies.
Because the amount of money involved in purchasing multifamily property is often high, most potential purchasers do not purchase the multifamily housing property outright. Rather, the potential purchasers obtain financing, e.g., in the form of debt, equity or bond investments from investors. Investors in such financing arrangements may develop large portfolios of investments in multifamily housing. Managing these portfolios can become difficult for the investor as the total number of loans and/or the total dollar amount of the loans increases. In order to allow investors to manage their investments, it is desirable for investors to have tools to help monitor such things as the property financials, property condition, markets, etc. for the underlying properties.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system that provides tools for monitoring the performance of a portfolio of investment properties. It would also be advantageous to provide a system that provides an intuitive rating system for characterizing property related investments. It would also be advantageous to provide an automated system to evaluate potential investments in properties.
It would be advantageous to provide an investment rating system or the like of a type disclosed in the present application that provides any one or more of the these or other advantageous features. It should be understood, however, that the systems/methods disclosed herein may also be used to achieve different and/or additional advantages, without necessarily achieving the advantages described herein.

Property investment rating system and method


The present invention is a method and apparatus for programming a stack of segments wherein each segment includes a plurality of die which are interconnected through metal interconnects patterned on the surface of each segment. Once the segments are arranged into a stack, the stack is connected to external circuits and each segment is addressed through control lines. Electrically conductive fuses on the segments are used as an interface between the control lines and the die. Segment level programming is performed on each segment by opening the conductive fuses on the segments in a predetermined pattern in order to route the control lines to each segment such that segments are uniquely addressed. After segment level programming, circuit board programming is performed so that any defective die found in the stack is logically replaced with replacement die in the stack. This is accomplished by connecting a set of metal switches between all the die and each of the control lines and by dispensing a conductive epoxy whisker between the control line for the defective die and the metal switch of the replacement die. When a subsequent attempt is made to address the defective die in the stack, the replacement die is accessed instead.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for addressing integrated circuit chips, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for addressing a stack of silicon segments.
For many years, electrical components such as transistors and integrated circuits have been made using wafers of semiconductor material, including silicon and germanium. Integrated circuits have been provided on the wafer. Individual integrated circuits that are provided on the wafer are referred to as die, and include contact points called bond pads for external electrical connections. Typically, the die on the wafer are separated from one another by cutting the wafer along boundaries defining the die. Once the die are cut from the wafer, they are referred to as chips, and are packaged for use. In recent years, the proliferation of more powerful electronic systems has led to an increased need for higher density integrated circuit packages.
One method for creating higher density packages attempts to create entire computer systems on a single wafer using wafer scale integration (WSI) techniques. WSI technology attempts to laterally wire together all the die on a wafer using wires to interconnect the die. However, in order to create the necessary interconnections between the die, many wires are required that are extremely thin and difficult to create.
A second method for creating higher density packages attempts to reduce the area required for placing the chips on a circuit board by physically stacking the chips vertically. One chip stacking technique mounts individual die on ceramic carriers, encapsulates both the die and the carrier, stacks the carriers, and then mounts the stack on a printed circuit board. In this technique, all the die in the stack are interconnected by connecting the leads of the die to the printed circuit board via metal pins. This method results in an unusually high pin count on the circuit board which reduces the reliability of the circuitry because the high pin count increases the possibility that one of the many pins may become disconnected from the board.
Another chip stacking method uses a more complex process to stack die. This method modifies individual chips by adding a pattern of metallization, called rerouting leads, to the surface of the wafer. The rerouting leads extend from bond pads on the chip to newly formed bond pads, and are arranged so that all the rerouting leads terminate on one side of the modified chip. Each modified chip is then cut from the wafer, as shown by the dotted lines, and assembled into a stack. After the leads of the chips are exposed, a layer of metallization is applied to the leads along the side of the stack in order to electrically connect each of the modified chips in the stack. The stack is then mounted and connected to a substrate which is in turn connected to conventional circuitry.
The method of rerouting leads offers improvement in circuit density over prior methods, but is complex and expensive. In addition, the rerouting leads extend over five adjacent die which are destroyed when the modified chip is cut out of the wafer. In this method, five die are sacrificed for every chip that is modified.
Another method for creating higher density circuits creates stacks from entire wafers, rather than individual chips, to form a wafer array. In some devices, the wafers in the stack are electrically interconnected using solid vertical columns of metallic conductive feed-throughs, such as copper. The use of solid feed-throughs to interconnect wafers may cause damage to the array due to differential thermal coefficients of expansion during thermal cycles. Furthermore, the process is costly and makes the wafers difficult to separate for repairs.
Other methods also exist to interconnect stacks of wafers, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,708 issued Jun. 30, 1990, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,875 issued Sep. 4, 1990. These methods provide each wafer in the stack with coned-shaped through holes which expose bonding pads on the wafers. The bond pads of the wafers in the stack are then electrically connected by either filling the through holes with electrically conductive liquid, or inserting an electrically conductive compliant material into the through holes, to provide a continuous vertical electrical connection between the wafers. While avoiding the disadvantages of using solid vertical columns of metal to interconnect wafers, the use of electrically conductive liquids and conductive materials requires special tooling to fill the through holes. Furthermore, for some applications, it may not be desirable to use stacks of entire wafers due to size constraints of the electrical device.
In integrated circuit packages, individual chips are accessed through the use of address lines, data lines, and control lines; collectively called control lines. The address lines are divided into row and column address lines which are controlled by a row address select line and a column address select line, respectively. To electrically connect an integrated circuit package to a substrate, such as to a printed circuit board for example, the control lines are extended from individual chips in the integrated circuit packages to the circuit board via metal traces. Since the addressing of chips is, in effect, hard wired once the integrated circuit package is connected to a substrate, defective chips are typically discarded before the chips are stacked and/or connected to a circuit board in order to save space and to avoid the difficulty and expense associated with rerouting the control lines from defective chips to functioning chips.
In parent application Ser. No. 08/265,081 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,180 issued Oct. 7, 1997), which is herein incorporated by reference, a vertical interconnect process (VIP) is disclosed which provides an improved method and apparatus for creating higher density packages. In VIP, a segment is formed by grouping a plurality of adjacent die on a wafer. The plurality of die on a segment are interconnected on the segment using one or more layers of metal interconnects. The metal interconnects function not only to interconnect the die, but also to provide segment bond pads, which serve as external electrical connection points. After the die are interconnected, each segment is cut from the wafer so as to have beveled edge walls. Segments are then placed on top of one another to form a stack of segments, as opposed to a stack of individual chips, and the segments are electrically connected through the application of electrically conductive epoxy along the beveled edges of the stack. The stack of electrically interconnected segments is then mounted to a circuit board.
Since a portion of the die on a wafer may not function and the defective die are not cut from the wafer and discarded, addressing the stack and the die therein solely through the use of hard-wired control lines, as in prior art methods, is inadequate because a computer or the like may attempt to access a defective die in the stack.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for uniquely addressing chips, as well as stacks of segments.
The present invention is a method and apparatus for programming a stack of segments that provides an addressing scheme capable of uniquely addressing each segment in a stack as well as providing access to a functioning die when an attempt is made to access a defective die in the stack. Each segment in the stack includes a plurality of die which are interconnected through metal interconnects patterned on the surface of each segment. Once segments are arranged into a stack, external circuits access the segments through control lines. Connected between all of the die on each segment and the control lines are electrically conductive fuses. The segments, which are all located on different levels of the stack, are programmed by opening the conductive fuses in a predetermined pattern on each die so that the control line associated with that level of the stack is routed to all the die on that segment, thereby making each segment address in the stack unique.
After the stack is connected to the external circuits in a particular electronic application, the stack is programmed so that a defective die in the stack is logically replaced with a replacement die in the stack. This is accomplished by connecting a set of metal switches between all the die and each of the control lines. The control line for the defective die is then routed to the replacement die by dispensing conductive epoxy between the replacement die""s metal switch and the control line for the defective die. When an attempt is made to address the defective die""s location in the stack, the replacement die is accessed instead.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Silicon segment programming apparatus and three terminal fuse configuration


Relatively resilient flux encasings for solder preforms are obtained when a mixture of 5 to 30 wt. % potassium silicate having a molar ratio of K.sub.2 O:SiO.sub.2 ranging from 1:2.5 to 1:4.5, 0.5 to 10 wt. % concentrated phosphoric acid, 0.1 to 5 wt. % boric acid and 0 to 10 wt. % finely divided silicon dioxide, with the remainder water, is used as the binder.

The present invention relates to flux-encased solder preforms having as the flux casing a flux-binder mixture, wherein the proportion of flux is from 75 to 95% wt. % and the proportion of binder is from 5 to 25 wt. %, and to a process for the preparation of such flux-encased solder preforms.
The joining of metal work pieces, in particular in open-flame soldering, involves the use of fluxes in addition to the solder. Their function is to remove the disruptive oxide films from the base metal before the solder is melted and to protect the bright metal surfaces from further oxidation. Fluxes in the form of powders or pastes are used extensively in industry as soldering additives. The fluxes are generally applied to the work pieces as a paste or suspension, by spraying, painting or dipping, after which they are heated to melting temperature, and the base metals are materially joined to one another by the addition of solder. However, flux-coated preforms and soldering wires are also used in practice, in addition to this method of supplying the flux and solder in separate manner. Such flux-sheathed soldering wires may be used in direct manner for soldering without further additives. When the flame is first applied, the flux first melts and removes the oxide films. Further raising of the temperature results in the solder also becoming molten, bonding the members of the joint in known manner.
The preparation of flux-encased solder preforms has long been known. Typically, plastic flux-binder mixtures are applied to the solder preforms by compression, extrusion or other mechanical processes. Organic polymers, which impart a certain resilience to the flux casing after hardening and thus reduce the risk of shedding under bending stresses, are in many cases used as binders.
Thus, DE-OS 23 36 442 (German published application) describes a flux which contains methacrylate polymers as binders. The latter organic binders, however, suffer from the serious disadvantage that organic decomposition products of the binder, which arise during the soldering operation, generally reduce the efficacy of the fluxes and most commonly impair the flow of the solder. During heating, the organic auxiliary substances evaporate or burn off, resulting in undesirable sooting at the soldering site, and constituting an odor nuisance and health hazard for the operator. Moreover, when organic binders such as methacrylates (DE-OS 25 36 442) or polyisobutylenes (GB 2 027 617) are used in the preparation of the flux-sheathed solder preforms, flammable organic solvents which are injurious to health (for example methyl acetate, trichloroethylene, xylene) are frequently used. The latter solvents are emitted to the surrounding atmosphere during the subsequent drying process.
Those skilled in the art have therefore sought to use mixtures which contain no organic constitutes for such fluxes. Thus, in German patent 24 28 808 a process is described for the preparation of flux-encased solder preforms which contain alkali metal tetraborates as the flux. Such flux mixtures are heated to temperatures from 80 to 250.degree. C., the cooled product is moistened with water, and the plastic composition is applied to the solder preforms, where it hardens. While such flux encasings have the advantage of containing no organic constituents, they also have the disadvantage of being relatively brittle and consequently highly sensitive to mechanical stresses. The result is that at the slightest bending or impact stress whole sections of the flux casing are shed, thus leaving insufficient flux available for the soldering operation.
DE OS 25 29 190 describes an organic-free flux encasing in which the addition to the flux mixture of glass fibers or metal fibers is intended to achieve greater resilience. However, sizeable quantities of glass fibers must be added to the flux to achieve good flexural strengths. The non-homogeneous melting of the flux components, however, results in an increased risk of undesirable changes in the action of the flux. Although the above document also proposes using fibers in the composition of the flux, these can barely be prepared.
Furthermore, the process when producing these flux-sheathed soldering wires is not as secure as when finely ground compressed material is used, because extrusion nozzles very easily become clogged with the longer fibers, thus disrupting the encasing operation.
DE-OS 23 36 442 also addresses the use of soluble silicates (water glass), but these are likewise brittle after hardening.
An object of the present invention is to provide flux-encased solder preforms that can avoid organic constituents that can lead to hazardous organic decomposition products.
Another object of the present invention is to avoid brittleness in flux formulations.
Yet another object of the present invention is to develop flux-encased resilient solder preforms having as the flux casing a flux-binder mixture, wherein the proportion of flux, consisting of mixtures of borates and complex fluorides, should be from 75 to 95 wt. % and the proportion of binder should be from 5 to 25 wt. %, the flux-binder mixture containing no organic substances, and the flux casing when hardened being resilient and being unaffected by mechanical deformation.
A further object of the invention is to develop a process for preparing such flux-encased solder preforms, wherein such a flux-binder mixture is applied in a plastic state to the solder preform.

Flux-encased resilient solder preforms and process for the preparation thereof


A magnetic ferrite composition including at least one of Mg, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Li and having a content of carbon within a predetermined range, for example, over 9.7 weight ppm to less than 96 weight ppm. The composition may be used as the magnetic core for an inductor, transformer, coil, etc. used for radios, televisions, communication devices, office automation equipment, switching power sources, and other electronic apparatuses or magnetic heads for video apparatuses or magnetic disk drives or other electronic components.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ferrite composition and a process of production thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mnxe2x80x94Zn ferrite components, Nixe2x80x94Cuxe2x80x94Zn ferrite components, Mnxe2x80x94Mgxe2x80x94Zn ferrite components, and other magnetic ferrite compositions are made broad use of for various types of electronic apparatuses as for example magnetic cores for coils, transformers, magnetic heads, etc.
Along with the recent reduction in size and reduction in thickness of electronic apparatuses, a similar reduction in size and reduction in thickness of the magnetic ferrite components have become desirable. In order to maintain the reliability of the product along with this, a higher mechanical strength and higher magnetic characteristics are demanded.
From this viewpoint, to improve the mechanical strength, there are known the methods of using a hot press for manufacture, reducing the particle diameter of the raw material powder and lowering the sintering temperature to reduce the crystal particle diameter, or adding various types of additives to reduce the crystal particle diameter. Further, to improve the magnetic characteristics, there are known the methods of adding various types of additives and optimizing the sintering conditions.
With the method of using a hot press to improve the mechanical strength, however, the production time becomes longer and expensive equipment is required, so there are large cost demerits.
Further, with the method of making the raw material powder finer to improve the mechanical strength, a separate process for reducing the particle diameter becomes necessary. Also, the finer raw material powder is extremely difficult to handle when producing a magnetic ferrite component.
Further, with the method of improving the mechanical characteristics by adding various types of additives, there are large cost demerits and balancing the various magnetic characteristics becomes difficult in some cases.
Still further, with the method of improving the magnetic characteristics by optimizing the sintering conditions, control of the sintering atmosphere, temperature raising and lowering rate, etc. becomes difficult, introduction of new equipment becomes necessary in some cases, and other problems arise.
Note that Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 1994-132111 discloses the amount of carbon contained in a ferrite sintered body, but makes no mention at all of the control of the same. Further, the actually included amount of carbon is normally about the same extent as the amount of carbon included in a sintered body obtained by removing the binder and then sintering (about 100 ppm) and it is difficult to secure sufficient mechanical strength. That is, in the above publication, the raw material powder is compacted by cold isostatic pressing and sintered in the state with difficult release of oxygen when the hematite material changes to spinel type ferrite. Therefore, the carbon added to the raw material powder before sintering or the reducing agent breaking down under heating to become carbon has an effect on the magnetic characteristics of the phase after sintering. Further, the above publication makes no mention at all of the effect of the residual carbon on the strength and magnetic characteristics.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems in the related art and provide a ferrite composition having a high mechanical strength and superior magnetic characteristics even when reducing the size and reducing the thickness and a process for production of the same.
The present inventors took note of the content of carbon in a magnetic ferrite composition and controlled the same to thereby perfect the present invention. Note that in the present invention, a xe2x80x9cmagnetic ferrite compositionxe2x80x9d is used in the sense including both a ferrite material and ferrite sintered body.
The magnetic ferrite composition according to the present invention is characterized by including at least one of Mg, Ni, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Li and having a content of carbon of less than 96 weight ppm, preferably not more than 91 weight ppm, more preferably not more than 77 weight ppm, particularly preferably not more than 70 weight ppm.
The ferrite composition preferably includes, in addition to Mg, at least one of Cu, Zn, Mn, Ni, and Li. A typical example of this ferrite composition is Mg-Cuxe2x80x94Zn ferrite. In such a ferrite composition, the content of the carbon is preferably over 9.7 weight ppm (more than 9.7 weight ppm), more preferably at least 10 weight ppm, particularly preferably at least 15 weight ppm. Further, in such a ferrite composition, the content of carbon is preferably not more than 91 weight ppm.
The ferrite composition may be a ferrite composition including at least Mn and Zn. A typical example of such a ferrite composition is an Mnxe2x80x94Zn ferrite composition. In such a ferrite composition, the content of carbon is less than 52 weight ppm, preferably not more than 50 weight ppm, more preferably not more than 45 weight ppm. Further, in such a ferrite composition, the content of carbon is preferably over 9.8 weight ppm (more than 9.8 weight ppm), more preferably at least 10 weight ppm, particularly preferably at least 15 weight ppm.
The ferrite composition may further include as an additional component at least one oxide selected from silicon oxide, calcium oxide, tin oxide, titanium oxide, niobium oxide, zirconium oxide, vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide, bismuth oxide, and tantalum oxide.
Further, the ferrite composition may be a ferrite composition including at least one of Cu, Zn, and Mn in addition to Ni. A typical example of such a ferrite composition is an Nixe2x80x94Cuxe2x80x94Zn ferrite composition. In such a ferrite composition, the content of carbon is less than 67 weight ppm, preferably not more than 60 weight ppm, more preferably not more than 50 weight ppm, particularly preferably not more than 45 weight ppm. Further, in such a ferrite composition, the content of carbon is preferably over 9.7 weight ppm (more than 9.7 weight ppm), more preferably at least 10 weight ppm, particularly preferably at least 15 weight ppm.
The process of production of a magnetic ferrite composition according to the present invention controls a flow rate of gas blown into the sintering furnace so as to control the amount of carbon contained in the ferrite composition.
Further, the method of adjusting the bending strength of the magnetic ferrite composition according to the present invention controls the content of the carbon contained in the magnetic ferrite composition.
In the present invention, by controlling the content of the carbon in the magnetic ferrite composition, it is possible to improve the mechanical strength of the magnetic ferrite composition (for example, to give a bending strength of preferably at least 8 kgf/mm2, more preferably at least 10 kgf/mm2) and to provide a highly reliable ferrite composition with little cracking or chipping.
In the present invention, by controlling the content of the carbon in the magnetic ferrite composition to within a predetermined range, it is possible to improve the bending strength while maintaining a high magnetic permeability xcexc in a magnetic ferrite composition of a predetermined composition. Further, in a magnetic ferrite composition of another composition, it is possible to improve the bending strength while maintaining a low core loss.
Note that the carbon contained in the ferrite composition after sintering is considered to be the carbon component contained in the carbonate material and/or organic binder.
The ferrite composition according to the present invention may be used as the core of an inductor, transformer, coil, etc. used in an electronic apparatus such as a radio, television, communications apparatus, office automation apparatus, and switching power source or a magnetic head core used in an electronic apparatus such as a video apparatus or magnetic disk drive or other electronic components.
Among these, the Mgxe2x80x94Cuxe2x80x94Zn ferrite composition and Nixe2x80x94Cuxe2x80x94Zn ferrite composition according to the present invention may be preferably used for inductors, while the Mnxe2x80x94Zn ferrite composition may be preferably used for transformers.
In the process of production of a ferrite composition according to the present invention, when producing the ferrite sintered body, it is possible to blow a gas into the sintering furnace at the time of sintering by a predetermined flow rate and skip the carbon component included in the granulated material to control the amount of carbon after sintering. Therefore, it is easy to balance the mechanical strength and the magnetic characteristics of the obtained ferrite sintered body.
The method of adjusting the bending strength of the ferrite sintered body according to the present invention can control the bending strength of the ferrite sintered body obtained by controlling the amount of carbon in the composition. This new discovery was made by the present inventors.
The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 1999-264775, filed on September 20, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Magnetic ferrite composition and process of production thereof


A method of allocating a physical memory in a specified address range under a Linux system platform is applied in a testing process of a physical memory under a Linux operating system. In this method, according to a specified address range and a size of a memory to be allocated, a large amount of physical memories in the system are allocated in a specified address range, and then the information about the allocated memories is transmitted, so as to map, inspect, and release the memories, thereby effectively supporting the test for physical memories under the Linux operating system.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method of allocating a memory, and more particularly to a method of allocating a physical memory in a specified address range under a Linux system platform.
2. Related Art
Currently, a memory test plays a very important role in a hardware diagnosis solution, which mainly includes two parts: memory allocation and test algorithm. The test algorithm specifies the rules for reading and writing memories, and different test algorithms are directed to inspecting different types of memory errors. Relevant information about conventional test algorithms has been specially introduced in documents about memory test algorithms, which will not be repeated herein. The memory allocation is an important precondition for a memory read/write test, which directly influences whether the test effect may be achieved or not, for example, whether the true physical memory can be tested or whether the same memory is repeatedly tested. However, different operating systems manage physical memories in different manners, without uniform rules. Therefore, the memory allocation is relatively complicated, and should be performed in consideration of different operating systems.
Under a Linux operating system platform (a multi-user computer operating system free of charge), since no method of allocating a physical memory is provided in a user mode, it can do nothing but allocate a physical memory in a kernel through a driver and then provide an interface in the conventional method. However, in order to read and write a physical memory at will in the user mode, the allocated physical memory further needs to be mapped into a virtual address space in the user mode. At this point, the principles and methods in the conventional art are quite similar, which thus will not be repeated herein, and the main difference lies in the method of allocating a physical memory.
Currently, there are two methods of allocating a physical memory in the conventional art.
The first method is a method of allocating specified physical memory pages. In this method, the physical memory may be allocated in a specified address range, page is taken as the minimum unit for allocating physical memory, and the size of one page is determined depending upon the configuration of a Linux system kernel. However, this method can only allocate one memory page each time, has low efficiency, and may possibly occupy other adjacent memory pages, thereby resulting in wasting of resources. Therefore, this method has a great limitation and is not suitable for testing a large amount of physical memories.
The second method is to directly call an interface of continuous physical memories that have been allocated into memory blocks provided by the Linux system kernel. This method can be used to allocate a large amount of physical memories, which thus is suitable for testing a large amount of physical memories. However, the main disadvantage of this method lies in that, it cannot allocate the physical memories in a specified address range (due to being restricted by a data structure for organizing the physical memories in the Linux system kernel). Therefore, this method cannot be used to test specific memory units or memories in specified slots.

Method of allocating physical memory in specified address range under Linux system platform


A camera module of image processing and a method for integrating the camera module with a host are described. The camera module has a display control interface, an image sensor, and a camera control circuit. The display control interface is used to control at least one display module. The image sensor is used to capture image and provide image data signals. The camera control circuit is used to control the camera module. The camera module bypasses the display data signals of a host to display control modules according to a bypass signal. The camera module also performs image processing according to the bypass signal and a command set.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a camera module having an image processing procedure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method of integrating the camera module with a host and display modules.
2. Description of Related Art
Because of the fast development of digital image processing technology, digital cameras have become important in consumer electronic products. A digital camera has many advantages. For example, no film is needed in a digital camera, a large amount of image data can be stored in the digital camera, and the captured image can be instantly displayed after taking a picture. A digital camera has the function of image processing, such as brightness adjustment and color adjustment. The image data can be stored digitally and be transferred through the Internet. The image data can also be recorded in a CDRW permanently.
Moreover, because of the development of communication technology, cell phone products are prevalent. With the increase of the transmission speed, cells phones that support multimedia become the main stream in the development of cell phone technology. A cell phone having a built-in digital camera is a typical example. A user can transmit any information to any person from any location through the communication system. The functions of other portable electronic apparatus, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), are enhanced as well by a built-in digital camera. Therefore, a portable electronic apparatus having a digital camera is an important trend.
FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a built-in digital camera integrated into a portable electronic apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1A, at least one display module 104 and a camera module 106 are connected to a host 102, respectively. The host 102 is, for example, a cell phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA).
The at least one display module 104 shares a data bus 118 with the camera module 106. The camera module 106 performs an image processing procedure and generates a set of display data signals. The display data signals are sent to the host 102 through the data bus 108. The host 102 then transmits the display data signals to the corresponding display modules 104. If the speed of the central processing unit of the host is not high enough, the data transmission is too slow.
FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating an external enclosure camera module integrated into a portable electronic apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1B, a host 102 is connected to a display module 104 and a camera module 106, respectively. The host 102 generates a display module control interface signal 110 to control the display module 104. The host 102 communicates with the camera module 106 through a camera module control interface signal 112. A designer has to modify the software of the host 102 to support the camera module 106. This increases the development time of products.

Camera module having image processing procedure and method for integrating the same with host


An unattended computer-based machine is authenticated by the present invention method, system or apparatus. The subject machine may be an auto-restarted machine or similar machine configured to be unattended. Upon receipt of initializing input from a user at a subject computer-based machine, a working process authenticates the user and generates resulting credentials. The working process stores the generated credentials in a memory area of the subject machine. Separate from and independent of the working process is a security monitor of the present invention. A monitoring module of the present invention monitors user activity on the subject machine and upon detecting suspect activity destroys the stored credentials of the working process. Suspect activity includes any activity raising a suspicion of compromise.

Authentication of processes or services running on unattended computer-based systems has always been a thorny problem. Having a user authenticate every time processes are started is extremely inconvenient. The alternative is to leave passwords or credentials on the machine and automate logins. That has problems if the machines are compromised as even with technologies like TCPA or smartcards, the authentication tokens are still available on the machine allowing access to anything the uncompromised machine had access to. Unattended processes run in many server farms in the world. Having a human administrator present every time the subject machine or process has to be restarted is not feasible.

Computer method and apparatus for authenticating unattended machines

International Business Machines Corporation


A grating lift pad for mounting on the free end or edge of a grating section on the floor of an auto rack railroad car which lifts the grating section off the floor to reduce wear and rusting of the floor caused by movement and vibration of the grating during train movement.

Heretofore, it has been common practice to transport newly manufactured vehicles, such as automobiles, vans, and trucks, long distances on auto rack equipped railroad cars, known in the industry as auto rack cars. The typical auto rack car is compartmented, having two or more levels for storing vehicles, opposed side walls, doors in front and back or at each end, and a roof. When in transit, the vehicles are secured in place on the floor on each level of the car to prevent damage which would result from the free movement of the vehicles in the car. Various wheel or tire chocking systems exist for securing the vehicles in place on the floor. The lower floor is constructed of steel plate and coated with a suitable paint, such as a non-skid paint, while the upper floors or decks are usually constructed of galvanized corrugated steel plate.
One system for securing the vehicles in place in double-deck auto rack cars for generally transporting sport utility vehicles, which has been approved by the AAR, and which is currently in use in a large number of cars, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,063. This system includes the placement of two spaced-apart substantially parallel rows of steel rod grating extending along the entire length of the floor or upper deck plates on each level of the car. The grating is hingedly connected to the floor, and the tires of the vehicles are positioned on the grating and chocks are adjustably connected to the grating adjacent the tires to prevent the vehicles from moving while in transit. The grating is divided into elongated rectangular ten-foot sections formed of upper and lower crossing circular steel rods interconnected by welding. The lower rods are somewhat undulated to generally mate with the upper bars, thereby defining a large number of contact points (over one thousand) that engage the floor when the grating is laying on the floor. Each grating section is pivotally attached along its entire length to the floor by suitable hinge means at one side and has a free end along its entire length at the other side opposite the hinge means. The bottom and free end of each grating section rests on the floor. The grating sections pivot upwardly about the hinged end to facilitate clearing debris, snow, ice, and other materials which accumulate under the grating.
During transit of the vehicles in the auto rack cars, the grating is loaded and the weight of the vehicles positioned on the grating holds the grating down against the floor and generally prevents movement or vibration of the grating. However, when the auto rack car is empty, the grating is not held down and the movement of the train causes continuous vibration and movement of the grating over the floor. The vibration of the grating sections against the floor at the various contact points will wear away the non-skid paint on the floor or deck or the galvanized coating of the steel corrugated plates and expose the metal surface at those contact points. The exposed metal surfaces are subject to rusting, which is highly disadvantageous in auto rack cars because rusting combined with the contact points of the grating rubbing against the points frees rust particles that become airborne when transporting cars and which can come to rest on and cause damage to the finishes of the vehicles.
In present installations, each car includes fourteen grating sections per deck. Since each grating section has over one thousand floor contact points, there would be over fourteen thousand contact points per deck. Accordingly, there is a need for a device which reduces the wear on the floor caused by the movement and vibration of the grating and thereby reduces rusting at the multitude of contact points where the grating engages the floors of the auto rack cars and thereby minimize, if not eliminate, airborne rust particles.


A wireless communication system serves UEs over a 5GNR access point and a non-5GNR access point. The wireless base station transfers an attachment message for a UE to a network controller. The network controller transfers network signaling for the UE to the data network element responsive to the attachment message. The data network element transfers user data for the UE. The wireless base station transfers another attachment message that indicates a 5GNR attachment for another UE to the network controller. The network controller transfers other network signaling indicating the 5GNR attachment for the other UE to the data network element responsive to the other attachment message indicating the 5GNR attachment. The data network element transfers other user data for the other UE and monitors quality-of-service for the transfer of the other user data responsive to the 5GNR attachment indication in the other network signaling.

Wireless communication networks provide wireless data services to wireless user devices. Exemplary wireless data services include voice-calling, internet-access, and machine communications. Exemplary wireless user devices comprise phones, computers, drones, and robots. The wireless communication networks have wireless access nodes that exchange wireless signals with the wireless user devices. The wireless signals transport user data and network signaling. The wireless access nodes exchange the user data and network signaling with other network elements to help deliver the wireless data services. Exemplary wireless communication networks include Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR) networks and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.
Some wireless user devices have both LTE radios and 5GNR radios. These dual 5GNR/LTE user devices can wirelessly communicate with both 5GNR access nodes and LTE access nodes at the same time. Thus, hybrid 5GNR/LTE networks transfer user data to 5GNR/LTE user devices over dual 5GNR/LTE links using both 5GNR access nodes and LTE access nodes. The bearer setup and modification for exchanging user data between the data network elements (e.g., a Serving Gateway (S-GW) or User Plane Function (UPF)) over a network controller (e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)) remains fairly simple and rigid for the 5GNR access node and the LTE access node. Unfortunately, MME/AMF and S-GW/UPF do not efficiently and effectively determine whether the 5GNR/LTE user devices attached to the hybrid 5GNR/LTE network using the 5GNR access point or the LTE access point. Moreover, the MME/AMF and S-GW/UPF do not intelligently determine whether a poor quality-of-service for a 5GNR/LTE user device is caused by the 5GNR access point or the LTE access point.

Quality-of-service monitoring for a fifth generation new radio (5GNR) access node and a non-5GNR access node


Vacuum insulation panels, methods for manufacture thereof, and applications thereof are described. The vacuum insulation panels comprise a porous insulating core encapsulated in an envelope to which a vacuum is applied. The envelope is coated with a waterproof coating layer which increases the robustness of the vacuum insulation panel.

VIPs are used in many insulation applications including in insulation of buildings and in other applications such as refrigeration units and the like. Such panels generally have a panel of insulation material which forms an insulation "core" which is enveloped or wrapped in an envelope. The envelope is evacuated and sealed to provide a vacuum insulation panel.
The core is formed of any suitable material and is typically microporous. For example it may be formed from a particulate matter including powders and fibres and blends thereof. For example it may be formed of particulate silica, for example fumed silica and/or precipitated silica optionally with reinforcing fibres.
Opacifiers, such as infra-red opacifiers can be used within the core.
The core is typically wrapped in a flexible, gas-tight envelope to which a vacuum is applied before sealing.
Thermal conductivity properties of VIPs are typically of the order of about 0.005 W/(m·K).
All thermal conductivities values referenced herein are those determined under BS EN: 12667:2001 unless expressly indicated otherwise. All thermal conductivity values expressed herein are measured in Watts (or milliwatts) per meter Kelvin.
When referring to the present disclosure, the term microns is the SI unit micrometres.
Notwithstanding the various VIP products that are available it is desirable to provide an alternative construction of VIP; an alternative method of making a VIP and/or a VIP with improved properties.
Some of the considerations that are taken into account when constructing a VIP are ease of manufacture, robustness of handling, availability and cost of materials, initial thermal conductivity value, and aged thermal conductivity value.
In relation to thermal conductivity there are many factors including the conductivity of the core and the conductivity of the envelope that influence the overall thermal conductivity of a VIP. The thermal conductivity of the core and of the envelope in turn depend on many other factors.
EP2607073 describes a VIP with a composite core material formed of glass fiber wool and glass fiber board and an outer skin material having a layered structure with a surface protective layer, a metal barrier layer, and a bonding layer from the outside to vacuum-package the core material. The object of EP2607073 is to provide a VIP that exhibits a long-term durability of 10 years or more. However, despite starting from an initial thermal conductivity of approximately 2.4 mW/(m·K), the predicted thermal conductivity after 2 years was approximately 6.4 mW/(m·K). By incorporating a glass fiber board, although the initial thermal conductivity is satisfactory, the lifetime of the board decreases rapidly over time. Notwithstanding the state of the art, there remains a long felt, yet unmet need to provide VIPs with improved thermal conductivity and a long-term durable lifetime. It is known that the thermal conductivity of a VIP product may be improved by reducing the density of the core, which has the added benefit of reducing the production cost of the VIP. However, a reduced density core is less robust and more prone to breakage and thus is more difficult to handle during the various production stages.
Thus, while it is desirable to reduce the density of the core as much as possible in order to improve thermal performance, the more the density is reduced, the more compromised are the handling properties of the core and any VIP made from it.
For example, conventional VIPs made from powder insulation silica cores with core density values of lower than about 165 kg/m3 have poor dimensional stability, the edges of the panels collapse and the panel envelope wrinkles. The result is an inferior product, that tends to warp over time and has an aesthetically displeasing appearance. A balance must therefore be struck between thermal performance and dimensional integrity on the one hand and ease of handling, on the other hand. Once the VIP has been made, it cannot be cut, so dimensional stability of the finished product is crucial.
One of the main problems for improving the longevity of VIPs is ingress of moisture and/or air through the envelope over time. One solution to the problem has been to increase the thickness of envelopes surrounding the core. While increasing the thickness of an envelope reduces its permeability to ingress of moisture and/or air, conduction through the envelope, in particular about the sides of the VIP is increased. Thermal bridging at the edges of a VIP decreases the insulating efficacy of the VIP because the envelope will have greater thermal conductivity than the core.
Improving the thermal performance of the core, improving the permeability of the envelope and reducing thermal bridging effects, is desirable, however, improvement of one property can often have a deleterious effect on other properties. Improving the thermal performance of VIPs and increasing their longevity, will augment their functionality, and increase their suitability for wider application.


A system for displaying the listings of files and/or folders in one of a plurality of different views (e.g., gallery view or list view). In particular embodiments, the system determines which of the views to display in the listings in based on: (1) the types of files to be displayed; (2) a specified preference of a content sharer; and/or (3) a specified preference of a content recipient. Various embodiments are particularly useful for displaying lists of files that a content sharer shares with a content recipient via a URL within the context of a synched file sharing system.

Current file sharing systems allow content sharers to use various techniques to share folders and/or files with content recipients. However, current systems often display file listings in an inefficient or unattractive manner. Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for displaying file and folder information within the context of file sharing systems.

Systems and methods for displaying file and folder information to a user


An electrical interconnect assembly for electrically interconnecting terminals on a first circuit member with terminals on a second circuit member. The electrical interconnect includes a housing having a plurality of through openings extending between a first surface and a second surface. A plurality of composite contacts are positioned in a plurality of the through openings. The composite contacts include a conductive member having a central portion and at least first and second interface portions. One or more polymeric layers extend along at least the central portion conductive member. One or more coupling features on the composite contacts engage with the housing. At least one engagement feature formed in the polymeric layers proximate the first interface portion mechanically couples with the terminals on the first circuit member.

The current trend in connector design for those connectors utilized in the computer field is to provide both high density and high reliability connectors between various circuit devices. High reliability for such connections is essential due to potential system failure caused by improper connections of devices. Further, to assure effective repair, upgrade, testing and/or replacement of various components, such as connectors, cards, chips, boards, and modules, it is highly desirable that such connections be separable and reconnectable in the final product.
Pin-type connectors soldered into plated through holes or vias are among the most commonly used in the industry today. Pins on the connector body are inserted through plated holes or vias on a printed circuit board and soldered in place using a conventional mechanism. Another connector or a packaged semiconductor device is then inserted and retained by the connector body by mechanical interference or friction. The tin lead alloy solder and associated chemicals used throughout the process of soldering these connectors to the printed circuit board have come under increased scrutiny due to their environmental impact. The plastic housings of these connectors undergo a significant amount of thermal activity during the soldering process, which stresses the component and threatens reliability.
The soldered contacts on the connector body are typically the mechanical support for the device being interfaced by the connector and are subject to fatigue, stress deformation, solder bridging, and co-planarity errors, potentially causing premature failure or loss of continuity. In particular, as the mating connector or semiconductor device is inserted and removed from the connector attached to the printed circuit board, the elastic limit on the contacts soldered to the circuit board may be exceeded causing a loss of continuity. These connectors are typically not reliable for more than a few insertions and removals of devices. These devices also have a relatively long electrical length that can degrade system performance, especially for high frequency or low power components. The pitch or separation between adjacent device leads that can be produced using these connectors is also limited due to the risk of shorting.
Another electrical interconnection method is known as wire bonding, which involves the mechanical or thermal compression of a soft metal wire, such as gold, from one circuit to another. Such bonding, however, does not lend itself readily to high-density connections because of possible wire breakage and accompanying mechanical difficulties in wire handling.
An alternate electrical interconnection technique involves placement of solder balls or the like between respective circuit elements. The solder is reflowed to form the electrical interconnection. While this technique has proven successful in providing high-density interconnections for various structures, this technique does not allow facile separation and subsequent reconnection of the circuit members.
An elastomer having a plurality of conductive paths has also been used as an interconnection device. The conductive elements embedded in the elastomeric sheet provide an electrical connection between two opposing terminals brought into contact with the elastomeric sheet. The elastomeric material that supports the conductive elements compresses during usage to allow some movement of the conductive elements. Such elastomeric connectors require a relatively high force per contact to achieve adequate electrical connection, exacerbating non-planarity between mating surfaces. Location of the conductive elements is generally not controllable. Elastomeric connectors may also exhibit a relatively high electrical resistance through the interconnection between the associated circuit elements. The interconnection with the circuit elements can be sensitive to dust, debris, oxidation, temperature fluctuations, vibration, and other environmental elements that may adversely affect the connection.
In general, to provide a superior electrical performance path, the metal conductor should be short, and preferably wide to provide a low inductance environment. This becomes very difficult in some traditional contact structures using stamped metal since very small and wide contacts do not have much compliance as springs. As contacts get smaller and the spacing between them is reduced, the features on the contacts make them very intricate and difficult to manufacture.
Most electrical contacts are made by stamping and forming metal into precise shapes, then assembling them into a plastic insulator housing. These contact members are typically inserted into a plastic or insulating housing, which positions them and prevents them from touching an exposed metal portion against that of a neighboring contact. Design features are incorporated to provide retention within the housing, or maximize the flexural properties of the springs. These features must be incorporated into the traditional contact members themselves, often creating changes in the cross section of the electrical path, or extra metal in places that may add parasitic or stub effect that tend to degrade signal quality.
Traditional flexible circuit, on the other hand, use a thin layer of copper mated with a layer of polyimide or liquid crystal polymer. The very nature of the circuit is such that it can bend and flex without breaking the electrical circuit. These circuits are typically quite readily designed with close tolerance and specific geometries that typically do not degrade the electrical signal significantly. The conductive traces on flexible circuits, however, are too flexible for use in conventional connector assemblies. The conductive traces are too flexible to provide sufficient normal force to remain electrically connected to the circuit members. If a conductive trace on a flexible circuit was used in a traditional connector or socket, the contact would flex out of the way and not spring back as with normal contacts, resulting in an open circuit.

Composite contact for fine pitch electrical interconnect assembly


A sheet conveying device includes an auxiliary tray, a sheet feeding tray, a roller, a driving mechanism, and a pickup roller. The sheet feeding tray is adjacent to the auxiliary tray on a lateral side of the auxiliary tray. The roller is configured to move in a thickness direction of a sheet bundle placed on the auxiliary tray to contact an end of the sheet bundle facing the sheet feeding tray. The driving mechanism is configured to laterally move the auxiliary tray to be on top of the sheet feeding tray when the sheet bundle placed on the auxiliary tray is transferred to the sheet feeding tray. The pickup roller is configured to pick up a sheet one by one from the sheet bundle transferred to the sheet feeding tray.

A sheet conveying device of an image forming apparatus stores a sheet bundle. The sheet conveying device separates the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle and then conveys the separated sheet. Some types of a sheet conveying device may have a separation sheet feeding mechanism for preventing multi-feeding of sheets.
However, sheets of a new sheet bundle obtained from a package tend to stick to each other. The adhesion of sheets may overcome an attempted sheet separation by the separation sheet feeding mechanism depending on the type, the preserved state, and the like of the sheets.

Sheet conveying device and image forming apparatus


A hand-pulled device for winding binding strap, including a base seat, a fastening mechanism drivable by a movable arm and a winding mechanism having a winding reel for winding the binding strap thereon. A pivotally swinging track of the movable arm relative to the base seat defines a movement space. The outer rim of the wound binding strap is at least partially enclosed in the movement space for minifying the volume of the hand-pulled device.

The present invention is related to a hand-pulled device for winding binding strap. The hand-pulled device has minified volume without occupying much room.
When transferring goods, a hand-pulled device for winding a binding strap is often used to fix the goods. After used or when collecting the binding strap, the binding strap is wound on a reel of the hand-pulled device to avoid tangling of the binding strap.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show an improved conventional hand-pulled device for winding a binding strap. The hand-pulled device includes a base seat 7, a fastening mechanism 8 connected with one end of the base seat 7 and a binding strap winder 9 mounted at the other end of the base seat 7. The binding strap 91 is extended through the rotary shaft 82 of the fastening mechanism 8 and wound on a reel (not shown) inside the winder 9. By means of reciprocally swinging the movable arm 81 of the fastening mechanism 8, the rotary shaft 82 can be driven and rotated to fasten the binding strap 91. After used, a torque spring disposed in the winder 9 is controlled to drive the reel for winding back the binding strap 91.
The above hand-pulled device can automatically wind back the binding strap so that a user no more needs to manually wind back the binding strap. However, the binding strap winder 9 must have a housing large enough for enclosing the binding strap 91. Furthermore, a space must be reserved for the movable arm 81 of the fastening mechanism 8 to pivotally swing. Therefore, the fastening mechanism 8 and the binding strap winder 9 of the hand-pulled device will occupy much room and thus the volume of the hand-pulled device will be increased.

Hand-pulled device for winding binding strap


A file system shell is provided. One aspect of the shell provides virtual folders which expose regular files and folders to users in different views based on their metadata instead of the actual physical underlying file system structure on the disk. Users are able to work with the virtual folders through direct manipulation (e.g., clicking and dragging, copying, pasting, etc.). Filters are provided for narrowing down sets of items. Quick links are provided which can be clicked on to generate useful views of the sets of items. Libraries are provided which consist of large groups of usable types of items that can be associated together, along with functions and tools related to the items. A virtual address bar is provided which comprises a plurality of segments, each segment corresponding to a filter for selecting content. A shell browser is provided with which users can readily identify an item based on the metadata associated with that item. An object previewer in a shell browser is provided which is configured to display a plurality of items representing multiple item types.

Present computer file systems have a number of undesirable limitations. One limitation is that users are generally unable to control the structure that they are shown. In other words, when folders are organized, a user must choose a structure, and that structure is then difficult to change. As a specific example, for a "music" folder, a user may choose to organize the music files in an artist/album format, wherein all of the album folders for each artist are grouped into that particular artist's folder, and all of the songs on a particular album are grouped into that album's folder. The artist/album format is not conducive to playing a type of music (e.g., playing two jazz songs from two different artists), or for playing a selection of albums from different artists.
As another issue, a user may have a large number of files which are difficult to organize. Some users implement a rigid sense of placement for the files, and thus create strict hierarchies for them. The management of such files become increasingly complex and difficult as the number of available documents grows, making search and retrieval also difficult. This problem is further exacerbated when additional files are utilized from other locations, such as shared files, etc.
Users also have to deal with files being in different locations, such as on different devices, on other PCs, or online. For example, users can select to listen to their music on the computer (as may be accessible to a music program) or can go online and listen to music from Web sites, however there is a strict division between these two sources. Music coming from different locations is organized differently, and not kept in the same fashion or place. As another example, files stored on a corporate network may inherently be separated from files a user has on a current machine.
Users also have to keep track not only of what file data is stored, but where it is stored. For example, for music files, users are forced to keep copies on various systems and to try to track which music files are located where. This can make files difficult to locate, even when they are locally stored.
It is also sometimes difficult to find and return to files that a user has. A user may find it difficult to recall where and how they stored certain files. Given a set of folders and even a group of similar files, users often find it difficult to quickly find the one that they are looking for. For files stored in a difficult place to find, it is that much more complex to locate. In addition, once users have enough files in a folder, it becomes more difficult to parse the folder quickly, especially if the contents are similar.
It is also sometimes difficult for users to find or return to files on a network. Sharing and publishing files is often hard to do, and it may often be even more difficult to retrieve such a file from someone who makes it available. Users typically have to memorize or map the various sites and names that they need for finding files on a network.
Name spaces may vary, which can cause confusion to the user as to what is "correct." This is particularly true on a network where there are different naming conventions, limitations, and so on. For example, certain operating systems may require short names with no spaces in order for them to be visible.
Programs also often save files to their own directory or other name spaces, which can make it difficult for users to find their way back to the files. Programs often have default directories and places they save documents. A user often has to search through their hard disk and make guesses about where a file is stored.
Related items are also often stored in separate places. Related files that a user has may be stored on different parts of the hard disk, etc. This problem becomes more common with the developments of digital media services that have multiple content types (e.g., pictures, music, video).
Another issue with file systems is related to the address bar. As users navigate within a file system on a computer, a conventional graphical interface control, referred to as an address bar, shows the users where they are in the file system hierarchy. The conventional address bar shows the current location in terms of the file system's hierarchical structure of folders, subfolders, and files. Altering the user's location displayed in the conventional address bar is typically performed in one of two manners. The first is to manually edit the address in the address bar. Manually editing the address in the address bar permits a user to relocate to any number of locations in the file system hierarchy, but requires the user to have specific information regarding the organization of the file system on the computer, i.e., a specific file system location. The second method involves using external navigation tools which, when manipulated, update the address bar to reflect the new address or location. While bypassing the manual edit of the address in the address bar, manipulating external navigation tools still requires the user to have specific information concerning the organization of the file system and traverse the hierarchical structure. However, conventional address bars cannot reference files or data stored among multiple file system locations, such as folders or drives, due to a one-to-one relationship between the address in the address bar and a specific location in the file system hierarchy.
The prior art lacks an address bar that allows users to specify addresses that display files stored among multiple file system locations. The prior art further lacks an address bar that also permits users to easily modify the address of the address bar without manually editing the address, or requiring specific knowledge concerning the organization of the underlying file system. Also lacking in the prior art is an address bar that presents alternative selections of files to the user from which the user may select to navigate to those selections of files. Such an address bar could also selectively present a conventional address bar interface to the user enabling the user to interact with the address bar according to previous experience according to user preferences.
Another issue with file systems is related to the identification of items stored on a computer. The need to readily identify items stored in a computing environment such as a personal computer (PC) is dramatically increasing as more individuals utilize computers in their daily routines and as the type of stored information varies between pictures, music, documents, etc. Documents and media are typically stored on computers in a hierarchical fashion and are organized with files of information or media stored within folders. File system browsers enable users to navigate through the file system and locate and open files and folders. For example, Microsoft Corporation's WINDOWS® EXPLORER™ is an operating system utility which enables users to browse the file system.
Many users find it difficult to correctly identify a file based on the information currently available in conventional file system browsers. Of course the contents of a file can be verified by opening it with an application program, but this method of browsing files is extremely inefficient. The ability to view metadata about a file within a file system browser can greatly assist a user in identifying a particular file without having to open it. In Microsoft Corporation's WINDOWS® 9X operating systems, for example, a user can view object metadata by accessing the property sheet for a particular object. A property sheet presents the user with a list of the attributes or settings of an object in the form of a tabbed, index-card-like selection of property pages, each of which features standard dialog-style controls for customizing parameters. However, using the property sheet to locate an item can be slow and cumbersome, and some users find it difficult to locate the relevant metadata in a property sheet. Similarly, the use of infotips to locate an item can be slow and cumbersome because a user must hover the mouse over each file in order to view the limited metadata displayed in an infotip.
Conventional file system browsers do not allow users to enter and edit metadata relating to files and folders, which would significantly enhance a user's ability to later locate a file. To date, the ability of users to enter and edit metadata has been limited to special purpose software programs. For example, media players for electronic music files present users with the ability to edit metadata associated with music albums and artists. Another example of such programs includes application programs for electronic picture files. However, the utility of media players and other such programs is limited to the particular type of file supported by the program, as opposed to a general purpose file system browser which supports multiple file types.
Microsoft Corporation's WINDOWS® XP operating system includes an image browser for use in the My Pictures folder. The My Pictures folder is endowed with special features which enable users to view pictures as photos, not just as document icons. My Picture's image browsing features include the ability to view thumbnail-size and large versions of photos, rotate photos that are sideways, and create a slide show. A user can also view a photo's details, such as its dimensions, the date and time it was taken, and the name of the camera that took it. The preview control area in the My Picture's folder contains an enlarged preview image of a user-selected image, iterator buttons to assist a user in iterating through a series of pictures and controls for rotating pictures in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. While the image browsing features in WINDOWS® XP have advanced the state of the art by alleviating the need to invoke an application program to view and manipulate pictures, users still cannot enter and edit metadata associated with the pictures.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved user experience within a shell or file system browser which enables users to readily locate an item based on the metadata associated with that item. There is also a need for a system and method which allow users to enter and edit metadata associated with items of various types within a shell browser without the need to invoke an application program. There is also a need for a file system or shell browser which offers users improved file content recognition features so that users can readily locate their files. A need also exists for an improved graphical user interface for a shell browser which allows for the selection of a previewer for a particular file type from a plurality of available previewers. There is also a need for an extensible shell browser which would allow software developers to provide additional information and functionality to users on a file type basis. There is also a need to provide a similar UI experience across different collections of items.