Control element arrangement for controlling the steering angle of a motor vehicle is provided. The arrangement has a user-operable control element by whose operation a steering angle adjusting unit can be controlled for the steering angle adjustment of the vehicle wheels which is mechanically uncoupled from the control element. A reaction force mechanism is provided for such an arrangement which exercises a reaction force onto the control element which counteracts the control element operating force and which rises when the steering angle size increases as well as when the longitudinal and/or lateral movement of the vehicle increases.

This invention relates to a control element arrangement for controlling the steering angle of a motor vehicle and, more particularly, to a control element arrangement for controlling the steering angle of a motor vehicle having a user-operable control element by whose operation a steering angle adjusting unit which is mechanically uncoupled from the control element can be controlled for the steering angle adjustment of vehicle wheels.
In the case of a conventional steering wheel arrangement for the steering angle control, the steering angle adjustment takes place by the direct mechanical transmission of the rotating movement of the steering wheel to the respective vehicle wheels. It is known to provide, instead of a steering wheel, a user-operable control element which is mechanically uncoupled from the steering movement of the wheels. By means of the operation of the control element, a steering angle adjusting unit can be controlled instead which, in turn, carries out the corresponding steering angle adjustment of the wheels. Such an arrangement with a manually operable control element is described in the article by H. Bubb, "Work Site--- Driver, An Ergonomic Study", Automobil-Industrie 3/85, Page 265. Other similar arrangements are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,850 and in the Convention Volume Publication by Branneby, et al., "Improved Active and Passive Safety by Using Active Lateral Dynamic Control and an Unconventional Steering Unit, 13th International Technical Conference on Experimental Safety Vehicles, Proceedings Vol. 1 , Nov. 4 to 7, 1991, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein as non-essential material.
Because of the mechanical uncoupling of the control element from the pertaining steering movement of the wheels, in the case of such arrangements, the reaction force effect of the steering rotating movement of the wheels on the control elements which is customary in conventional steering wheel arrangements is naturally absent. As a replacement, it is suggested in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,850 to design the control element in the form of a control stick with a comparatively heavy upper end head whose inertial force is opposed to the operating force exercised on the control stick by the user and, as a result, counteracts increasing steering angles. As a result, the operator is to receive a certain reaction force acknowledgment concerning the intensity of the respective demanded steering angle, and by means of this measure, the steering is to be slightly stabilized when there is a danger of swerving.
In the above-mentioned Convention Volume Publication, P. Branneby, et al. suggest that the control element arrangement be designed such that a reaction force is exercised on the control element which is to be overcome for operating the control element. As the size of the steering angle increases, the reaction force rises preferably non-linearly, for example, in sections linearly with a hysteresis, in which case the sensitivity of the steering angle adjustment is simultaneously increasingly selected as a function of the vehicle speed with a higher longitudinal vehicle speed.
The present invention is based on the technical problem of providing a control element arrangement of the above-mentioned type in which case the user receives a reaction force acknowledgment, which is as informative as possible, on the control element for the intuitive detection of the steering-angle-related driving situation.
This problem is solved by a control element arrangement according to the present invention having a user-operable control element by whose operation a steering angle adjusting unit which is mechanically uncoupled from the control element can be controlled for the steering angle adjustment of vehicle wheels. A reaction force mechanism is provided which exercises a reaction force on the control element which counteracts the control element operating force and which rises with an increasing steering angle size (.alpha.) as well as with an increasing longitudinal and/or lateral movement of the vehicle.
This arrangement according to the invention contains a reaction force mechanism whose construction can be of a conventional type for exercising an active reaction force on the control element, in which case it is now designed such that the reaction force which is exercised on the control element and counteracts the operating force of the control element rises not only as the size of the steering angle increases but also with an increasing longitudinal and/or lateral movement of the vehicle. In this case, the reaction force may be limited in the upward direction by a maximum force. Analogously, as required, the control element deflection may be limited by an appropriately high reaction force. The linking of the reaction force component which depends on the size of the steering angle with the reaction force component which depends on the longitudinal and/or lateral movement of the vehicle can take place in different fashions, for example, by adding or multiplying. The reaction force, which is actively exercised on the control element mechanically uncoupled from the steering movement of the wheels simulates in a fashion which is close to reality the steering stiffness customary in conventional steering wheel arrangements.
In a further advantageous development of the invention, the reaction force component which is dependent on the longitudinal speed of the vehicle will linearly increase with a rising speed only when a certain minimum speed is exceeded.
In a yet further advantageous development of the invention, the reaction force component which is a function of the size of the steering angle is varied as a function of the vehicle speed by the fact that the value of this reaction force component at the break, which connects two linear sections of the characteristic curve of a different slope with one another, is selected to fall with an increasing longitudinal speed, whereby the rate of change of this reaction force component becomes smaller with a rising longitudinal speed of the vehicle in the range of small steering angle sizes and increases in the range of large steering angle sizes. As required, the characteristic curve of the reaction force component may contain several such breaks and thus may be composed of more than two linear sections having different slopes.
A further advantageous development of the invention provides the user with an intuitive acknowledgment which can be detected by way of the control element and which indicates that the vehicle has reached a driving-dynamic limit situation. In this case, the reaction force applied to the control element contains a vibration force component, in which case for a further intuitive information concerning vehicle dynamics with a driving situation which becomes more critical, its vibration frequency will fall and/or its vibration amplitude will rise.
When the control element is arranged laterally next to a vehicle operating site, and when it can be manually operated in the transverse direction, it is advantageous in a further development of the invention to design the reaction force applied to the control element asymmetrically. Specifically, at the same longitudinal speed of the vehicle and the same steering angle size, the reaction force is designed to be higher in the direction of the vehicle operating site than in the opposite direction (away from the operator). This corresponds to the fact that the user situated at the vehicle operating site carries out an operation of the control element in the direction away from the vehicle operating site essentially only by the pressing of the thumb, whereas, for operating the control element toward the vehicle operating site, he can use all four other fingers of the hand reaching around the control element.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A photoconductive imaging member comprised of a supporting substrate, a hole blocking layer thereover, a photogenerating layer and a charge transport layer, and wherein the hole blocking layer is comprised of a crosslinked siloxane polymer schematically represented by ##STR1## wherein A, B, and C are the repeating units on the polymer backbone; D and E are divalent linkages; R' and P" are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, cyano, nitro, alkyl, alkoxy, acyl, alkoxycarbonyl, and aryloxycarbonyl; and x, y, and z are the molar fractions of the repeating monomer units such that the sum of x+y+z equal to about 1.

This invention is generally directed to imaging members, and, more specifically, the present invention is directed to improved multilayered imaging members with a hole blocking layer preferably situated in between the supporting substrate and the photogenerating layer, and which layer is comprised of a crosslinked siloxane polymer wherein an electron transporting moiety represented by Formula (I) has been covalently bonded as a pendant segment to the polymer backbone: ##STR3## where R' and R" are substituents independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogen, alkyl, alkoxy, alkoxycarbonyl, acyl, cyano, nitro, and the like. The primary function of the hole blocking layer is to prevent dark injection of holes from the supporting substrate into the photogenerating layer, thereby eliminating or minimizing high dark decay and/or charge deficient spot problems.
The imaging members of the present invention in embodiments exhibit excellent electrical properties, cyclic and environmental stability, and substantially no adverse changes in performance over extended time periods. Processes of imaging, especially xerographic imaging and printing, including digital, are also encompassed by the present invention. More specifically, the layered photoconductive imaging members can be selected for a number of different known imaging and printing processes including, for example, electrophotographic imaging processes, especially xerographic imaging and printing processes wherein negatively charged images are rendered visible with toner compositions of an appropriate charge polarity. Moreover, the imaging members of this invention are preferably useful in color xerographic applications where several color printings can be achieved in a single pass. The imaging members as indicated herein are in embodiments sensitive in the wavelength region of, for example, from about 450 to about 900 nanometers, and in particular, from about 700 to about 850 nanometers, thus diode lasers can be selected as the light source.


A wireless transceiver and a relay station (RS) including the wireless transceiver, where the wireless transceiver includes multiple antennas; and multiple radio frequency (RF) chain pairs that are connected one-to-one to the antennas and each of which being able to be set to operate on both a downlink frequency and an uplink frequency or to operate only on one of the downlink frequency and the uplink frequency. Each of the RF chain pairs may be able to switch a transmission (Tx) frequency and a reception (Rx) frequency between the downlink frequency and the uplink frequency. For example, each of the RF chain pairs may include a first Tx/Rx band switch that is connected between a local oscillator pair and a mixer pair; and a second Tx/Rx band switch that is connected between an amplifier pair and a duplexer.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to wireless communication, and more particularly, to a wireless transceiver in a wireless communication network and a relay station including the wireless transceiver.
2. Related Art
Wireless communication systems are broadly used to provide various types of communication services. A wireless communication system may be a multiple access system that can support communication with multiple users by sharing usable system resources such as bandwidths and transmission power. The multiple access system may include a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a frequency division multiple access (FDMA) system, a time division multiple access (TDMA) system, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems and a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) system.
The wireless communication system typically includes a base station (BS) providing services to a cell that is a predetermined area around the BS. Normally, a terminal or a mobile station (MS) may communicate with the BS in service coverage of the BS. However, data communication with the BS can be disabled or communication quality may be degraded due to an obstruction such as a building or in an edge area of the cell.
Various methods have been suggested in order to expand the service coverage of the BS. One of the methods is to use a relay station (RS) in the wireless communication system. Here, the RS relays data communication between a BS and an MS (two MSs, or an MS/BS and another RS). In other words, the RS enables data communication between the BS and a distant MS by using two-hop or multi-hop links rather than a single direct link. As such, the RS can expand cell coverage and improve cell edge performance of the BS. Also, the RS can use this approach to improve a cell throughput.
Some RSs use a time division duplex (TDD) wireless communication system such as a mobile WiMAX system (e.g., IEEE 802.16j/m). The TDD wireless communication system can play the role of the RS without modifying an internal configuration or an operation method of a wireless transceiver of a legacy TDD station. In more detail, a TDD RS relays data communication between the BS and the MS by accessing an uplink or downlink channel at a scheduled time according to uplink/downlink slot allocation and resource scheduling information.
Recently, a RS relay concept has been considered as a way to improve the performance of a next generation frequency division duplex (FDD) wireless communication system. The next generation FDD wireless communication system includes, for example, an FDD-based third generation project partnership (3GPP) long-term evolution (LTE) system or a mobile WiMAX system supporting FDD.
However, the internal configuration or the operation method of the wireless transceiver of the legacy FDD station is incompatible with that of a wireless transceiver of an FDD RS. In more detail, it is assumed that a downlink frequency between an FDD BS and an FDD MS is a frequency f1 and an uplink frequency is a frequency f2 in the FDD wireless communication system. A legacy BS transmits data on the frequency f1 and receives data on the frequency f2, and a legacy MS receives data on the frequency f1 and transmits data on the frequency f2. Accordingly, the FDD RS should be able to receive data on the frequency f1 (downlink) and transmit data on the frequency f2 (uplink) at one time, while it should be able to transmit data on the frequency f1 (downlink) and receive data on the frequency f2 (uplink) at another time. However, the FDD RS requires additional features for transmission/reception (Tx/Rx) band switching. These features are not included in the conventional wireless transceiver used in the legacy FDD station.
As described above, transmission/reception (Tx/Rx) band switching is not performed by the FDD BS and the FDD MS and thus a wireless transceiver of the FDD BS or the FDD MS may not be used as the wireless transceiver of the FDD RS. In order to be used as the wireless transceiver of the FDD RS, at least Tx/Rx band switching (swapping) capability is required. Also, the FDD BS can communicate with the FDD MS in various scenarios and the FDD RS should be able to support data communication according to the various scenarios.

Wireless transceiver and relay station including the wireless transceiver


A cell charging voltage adapter circuit, and a battery including such a circuit, wherein the charging circuit includes terminals (2, 3) of resistor (8) between one of the connecting terminals (2; 3) and one of the output terminals (6; 7) and a comparator 910) between the connecting terminals and adapted to control the variable resistor in accordance with the results of comparing the voltage between the connecting terminals and a nominal voltage.

The present invention concerns a charging current adapter circuit for cells; it also concerns a battery including a charging current adapter circuit of this kind.
Cells, and in particular Li-ion cells, are increasingly used in domestic appliances and office equipment, and in particular in portable telephones. The charging voltage of such devices is conventionally 4.2 volts and conventional chargers for this type of cell are usually designed for a corresponding charging voltage. Lithium cells have recently been introduced with a charging voltage of 4.1 volts or 4.0 volts.
So-called "universal" charging devices can charge various types of cells; these devices include a thumbwheel for adjusting the voltage and cannot identify the type of cell to which they are connected. There are also charging devices that can recognize the type of cell to which they are connected; these latter devices are complicated and costly.

Charging current adapter circuit for cells or batteries


An information processing apparatus includes a first processor that is connected to an input/output device and is configured to execute a program for controlling an apparatus including the input/output device, and a second processor that is connected to an external network and is configured to execute a program for establishing communication via the external network, wherein when starting the information processing apparatus, the second processor verifies an integrity of the program to be executed by the first processor and starts the first processor when the integrity of the program to be executed by the first processor is verified, and when the integrity of the program to be executed by the first processor is not verified, the second processor issues a problem notification without using a user interface of the first processor.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosures herein generally relate to an information processing apparatus and a method of controlling startup operations of the information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when starting an information processing apparatus such as a built-in computer of an electronic device, a personal computer, or a server apparatus, an integrity verification process is performed to verify that the program to be executed is an appropriate program that has not been tampered with or corrupted by untrustworthy parties, for example.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-146110 discloses an information processing apparatus that includes program reading means for reading each program into a main storage device from a recording medium, program validating means for determining the validity of each program read into the main storage device, and program executing means for executing each program that has been determined to be valid.
However, the above disclosed apparatus does not contemplate sending a notification externally when the integrity of a program is not verified.

Information processing apparatus and information processing apparatus startup control method


This invention relates to a fluorinated taxol of formula I ##STR1## in which R.sup.1 is --COR.sup.z in which R.sup.z is RO-- or R;. R.sup.g is C.sub.1-6 alkyl, C.sub.2-6 alkenyl, C.sub.2-6 alkynyl, C.sub.3-6 cycloalkyl, or a radical of the formula --W--R.sup.x in which W is a bond, C.sub.2-6 alkenediyl, or --(CH.sub.2).sub.t --, in which t is one to six; and R.sup.x is naphthyl, furyl, thienyl or phenyl, and furthermore R.sup.x can be optionally substituted with one to three same or different C.sub.1-6 alkyl, C.sub.1-6 alkoxy, halogen or --CF.sub.3 groups; PA0 R.sup.2 is --OCOR, H, OH, --OR, --OSO.sub.2 R, --OCONR.sup.o R, --OCONHR, --OCOO(CH.sub.2).sub.t R, or --OCOOR; and PA0 R and R.sup.o are independently C.sub.1-6 alkyl, C.sub.2-6 alkenyl, C.sub.3-6 cycloalkyl, C.sub.2-6 alkynyl, or phenyl, optionally substituted with one to three same or different C.sub.1-6 alkyl, C.sub.1-6 alkoxy, halogen or --CF.sub.3 groups.. Further provided by this invention are pharmaceutical formulations and useful intermediates for the fluorinated taxols of formula I. A method of treating mammalian tumors using a compound of formula I is also provided.

Taxol was first isolated from the stem bark of Western Yew, Taxus brevifolia Nutt (Taxaceae) and has the following structure (with the 2'-, 7-, 10- and 13th-positions indicated) ##STR2## In clinical trials sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), taxol has shown promising results in fighting advanced cases of ovarian, breast, and other cancers. Taxol has recently been approved for the treatment of metastatic carcinoma of the ovary.
Taxol is unique among antimitotic drugs in that it promotes the assembly of stable microtubules from tubulin even under otherwise unfavorable conditions. The drug binds to microtubules, stabilizing them from depolymerization, thus disrupting the tubulinmicrotubule equilibrium and consequently inhibiting mitosis. The mechanism of action, toxicology, clinical efficacy, etc. of taxol are reviewed in a number of articles, such as in an article by Rowinsky et al. in Taxol: A Novel Investigational Antimicrotubule Agent, J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 82: p 1247 (1990).
Since the discovery of significant effectiveness in cancer treatment, many laboratories have launched programs to design taxol analogues in search of better pharmacological profiles. Out of such a program was the discovery of taxotere of the formula ##STR3## which has been reported to be as effective as taxol at promoting the assembly of microtubules and approximately twice as cytotoxic. See, Biologically Active Taxol Analogues with Deleted A-Ring Side Chain Substitutents and Variable C-2' Configurations, J. Med. Chem., 34, p 1176 (1991); Relationships between the Structure of Taxol Analogues and Their Antimitotic Activity, J. Med. Chem., 34, p 992 (1991).
In recent years, the introduction of fluorine into pharmacologically active compounds has led to the discovery of some profound and unexpected results. (For a comprehensive review on the advances in the preparation of biologically active organofluorine compounds, see: Advances in the Preparation of Biologically Active Organofluorine Compounds, Tetrahedron, 43, No. 14, p 3123 (1987).) It is the intention of the present invention to provide fluorinated taxols and their derivatives.


A random number generator seeding method and apparatus which includes the provision of an RNG seed register and means for capturing a current count number from one or more fast running counters contained within the apparatus upon the occurrence of an act or acts by an apparatus operator as he performs the normal set-up and initialization function. In the preferred embodiment means are provided for sensing particular acts of the operator, and upon detection of each such xe2x80x9ceventxe2x80x9d, one or more of the counters within the system are read and the count value is appended to previously captured counter values until the desired seed length is obtained. At this time, the RNG is said to be seeded, the initialization phase is completed and the apparatus may be made available to players to commence game play or other use of the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to random number generator methods and apparatus, and more particularly to an improved method and apparatus for randomly seeding a random-numbered generator.
2. Background of the Invention
In many types of devices, random number generators (RNGs) are used to generate numbers that are used for certain computational purposes, and it is usually important that the starting number or xe2x80x9cSeed Valuexe2x80x9d be truly random because it is this seed value that will determine the sequence of numbers that the RNG will ultimately produce. In one type of application, RNG devices are used in various types of gaming machines including for example, slot machines and similar gambling apparatus, to produce the numbers used to drive the apparatus. See for example, Yfantis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,871,400, issued Feb. 16, 1999, and entitled xe2x80x9cRandom Number Generator For Electronic Applicationsxe2x80x9d, expressly incorporated hereinto by reference. Because each machine must operate totally independently of every other machine, the seed value of each machine must be different from that of the others because the seed value will ultimately determine the sequence of numbers that the RNG will produce to drive the game. If two slot machines with the same RNG algorithm are seeded with the same seed value, both machines will produce the same sequence of numbers. This is not permissible because slot machines must include as much randomness as is possible in order to make them xe2x80x9cfairxe2x80x9d and unpredictable. It is therefore desirable that the RNG seeds for each machine be unknown, unpredictable and different from one machine to another.
Before a gaming device such as a slot machine can be put in service, the machine must be initialized. In the usual case, the slot machine goes through at least three phases during initialization; namely, set-up, seeding and finally, the seeded phase, and it is not until the seeded state is reached that a player will be able to use the machine in a normal course of play. The set-up phase is simply a power-on and initialization phase where RAM tests are performed and the various software and hardware modules are initialized. During the seeding phase, a random number is input to the machine, and once loaded, the apparatus is said to be seeded and play can commence. in the prior art various technologies have been used to select a seed value but such value was generated in a way that permitted inspection and the possibility of tampering. There is therefore a need for a method and apparatus that will permit the generation of a seed value that is totally random, unpredictable, and always different from one machine to another.
An object of the present invention is to provide a novel method and apparatus for generating the seed number to be used in a random number generator.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for randomly generating and loading a seed number into a register within the random number generator.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus by which a seed can be randomly generated and loaded into the seed register of an RNG during set-up of the gaming or other apparatus incorporating an RNG.
Briefly, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes the provision of an RNG seed register and means for capturing a current count number from one or more fast running counters contained within the apparatus upon the occurrence of an act or acts by an apparatus operator as he performs the normal set-up and initialization function. In the preferred embodiment means are provided for sensing particular acts of the operator, and upon detection of each such xe2x80x9ceventxe2x80x9d, one or more of the counters within the system are read and the count value is appended to previously captured counter values until the desired seed length is obtained. At this time, the RNG is said to be seeded, the initialization phase is completed and the apparatus may be made available to players to commence game play or other use of the apparatus.
An important advantage of the present invention is that it uses a random sequence and timing of events to obtain a plurality of unknown count values which when captured in sufficient quantity, will constitute a seed number which is totally unknown, unpredictable and different from one machine to another.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it creates a seeding operation in which it is virtually impossible for the operator to influence the seeding process in a predictable way to obtain a predictable seed number.
These and other objects of the present invention will no doubt become apparent to those skilled in the art after having read the following detailed description of preferred embodiments.

Random number generator seeding method and apparatus


A method (200) for coiling an earphone set (10) comprising at least one earphone (11), at least one cable (12), one for each earphone (11), and a connector (14), the method comprising:                coiling the at least one cable (12) around a cable strap (21) having at least one end (22);        passing a first (22) of the at least one end of the cable strap (21) over a first (11) of the earphones by inserting the first earphone (11) through a first slot (23) in the first end (22) for attaching the first earphone (11) to the cable strap (21); and        passing a second (22) of the at least one end of the cable strap (21) over a second (11) of the earphones by inserting the second earphone (11) through a second slot (23) in the second end (22) for releasably attaching the second earphone (11) to the cable strap (21).

As portable technology advances consumers demand portable devices be easy to use. This demand also extends to the use of their accessories, such as, for example, earphone sets, hands-free sets, button headphones, and so forth.
Most such accessories are separate from and releasably attachable to the portable device. To keep them in order, separate cable-control apparatus is used. Such cable-control apparatus is normally bulky and can be cumbersome to use. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a conventional earphone set 10 comprises two earphones 11, an earphone mount 18 attached to each of the two earphones 11, a cable 12, a first end of the cable 12 splitting to form two cable extensions 13. Each cable extensions 13 is attached to a first end 17 of the earphone mount 18. A jack 14 is attached to a second end 19 of the cable 12, wherein the jack 14 may be inserted into a socket 15 of a portable device 16 such as, for example, an MP3 player.
Traditional cable management solutions for earphones 11 may be such as, for example, a cable spooling casing 15 wherein the cable 12 is winded in the casing 15. The casing 15 comprises a plurality of slots 16 for securing the earphones 11, a bottom case 17 and a cover 18 attached to the bottom case 17. This is cumbersome to set up, and is quite bulky.


A method of operating synthetic aperture radar in a low PRF mode, comprising generating a stream of radar pulses, imposing onto said stream a predetermined modulation of the Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF), directing said stream to a target area, and processing received pulses, comprising separating the received pulses as a sequence of sets, and superposing received radar pulses of said sets, whereby to enhance the central received lobe and to attenuate side lobes.

A common requirement of SAR is to detect relatively small objects in a generally featureless region, e.g. a ship on the ocean. In this situation, the radar footprint desirably has a wide swath, in the "cross track" direction at right angles to the "along track" direction of the radar platform, so that as large an area as possible is scanned. As will be explained, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, a wide swath requires a low pulse repetition frequency (PRF). Operating a SAR at a low PRF is likely to introduce ambiguities in the along track direction. These are "ghost" images that arise in adjacent lobes and are analogous to the grating lobes seen when monochromatic light is projected through a coarse diffraction grating.
When operating in SAR mode, the radar is usually required to pulse at a high rate (see FIG. 1), namely at a rate sufficiently high that when samples are taken along the trajectory followed by the radar (which is the position of the aperture that will be synthesised), the inevitable grating lobes that exist for sample spacing greater than 1 wavelength are adequately attenuated by the along-track pattern associated with the real aperture propagating pulses from and to the radar. This criterion is the primary driver to the PRF at which the radar must operate. The PRF is a function of the real aperture length (as that length gets shorter, so the real beam widens and has the potential to include more grating lobes so the PRF has to rise in order to introduce more samples and increase the angular spacing between those grating lobes) and the velocity with which the platform moves (low Earth orbiting satellites move at around 7500 m/s). A good working value for the spacing between samples is that this should be somewhat less than half the length of the real aperture.
A consequence of high PRF, is sensitivity to ambiguous returns from the across track direction. All measurements of distance from radar to target are made, modulo the spacing between pulses. So, for unambiguous performance in measuring distance from the radar, the distance between pulses should be greater than the distance on ground/surface that is illuminated by the across-track width of the radar beam. This implies use of a low PRF. However a low PRF then introduces ambiguities in the along track direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,069 proposes elimination of ambiguity considerations by using a transmitter format providing distinguishable sub-pulses, such as frequency division or code division format. However this is a complex solution requiring increased signal processing overhead and has the potential to introduce blind zones in the image associated with the high PRF pulse transmissions causing saturation in (or avoiding by blanking of) the receive chain.


Television schedule information transmission and utilization systems transmit TV schedule data and associated network control messages provided by computer as packets via the Video Blanking Interval (VBI) lines in the TV signal from various television program providers. This data is acquired by regional data processing systems and forwarded by the regional data processing systems to subscriber units and used to construct an internal database. This internal database can be accessed by the subscriber unit to display a TV schedule for the channels that are received by the user's TV.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for broadcasting, receiving and using television schedule information. More particularly, it relates to such a system and method in which the television schedule information is broadcast in, e.g., the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of a television broadcast, a schedule of television programs for a user's broadcast area or cable system is compiled from the broadcast, and the schedule is displayed on the user's television set for interactive use. As used herein, the term "broadcast" is used in a brad sense to include such transmission modes as cable and telephonic transmission.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art to provide an interactive television program schedule system utilizing broadcast schedule information. For example, such a schedule system is disclosed in commonly assigned Young, U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,121, issued Nov. 10, 1987 and the above referenced Young et al. pending application.
In the design of such a schedule system, only a limited amount of memory and data processing capability can be provided in the user's equipment that receives the schedule information broadcast, compiles the schedule for the user's broadcast area or cable system, displays the schedule on the user's television set and interacts with the user, while enabling that equipment to be provided at a low enough price for mass marketing. This memory and data processing limitation was recognized by Hallenbeck, U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,211, issued Aug. 6, 1991. The solution proposed by Hallenbeck is to subdivide the schedule information into prioritized categories, store the highest priority category, and as much of the lower priority categories as possible in the amount of memory available. A significant problem with this approach is that less information may be provided about programs in the schedule when there are more programs in the schedule and the need for more information is greatest. Further development in light of the memory and processor limitations of consumer electronics is therefore required.
When schedule information is transmitted as part of a program broadcast signal and a prior art subscriber unit acquires the schedule information from the program broadcast signal, a potential problem arises when previously broadcast programs have been recorded on a VCR and are played back The prior art subscriber unit lacks any ability to distinguish a video signal generated from a recorded program from a video signal received in real time from a broadcast As a result, the subscriber unit may overwrite more recent program schedule information acquired from a real time broadcast with older program schedule information coming from a video tape.
Proposals to transmit television schedule information with television broadcast signals often use a low bandwidth transmission mode, such as one or more lines in the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the television broadcast signals. The use of such low bandwidth transmission modes means that the format and management of the transmissions must be carefully planned in order to avoid practical problems. For example, when a schedule update is to be transmitted, unless special provisions are made for such updates, worst case transmission delay until the update is received and entered in a user's subscriber unit could amount to five hours, the time for transmission of a complete schedule for a week in an NTSC television broadcast signal using one line of the VBI for the schedule information. In the case of last minute schedule changes, such a delay would be unacceptable.
Data encryption is essential for a subscription-based broadcast television schedule system Without data encryption, the schedule information could be acquired and used by pirate user equipment without payment of the subscription fee. However, decryption of encoded data is a processor intensive. A conventional approach of encrypting the entire schedule information transmission requires a faster and more expensive microprocessor than would otherwise be suitable for the subscriber units.
When implementing a television schedule system on a national or even international basis, provision must be made for different time zones. Adjusting times in the schedule for the different time zones in the process of transmitting the schedule adds substantial overhead to the data transmission. It would be desirable to eliminate the need for such adjustments in the transmission.
It may be desirable in the operation of a television schedule system to provide the schedule information embedded at different places in the television signal at different parts of the system in order to avoid the necessity of imposing uniformity throughout the system. To do so, it is necessary to provide a way for recipients of the schedule information to identify it in the television signal.
In the operation of a broadcast television schedule system, acquisition of new schedule information by the subscriber units consumes a substantial proportion of available microprocessor processing time. When obsolete schedule information is deleted and new schedule information is acquired, a substantial portion of the new information, such as program titles, duplicates information already present in stored schedule information or to be deleted with the obsolete schedule information. Avoiding the deletion of information that will form part of new schedule information would help to minimize the amount of processor time devoted to the acquisition of new schedule information.
Because of the severe memory limitations in consumer electronic products, it is necessary to use the memory efficiently in order to provide as much information and as much functionality in the subscriber unit as possible with the available memory.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for transmitting and utilizing electronic programs guide information


A dispenser for moist tissue including a housing for a moist tissue roll and a slot in the housing for dispensing the tissue from the roll. The dispenser includes arms for hanging the dispenser far from a fixed element. The arms also effect a seal between housing sections forming the housing.

This invention relates to a dispenser for moist tissues. More particular, the present invention relates to a dispenser for moist tissues which effectively seals moist tissue housed within the dispenser to maintain it moist and which includes means for hanging the dispenser from a conventional toilet tissue holder.
Premoistened tissues are formed from a highly absorbant sheet material such as tissue paper or tissue paper which may contain polymeric fibers which provides strength to the tissue paper and which are moistened with a liquid cleaning agent. The cleaning agent may also contain a medicament, deodorant or the like. Since the tissue is moist, it must be stored in a container which seals the tissue from the atmosphere surrounding the dispenser in order to prevent liquid from evaporating from the tissue. In addition, the dispenser must permit ease of access to moist tissue for the user so that it can be easily dispensed in the desired amount by the user. The requirements for sealing and ease of access present conflicting criteria since the ease of access requirement also requires that at least a portion of the moist tissue be readily accessible to the user without opening the dispenser. Thus, the exposed tissue provides a means for allowing evaporation from the moist tissue stored in the dispenser which evaporation is to be minimized.
It is also desirable that the dispenser can be conveniently stored in the area of use, which is primarily the bathroom portion of a living area. In addition, it is desirable that the dispenser be reusable so that, after all of the moist tissue has been used, the dispenser can be opened to insert a new supply of moist tissue, thereby eliminating the need for purchasing a new dispenser with each new source of moist tissue. Thus, the dispenser must be capable of being resealed after a new supply of moist tissue has been added to the dispenser. Since the moist tissue normally is used in the bathroom, it would desirable to provide a means for storing the dispenser which cooperates with conventional bathroom fixtures such a spindle upon which a roller of dry toilet paper wound about a hollow core is stored. Such a storage means would provide the user with a convenient choice of dry or moist tissue.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,595 discloses a dispenser for a moist tissue roll in the form of a cylindrical housing. The cylindrical housing includes an open cylinder and one or more circular sealing rims which close and seal the openings in the cylinder. The cylinder contains a slot through which the moist tissue is dispensed. When it is desired to replace a roll of moist tissue, the sealing rim or rims are detached from the cylinder, a new roll of moist tissue is placed into the cylinder and the end of the roll is rethreaded through the slot in the cylinder. In addition, the sealing rims must be properly positioned to effect desired sealing to prevent moisture evaporation from the new roll. This dispenser is undesirable since it cannot be utilized with a conventional bathroom tissue support structure which includes a spindle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,333 discloses a dispensing device for moist tissue which must be affixed to a bathroom wall. In addition, when the tissue is dispensed from the dispenser, a cover must be lifted to permit access to the moist tissue. While the cover is lifted, a liquid evaporates from the tissue so that it eventually becomes undesirably dry.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,353 discloses a dispenser for moist tissue. The dispenser has a cylindrical configuration formed from two sections which are hinged together. The interior of the dispenser is sealed from the surrounding atmosphere either with a spring loaded plate at the dispenser exit or with an auxiliary storing means for added liquid through which the moist tissue is passed. No means are provided for storing the dispenser on a conventional spindle for toilet paper.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,606 discloses a dispenser for moist tissue which is adapted to be positioned on a flat surface such as a floor or table. No means are provided for securing the dispenser to a conventional toilet tissue spindle.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a dispenser for moist tissue which permits dispensing a desirable length of tissue while sealing the moist tissue from the atmosphere to prevent tissue drying. In addition, it would be desirable to provide such a dispenser which permits dispensing tissue without opening the dispenser. In addition, it would be desirable to provide such a dispenser which can be secured to existing conventional storing mean for dry toilet tissue. Furthermore, it would be desirable to provide such a dispenser which also can be positioned on or against a horizontal or vertical flat surface to provide convenience in dispensing moist tissue at a variety of locations.

Moist tissue dispenser having sealing arms


The invention relates to a high-voltage module comprising a housing (9) which accommodates at least one structural component (4, 5) that is fastened on a metal-ceramics substrate from a ceramic layer (1) comprising a first main face (11) and a second main face (12) opposite said first main face (11), an upper metal layer (15) on the first main face (11) and a lower metal layer (16) on the second main face (12). The high-voltage module is further characterized by comprising on the outer edges (14) of the substrate either a cast from weakly conductive particles (17) and a gel, or a cast from particles having a high dielectric constant as compared to the cast gel (17), and a gel.

In electronics and electrical engineering, components are usually mounted on boards or on a two-sided metallized insulating material. Two-sided copper-coated ceramic boards are therefore used, for example, in power electronics, where the ceramic board constitutes an insulator with a specified dielectric constant. The components are mounted on the structured metal layer and filled, for example, with casting compound.
Here, very high electrical field strengths occur, particularly at the side edges of the top metal layer, due to the high voltages applied between the contact surfaces. For example, the field strength is up to 50 kV/mm at a voltage of 5000 V. At this field strength, the insulation requirements, which are placed on the power module, can no longer be reliably fulfilled due to the breakdown voltage at the junction with the casting compound, i.e. to the insulator, being exceeded.
FIG. 1 shows a typical construction of an encapsulated circuit element according to the prior art. The AlN substrate shown in FIG. 1, on which the circuit is mounted, is designated by 1. The substrate is a high-quality insulator, usually a ceramic board, which has a dielectric constant of about 10.
The insulator 1 is fixed to a copper baseplate 2 (or AlSiC baseplate), for example, which serves to provide both mechanical stability for the circuit and also thermal connection of the circuit to the outside. The copper baseplate 2 thus secures the components of the circuit on the one hand and, on the other, ensures that heat from the components is conducted away to a heat sink, which is not shown in FIG. 1. At the same time, the AlN substrate is joined to the copper baseplate 2 by means of solder connections 3.
In the form shown, the electronic circuit includes an IGBT 4 and a diode 5, which are rated, for example, for voltages of 1600 V. These components 4 and 5 are connected together, for example, with aluminum thick wire bonding wires 6 and/or by means of metallizing on the insulator. In the case of thick wire bonding, the aluminum wires preferably have a thickness of about 200 to 500 μm.
The whole circuit assembly according to the prior art is encapsulated in a soft casting compound 8, for example made from silicone gel, and subsequently fitted into a housing 9 made of plastic. The plastic housing 9 is preferably fixed directly on the copper baseplate 2 and is filled with a hard casting compound 7. Only the feed conductors with load current contacts 10 are fed out of the plastic housing 9. The load current contacts 10 are also connected to the circuit in the housing 9 by means of solder connections 3.
With a housing of this kind according to the prior art, high field strengths generally occur at the edges, points and structures of voltage-carrying elements, which have a small bending radius. Field strengths, which can exceed the local dielectric strength, occur particularly at the edge of the substrate 14, i.e. at the metallization edge, but also due on the one hand to the geometrical arrangement and on the other, to the material characteristics. The consequence is electrical flashovers, which can cause local damage and thus a loss of insulation of the module.
The profile of the equipotential lines in such a construction according to the prior art is shown in FIG. 2 in an enlarged section of the illustration in FIG. 1. A top and a bottom metal layer 15, 16 are located on the top and bottom surfaces 11, 12 of the AlN ceramic layer 1 resulting in a "sandwich construction". The bottom metal layer 16 of the construction shown in FIG. 2 can be in thermal contact with the copper baseplate 2 and thus with a heat sink by means of a solder connection.
It can be seen from the density of the equipotential lines 13 in FIG. 2 that a high field strength prevails at the edges 14 in this construction according to the prior art so that uncontrolled discharges occur when a material-dependent breakdown field strength is exceeded, as a result of which the sensitive components of the circuit can be destroyed.
In WO 00/08686 a method is disclosed for shifting the break-down voltage to higher values by reducing the field strength at the edges of the metallization 14. To achieve this, a dielectric layer with a second dielectric constant is provided arranged on the ceramic layer, which borders the top metallization. As a result of this, the maximum field strength at the junction from the substrate (ceramic and metallization) to its environment can be reduced.

High-voltage module and method for producing same


The present invention includes a method and device that allows efficient mixing of multiple video images with a graphics screen while utilizing only one video buffer. The present invention partitions the sole video buffer, pre-scales the plurality of video images and inserts them into the partitioned video buffer in a predetermined range of buffer addresses. The present invention mixes the partitioned video including the pre-scaled video images with the graphics screen to produce a video display including both a video screen and a graphics screen.

In applications involving video displays, there is oftentimes a need for the display to include both a video screen as well as a graphics screen. These two elements may be mixed on a display if the hardware utilized is capable of performing such an operation. A common problem arises, as using multiple video buffers for each video image tends to consume large amounts of memory as well as bandwidth. Additional problems arise in the case where a hardware system only has the capacity to utilize one video buffer.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional process 100 in a system where two video buffers 110, 120 are utilized to mix multiple video images 112, 114 with a graphics frame 130 to produce a display frame 140 simultaneously containing both the video images 112, 114 and the graphics frame 130. In this conventional process 100, a first image 112 is loaded into a first video buffer 110 and a second video image 114 is loaded into a second video buffer 120. The video buffers 110 and 120 are sized as if the first image 112 and the second image 114 were to be full-size images and each displayed in the full display window. The two video buffers 110, 120 are then mixed with the graphics frame 130 and the video images 112, 114 are scaled to produce the display frame 140 as shown with both video images 112, 114. As stated previously, this process takes up a considerable amount of memory and bandwidth as multiple full-size buffers are needed when multiple video images are present.

Method of and apparatus for utilizing video buffer in a multi-purpose fashion to extend the video buffer to multiple windows


A ball hitch apparatus comprises a ball portion having a ball connected to a shaft, an aperture longitudinally defined therethrough and a slot communicating with the aperture. A rod is disposed in the aperture and biased toward the ball and a pin is attached to the rod and movable within the slot. A socket portion has a central bore for receiving the shaft and a keyway communicating with the central bore for receiving the pin. The ball portion and socket portion are releasably secured in both a first locking position characterized by the rod extending beyond the ball and a second locking position characterized by the rod positioned substantially flush with the top of the ball.

This invention relates generally to towing devices and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to detachable ball hitch apparatus and methods which are releasably securable and interchangeable with different sized hitch balls.
Towing devices attached to a tow vehicle are commonly used to pull (or push) trailers. A hitch ball is attached to the bumper, frame, draw bar or bed of a tow vehicle. The front portion or tongue of the trailer has a coupling mechanism which can be positioned over the ball. The coupling mechanism on the trailer secures the trailer to the ball.
There are several different standard sized balls which correspond to different sized coupling mechanisms. Accordingly, it is desirable that the balls be interchangeable. Further, it is often desirable that the ball be removable. For example, a hitch ball attached to the bed of a tow vehicle can interfere with loading materials on the bed. Also, a hitch ball is often greasy and can stain clothing. Finally, a hitch ball may be stolen if not removed.
Detachable towing devices as well as those having interchangeable hitch balls are available. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,400 shows a detachable hitch ball. The ball has a centrally disposed pin which forces ball bearings into a circumferential groove in the socket to secure the ball to the socket. Also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,169,168, 4,938,496 and 5,116,072 show various embodiments of a detachable ball pinned to a shank.
While prior hitches work adequately in many circumstances, there are problems and shortcomings. Some of the prior art hitches are difficult to use, time-consuming to attach and detach and have multiple moving and unconnected parts which are subject to wear and loss.
Thus, there is a need for improved detachable ball hitch apparatus and methods which are simple in construction, reliable and easy to use.

Detachable ball hitch apparatus and methods


Information that identifies key frames in video data within multimedia data is generated as reproduction controlling data and the reproduction controlling data is positioned at a predetermined position in the multimedia data. Upon special reproduction, the reproduction controlling data can be used to easily identify, read out, and reproduce key frames that should be used for random access and the like. By positioning the reproduction controlling data in an area within the multimedia data that is ignored by conventional apparatuses, file compatibility can be also maintained. This attains increased efficiency of special reproduction processing of multimedia that has ISO Base file format or a similar format.

In recent years, processing capability of mobile phones, PDAs, personal computers (PC), and various other types of computing devices has significantly improved, enabling such devices to readily handle multimedia data such as video and audio.
Techniques for compression-encoding such video and audio have also improved and known techniques include MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 methods that are standardized by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) as international standards. In those MPEG compression encoding methods, images are constructed from pictures of three types: I, P, and B (VOP), depending on which predictive coding schemes is applied. An I picture is an intra-frame encoded image, a P picture is an inter-frame forward predictive-coded image that uses a past image, and a B picture is a bi-directional predictive-coded image that uses both a past image and a future image.
Among these three types of pictures, only I pictures can be decoded without other pictures. Thus, operation such as special reproduction (e.g. random access and fast-forward) that disturbs the order of frames is realized by accessing an I picture that serves as the reference of decoding.
However, since access to an I picture during random access is a complicated process, it is desirable to make decoding processing more efficient and reduce delay. Thus, a technique has been proposed that reliably obtains I picture data and implement special reproduction smoothly in a recording/reproducing apparatus for image data that is compressed and encoded in MPEG-2 (see Japanese Patent Laid-Opens No. 11-261964 and No. 2000-224543, for example).
In addition, ISO has standardized ISO Base Media File Format (hereinafter referred to just "ISO file format") as a basic format for a flexile and extensible media file format that facilitate exchange, management, and edit of media (ISO/IEC 14496-12).
On the basis of the ISO file format, file formats that are extended for recording data of a certain encoding format have been also standardized, including MP4 file format for recording MPEG-4 video and audio coded data (ISO/IEC 14496-14), Motion JPEG 2000 file format (ISO/IEC 15444-3), AVC file format (ISO/IEC 14496-15), 3GPP file format that is a standardization project for the third-generation mobile communication system (3rd Generation Partnership Project), and 3GPP2 file format (3rd Generation Partnership Project 2) that is a project derived from 3GPP.
The ISO file format (and the above-described file formats that are based on the same) consists of a nested data structure called "Box" as shown below:
class Box {unsigned int(32) size;byte type[4];byte data[ ];};    The "size" is a field that indicates the data length of Box.    The "type" is a field indicating the type of Box, for which an identifier of four characters (four bytes) assigned to each Box is set.    The "data" is substance of data included by Box, having different contents depending on "type". As Box can have a hierarchical structure and include one or more Boxes, "data" may be another Box.
FIG. 1 shows listing of Boxes that are defined in the ISO file format.
In the figure, the leftmost to the sixth columns indicate the type of Boxes that are defined in the ISO file format and inclusion relationship among them. The rightmost column provides description of Box in a corresponding row.
As mentioned above, each Box is assigned four-byte "type" for identifying its type, which is represented by four alphanumeric characters. This four-character "type" is given in the six left columns. In the following discussion, this "type" will be used to refer to a particular Box.
A relationship in which one Box includes another Box is indicated by a positional relationship of columns. The table means that Box in one column includes Box that is indicated in a column positioned right to the column. For example, "moov" shown in the second row from the top is meant to include "mvhd", "trak", and "mvex".
FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified data structure of the ISO file format. As shown, Box structure of the ISO file format typically consists of moov 201 for storing meta data for media data such as management information for video and audio samples and mdat 202 that stores actual media data such as sample data of video and audio.
Moov 201 includes Box that is called "trak" 203 corresponding to respective media data. Also, media data in mdat 202 is stored as separated into sets of multiple continuous samples of video and audio that are called "chunk" and an array of chunk is stored in data field of mdat 202. The size of chunk and the number of samples contained in it are not specifically limited and chunk having any size and any number of samples can be constructed and stored in accordance with environment and context.
For such ISO file format, a data structure has been defined for identifying a random access point as information for random access (special reproduction) processing.
Random access is performed mainly by using child Box included in stbl 204.
Stts (time-to-sample) 205 indicates to which time a track sample corresponds. This Box is used to find the first sample prior to a given time. Although stts 205 has been referred to as an example here, Box called ctts in FIG. 1 can be also used to find the first sample prior to a given time as well.
However, since a sample found may not be a random access point, subsequent Boxes need be further checked to find the closest random access point.
Stts (sync sample table) 206 indicates which sample is an actual random access point. By using this Box, the first sample number prior to a given time can be searched for. In absence of stts 206, random access would be easy because it means that all the samples are random access points.
At this point, a sample number that should be used for random access has been found. Next, stsc (sample-to-chunk) 207 is used in order to determine in which chunk the sample number is positioned.
Further, stco (chunk offset) 208 is used for determining where the chunk starts. While stco has been referred to as an example, Box called co64 (64 bit chunk offset) shown in FIG. 1 may also be used to obtain the offset position of a chunk as well.
Starting with this offset, the size of each of the samples that exist up to the location at which the target sample is positioned within that chunk is obtained from stsz (sample size) 209 and the total sum of the samples is calculated. The target chunk offset position plus the overall size will be the position at which the target sample starts.
The start position and size of the sample thus obtained can be used to identify sample data that should be used for random access from mdat 202.
However, the technique proposed by the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-261964 is a technique for realizing increased efficiency of high-speed reproduction using a management file that is recorded separately from multiplexed video and audio data. Thus, the technique has a problem of inability to attain efficient high-speed playback if correlation between contents and its corresponding management file is broken due to copying of contents data, for example.
Also, the technique proposed by the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-224543 is a technique for realizing efficient special reproduction of MPEG-2 image data in a recording/reproducing apparatus. The patent does not mention how to efficiently perform processing of ISO Base Media File Format in special reproduction.
Processing using a data structure that identifies a random access point as outlined above may allow access to desired data for special reproduction data having ISO file format. However, the processing is time consuming because the structure and correlation of a header is complicated.

Data recording/reproducing apparatus and method


A brake mechanism includes a clutch unit and a disc. The clutch unit includes a first and second engagement mechanism. Each engagement mechanism presents at least one tooth. The disc defines at least one slot. Each engagement mechanism is movable relative to the disc between a disengaged position and an engaged position. The tooth of the first engagement mechanism is configured to engage the slot of the disc when in the engaged position to cease rotation of the disc in a first direction of rotation. The tooth of the second engagement mechanism is configured to engage the slot of the disc when in the engaged position to cease rotation of the disc in a second direction of rotation, opposite the first direction of rotation. The disc is configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, relative to the clutch unit, when each engagement mechanism is in the disengaged position.

To produce a more efficient vehicle, hybrid vehicle powertrains combine an electric motor and a conventional internal combustion engine. Torque from the engine and the electric motor is typically channeled to the vehicle's driven wheels via a transmission. Efficiency of a hybrid vehicle powertrain is generally related to the percentage of time that the engine must be run in addition to or in place of the electric motor for powering the vehicle.
Some hybrid powertrains employ a single electric motor in combination with the engine. In such powertrains, transmission output, as well as vehicle speed, is directly related to the speeds and torques of the engine and the electric motor. Other hybrid powertrains employ two electric motors in combination with the engine to power the vehicle. Additionally, a vehicle may employ purely electric propulsion. In such a case, the vehicle's powertrain will have one or more motor/generators and no internal combustion engine.
In either a hybrid or purely electric powertrain, the electric motors are operatively connected to a transmission which includes planetary gearing such that torque and speed of the electric motors may be selected independently of vehicle speed and desired acceleration. In a hybrid powertrain, control of the engine is typically achieved by varying individual torque contribution from the electric motor(s). Thus, such hybrid and purely electric powertrains may each provide selectable torque contribution from their electric motors, and, in the case of the hybrid powertrain, may similarly provide a selectable torque contribution from the engine to drive the subject vehicle.

Brake mechanism for a hybrid transmission


A 3-way Doherty amplifier has an amplifier input and an amplifier output. The amplifier has a main stage, a first peak stage and a second peak stage. The amplifier has an input network connecting the amplifier input to the inputs of the stages, and an output network connecting the stages to the amplifier output. The output network implements a phase shift of 90° between the output of the main stage and the amplifier output; a phase shift of 180° between the output of the first peak stage and the amplifier output; and a phase shift of 90° between the third output and the amplifier output.

As known, a classical Doherty amplifier has two amplifying stages arranged in parallel and of the same power capability. The first one of the stages (main stage) operates in a class-AB amplifier mode and the second one (peak stage) operates in a class-C amplifier mode. These stages are separated at their inputs and at their outputs by 90° phase-shifting networks. The output phase-shifting network has a specific characteristic impedance Z0 which must be equal to the optimal load impedance RLm of the main stage. The input signal is split so as to drive the two amplifiers, and a summing network, known as an "impedance inverter" or a "Doherty combiner", is operative to: a) combine the two output signals, b) to correct for phase differences between the two output signals, and c) to provide an inverted impedance at the output of the Doherty amplifier with respect to the impedance as seen from the output of the main stage.
The classical Doherty amplifier is a so-called 2-way amplifier with a main stage and a single peak stage. A multi-way (or N-way) Doherty amplifier has a main stage and a plurality of peak stages operating in parallel. An advantage of a multi-way Doherty system is that it extends the back-of level far beyond the symmetrical 2-way design without exhibiting significant drop in efficiency between the efficiency peaking points. As a result, an improvement of efficiency is possible at 12 dB power back-off, not at 6 dB back-off as for a symmetrical 2-way Doherty amplifier. The 12 dB power back-off is currently demanded by new communication systems such as 3G-LTE (third generation long-term evolution) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). A classical 3-way Doherty requires quarter-wave-length lines between the outputs of the main stage and its first peak stage and also between the outputs of the first and additional peak stages. This makes the design of such a Doherty system very complicated. In addition, such design requires a large space in order to accommodate it, and mass-production samples can be predicted as showing very inconsistent behavior.
Typically, the main stage and the peak stages are implemented using a respective power transistor as each of the respective stages.

3-way Doherty amplifier with minimum output network


The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for operating an internal combustion engine. In the method a first distribution of values for at least one variable is used, the variable describing a physical property of the internal combustion engine, and over a second time period values for this variable are recorded and classified, such that a second distribution is determined. The first distribution is then compared with the second distribution such that the behavior of the internal combustion engine can be adapted on the basis thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for operating an internal combustion engine, in particular an internal combustion engine with allocated subsequent exhaust gas treatment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In internal combustion engines which are also referred to as combustion engines, mechanical energy is generated through combustion of a fuel-air mixture in a combustion chamber, typically a cylinder. Such internal combustion chambers, whether they are powered by diesel or gasoline are used to drive devices.
Exhaust gas treatment is to be understood as all methods wherein combustion gases are cleaned mechanically, catalytically or chemically after they have left the combustion chamber.
In order to ensure safe operation of the internal combustion engine and thereby the driven device it is necessary to record and evaluate certain variables, for example physical variables of the internal combustion engine, of the exhaust gas treatment system and of additional components at regular time intervals or even continuously. Some variables are also controlled or regulated. Physical variables are generally quantitatively determinable properties of a physical object.
Variables of the internal combustion engine are understood to be for example the rotational speed of the internal combustion engine, the speed of the device and the exhaust gas temperature. These variables are however only cited as an example here.
It is thus provided for example to increase the exhaust gas temperature as a variable as a measure to regenerate the diesel particle filter. This occurs controlled, or by establishing a target value in one adjustment. If this measure occurs for example too early through the load profile locally by the user of the vehicle this can result in unnecessarily high fuel consumption.
What is needed in the art is a method of improving the operation of an internal combustion engine, where applicable, with an allocated exhaust gas treatment system.

Method for operating an internal combustion engine


A surface acoustic wave filter comprised of a plurality of surface acoustic wave resonators having different resonance frequencies, the filter comprising a substrate made of lithium niobate, comb electrodes (1201 and 1202) formed on the substrate, and a thin dielectric film covering the comb electrodes (1201 and 1202), wherein the surface acoustic wave resonator having a lower resonance frequency is formed to have a metallization ratio larger than a metallization ratio of the surface acoustic wave resonator having a higher resonance frequency, thereby providing the surface acoustic wave filter and an antenna duplexer featuring superior characteristics with insignificant ripples while suppressing spurious responses of the surface acoustic wave resonators.

It has been the general practice to use piezoelectric substrates having large electromechanical coupling coefficients, such as lithium niobate (LiNbO3) substrates, in order to produce surface acoustic wave filters featuring wideband characteristics.
However, the surface acoustic wave filters using substrates of such kind have a drawback in general that they are poor in temperature characteristic.
To this end, patent document 1 discloses a structure contrived to improve the temperature characteristic.
The structure disclosed in the patent document 1 comprises a LiNbO3 substrate and a thin layer of SiO2 film formed on the substrate, wherein the LiNbO3 substrate is a rotated Y-cut substrate having a cut angle set to a range of −10 to +30 degrees, and further wherein, when a film thickness of the thin layer and a wavelength of a center operating frequency of the surface acoustic wave are denoted by H and λ respectively, a value of H/λ is set to a range of 0.115 to 0.31.
Surface acoustic wave resonators formed on such a substrate are then coupled into a ladder configuration to complete a surface acoustic wave filter having a wide-band characteristic.
FIG. 15A is a schematic view of a conventional surface acoustic wave resonator, and FIG. 15B is a sectional view taken along the line A-A.
As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the conventional surface acoustic wave resonator has a structure, in which comb electrodes 1502 and reflector electrodes 1503 are formed on piezoelectric substrate 1501, and a thin SiO2 film 1504 is formed over them.
The surface acoustic wave resonator constructed as above has characteristic curves shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B. FIG. 16A shows a pass-band characteristic and FIG. 16B shows admittance (Y11). In this instance here, the piezoelectric substrate is a rotated Y-cut substrate of LiNbO3 having a cut angle of 5 degrees, and the electrodes and the thin SiO2 film have thicknesses of values standardized according to a wavelength, which are 8% and 20% respectively. The electrodes are composed of a material containing aluminum as a principal component. There appear a plurality of spurious responses in the surface acoustic wave resonator as shown in these figures.
There are cases that spurious responses occur due to resonances in the transverse mode when this type of substrate is used. A method generally employed to suppress the spurious responses is to assign weights on the comb electrodes.
FIG. 17 shows a schematic view of a surface acoustic wave resonator having comb electrodes weighted by apodization for suppression of the spurious responses.
As shown in FIG. 17, comb electrodes 1701 have a shape weighted by apodization in a manner that their interdigitating lengths decrease from the center toward both sides thereof.
Characteristic curves of this surface acoustic wave resonator are shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B. FIG. 18A shows a pass-band characteristic and FIG. 18B shows admittance.
It is apparent in the characteristics of the surface acoustic wave resonator shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B that the spurious responses attributed to resonances in the transverse mode are suppressed as compared to those of FIGS. 16A and 16B.
In this type of surface acoustic wave resonator, however, there occur insuppressible spurious responses on the lower side of a resonance frequency that are considered to be attributable to the Rayleigh mode propagation, although the spurious responses by the resonances in the transverse mode are suppressed.
Levels of spurious response 1801 in the pass-band characteristic and spurious response 1802 in the admittance are as large in values as 0.2 dB and 1.0 dB respectively, as shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B. These types of conventional surface acoustic wave resonators thus have a drawback that ripples present within the frequency band adversely affect the characteristics when they are used for a ladder type filter or an antenna duplexer.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication, No. 2003-209458

Surface acoustic wave filter, antenna duplexer and method for manufacturing them


A system for exchanging devices installed in a computer system allows users to make an exchange of devices while the computer system is running or in a sleeping state. The system is able to recognize, access and use the newly added device without restarting or rebooting the computer system.

The invention relates generally to the field of interconnecting devices with a computer, and more specifically, to swapping or changing the devices interconnected with a computer while the computer is in operation.
Drivers for fully xe2x80x9cplug-and-playxe2x80x9d operating systems and devices can handle the addition and removal of devices with little to no active involvement of the user. As a result, fully xe2x80x9cplug-and-playxe2x80x9d systems allow relatively unsophisticated users to install and exchange devices both easily and seamlessly, and without any need for the user to understand the software or have programming capability.
Within each operating system, there are a series of drivers for discovering and initializing devices included in a computer so that they can properly communicate with all of the resources of the computer. For operating systems, such as Windows 95(copyright) or 98(copyright) (products of Microsoft Corporation), the drivers enumerate or recognize the devices connected to the computer when the driver is started during the installation or booting up of the operating system. For some devices, however, their associated device driver is not fully xe2x80x9cplug and playxe2x80x9d enabled. Examples of these drivers include the IDE driver for hard disk drives and the floppy driver for floppy drives. Because these drivers are not fully xe2x80x9cplug and playxe2x80x9d enabled, the drivers for these devices are unable to enumerate the devices during runtime.
Due to this limitation, these operating systems cannot support the swapping of devices having not fully xe2x80x9cplug and playxe2x80x9d drivers, such as hard drives, CD-ROM drives and floppy drives, while the system is running (hot swapping) or in a sleeping state (warm swapping). Rather, the swapping or exchange of one of these devices for another requires the user to restart or reboot the computer. This requirement is both time-consuming and inconvenient to the user.
Briefly, the present invention comprises a method for enumerating a first device present in a computer system to make the first device recognizable to the computer system, the computer system having a memory and an operating system which uses a data structure stored in the memory for establishing a working configuration of the computer system, the data structure having one or more device nodes corresponding to devices present in the computer system, the method including the steps of providing an indication to the operating system that the first device has been inserted into the computer system while the computer system is in operation, enumerating a controller for controlling the first device in response to the indication, initializing a driver associated with the first device controller in response to the enumeration of the first device controller, locating, with the initialized driver, an enumerator associated with the first device controller, and enumerating the first device with the located enumerator, wherein the driver associated with the first device controller is only capable of locating the enumerator associated with the first device controller when initialized.
In another aspect of this method, prior to the step of connecting the first device, the method further includes the steps of determining whether a second device in the computer system is currently being accessed, removing the device node corresponding to the second device and a device node corresponding to a controller for controlling the second device from the data structure, isolating any data signals which are transmitted between the second device and the second device controller from being transmitted from the second device controller to the second device, and powering off the second device.
In yet another aspect of this method, the step of removing the device nodes corresponding to the second device and the second device controller includes the substep of unloading all drivers associated with the second device and the second device controller.
In a further aspect of the present invention, a computer program product comprises a computer usable medium having computer readable program code modules embodied therein for enumerating a first device present in a computer system to make the first device recognizable to the computer system, the computer system having a memory and an operating system which uses a data structure stored in the memory for establishing a working configuration of the computer system, the data structure having one or more device nodes corresponding to devices present in the computer system, the computer program product including a first enumeration module for enumerating a controller for controlling the first device after inserting the first device into the computer system while the computer system is in operation, an initialization module for initializing a driver associated with the first device controller in response to the enumeration of the first device controller, a locator module for identifying, with the initialized driver, an enumerator associated with the first device controller, and a second enumeration module for enumerating the first device with the located enumerator associated with the first device controller, wherein the driver associated with the first device controller is only capable of locating the enumerator associated with the first device controller when initialized.

Apparatus and method for swapping devices while a computer is running


A cover 20 for covering a circumferential portion of an outer circumferential surface of a rigid endoscope 10 having an observation window portion 14 provided at a tip thereof includes a flexible outer cover member 22 covering the circumferential portion of the circumferential surface of the rigid endoscope 10 and a tubular member 26, provided inside the outer cover member 22, through which a cleaning fluid to be supplied from a base end of the rigid endoscope 10 to the observation window portion 14 of the rigid endoscope 10 flows inside, and the outer cover member 22 is attached to the outer circumference surface of the rigid endoscope 10 by flexing the outer cover member 22.

In recent years, in the medical field, endoscopes (soft endoscopes) represented by a stomach camera have been used in examination and surgery of the stomach. In many cases, a thoracoscope is used in surgery performed with the chest opened, and a laparoscope is used in surgery performed with the abdomen opened (hereinafter, referred to as laparoscopic surgery). Laparoscopic surgery is rapidly spreading due to its low invasiveness and good aesthetic outcome, and is mainly used for gastric cancer and colon cancer surgery, and the proportion of laparoscopic surgery to total surgery is increasing year by year. Meanwhile, the above-described thoracoscope and laparoscope, etc., are called rigid endoscopes. At a tip of a rigid endoscope, an objective lens for taking an image of an affected area is provided, and an observation window portion is also provided to protect the objective lens.
During surgery using a rigid endoscope such as the above-described thoracoscope or laparoscope, the observation window portion provided at the tip of the rigid endoscope often becomes cloudy or becomes dirty with blood, fat, etc. For this reason, there is a problem that the surgery has to be temporarily interrupted for washing or cleaning the observation window portion and thus the surgery efficiency is significantly reduced. To explain in more detail, information required for the surgery using the rigid endoscope is only image (visual) information obtained by the rigid endoscope, and cloudiness of the observation window portion or dirt on the observation window portion due to bipod, fat, etc., during the surgery hinders the surgery from being safely performed. For this reason, it is necessary to take out the rigid endoscope from the body and wash the rigid endoscope during the surgery, but the time required for this leads to an increase in the surgery time, which may cause a heavy burden on the patient or an unexpected complication.
In order to solve such a problem, there is known a technology that, as a cleaning device (specifically, a long tube), that supplies a cleaning solution such as saline or the like and air for blowing the cleaning solution to the observation window portion of the rigid endoscope inside the patient's body, is attached to the outer circumference surface of the rigid endoscope, the observation window portion is cleaned without removing the rigid endoscope from the body. For example, JPH05207962A, JPH06289388A and JP4960076B disclose technology that a supply passage of the cleaning solution and/or air is provided inside the rigid endoscope. However, as rigid endoscopes are inserted into the patient's body and must be thoroughly sterilized before use, there is a problem that the rigid endoscope, which has the internal supply passage of the cleaning solution and/or air, is complicated and does not allow for adequate sterilization of the internal supply channel, in addition, there is a problem that a manufacturing cost of the rigid endoscope would be high if the supply passage of the cleaning solution and/or air is provided inside the rigid endoscope.
JP5368511B, JPH06189893A, JP5373732B and JPH10043131 disclose a technology for cleaning the observation window portion by placing a cleaning sheath over the rigid endoscope and flowing cleaning solution and/or air into a flow channel formed between an inner surface of the cleaning sheath and an outer circumference surface of the rigid endoscope. However, in the endoscope unit disclosed in JP5388511B, JPH06189893A, JP5373732B and JPH10043131 A, an entire gap formed between the inner surface of the cleaning sheath and the outer circumference surface of the rigid endoscope is filled with the cleaning solution, which causes a slow response when the supply of the cleaning solution is stopped, in addition, there was a problem with the residual dripping of the cleaning solution remaining between the inner surface of the cleaning sheath and the outer circumference surface of the rigid endoscope.
JP2539980B discloses a technology that a cleaning tube through which the cleaning solution or the like flows is glued to the outer circumference surface of the rigid endoscope by an adhesive. Also, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3188101 (JP3186191U) discloses a technology for attaching a long tube through which the cleaning solution or the like flows inside to the outer circumference surface of the rigid endoscope by a tube mounting portion. However, in the endoscope unit disclosed in JP2539980B the cleaning tube is simply glued to the outer circumferential surface, of the rigid endoscope by the adhesive. Then, an adhesive surface between the cleaning tube and the outer circumferential surface of the rigid endoscope is not strong enough to allow the cleaning tube to easily come off from the outer circumferential surface of the rigid endoscope, and the tube may remain in the patient's body. The endoscope unit disclosed in JP3188191U also could cause the long tube to detach from the rigid endoscope inside the patient's body when the rigid endoscope is inserted info the patient's body, in this case, the dislodged tube could cause damage to the patient's body, in addition, the long tube had to be cleaned each time before a rigid endoscope operation was performed, which was time-consuming. Further, there was a problem that the insertion of the rigid endoscope disclosed in JP3188191U into the patient's body is obstructed by a step at the tube mounting portion.
JP6242560B discloses a cover in which an inner cover portion is provided on an inner surface of an outer coyer member, which compartmentalizes a flow passage of the cleaning solution or the like supplied to the observation window portion of the rigid endoscope. However, the cover disclosed in JP 6242560B has a problem that leakage of the cleaning solution or the like may occur from a gap between the outer cover member and the inner cover portion when the pressure of the cleaning solution or the like flowing through the flow passage compartmentalized by the inner cover part is increased.

Rigid endoscope cover and endoscope unit


Oil level detection sensor detects an oil level in a crankcase. First charging circuit includes a serial connection of a first charging capacitor for charging a reverse voltage produced in a primary coil, the detection sensor, and a first diode. Thyristor is turned on, in response to voltage-charging of the first charging capacitor, to disable an ignition operation of an ignition circuit. Second charging circuit includes a serial connection of a second charging capacitor for charging a forward voltage, produced in the primary coil, and a second diode. Transistor is turned on, in response to voltage-charging of the second charging capacitor, to disable a turning-on operation of the thyristor.

As an engine lubrication technique, there has been popularly employed a technique of lubricating various sliding portions with oil stored in a crankcase (hereinafter referred to as "oil-storage type" engine lubrication technique). With engines employing such an oil-storage type engine lubrication technique (i.e., oil-storage type engines), it is required that an amount or level of stored oil be proper, in order to smoothly lubricate various sliding portions of the engine.
Various oil level detection devices have been known, for example, from Japanese Patent Publication No. SHO-53-44615. The conventional oil level detection device disclosed in the No. SHO-53-44615 publication is provided in a vehicular engine and includes a float switch. When a level of stored oil has decreased or lowered to a preset lower limit level, the device detects the oil level lowering to the lower limit level by the float switch detecting the float having lowered together with the oil level, so that an oil-level warning can be generated by an alarm unit, such as a lamp or buzzer. But, because the disclosed conventional oil level detection device is constructed to only generate an oil-level warning, the engine still remains operative despite the oil level lowering to the lower limit level.
For enhanced durability of the engine, it is conceivable to more positively cope with the oil level lowering, e.g. by positively deactivating the engine upon detection of the oil level lowering to the lower limit level. Namely, arrangements may be made to positively prevent start-up of the engine if the oil is insufficient at the time of the engine start-up. In such a case, however, there arises a need to substantively simplify the overall construction of the oil level detection device and apparatus provided with the detection device.


An embodiment of the invention provides a use of an effective amount of a transition metal complex of a corrole, an optically active isomer thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof for treating a disease of the eye and/or the kidney in a subject suffering from diabetes. An embodiment of the invention further provides a use of a transition metal complex of a corrole, an optically active isomer thereof, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof for lowering serum glucose and serum triglyceride levels in a subject suffering from diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia (elevated blood glucose levels) that leads to the development of vascular complications, especially in small blood vessels of the eye, kidney, and peripheral nerves. These tissues are especially vulnerable to hyperglycemic conditions, since the cells constructing these tissues may uptake glucose in an uncontrolled fashion.
A cataract is a disease of the lens of the eye in which a clouding obstructs the passage of light, causing vision loss and potentially blindness. Cataract prevalence is higher in patients suffering from diabetes than in non-diabetic population. Surgical extraction of cataract is the only cure known today. In addition to cataracts, diabetes has been linked with other diseases of the eye including glaucoma, retinopathy, macular edema and retinal detachment.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. CKD is characterized by a slow progressive loss of renal function, chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular remodeling and scarring of kidney tissue. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a leading cause of CKD. In some instances, DN can lead to end stage renal disease (ESRD) in which a patient's kidneys cease to function and the patient requires kidney transplant or dialysis in order to survive.

TECHNION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION LTD.


Systems, methods, and programs, store map data including a roadway network, detect a current position of the vehicle, and detect or receive at lest one of a distance to another vehicle, a speed of another vehicle, and traffic congestion information. The systems, methods, and programs determine whether the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of a passing lane, a climbing lane, or a lane for slower traffic based on the detected current vehicle position and the map data. If the vehicle is within the predetermined distance, the systems, methods, and programs provide guidance regarding the passing lane, the climbing lane, or the lane for slower traffic based on at least one of the distance to the other vehicle, the speed of the other vehicle, and/or the received traffic congestion information.

1. Related Technical Fields
Related technical fields include navigation systems, methods, and programs. In particular, related technical fields include systems, methods, and programs for providing guidance regarding traffic lanes when approaching a passing lane, a climbing lane, or a lane for slower traffic.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, navigation systems for enabling a driver of a vehicle to easily navigate to a destination have become very popular. Such a navigation systems detect a current position of the vehicle by means of a GPS receiver, obtain map data corresponding to the current position through a data storage medium such as a DVD-ROM or an HDD, or a network, and display the map on an LCD monitor. The navigation system may provide traffic guidance when the approaching an intersection, a passing lane, a climbing lane, or a lane for slower traffic. Such guidance assists the driver so that the driver can drive comfortably. For example, a navigation apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-341758 provides advance traffic lane information to a driver by means of images and/or audio guidance when there is traffic lane information of which the driver should be made aware.