Access to restricted areas or devices are controlled by based on collecting information about the surrounding environment in connection with those restricted areas or service devices. Generally, one refers to service devices and access to service devices. Area access control can be viewed as being provided by a service device (e.g., an automated door or gate), access to which permits entry to (or exit from) a controlled area. Information about the surrounding environment includes, but is not limited to, the presence or absence of particular individuals, the presence or absence of other service devices, the location and/or proximity of other service devices, the location of the user requesting access to the service device, and so on. Based on knowledge of the surrounding environment, service access to the device can be permitted or denied.

The present invention relates to the control of a device that executes prescribed functions. In particular, it targets the field of security in which access to all types of devices is controlled using information such as an access control list (ACL). The present invention further relates to technology that can be applied in fields such as entry and exit management, theft prevention, and goods management.
Conventional access control methods in distributed systems in which a multiplicity of devices are located include the method described in European Patent Application No. 99307937.5 (EP 0 992 873 A2). In this method, access was controlled to suit user attributes by providing a distributed access control list (ACL) for each device within the system. The work involved in settings was reduced and setting errors prevented by enabling settings to be made without having to login each time to the computer for which the settings were required.
However, one of the limitations of the above conventional technology was that, in situations in which, for example in an office building visited by various users, entry was prohibited into restricted areas that housed important objects but allowed in other cases, conventional standardized access control suffered because of the time delays that occurred after settings relating to the access levels of operators and managers were altered or requests were made to change user settings.

Service provision method and apparatus in a distributed system


A fuel injection valve includes at least two throttling constrictions. The fuel is guided in so that it flows through one of the throttling constrictions with a flow component directed away from the spray orifice. Thus, at least partially compensating opposing force is exerted on the valve needle or an element (e.g., an armature) with a non-positive connection to the valve needle.

A conventional fuel injection valve is described in German Patent Application No. 36 24 476. This German Patent Application indicates that in order to improve the turbulence of the fuel in the valve needle, one or more swirl bores are provided, extending so that the bores have an axial and a tangential component with respect to a longitudinal axis of the injection valve. The fuel exiting these bores flows directly onto the valve seat face of the nozzle body. However, this conventional fuel injection valve is disadvantageous since it has a narrow opening cross section at the swirl bores, thus an unwanted force directed at the valve seat face acts on the valve needle as a result of friction, shock losses and pressure drop as the fuel flows through the swirl bores. This force (which is directed toward the valve seat face) counteracts the opening of the valve needle and can therefore cause poor valve performance.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,962 describes another fuel injection valve in which, instead of swirl bores, swirl grooves can be provided to improve the turbulence of the fuel because of the resulting swirl flow. With the fuel injection valve described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,962, however, the swirl grooves are not provided directly on the valve needle, but instead the swirl grooves are formed in a swirl element that is inserted into the nozzle body between the valve seat face and the spray orifice in the direction of flow.
German Patent Application No. 25 43 805 also describes a conventional fuel injection valve having swirl grooves on the valve needle above a feed point in the flow direction. The design of this conventional fuel injection valve includes the above-mentioned disadvantage, where an unwanted force acts on the valve needle in the closing direction due to the friction, shock losses and the pressure drop as the fuel flows through the swirl grooves, which can cause poor performance in the fuel injection valve.


An electric motorcycle comprises a motor case which is provided at a rear portion of a vehicle body frame; a swing arm which is pivotably coupled at its front end portion to the rear portion of the vehicle body frame; and a rear suspension coupled to the vehicle body frame and the swing arm. The lower end portion of the rear suspension is located below the swing arm, and the rear suspension extends vertically in a location close to a pivot around which the swing arm is pivotable.

In recent years, an electric motorcycle which incorporates as a driving power source an electric motor activated by electric energy stored in a battery has been developed. Since the electric motorcycle does not incorporate an engine, devices required for the engine, such as intake and exhaust systems are unnecessary (see e.g., Patent Literature 1).


A sensor apparatus includes a sensor circuit and a nonlinear signal processing circuit. The sensor circuit detects a physical quantity and outputs a detection signal indicative of the detected physical quantity. The signal processing circuit includes a logarithmic converter, an analog-to-digital converter, and an antilogarithmic converter. The logarithmic converter produces a logarithm signal corresponding to a logarithm of the detection signal. The analog-to-digital converter digitalizes the logarithm signal. The antilogarithmic converter produces an antilogarithmic signal corresponding to an antilogarithm of the digitalized logarithm signal.

A sensor apparatus has been proposed that detects acceleration as a physical quantity. For example, a sensor apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,483,322 corresponding to JP-A-200240047 includes a sensor circuit and a processing circuit. The sensor circuit detects a capacitance varying with acceleration applied thereto and outputs an acceleration signal indicative of the detected capacitance. The processing circuit processes the acceleration signal. The processing circuit has a function to convert the acceleration signal to a voltage signal and to linearly amplify the voltage signal.
When a physical quantity to be detected is small, a sensitivity (i.e., resolution) of a sensor circuit needs to be increased. In such a conventional sensor apparatus, an increase in a sensitivity of the sensor circuit results in a decrease in a dynamic range of the sensor circuit, because an output of the sensing circuit is limited to a power supply voltage. Therefore, if the sensitivity of the sensor circuit is increased to detect a small physical quantity, the sensor apparatus cannot detect a large physical quantity due to a small dynamic range.
One approach to detect a physical quantity at a high sensitivity over a wide range is to use multiple sensor circuits having different dynamic ranges. However, this approach requires multiple sensor circuits and multiple processing circuits for processing outputs of the respective sensor circuits. As a result, the sensor apparatus may be increased in size and cost.


A programming method of a non-volatile memory device having a drain select transistor, a source select transistor, and a plurality of memory cells connected between the drain select transistor and the source select transistor includes applying a program voltage, which increases stepwise according to a repetition of a program cycle, to a selected memory cell and applying a pass voltage, which decreases in inverse proportion to change of the program voltage, to some of unselected memory cells.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor technology, and more particularly, to a programming method of a non-volatile memory device.
Recently, there are growing demands for semiconductor memory devices that can electrically erase and program data without refreshing stored data. Also, the mainstream technology is to increase storage capacity and integration density of semiconductor memory devices. A NAND flash memory device is one of non-volatile semiconductor memory devices that provide high capacity and high integration density without refreshing the stored data. Since a NAND flash memory device retains data even when power is off, it is widely used in electronic devices in which power supply may be abruptly interrupted, for example, portable terminals, laptop computers, and so forth.
A NAND flash memory device includes an array of memory cells comprising floating gate transistors. The array includes unit strings including memory cells, and the memory cells are serially connected between a drain select transistor and a source select transistor. A plurality of word lines are arranged to intersect the strings. The word lines are connected to control gates of the memory cells corresponding to the strings, respectively.
A programming operation of a typical NAND flash memory device will be described below.
First, a voltage of 0 V is applied to a selected bit line connected to a selected memory cell, and a program voltage VPGM is applied to the selected word line connected to the selected memory cell. In this way, electrons of a channel are injected into a floating gate by FN tunneling caused by a high voltage difference between a channel of the memory cell and a control gate. At this point, a pass voltage VPASS for transferring data (0 V) applied to the selected bit line to the selected memory cell is applied to unselected word lines connected to unselected memory cells among a plurality of memory cells disposed between a bit line and a ground terminal.
Although the program voltage VPGM is generally 18 V, it may be applied in a range between 16 V and 19 V by using an Incremental Step Pulse Programming (ISPP) scheme having a waveform diagram of FIG. 1 according to a program cycle in order to improve programming distribution. The pass voltage VPASS is applied with a fixed voltage of approximately 9 V.
A problem may occur when the selected memory cells connected to the corresponding word line are programmed without programming the unselected memory cells connected to the selected bit line. When the program voltage VPGM is applied to the selected word line, the program voltage VPGM is applied to the unselected memory cells arranged along the word line, as well as the selected memory cell. Thus, the unselected memory cells connected to the selected word line, especially the unselected memory cells adjacent to the selected memory cell, may be programmed. Such an unintended programming of the unselected memory cells connected to the selected word line is referred to as a program disturbance.
As one of technologies for preventing the program disturbance, a program inhibition method using a self boosting scheme has been proposed. The program inhibition method using the self boosting scheme is disclosed in U.S. patent application No. 5,677,873, entitled "Method Of Programming Flash EEPROM Integrated Circuit Memory Devices to Prevent Inadvertent Programming of Nondesignated NAND Flash Memory Cells Therein," and U.S. patent application No. 5,991,202, entitled "Method for Reducing Program Disturb During Self-Boosting In A NAND Flash Memory."
The program inhibition method using the self boosting scheme will be described below in detail with reference to FIG. 2.
First, a ground path is interrupted by applying a voltage of 0 V to a gate of a source select transistor SST. A voltage of 0 V is applied to a selected bit line, and a power supply voltage VCC of 3.3 V or 5 V is applied to unselected bit lines as a program inhibition voltage. Simultaneously, a source of a drain select transistor DST is charged to VCC-VTH (where VTH is a threshold voltage of the drain select transistor DST) by applying the power supply voltage VCC to a gate of the drain select transistor DST, and the drain select transistor DST is then substantially turned off. A program voltage VPGM is applied to a selected word line and a pass voltage VPASS is applied to unselected word lines, so that a channel voltage of a program-inhibited memory cell is boosted. The boosted channel voltage makes FN tunneling not occur between a floating gate and a channel. Consequently, the program-inhibited memory cell is kept in an initial erased state.
As another technology, a program inhibition method using a local self boosting scheme has been proposed. The program inhibition method using the local self boosting scheme is disclosed in U.S. patent application No. 5,715,194, entitled "Bias Scheme of Program Inhibit for Random Programming in a NAND Flash Memory," and U.S. patent application No. 6,061,270, entitled "Method for Programming a Non-Volatile Memory Device With Program Disturb Control."
The program inhibition method using the local self boosting scheme will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.
First, a ground path is interrupted by applying a voltage of 0 V to a gate of a source select transistor SST. A voltage of 0 V is applied to a selected bit line, and a power supply voltage VCC of 3.3 V or 5 V is applied to unselected bit lines as a program inhibition voltage. Simultaneously, a source of a drain select transistor DST is charged to VCC-VTH (where VTH is a threshold voltage of the drain select transistor DST) by applying the power supply voltage VCC to a gate of the drain select transistor DST, and the drain select transistor DST is then substantially turned off. A decoupling voltage VDCP of 0 V is applied to unselected word lines (for example, WL13 and WL15) immediately adjacent to a selected word line (for example, WL14), and a pass voltage VPASS is applied to the other unselected word lines. A program voltage VPGM is applied to the selected word line (for example, WL14). Consequently, like the self boosting scheme, the boosted channel voltage makes FN tunneling not occur between a floating gate and a channel of a program-inhibited memory cell. Thus, the program-inhibited memory cell is kept in an initial erased state.
According to the local self boosting scheme, the channel of the program-inhibited memory cell is restricted by memory cells connected to the unselected word lines to which the decoupling voltage VDCP is supplied. Therefore, the boosted channel voltage of the program-inhibited memory cell is further increased compared with the self boosting scheme.
The local self boosting scheme that can obtain higher channel voltage than the self boosting scheme is mainly used to program multi-level cells (MLC) that can store data of 2 bits or more. However, compared with the self boosting scheme, the local self boosting scheme has limitations in that a program speed is reduced.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing comparison of program threshold voltages PGM_VT in the self boosting scheme A and the local self boosting scheme B, that is, the program speed. It can be seen from FIG. 4 that the program threshold voltage in the local self boosting scheme B is reduced by approximately 300 mV to approximately 500 mV compared with the self boosting scheme A.
The cause of the reduction of the program speed in the local self boosting scheme is as follows. Generally, the program threshold voltage (that is, the voltage of the floating gate of the memory cell to be programmed) is affected by a capacitive coupling from the voltages of the floating gates of other memory cells. However, in the case of the local self boosting scheme, a decoupling voltage VDCP of 0 V is applied to word lines of the memory cells disposed on both sides of the memory cell to be programmed, and the program threshold voltage is not affected by the voltages of the floating gates disposed on both sides. For this reason, the program threshold voltage, that is, the program speed, is further reduced in the local self boosting scheme than in the self boosting scheme. The program speed could be increased by increasing the pass voltage VPASS. However, if a high pass voltage VPASS is used, disturbance characteristics of edge memory cells MC0 and MC15 adjacent to the select transistors DST and SST will be degraded.

Programming method of non-volatile memory device


A semiconductor integrated circuit device including a plurality of internal power supply generating circuits arranged on a single chip and a common monitor pad is provided. The internal power supply generating circuits are connected via respective switches to the common monitor pad, and the internal power supply generating circuits and the monitor pad are selectively connectable using the switches.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device such as a dynamic random-access memory.
2. Description of Related Art
In an operation test of a semiconductor integrated circuit device, the number of pins for testing must be as many as the number of total pads. However, as the number of pins increases, cost rises. Accordingly, a conventional semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a common circuit for sharing part of the pads at the time of testing as disclosed in JP 9(1997)-92787 A, for example.
Further, in a semiconductor integrated circuit device with a configuration in which, besides an external power supply supplied externally, an internal power supply generated based on the external power supply is used, external pads are necessary for monitoring the internal power supply at the time of testing memories or the like or for forcibly applying a voltage externally instead of an internal power supply. As illustrated in FIG. 9, which shows a configuration of the conventional semiconductor integrated circuit device, external pads 108 for the above-mentioned internal power supply are provided at an external pad region 102 of a semiconductor integrated circuit device 101.
However, for inputting the external power supply or for monitoring the internal power supply at the time of memory test, it is necessary to provide at least as many external pads 108 as the number of internal power supply generating circuits 105 of embedded memories 103. Thus, when there are many memories 103, the number of the monitor pads 108 also increases accordingly.
The semiconductor integrated circuit device 101 with a logic circuit and a plurality of memories embedded in a single chip, which is called a system LSI and has been used commonly in recent years, has a high-pin-count configuration when considering the number of pins for the logic circuit as well. Consequently, in order to achieve a smaller area, it has becomes absolutely necessary to reduce the number of external pads used for memory test.
Moreover, since the number of pins that can be monitored by a memory tester is limited, complex adjustment has to be made for memory test when the number of the external pads 108 exceeds the limited number of pins. This also causes a problem that a test time cannot be shortened. On the other hand, in a semiconductor integrated circuit device having degenerate functions that are as many as I/Os, like the above-described semiconductor integrated circuit device disclosed in JP 9-92787 A, since characteristics of an internal power supply voltage vary between a normal operation period and a memory test period, the internal power supply voltage cannot be evaluated accurately.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method for making a flexible fibrous continuous tape containing 60 to 98 wt % fiber based on the weight of the tape, from multifilament yarn selected from aramid, glass, aromatic polyester, and rigid rod polymer, comprising the steps: a1) spreading the filaments of the yarn to obtain a filament layer having a cross sectional aspect ratio (w/h) of 2 to 2000; and b1) treating the spread filaments with a curable resin, or a liquid thermoplastic resin or wax; or a2) treating the yarn with the curable resin, or the liquid thermoplastic resin or wax; and b2) spreading the filaments of the yarn to obtain a filament layer having a cross sectional aspect ratio (w/h) of 2 to 2000; followed by c) fixating the filaments by curing or solidifying the resin to obtain the tape, wherein steps a1-b1, respectively a2-b2, and c are performed in-line.

The invention pertains to a method for making a flexible fibrous continuous tape from multifilament yarn, and to tapes thus made. The invention further relates to optical fiber cables comprising said tape.
Tapes reinforced with fibers (also called yarns) are known. For instance, in JP 10-130996 a carrier tape has been described: This carrier tape is produced by using a flat fiber structure having a width nearly equal to the width of the tape as a reinforcing material and a resin as a matrix. The fiber structure is a three-dimensional braid of a yarn.
In GB 1433128 a warp-knitted tape, for reinforcing matrix materials, has been described. The tape may comprise two high modulus carbon filament tows.
In WO 03/091006 a method is described of producing a novel material comprising natural fiber bundles that are pre-impregnated with organic resin and taking the form of a yarn or ribbon.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,306 a method for making flexible fibrous strips has been described containing unidirectional fibers embedded in a thermoplastic resin. According to this method a lap of parallel fibers is impregnated with resin particles, by separating out fibers from a roving of fibers. A roving (or sliver) is a long and narrow bundle of fiber with a twist to hold the fiber together. The fibers are spread from the roving, but in this method only the fibers, not the individual filaments of the fiber, are spread. This method thus only provides a method that leads to surface treatment of each fiber with resin, whereas the individual filaments in the core of the fiber are not impregnated.
Similarly, in EP 316922 a method has been described wherein the fibers of a roving of fibers are unbound from the roving and are spread, followed by impregnation of the spread fibers with a resin emulsion. The individual filaments of each fiber are not spread, and again only the surface filaments of the fiber are impregnated with the resinous material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,389 relates to graphite sheets which are not impregnated in-line, but first positioned in side-by-side coplanar relation, and then impregnated. The present invention does not relate to graphite and not to sheets that are not made in-line.
In the manufacture of reinforced composites having reinforcing filaments within a matrix, a filament consisting of a staple yarn spun from discontinuous fibers with low twist was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,928. An apparatus for continuously coating the fiber filaments wherein each filament of a fiber bundle is coated continuously in a narrow flow path of a zigzag shaped tunnel has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,851.
These known tapes thus contain fibers for reinforcing the resin matrix. Such tapes have the disadvantage that there is a relatively weak interaction between fiber and matrix. The fibers are embedded in the matrix, but only the inner filaments have an acceptable contact with the matrix. If all filaments are continuously coated, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,851, the tape contains considerable amount resin, usually 60 wt % or more, and relatively minor quantities of fiber. The resin gives a significant weight contribution to the composite (typically less than 40 wt % fiber) and the favorable properties of high-performance fibers such as aramid become less dominant as compared on a weight basis with the present invention (for example in terms of modulus, elongation at break, breaking strength). The high amounts of resin also cause an extra cost contribution in case high-performance fibers are used as well. Furthermore, the high amounts of resin decrease tape flexibility thereby causing difficulties in e.g. optical fiber cable production, since decreased bending properties may cause problems during e.g. connector positioning.
Therefore, there is an increasing need for fibers in the form of flexible continuous tapes which cannot be obtained by the known methods. In EP 837162 and US 2006/0137156 an attempt for improvement was made by spreading the filament of a multifilament yarn. Thus the filaments were spread by air blowing to better allow the resin to penetrate between the filaments. This reference however does not relate to tapes but to fiber reinforced plastics.
Similarly, in EP 569928 a method for spreading filaments and impregnation with a thermoplastic resin was described. Again this process is not intended to make tapes but to reinforce thermoplastic matrix.

Flexible continuous tape from multifilament yarn and method for making these


An occupant restraint air bag assembly includes an air bag having a base wall portion communicating with an inflator and a face wall for contacting the occupant upon inflation of the bag. A vent opening is provided in the base wall portion of the air bag for venting a portion of the inflation gas from the air bag to the occupant compartment. A valve flap carried by the air bag is operable to a position closing the vent opening to contain the inflation gas within the air bag. A tether has a first end connected to the valve flap and a second end attached to the face wall so that the inflation of the air bag and consequent displacement of the face wall pulls the tether to close the valve flap. The vent opening is preferably a plurality of spaced apart openings and the tether progressively moves the valve flap across the openings to progressively close the vent opening in response to the progressive travel of the face wall toward the occupant. If desired, one or more additional vent openings with flap valves may be provided and operated by tethers of different operative lengths to provide selected and variable control over the venting of inflation gas from the air bag in response to displacement of the bag.

It is well known to provide an inflatable air bag for restraining a vehicle occupant. The air bag assembly includes a folded bag which is connected to a source of inflation gas. Release of the inflation gas into the air bag causes the bag to expand rapidly so that a face wall of the air bag is displaced toward contact with the occupant. It is well known to provide one or more vent openings in the walls of the air bag to vent inflation gas from the interior of the air bag into the occupant compartment. These air bag vents are commonly provided in a base wall portion of the air bag to direct the vented gas away from the occupant. The vent opening may be provided by a gas permeable fabric panel sewn into the bag. In addition, it is well known to employ various flow control devices to control the flow of inflation gas through the vent opening.
The present invention provides a new and improved air bag assembly in which the degree of opening and closing of the vent is dependent upon the displacement of the air bag toward the fully deployed position.


A display system comprising a base comprising a magnetic surface and a graphic sheet comprising a substrate having a front surface and a rear surface, wherein a treatment is provided on the front surface and the rear surface. The treatment provided on the front surface comprises a graphic image and a film. The treatment provided on the rear surface comprises a magnetically receptive material comprising an ultra-violet curable compound. The magnetic surface of the base is configured to releasably attach through magnetic attraction to the magnetically receptive material of the graphic sheet.

It is known to provide for a graphic display system that may be used for displaying graphics in different settings including consumer settings such as trade shows, expos, stores, retail outlets, shops, etc. Such known systems may be used to display and present graphics in illustrating products for consumers and other interested parties.
There are many different types of graphic display systems, some of which use magnetic attraction to support graphic sheets. Many of these known systems, however, do not provide convenient and efficient means for replacing graphic sheets on an existing frame or base. For instance, some graphic systems include a magnetic graphic sheet that adheres to magnetically receptive material (e.g., metal). A common example of this type of system is a magnetic sign that is placed on a vehicle for advertising or identification purposes. This type of system has several disadvantages including that it lacks an overall frame to protect and/or align the graphic during use. Such known systems also do not typically provide a means for aligning the graphic sheet/display with other graphic sheets/displays.
It is beneficial when presenting graphics for viewing that the overall appearance of the graphic system appeal to customers and attract attention. For example, some known display systems do not provide strong and/or rigid support for graphic sheets. This supportive configuration can be an important feature for customers and retailers because it enables graphic sheets to be displayed with less sagging, deformation, and/or movement when being displayed. It is also useful to present graphic displays in a relatively neat and orderly manner. However, within fixed or limited spaces, known systems may not be configured to allow for relatively neat and orderly presentation of graphics. Such known systems do not always provide graphic displays in organized, straight, linear, and/or level arrangements. Thus, it is sometimes difficult to arrange a plurality of sheets together to form an overall graphic and/or design. Many known systems may include frames for an individual graphic sheet, but may not provide a frame that is configured to be used with other frames to create an overall system comprising individual frames and graphic sheets.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a graphic display system and method that includes a frame for supporting the graphic sheets with strong and/or rigid support. It would also be desirable to provide a graphic display system and method that includes a frame for supporting the graphic sheets in an orderly and organized fashion. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide a frame that is configured to be used with other frames in order to create displays comprising a plurality of separate graphic sheets that may be arranged to form a single design and/or graphic.
It would be advantageous to provide a system/method or the like of a type disclosed in the present application that provides any one or more of these or other advantageous features. The present invention further relates to various features and combinations of features shown and described in the disclosed embodiments.


A method for compensating a rotational position error of a robot cleaner is disclosed to reduce a rotational position error of a robot cleaner by compensating an offset value of a gyro sensor of the robot cleaner. The method includes: detecting an offset value of a sensor for detecting a rotational speed of a robot cleaner; compensating the detected offset value; and correcting a rotational position of the robot cleaner on the basis of the compensated offset value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot cleaner and, more particularly, to a method for compensating a rotational position error of a robot cleaner, which is capable of minimizing a rotational position error of a robot cleaner.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, a robot cleaner is operated by the steps of detecting a region for a cleaning operation along a wall surface of a room (e.g., a living room or the inner room) of a house and returning to an original position; performing a cleaning operation along the cleaning path of the detected cleaning region; and moving to a charger and automatically charging a battery of a robot cleaner when the cleaning operation is completed.
Thus, in each step of the cleaning operation, accurate calculation of positions of the robot cleaner (e.g., 'x'-axis direction, 'y'-axis direction or rotational direction) is a critical factor in determining a cleaning performance. Especially, a size of a rotational position error of the robot cleaner in the step of performing the cleaning operation in a certain pattern is crucial to the cleaning performance.
There are various methods for determining a position of the robot cleaner.
For example, one of methods for calculating an absolute position of the robot cleaner is using a GPS (Global Positioning System). However, in spite of its advantage of obtaining an absolute position, this method has a problem that if the GPS is used in a limited space such as in a building, the precision of the GPS is degraded. That is, the GPS can not be substantially employed in the building.
Another method is obtaining a rotational speed and a straight-forward speed from an encoder (not shown) installed in the robot cleaner and integrating the obtained rotational speed and the straight-forward speed in order to determine a relative position of the robot cleaner.
However, using of the encoder incurs a low cost in implementing the robot cleaner, but a rotational position error occurs due to a state of a bottom surface, an assembly error of the robot cleaner, a slip, or the like, and in addition, it is difficult to calculate the rotational position error.
A third method is obtaining a rotational position of the robot cleaner by integrating an angular velocity of gyro sensor, For example, the gyro sensor outputs 2.5 volt when the robot cleaner is not rotated. When the robot cleaner is rotated at an angular velocity of 90°/sec clockwise, the gyro sensor outputs 5.0 volt. When the robot cleaner is rotated at an angular velocity of 90°/sec counterclockwise, the gyro sensor outputs 0 volt. If a sensor value of the gyro sensor is 1.25 volt, it means that the robot cleaner is rotated at an angular velocity of 45°/sec counterclockwise.
However, in the present invention, an important fact was noted through various experiments and try-and-error that when a rotational position of the robot cleaner is calculated by using the gyro sensor, an offset value of the gyro sensor changes as time passes, and if the changed offset value is not compensated, the rotational position errors of the robot cleaner are accumulated.
That is, though the gyro sensor for measuring the rotational speed (angular velocity) has such advantages that an error of an encoder does not occur with respect to the state of the bottom surface, an external impact or in case of collision to an object, accumulation of the rotational position errors due to the offset value of the gyro sensor degrades the cleaning performance of the robot cleaner.
Meanwhile, conventional techniques with respect to the robot cleaner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,216, and the gyro sensor of the robot cleaner is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,494.

Method for compensating rotational position error of robot cleaner


Various embodiments managing host recovery operations in a computing storage environment, by a processor device, are provided. Real-time indications are provided from a device to each of at least one of a plurality of hosts that a connected storage controller is entering a recovery operation, and real-time sense data is provided to the at least one of the plurality of hosts for presenting an indication of an expected recovery timeframe.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general computing systems, and more particularly to, various embodiments for managing host recovery operations in computing storage environments.
Description of the Related Art
In today's society, computer systems are commonplace. Computer systems may be found in the workplace, at home, or at school. Computer systems may include data storage systems, or disk storage systems, to process and store data. Data storage systems, or disk storage systems, are utilized to process and store data. A storage system may include one or more disk drives. These data processing systems typically qui a large amount of data storage. Customer data, or data generated by users within the data processing system, occupies a great portion of this data storage. Many hosts may be connected to storage controllers of these storage systems by way of host adapters.

Host recovery based on rapid indication of estimated recovery time

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


In an embodiment, a computer system receives credit information relating to a consumer, and calculates a credit score associated with the consumer. The system constructs a credit score scenario user interface. The system maintains a plurality of credit score simulation scenarios, and calculates a plurality of simulated credit scores associated with respective credit score simulation scenarios. The system also constructs a credit score simulation control interface. The system maintains a plurality of credit score simulation parameters, and generates a user interface with a graphical indication of the calculated credit score and a plurality of sliders, each slider being divided into segments that are colored to graphically indicate the likely effect of repositioning the slider within the respective segment. When the user repositions the sliders, the graphical indication of the calculated credit score is adjusted, based on a recalculation of the credit score.

This disclosure relates to the field of consumer credit information and particularly to the presentation of simulated credit score information.
The credit score is an important indicator of a consumer's financial health. Consequently, having a high credit score is important to consumers for many reasons. A high credit score is required for such things as loan applications, rental applications, real estate mortgages, and so on. Thus, many consumers have a substantial interest in finding ways to improve their credit scores.
There is much information available to consumers as to how to improve credit scores. For example, sources provide advice to consumers to pay off loans, to establish certain numbers of credit accounts, to establish new loans, to raise or lower credit card limits, and so on. However, this advice is generic to all consumers and does not provide information specific to a particular consumer's situation. The question for many consumers then is which of the suggested actions would be the most effective in improving that consumer's credit score based on that consumer's situation.

Systems and methods of presenting simulated credit score information


A neural network pruning system can sparsely prune neural network models using an optimizer based approach that is agnostic to the model architecture being pruned. The neural network pruning system can prune by operating on the parameter vector of the full model and the gradient vector of the loss function with respect to the model parameters. The neural network pruning system can iteratively update parameters based on the gradients, while zeroing out as many parameters as possible based a preconfigured penalty.

Machine learning schemes, such as deep neural networks (DNNs) can be implemented to perform computer vision tasks, such as classification, detection, tracking, and semantic segmentation. However, the accuracy of these types of machine learning schemes often comes with the expensive cost in storage and computation—typically millions of parameters and billions of floating-point operations (FLOPs). While such costs may be practical on high performing computing clusters, these approaches too expensive to be deployed on edge devices, such as mobile phones, smart sensors, and autonomous drones or robots.

Optimizer based prunner for neural networks


A training aid for use with an elongated sporting implement for hitting training is disclosed to include three vane devices injection-molded from plastics each vane device having a flat vane body and smoothly arched top and bottom locating plates disposed near top and bottom ends of the inner vertical side of the flat vane body for enabling the vane devices to be adjustably connected to one another around the sporting implement through a plug joint, and two fastening belts inserted through insertion slots in the flat vane body of each vane device and fastened up to affix the vane devices to the sporting implement. Top and bottom stop devices are attached when the training aid is used with a golf club.

The present invention relates to a sports training aid and more particularly, to a hitting training aid that can quickly and detachably be installed in the sporting implement for hitting training.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,107 discloses a training aid for developing strength and coordination for a person's swing in swinging a sporting implement, such as a baseball bat, used to strike an object. This design of training aid, as shown in FIGS. 1–4 includes a plurality of vanes 7 attached to first and second collars 8,9. This structure of training aid is still not satisfactory in function because of the following drawbacks:
1. The mounting and dismounting procedures of the training aid are complicated and time wasting. During installation, the user must fasten the retaining portions 71 and 72 of every vane 7 to the slots 81,82,91,92 at the first and second collars 8,9 respectively. When detaching the training aid from the sporting implement 90, the user must disengage the retaining portions 71 and 72 of every vane 7 from the slots 81,82,91,92 at the first and second collars 8,9 respectively.
2. The vanes 7 attached and the first and second collars 8,9 are different members that must be separately made with different molds. Further, for fitting different sizes of sporting implements, different sizes of training aid parts should be prepared, thereby resulting in a high manufacturing cost.
3. The slot 73 in each vane 7 has a certain length. After installation of a belt (not shown) in the slots 73 of the vanes 7, the belt may slip in the slots 73.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a hitting training aid that can quickly and detachably be installed in the sporting implement for hitting training. It is another object of the present invention to provide a hitting training aid, which is inexpensive to manufacture. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hitting training aid, which fits sporting implements having different diameters. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a hitting training aid, which can be used with a golf club for gold ball hitting training.
To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, the hitting training aid comprises three vane devices injection-molded from plastics each vane device having a flat vane body and smoothly arched top and bottom locating plates disposed near top and bottom ends of the inner vertical side of the flat vane body for enabling the vane devices to be adjustably connected to one another around the sporting implement through a plug joint, and two fastening belts inserted through insertion slots in the flat vane body of each vane device and fastened up to affix the vane devices to the sporting implement. By means of adjusting the engaging depth of respective plug rods in the respective plugholes, the hitting training aid fits sporting implements having different diameters. Further, top and bottom stop devices are attached when the training aid is used with a golf club.


A seat structure for a baby or young infant that can facilitate an anterior pelvic tilt and hip abduction, while supporting the infant in an upright position. The infant seat structure described herein comprises a seat that is forward tilted. A pommel is provided at a forward edge of the seat that is wide enough to splay the infant's legs, provides support for the infant, and maintains their position in the seat structure. The infant seat structure also includes a back support and side supports to support the infant's/baby's upright position. The side supports do not extend substantially forward past the infant's hip joints, and therefore allow for substantial splaying of their legs. A infant's legs are able to project outwardly from the seat structure on either side of the pommel, through the two spaces that are each situated between the pommel and side supports.

PCT/ZA1999/00030 describes a supporting chair that enables a young or small baby who can cannot sit up safely by him or herself without assistance, to be stably propped in a sitting position. This has several advantages. It can provide a convenient means for a parent/caregiver to feed the baby using both of his or her hands. It can also satisfy the infant's desire to explore his or her environment from a sitting (instead of laying down) position.
The device described in PCT/ZA1999/00030 is a baby supporting chair which comprises a seat, a backrest, two side supports, and a front support. Between the front support and the side supports there are two grooves for the baby's legs to project outwardly forward from the seat. The seat of the chair is at a level equal to or lower than the level of the bottoms of the two grooves. This results in the seated infant's pelvis being positioned in a posteriorly tilted orientation. Many experts believe however that while the baby/young infant is sitting, it's preferable for their pelvis to be positioned in an anterior pelvic tilt which promotes proper spinal alignment, engages their core muscles and encourages better posture. A variety of sitting wedges are available that accomplish this. However, these wedges do not provide sufficient support to keep a young infant in an upright position.
In addition, the side supports of the invention described in PCT/ZA1999/00030 and many floor seats commercially available cause hip adduction (especially in larger/older infants), which can lead to hip dysplasia. Many experts feel that positions that instead encourage hip abduction in young infants is much preferred.
It is the object of the present invention to obviate or mitigate the above disadvantages.


A reinforced frame having a roof member and a pillar includes a brace interconnected to the frame. The brace is moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position. The deployed position is defined by the brace extending diagonally between the pillar and the roof member.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A vehicle frame provides protection for the occupants during accident conditions. For example, the roof and the pillars of the frame are designed to cooperate to protect vehicle occupants during rollover conditions. The roof and pillars must provide sufficient structural rigidity to maintain the occupant compartment.
While various vehicle frames known in the pertinent art may have proven suitable for their intended purposes, there remains a need for continuous improvement in occupant protection.

Rollover protection system for a motor vehicle and related method


A method, computer program product, and computer system for establishing a Voice over IP (VoIP) session. One or more computing devices initiate the VoIP session between a plurality of devices. A first communication channel is established as an active channel for a first computing device of the plurality of devices, where the active channel is fully enabled for use by the first computing device. A second communication channel is established as a passive channel for the first computing device while maintaining the active channel, where the passive channel is at least partially enabled for use by the first computing device.

Voice over IP (VoIP) generally involves the delivery of both data and voice communications over internet protocol (IP) networks, such as the internet. Many people use VoIP to replace their traditional telephone service which typically uses, e.g., circuit-switched public telephone networks. One disadvantage of using VoIP, however, is that communication on the IP networks does not guarantee the same reliability of the traditional circuit-switched public telephone networks. For example, VoIP may not typically ensure delivery of data packets or ensure the data packets are delivered in the correct order (i.e., sequentially). As a result, VoIP calls, for example, may suffer from less than optimal audio signal quality. Decreased signal quality can be cumbersome and frustrating for the end users, where the ability to understand the conversation is overly limited.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for establishing a voice over IP session

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention specifies on-chip address matching hardware which is external to the processor core and prefetch queue of a microcontroller, and instruction decoding logic to mark and process breakpointed instructions. The address matching hardware includes a number of equality comparators which observe addresses on an intermodule bus of the microcontroller. This bus is not directly connected to the processor core and handles both instruction and data traffic. In one embodiment, four such matchers are provided. When an instruction address matches one of the breakpoints, a code indicating the breakpoint number is returned along with the instruction fetched. This breakpoint code is entered into the prefetch queue in the processor core, along with the instruction. When that instruction reaches the decode stage, the breakpoint information is decoded along with the instruction. The breakpoint actions associated with an instruction only occur when the instruction is about to be issued for execution. The decode logic of the processor core uses additional signals from the external matching hardware to determine if the breakpoint number associated with the current instruction is enabled to cause a breakpoint event. If the instruction is enabled to cause an event, the decode logic causes the event to happen. Regardless, the decode logic signals the external matching logic that a breakpointed instruction has been detected. When a breakpoint event is not enabled, the external matching logic can take other action such as updating a counter or starting execution monitoring activities.

One of the possible debugging tools used by programmers and software engineers is the hardware instruction breakpoint capability found in many digital processors. As would be understood by a person skilled in the art, an instruction breakpoint occurs when an instruction which is about to be executed has been marked as a breakpointed instruction. Typically, the primary function of hardware instruction breakpoints in processors of the prior art is to permit a debugger (using other external hardware resources) to cause instruction execution to stop when a particular instruction is executed.
Traditional approaches to providing hardware breakpoints do not work correctly, however, when the processor incorporates a prefetch queue. When a microprocessor has a prefetch queue, the instruction addresses to be fetched which appear at the external interface of the chip or even at the external interface of the processor core are not necessarily executed. Even though an instruction is fetched, a preceding instruction in the queue may cause a transfer of execution before later instructions in the queue are executed. The problem then becomes one of matching against addresses as they are decoded for execution. These addresses, however, are generally not observable outside of the processor core. In addition, it is sometimes useful to have an instruction address match cause a trigger to a counter or some monitoring hardware, rather than only interrupt processor execution. This triggering capability is not found in prior art systems. The breakpoint problem is further compounded if multiple hardware breakpoints are provided. In this case, instructions which are breakpointed must be associated with a particular breakpoint.
One prior art attempt at addressing the problem of providing instruction breakpoints in a processor having a prefetch queue can be found in some Motorola background debug mode-equipped processors which includes a break pin. By including the break pin, these processors are capable of correctly handling some of the problems presented by the prefetch queue. However, these processors require external matching hardware and cannot handle multiple breakpoints or breakpoints of the trigger variety. Other attempts in the prior art at solving the above problem include processors which jam a break opcode into the prefetch queue. This methodology requires a wide multiplexer in the instruction fetch path, however, which is also undesirable.
Accordingly, there is a need for a more flexible mechanism to implement on-chip hardware instruction breakpoints which handles either break or trigger behavior on multiple breakpoints.

Apparatus and method for decoding instructions marked with breakpoint codes to select breakpoint action from plurality of breakpoint actions


A two-unit zoom lens system which comprises a negative first lens unit G1 and a positive second lens unit G2, during change of magnification from a wide-angle end to a telephoto end, the first lens unit and the second lens unit are moved so as to reduce a space between the first lens unit and the second lens unit, the first lens unit includes a negative sub-unit G1a and a positive sub-unit G1b, the second lens unit has a first positive lens L21, a second negative lens L22, and a third positive lens L23, and the system further has an aperture stop S disposed in an air space which comes into contact with the first positive lens L21.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a two-unit zoom lens system, an exchangeable lens using this two-unit zoom lens system, and further an electronic image taking apparatus using this two-unit zoom lens system.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is expanded a market of a single lens reflex (SLR) camera using an electronic image pickup device such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS type image sensor. Heretofore, a conventional small-sized zoom lens system including the standard angle of field with respect to the SLR camera for a silver salt film is constituted of a first lens unit having a negative refractive power and a second lens unit having a positive refractive power.
Moreover, as a two-unit zoom lens system of a negative-positive type having a long back focal length (the optical path length between the rearmost surface of the lens system and the image plane), there are proposed several zoom lens systems usable with a small-sized image pickup device. As the two-unit zoom lens system of the negative-positive type in which the number of lenses constituting the zoom lens system is small, there are known systems disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2001-215407, 2000-187157, 2001-21806 and 1-183615.
In the two-unit zoom lens system described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-215407, an aperture stop is disposed on the image side of the second lens unit. There is also disclosed a two-unit zoom lens system in which an off-axial chief ray is considerably inclined with respect to the image plane on the exit side of the zoom lens system.
Moreover, in the two-unit zoom lens systems described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2000-187157, 2001-21806 and 1-183615, the whole length is long as compared with a size of the image pickup device. When the system is used with a large image pickup device, the whole length increases. A magnification changing ratio is small.
As compared with the SLR camera for the silver salt film, in the SLR camera in which an electronic image pickup device such as a CCD image sensor is used, in general, a diagonal length of an image pickup surface is small. To prevent so-called shading phenomenon, from the center of the image pickup surface to a periphery thereof, a light flux needs to be incident on the image pickup surface in a state nearly vertical state with respect to the image pickup surface. A space for disposing a low pass filter and the like is required. Therefore, it is necessary to increase a ratio of a back focal length fb of a photographing lens with respect to the diagonal length. When this ratio is increased, an additional function can be introduced. On the other hand, if a large back focal length fb is required, such a lens constitution is required that the large back focal length fb can be secured on a wide-angle end of a region of the magnification change.

Two-unit zoom lens system, and exchangeable lens and electronic image taking apparatus using the zoom lens system


The present invention relates to a protective spool dispenser that is portable, efficient and convenient for dispensing line. The dispenser has four corner members and upper and lower sidebars, forming a box-like outer frame. A crossbar extends between two adjacent corner members. A spool-receiving arm extends from the crossbar. The end of the spool-receiving arm opposite the crossbar is unsecured, so that a spool of line may be easily slid onto the arm. The arm includes a tensioning spring, two washers and a fastening pin. The spool is sandwiched between the two washers. Free spinning is prevented due to the tensioning spring. The disclosed dispenser also preferably includes a cutter mechanism for cutting line to desired lengths.

There are numerous designs for wire reel and spool holders. However, prior designs have not always been satisfactory. For example, many spool holder designs fail to prevent snarling, kinking, tangling and looping of wire on a coiled spool, particularly during unwinding or dispensing of the wire from the spool. If the wire or line is relatively lightweight, such as plastic line or cord, the spool may be especially prone to spinning freely and thereby unwinding.
Some designs provide for a shell or casing that houses a spool in an attempt to limit continuous or uncontrolled unwinding of the wire. Typically, such a casing dismantles into several parts. The wire is then wound around a core, and dispensed through an opening in the casing. Although such designs protect the wire, they do not provide an efficient or convenient dispensing means, particularly when a relatively large quantity of wire or line must be dispensed. It is often difficult to ascertain how much wire or line is remaining on the spool. In addition, it is often difficult to replace an exhausted spool with a new spool of line, given the housing of such dispensers must be disassembled to replace the exhausted spool.
Other designs provide for a partially open housing or frame, having first and second side walls spaced from each other, and a support bar for holding a spool therebetween and for reducing free spinning when dispensing wire from the spool by creating frictional forces on the spool when dispensing. Although such designs provide some advantages, they often fail to provide adequate protection for the spool. For example, spools of plastic trimmer line used for commercial string trimmers used to cut grass and/or weeds are often used by landscaping crews. In addition to the string trimmers, landscapers often use other heavy equipment. All of the equipment is commonly transported from site to site in a pick-up truck bed or an open trailer, and is frequently subject to jostling, shifting and/or bumping with other equipment. Many trimmer line spools are easily damaged if unprotected, particularly during transport of the spools and equipment. In addition, trimmer line spools are typically made from inexpensive plastic. If the plastic spool is damaged, the plastic line may become tangled, kinked, or unwound. The line must then be de-tangled, organized, or simply discarded, thereby increasing costs. Trimmer line spools are relatively expensive. Therefore, it is desirable to protect such spools from damage and also prevent uncontrolled unwinding. In addition to trimmer line spools, adequate protection for spools of wire or line used at other construction and/or industrial sites is also desirable.
Various spool dispensing carts and caddies are known in the art. Typically, such designs include a plurality of spaced spool bars for receiving spools of wire. The spool bars are generally connected to a frame. Some designs include wheels and/or a handle. Although multiple spools may be positioned on such carts or caddies, they often fail to prevent free spinning when unwinding wire from the spools. In addition, many fail to provide adequate protection to the spools. Furthermore, they are typically cumbersome and bulky. Although carts having wheels may be adequate for some applications, they are not easily portable from site to site, especially if the cart or caddy must be lifted into a truck or trailer.
Attempts have been made to provide a spool dispenser that is lightweight and protective. For example, some designs provide a rectangular support frame with spool mounting rods. The mounting rods typically span between opposite side planks. The frame provides some protection to the spool. However, replacement of exhausted spools often requires disassembly of the mounting rods from the side planks. In addition, many such designs fail to address the problem of free spinning of the line or wire from the spool.
In addition to providing a dispenser that is efficient and convenient, it may be desirable to provide a cutting mechanism on the dispenser for cutting a portion of the line or wire being dispensed. Many conventional dispenser designs fail to provide any cutting means. Therefore, there is a need for a combination spool dispenser and cutter that provides adequate protection and that is lightweight and easily portable. The dispenser should also be efficient and convenient, wherein replacement of an exhausted spool is relatively easy and fast.


A substrate including a fluid reservoir and a connected fluid channel, the fluid reservoir positioned away from a component region of the substrate, the fluid channel configured to extend from the fluid reservoir to guide an electrically conductive fluid from the fluid reservoir at a reservoir end of the fluid channel through the fluid channel to a component end of the fluid channel, the component end extending to the component region of the substrate to enable the formation of an electrical connection to a connector of an electronic component appropriately positioned in the component region, formation of the electrical connection allowing the electronic component to be interconnected to other electronic components using one or more of the fluid reservoir and fluid channel.

Existing techniques used for attaching silicon microchips to flexible circuitry include wire bonding, flip-chip bonding, and direct printing of metal ink to form a conductive bridge from the circuitry on the substrate to the pads on the chip. Such methods, however, fail to provide cost-effective assembly of hybrid circuits incorporating small microchips.
The apparatus and methods disclosed herein may or may not address this issue.
The listing or discussion of a prior-published document or any background in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document or background is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge. One or more aspects/embodiments of the present disclosure may or may not address one or more of the background issues.

Apparatus and method for forming printed circuit board using fluid reservoirs and connected fluid channels


In a method for estimating the locking pressure in the brake system of a multi-axle vehicle during a dynamic axle-load transfer, the locking pressure is ascertained during the axle-load transfer and the wheel normal force is ascertained at two points in time during the axle-load transfer and the locking pressure is ascertained therefrom at the later point in time.

Some conventional Hydraulic brake systems in vehicles are equipped with an anti-lock system (ABS), with the aid of which a braked wheel is to be prevented from locking. When locking, the braked wheel enters too far into the range of sliding friction so that it is no longer possible to ensure the steerablity of the vehicle, if the locking wheel is used for steering the vehicle, because in this case it not possible to transfer lateral guidance forces from the wheel onto the ground. In order to prevent this state, anti-lock systems are designed so that the brake pressure may only be increased up to a lock-up tendency of the wheel, at which the slip of the wheel reaches a given limit value. The slip of the wheel is ascertained from a comparison of the wheel speed, which is determined with the aid of a wheel speed sensor, with a reference speed of the vehicle. Following the detection of the lock-up tendency, the brake pressure in the brake system is lowered so that in the case of a steerable wheel the steerability of the vehicle remains ensured.
The level of the transferable brake force depends on the current coefficient of friction between the wheel and the ground, which is defined as a quotient of brake force and normal force. In the event of a dynamic axle-load transfer, which occurs for example in a braking action involving a high brake force, the normal force on the vehicle wheel changes and thus also the coefficient of friction. Since the longitudinal slip also changes over the μ slip curve, the brake pressure level must also be adapted in order securely to prevent the wheel from locking.

Method for estimating the locking pressure in the brake system of a multi-axle vehicle


In an X-ray CT device, the scan conditions of the device are set, a three-dimensional X-ray passage length model of the body being examined is generated from a scanogram image of the body, the control pattern of the tube current is automatically set on the basis of the scan conditions and the three-dimensional passage length model, and the dose which will be given will be calculated and displayed on the basis of the control pattern of the tube current, and three-dimensional CT value model data of the body generated on the basis of a standard human body. The scanogram image of the body and the control pattern of the tube current are displayed next to each other or overlap to allow an operator to edit the control pattern while viewing the body, so that a suitable tube current can be set.

In a conventional X-ray CT device, the scan conditions, including the tube voltage and the tube current supplied to the X-ray tube, are kept constant while scanning the same cross-section.
Further, a helical scan for taking a photograph by scanning the body being examined along a spiral path has been widely used in recent years, but the conditions of scanning in the body axis direction are maintained constant during such a scan.
Accordingly, for example, when the cross-section of the body to be examined is not a concentric circle, but is elliptical with respect to the rotating axis of a CT scanner (also called a scanner), the length of the path through the body where the X-ray passes is greatly changed in accordance with the rotating angle of the X-ray source. Therefore, a problem exists in that the amount of transmitted X-rays may be excessive or insufficient while scanning one cross-section.
Further, the X-ray absorption coefficient is greatly different in the internal organs of low density in the chest, such as the lungs, etc., and the internal organs of high density in the abdomen such as the liver, etc. Therefore, a the scan is continuously performed from the chest to the abdomen and an X-ray amount suitable for the lungs is set, the X-ray amount will be insufficient for the liver. In contrast to this, when an X-ray amount suitable for the liver is set, the X-ray amount will be excessive in the lungs.
When the transmitted X-ray amount is insufficient, the S/N (SN ratio) becomes worse because of the reduced amount of X-ray photons detected by the X-ray detector (hereinafter abbreviated as a detector), and the S/N of the entire cross-sectioned image obtained by image reconstruction becomes worse as a result. Conversely, when the transmitted X-ray amount is too large, unnecessary X-rays are applied to the body being examined.
A method for controlling the tube voltage, as disclosed in JP-A-53-110495, and methods for controlling the tube voltage, as disclosed in JP-A-9-108209 and JP-A-10-309271, have been proposed for solving these problems.
However, the method for controlling the tube voltage as described in JP-A-53-110495 has a problem in that, during the scan, the spectrum of the X-rays is changed, since the tube voltage is changed, and thus the CT value cannot be determined. Therefore, a method for controlling the tube current is the main method used at present.
As a method for optimally controlling the tube current in accordance with the characteristics of the body being examined, there is a method of controlling the tube current based on data indicating the amount of X-rays that have passed through the object in the first half period of the scanner rotation, as described in JP-A-10-309271, and a method of determining a pattern for controlling the tube current in advance in accordance with the position of the body which is being examined on the basis of scanograms scanned from two different directions, as described in JP-A-9-108209.
However, the method using the data of X-ray passage through the object in the first half of the scanner rotation, as described in JP-A-10-309271, has a problem in that the X-ray data deviates from one cross-section to another, particularly in a helical scan with a large scan pitch. Further, this method cannot cope with an area in which the X-ray absorption characteristics of the body being examined vary greatly e.g. above and below the diaphragm.
In the method for obtaining the scanograms from two different directions, as described in JP-A-9-108209, the unnecessary X-ray exposure to the body being examined is increased by taking the scanogram photograph twice. Accordingly, this method is contrary to its purpose, i.e. reduction of the exposure through tube current control.
The inventors of the present invention have also proposed a method of optimally controlling the tube current in accordance with characteristics of the body being examined, as described in JP-A-2001-276040. The method described is JP-A-2001-276040 relates to the use of an X-ray CT device that is capable of realizing low exposure scanning by not sending unnecessary X-rays to the body being examined. In this method, a model representing the length of the body where the X-ray passes for each rotation angle of a scanner is stored in memory in advance. When the body is to be scanned, the tube current producing the X-rays is set for every rotation angle of the scanner based on this model. The scan measurement is then made and a cross-sectional image is reconstructed.
The method described in JP-A-2001-276040 lays emphasis on the generation of the X-ray passage length model of the body being examined and the setting of the tube current based on the length of the X-ray passage through the body as given by this X-ray passage length model. However, there is no consideration of the actual amount of X-rays being applied to the body by this set tube current or the X-rays received by the internal organs within the body.
In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an X-ray CT device and a data processing method which make it possible to calculate the exposure, inside and outside the body being examined, to tube current controlled according to a variation control pattern that is automatically set, based on the X-ray passage length model of the body being examined, and to allow an operator to reset the variation control pattern of the tube current in consideration of the X-ray exposure of this body being examined.

X-ray CT device and image displaying method therefor


The vehicle undercarriage spare tire carrier wherein the tire is lifted by a lever arm. A yieldable resilient connection is provided to attach an end of the cable that lifts the tire so that the effective lever arm operating on the cable to lift the tire is shortened as the tire is lifted thereby increasing the ease of lifting the tire.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor vehicle spare tire lifting and retaining mechanism. More particularly the invention relates to an improved mechanism utilizing a cable to lift and stow a spare tire beneath the floor of a vehicle such as a minivan.
2. Background Art
Spare tires are generally mounted beneath the floor of the rear compartment of a minivan or similar vehicle. Mechanisms currently in use for lifting and retaining a spare tire beneath the floor of such a vehicle generally involve the use of a crank to wind the cable on a drum. In order to obtain sufficient leverage to permit an operator of a vehicle to turn the crank, the drums involved are small resulting in the need to continue cranking for a long period of time to either lower or raise the tire. Smith U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,107 issued May 11, 1982 suggests the use of a lever arm located on a pickup truck bumper to lift a spare tire beneath the bed of a pickup truck. However, because of the long lever arm required by such a mechanism, a great deal of force is required in order to move the lever handle to the over center or "breakover" position. Conversely, when the tire is being lowered, the leverage exerted by the weight of the tire can cause the lever handle to whip around and strike the operator possibly causing injury.
In view of these and other shortcomings of currently available devices, a need has continued to exist for an improved mechanism for lifting and retaining tires.


Measuring equipment for forming a measured value for voltage representing an ac voltage on a high-voltage conductor. The measuring equipment includes capacitor equipment with a known capacitance for connection between the high-voltage conductor and ground potential. The measuring equipment further includes a current-measurer for sensing a capacitor current flowing through the capacitor equipment and for forming the measured value for voltage in dependence on the capacitor current.

In a high-voltage (HV) installation, or an extra-high-voltage (EHV) installation, there is a need to establish magnitudes of electric variables such as, for example, current, voltage, power and energy, and, as in this case, the occurrence of harmonics of current and voltage.
An extra-high-voltage installation or a high-voltage installation means in this application an installation that may typically comprise electrical equipment such as ac machines, transformers, high-voltage capacitors, loads/burdens, lines, cables, busbars, disconnecting switches and breakers, associated measuring devices and actuators, as well as non-linear components such as, for example, converters, etc., which are located within a limited region and are operated in a coordinated way.
In a high-voltage installation, or an extra-high-voltage installation, measured values of current and voltage are usually sensed by means of measuring devices such as, for example, measuring transformers, voltage transformers and current transformers.
Conventional electromagnetic measuring transformers, in particular voltage transformers, are frequency-dependent and hence generally less suitable for measuring harmonics, since the frequency-dependent fault will be great. With the object of reducing the frequency-dependent fault, other types of measuring transformers may advantageously be used.
Measuring transformers such as instrument transformers with optical transmission of measured values/optical measuring transformers are utilized according to the prior art for sensing measured values in high-voltage installations, for example digital/optical voltage transformers and digital/optical current transformers.
According to the prior art, a digital/optical voltage transformer senses the ac voltage in the conductor that is to be measured with measuring equipment comprising a capacitive voltage divider connected between the conductor, the voltage of which is to be measured, and ground potential, the voltage divider comprising capacitor equipment with high-voltage capacitors in series connection and with a further capacitive auxiliary-voltage divider connected to a part of said series connection, the measuring voltage being sensed via said auxiliary-voltage divider. The digital/optical voltage transformer further comprises a digital/optical measurement value transformer that transforms the measuring voltage into an optical signal for optical transmission. The capacitor equipment is arranged in a support insulator.
One known embodiment of a digital/optical current transformer as part of a piece of protective equipment for a high-voltage installation, in this case a series capacitor installation, is disclosed in (M. Adolfsson et al): EHV Series Capacitor Banks, a new approach to platform to ground signalling, relay protection and supervision, IEEE Transactions on Power delivery, Vol. 4, No. 2, April 1989, pp. 1369–1376. The current transformer described therein has a magnetic core surrounding a connection bar, said connection bar being intended for connection into the conductor, the current of which is to be measured. Further, the current transformer comprises a secondary winding with a burden and a digital/optical measurement value transformer that is of the same kind as the digital/optical measurement value transformer belonging to the digital/optical measuring transformer, such as a voltage measuring device.
A further known embodiment of a measuring transformer is a combined digital/optical measuring transformer, comprising, respectively, a separate digital/optical current transformer and a separate digital/optical voltage transformer of the same kind as described above.
FIG. 1 of this patent application shows as a single-line diagram a known embodiment of measuring equipment 3, comprising a combined digital/optical measuring transformer consisting of a digital/optical current transformer 31 and a separate digital/optical voltage transformer 32, respectively, for sensing measured values for current and voltage, respectively, of a high-voltage conductor 1, and control equipment 2. The measuring equipment is comprised in a high-voltage installation. The control equipment is located in a control room.
According to the prior art, the digital/optical current transformer 31 comprises an electromagnetic current transformer and a digital/optical measurement value transformer 333a.
The current transformer has, in a manner known per se, a magnetic core surrounding a connection bar, said bar being connected in a high-voltage conductor 1 which functions as a primary winding. The current transformer further comprises, in a manner known per se, a secondary winding T2 with a burden R2, said secondary winding surrounding said core. An amplitude value Va of a voltage representing the line current I through the high-voltage conductor 1 is sensed over the burden. The amplitude value Va is supplied to the digital/optical measurement value transformer 333a, in which the amplitude value Va is transformed into an optical signal Da. Transmission of the optical signal Da to the control equipment 2 is performed via optical fibres connected between the digital/optical measurement value transformer 333a and the control equipment 2.
The voltage transformer 32 comprises a capacitive voltage divider with capacitor equipment comprising a high-voltage capacitor HC provided with a test tap V that functionally divides the high-voltage capacitor HC into two capacitor units, as well as a capacitive auxiliary-voltage divider HS designed as a series connection comprising a series resistance R1 and two capacitors C1 and C2, and a digital/optical measurement value transformer 333b.
The high-voltage capacitor HC is connected between the high-voltage conductor 1 and ground potential E. Between the test terminal V and ground potential E, the auxiliary-voltage divider HS is connected with the capacitor C2 connected to ground potential E. Across the capacitor C2, an amplitude value Vb for a voltage representing the line voltage U is sensed. The amplitude value Vb is supplied to the digital/optical measurement value transformer 333b, in which the amplitude value Vb is transformed into an optical signal Db. Transmission of the optical signal Db to the control equipment 2 is performed via optical fibres connected between the digital/optical measurement value transformer 333b and the control equipment 2. The optical measurement value transformer 333b is of the same kind as 333a.
A digital/optical voltage transformer comprising an auxiliary-voltage divider entails a complex design, and furthermore the auxiliary-voltage divider requires considerable space.
In addition, the above measurement arrangement requires a test tap, intended for the auxiliary-voltage divider, on the high-voltage capacitor comprised in the measurement arrangement, whereby said test tap requires a costly bushing.
In the physical embodiment of the above-described combined measuring transformer for combined sensing of measured values for current and voltage, the capacitor equipment is mounted in a support insulator and the digital/optical current transformer is mounted on top of the support insulator. The measurement value transformer comprised in the current transformer is connected at high potential in that the chassis of the current transformer is in direct contact with the high-voltage conductor. The input for the measurement signal on the measurement value transformer of the current transformer is connected to the chassis at one point. In similar manner, the digital/optical voltage transformer is connected to ground potential E via the chassis, and the chassis is connected to the input of the measurement signal on the measurement value transformer of the voltage transformer at one point. The support insulator in this case functions as an insulation between the different potential levels of the respective measurement value transformers.
The measured values for current and voltage, respectively, are thus sensed at essentially separate potential levels, which implies that separate measurement arrangements must be utilized, comprising an optoelectronic measurement value transformer and one transmission link for each measurement arrangement, as described above.
Each optoelectronic measurement value transformer entails a considerable material cost but also a cost for installation and commissioning.
By instead connecting the auxiliary-voltage divider of the voltage transformer between the test tap on the high-voltage capacitor and the high-voltage line, a measured value of high potential may be obtained. However, this is an unpractical solution which still requires an extra bushing for an internal test tap with an unchanged cost for installation and commissioning, and which, in addition, entails a new design.
To this is to be added that each component in an installation in principle increases the risk of a fault occurring in the installation.

Method and a device for voltage measurement in a high-voltage conductor


A gear system is provided. The gear system includes a driven gear, which is rotated by driving force from a driving gear, a base member to support the driven gear, and a bearing structure, including a shaft and a shaft hole to rotatably support the shaft, by which the driven gear is rotatably attached to the base member. One of the shaft and the shaft hole is provided to the driven gear, and the other of the shaft and the shaft hole is provided to the base member. The bearing structure has a lubricant reservoir in a slidable section, in which the shaft and the shaft hole are slidably in contact with each other when the driven gear is rotated by the driving force from the driving gear, the lubricant reservoir containing lubricant to lubricate the slidable section.

1. Technical Field
An aspect of the present invention relates to a gear system, having driven gears and supporting parts to support the driven gears, and an image forming apparatus having the gear system.
2. Related Art
A plain bearing, which holds a rotatable shaft in a bush and has no rotor is known. In order to have the shaft to slidably rotate in the bush, the plain bearing may be configured to have a lubricant reservoir, in which lubricant for the shaft is filled, in a position between the shaft and the bush so that lubricity between the shaft and the bush is improved.


A rotor cup for an open-end spinning device comprises a supporting base body which is provided with an insert. The insert comprises the fiber guiding surfaces, namely a fiber sliding surface and a fiber collecting groove. The insert is centered radially in the base body and is supported axially with a stopping face at the base body and crimped therein.

This application claims the priority of German Application No. 10 2004 062 794.0 filed Dec. 20, 2004, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a rotor cup for an open-end spinning device, which comprises a supporting base body, which is provided with an insert comprising a fiber guiding surface and a fiber collecting groove, which insert is radially centered in the base body and axially supported thereon with a stopping face.
In the case of a rotor cup of this type (German published patent 15 60 307, corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,487) the two-part rotor cup comprises a base body having a high strength and an insert which comprises the fiber guiding surfaces. This insert is inserted into the inside of the base body in the form of a pot-shaped lining, said insert comprising the fiber sliding surface as well as the fiber collecting groove, both of which are designed to achieve the best spinning properties. Due to the present standard high rotational speeds of the rotor cup, the base body is subject to very high centrifugal forces, which results in the walls of the base body which hold the insert expanding. There is a risk that the insert becomes loose thus rendering the rotor cup unusable.
In the case of a similar two-part rotor cup of this type (German published patent application 2551 045) a base body is provided which is suitable for high rotational speeds, said base body being provided with a wear-resistant, pot-shaped insert made from sintered ceramic which comprises the fiber guiding surfaces. Here the insert can be bonded or pressed into the base body. Apart from the aim of achieving good wear protection, nothing further is disclosed about this rotor cup.
It is an object of the present invention to design a rotor cup of the above mentioned type in such a way that the centrifugal forces occuring at high speeds are not damaging. It should be hereby possible to produce one and the same base body and to equip it with various inserts according to the desired application.
This object has been achieved in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention in that the insert is crimped into the base body.
Because the edge of the base body is crimped over the insert according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the insert is affixed in radial and in axial direction, which ensures that the insert cannot become loose even at high speeds. The same base body having constant dimensions can be used for the entire production, into which base body a variety of inserts having different functions can be inserted. This can involve varying diameters, various forms of the fiber collecting groove or different materials of the fiber guiding surfaces. The base body can be made of steel or aluminum, while the insert can be made of steel, ceramic or sintered material as desired according to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the fiber guiding surfaces of the insert can be coated according to the desired spinning conditions or the service life without the base body having to be treated in the same way according to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention.
Preferably the insert is supported in the base body in the area of the fiber collecting groove only according to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention. This results in a significant saving in material in relation to the base body in comparison to the above mentioned prior art.
In certain preferred embodiments of present invention, the insert is provided on its outer side facing away from the stopping face with a ring groove for the purposes of crimping.
During crimping, the stopping face is pressed tightly on the base body and radially secured due to the ring groove. The insert itself is designed essentially as a conical ring, corresponding to the slope of the fiber sliding surface, whereby the inside of the rotor cup has its biggest diameter at the fiber collecting groove according to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention.
The present invention also relates to a process for producing a rotor cup of the above mentioned type. A semi-finished part made of plastically formable material and having a pot-shaped take-up part having an open front face is produced for the formation of a base body, in which semi-finished part a finished insert is placed, which subsequently is secured by means of crimping over a front edge of the take-up part, which subsequently forms the base body, according to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Rotor cup for an open-end spinning device


A single chip radio transceiver includes circuitry that enables received wideband RF signals to be down-converted to baseband frequencies and baseband signals to be up-converted to wideband RF signals prior to transmission without requiring conversion to an intermediate frequency. The circuitry includes a low noise amplifier, automatic frequency control circuitry for aligning a local oscillation frequency with the frequency of the received RF signals, signal power measuring circuitry for measuring the signal to signal and power ratio and for adjusting frontal and rear amplification stages accordingly, and finally, filtering circuitry to filter high and low frequency interfering signals including DC offset. The circuitry further includes a multi-stage mixer that produces current signal outputs from each mixing stage to a subsequent stage thereby avoiding a need for intermediate transconductance and output stages to convert between current signals and voltage signals.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to wireless communications and, more particularly, wideband wireless communication systems.
2. Related Art
Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire lined communications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices. Such communication systems range from national and/or international cellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-home wireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, and hence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards. For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordance with one or more standards, including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS), multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variations thereof.
Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptop computer, home entertainment equipment, etc., communicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-point communications), the participating wireless communication devices tune their receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channels (e.g., one of a plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system) and communicate over that channel(s). For indirect wireless communications, each wireless communication device communicates directly with an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or an associated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication connection between the wireless communication devices, the associated base stations and/or associated access points communicate with each other directly, via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, via the Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.
Each wireless communication device includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiver and transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g., a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communication networks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier. The data modulation stage converts raw data into baseband signals in accordance with the particular wireless communication standard. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or more local oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier amplifies the RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.
As is also known, the receiver is coupled to the antenna and includes a low noise amplifier, one or more intermediate frequency stages, a filtering stage, and a data recovery stage. The low noise amplifier receives an inbound RF signal via the antenna and amplifies it. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the amplified RF signal with one or more local oscillations to convert the amplified RF signal into a baseband signal or an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. As used herein, the term "low IF" refers to both baseband and intermediate frequency signals. A filtering stage filters the low IF signals to attenuate unwanted out of band signals to produce a filtered signal. The data recovery stage recovers raw data from the filtered signal in accordance with the particular wireless communication standard. Alternate designs being pursued at this time further include direct conversion radios that produce a direct frequency conversion often in a plurality of mixing steps or stages.
Active mixers used in direct conversion radios as well as radios that employ an intermediate conversion step, typically comprise input transconductance elements, switches and an output load. These active mixers often have varying output signal characteristics due to environmental conditions, such as temperature, and process and manufacturing variations. These varying output signal characteristics can, for example, result in a mixer producing an errant local oscillation signal that affects the accuracy of an output signal's frequency. Having inaccurate output frequencies can result in many undesirable outcomes, including unwanted signal filtering by a downstream filter. Accordingly, using active mixers that can compensate for the effects of frequency drift that is often present is beneficial. Some current mixers being designed have multiple stages for these and other reasons. Mixers that are designed to have multiple stages, however, utilize significant IC real estate. As the pressure to reduce devices sizes continues to drive design, a continuing need exists for multiple mixer stage designs that are more efficient in terms of design and power consumption.

RF transceiver with compact stacked mixer design for multiple frequency conversion