A method detects at least one phase of multiphase borehole fluids within a borehole. The method has a step of providing coiled tubing connected to a top end of a bottom hole assembly having a sensor configured to detect a property associated with the multiphase borehole fluids. Further, the method has a step of positioning the sensor adjacent to a first phase of the multiphase borehole fluids by rotating the bottom hole assembly or a portion of the bottom hole assembly. Moreover, the method has the steps of detecting a first measurement with the sensor as the sensor rotates and determining a fractional amount of at least one phase of the multiphase borehole fluids.

A wellhole or borehole (hereinafter "the borehole") is generally drilled into the Earth to recover natural deposits of hydrocarbons and/or other desirable materials trapped in a subsurface geological formation (hereinafter "the formation") in the Earth's crust. The borehole is typically drilled using a drilling system having a drill bit attached to a lower end of a the bottom hole assembly (hereinafter "BHA"). The borehole may be drilled to penetrate a reservoir or other subterranean region of the formation (hereinafter "the formation reservoir") that contains the trapped hydrocarbons and/or other materials. As a result, the trapped hydrocarbons and/or materials are released and/or recovered from the formation reservoir via the borehole.
The borehole may be also used for treatment applications and a variety of other well related applications. Often, the drilling system is a directional drilling system that enables an operator to change the direction of drilling into the formation to more effectively access the formation reservoir. One example of the direction drilling system is a coiled tubing drilling system having flexibility that is needed to drill deviated wellbores. Additionally, the coiled tubing drilling system may include a variety of systems and devices, such as, steerable motors, articulated subs, push-the-bit systems to facilitate steering for the directional drilling operations.
Directional drilling operations for the drill bit located at the BHA of the drill string are controlled by the operator which makes real-time drilling decisions based on one or more downhole measurements (hereinafter "measurements"). The measurements are detected by the one or more sensors and/or tools associated with the BHA and/or are sent uphole to be accessed and utilized by the operator. Available coiled tubing drilling systems have proven to be limited in certain applications and are often unable to detect the measurements necessary for the operator to facilitate successful and desirable directional drilling operations. As a result, the directional drilling operations may not be steered and/or positioned at the most productive and/or most desirable location within the formation reservoir. For example, available coiled tubing drilling systems are not able to adequately and successfully detect the necessary measurements associated with and/or based on one or more phases in the multiphase borehole fluids. Coiled tubing drilling may be an advantageous drilling technique for underbalanced drilling because coiled tubing drilling does not require connections and the coiled tubing may be slick which may allow formation fluids produced while drilling to flow into the well.

Systems and methods for detecting phases in multiphase borehole fluids


The present invention provides a technique to improve an adhesion strength between a magnet main body and a protective film. The rare earth sintered magnet of the present invention comprises a magnet main body of a sintered body containing a rare earth element and a protective film formed on the magnet main body, wherein the ratio of a 10-point average surface roughness Rz of the magnet main body on which the protective film is formed to a mean grain size D50 in the magnet main body (Rz/D50 ratio) is kept in a range from 0.20 to 10.00, inclusive. This gives the rare earth sintered magnet which is coated with the protective film having a high adhesion strength of 100 N/m or more and exhibits high corrosion resistance.

Rare earth permanent magnets have been widely commercialized for their excellent magnetic properties. However, they contain a rare earth element and iron as main constituents, which are easily oxidized, and have relatively low corrosion resistance, so that their magnetic properties are deteriorated by oxidation. Therefore, their magnet main bodies are coated with a various protective film.
Patent Document 1, for example, discloses a permanent magnet comprising a magnet main body with surface irregularities, coated with an electroplated layer and an electrolessly plated layer. Patent Document 1 discusses that adhesion between the magnet main body and the plated layers formed thereon is improved by limiting its Rmax value (index of surface roughness, defined by JIS B-0610, according to the cited document 1) to a range from 3 to 50 μm.
Patent Document 2 discloses that a magnet main body can be coated with a protective film of high peel resistance, when it has a 10-point average surface roughness of 5 to 100 μm, defined by JIS B-0610, on the grounds that adhesion is insufficient at a roughness of 5 μm or less, and no improvement in adhesion is observed and product value is conversely deteriorated at 100 μm or more.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-185004 (Claims, page 5)    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-66032 (Claims)


A mounting device for supporting a sensing device in relation to a supporting structure, and related method of installing a sensing device, are disclosed. In at least some embodiments, the mounting device includes a first housing portion having a first appendage, and a second housing portion having a second appendage, where the second housing portion is slidable in relation to the first housing portion. The mounting device further includes an actuating portion capable of causing sliding movement between the housing portions, where the sensing device is supported within at least one of the housing portions. In some embodiments, a rotatable swivel ball on which the sensing device is supported is contained within at least one of the housing portions, and actuation of the actuating portion results in both the coupling of the mounting device to a supporting structure and a setting of a position of the swivel ball.

Sensing devices of many different types are commonly employed in a variety of environments and applications. Sensing devices encompass a broad spectrum of devices including, for example, various light-sensing devices such as laser-sensing devices, light sensing devices that are capable of distinguishing among different colors of visible light, and devices for sensing various other types of radiation including infrared radiation or heat, microwave radiation, and x-ray radiation. Additionally, other sensing devices include, for example, devices that are capable of sensing the position of other structures, acoustic sensors, vibration sensors, motion sensors such as accelerometers, orientation sensors involving gyroscopes, and numerous other types of sensing devices.
Sensing devices are employed in a wide variety of industrial, commercial, military, residential and other environments and applications. For example, in industrial environments, light sensors are often employed in conjunction with conveyor systems such as those used in assembly lines. Such light sensors are often used to detect the presence of objects moving down an assembly line and to determine whether a given object has entered or exited a particular region of the assembly line. Light sensors of similar design can also be used in residential applications, for example, in connection with garage door openers. Also for example, in many commercial facilities as well as residential homes, various sensing devices are used in security systems in order to detect the presence of potential intruders within or nearby those facilities or homes. Sensing devices can further be implemented on vehicles, for example, to detect the presence of objects behind vehicles. Indeed, sensing devices are ubiquitous in today's modern world.
Although in some cases sensing devices are free-standing, typically sensing devices are mounted upon or in relation to other supporting structures. Further, in many if not most circumstances, it is desirable that the sensing devices be mounted in relation to such supporting structures in a fixed manner, or at least in a manner by which the location and orientation of a given sensing device relative to the supporting structure(s) and/or signal source(s) is known or predictable. For example, in the case of a light sensing device implemented in a manufacturing assembly line, it is typically desired that the light sensing device be fixedly orientated in a particular direction so as to be aligned to receive a light beam from a light source located elsewhere. The mounting of light sensing devices in other environments, such as in the case of garage door openers, similarly can entail the careful, fixed positioning of the sensing devices.
Although in many circumstances it is desirable for a sensing device to be mounted in a manner such that the position of the sensing device is accurately fixed or at least limited to being within a predictable or predetermined range, it is often difficult to install sensing devices such that the sensing devices are mounted in this manner. The panels, walls, protruding structures, and other supporting structures on which sensing devices are mounted can have a variety of different shapes, sizes, configurations, orientations and positions depending upon the circumstance. Consequently, mounting a sensing device onto a supporting structure by way of a simple procedure (e.g., simply attaching the sensing device to the supporting structure by way of bolts or screws) often does not result in a desired arrangement of the sensing device.
Although in some applications multiple sensing devices are intended to be respectively mounted on respective components of the same type in largely the same manner, in such cases there often still is insufficient standardization of the supporting structures or other related structures/devices to allow for the sensing devices to be mounted in a repetitive manner on the multiple structures without fine adjustment of the positioning of the individual sensing devices. Indeed, it is often the case that the supporting structures on which sensing devices are to be mounted are not designed or manufactured to the tolerances that should be satisfied in the positioning of the sensing devices to allow for proper operation of those sensing devices. Again for example with respect to assembly lines, while multiple light sensing devices might be respectively mounted on respective successive conveyor sections in an assembly line, fine adjustment of each of the positions of the sensing devices typically is still desirable to achieve proper alignment of those sensing devices with their respective light sources.
Given the above considerations, certain intermediary mounting structures or mechanisms have been developed that allow sensing devices to be mounted onto other supporting structures in manners that allow for some adjustment, in terms of the positioning of the sensing devices relative to the supporting structures (and/or other structures/devices, such as signal sources). Yet such conventional mounting mechanisms are limited in terms of their capabilities. In some cases, such conventional mounting mechanisms only allow very slight adjustments in the positioning of sensing devices relative to the supporting structures on which the sensing devices are being mounted via the mounting mechanisms. Also, the designs of many conventional mounting mechanisms make it difficult for persons installing sensing devices to achieve specific desired positions, that is, to finely adjust the positions of the sensing devices and set or lock the sensing devices in those positions.
Further, even where conventional mounting mechanisms allow for adjustment of the positioning of sensing devices, the process of installing the mounting mechanisms in relation to the supporting structures can complicate the positioning of the sensing devices. For example, some conventional mounting mechanisms employ a swivel ball on which a sensing device can be supported, where the swivel ball is captured between two semicircular brackets that are bolted together by bolts that simultaneously are used to bolt the entire assembly to a supporting bracket or wall. Such conventional mounting mechanisms can be difficult to install while at the same time achieving desired positioning of the swivel ball (and the sensing device), since the swivel ball can have a tendency to rotate in an uncontrolled manner or even fall out from between the brackets while a person installing the assembly is attempting to bolt the entire assembly to the supporting bracket/wall.
For at least these reasons, therefore, it would be advantageous if improved mounting mechanisms or structures for use in mounting sensing devices to other support structures could be developed. In particular, in at least some embodiments, it would be advantageous if such improved mounting mechanisms facilitated the accurate positioning of sensing devices with respect to other supporting structures and/or other structures or devices in a manner that allowed for significant variation in sensor positioning. Also, in at least some embodiments, it would be advantageous if the mounting mechanisms facilitated both installation and accurate positioning of the sensing devices in relation to supporting structures.

Sensor mounting structure with adjustable swivel ball and panel mounting mechanism


A code associated with a managed device is scanned by a mobile device operated by service personnel. The code at least comprises an identifier for managed device. A current geographical location of the mobile device and the code are provided to a cloud/server. The location is associated with the managed device and updated or added to a shared private blockchain ledger. The shared private blockchain ledger shared between one or more enterprises and one or more service organizations. In an embodiment, the managed device dynamically generates the code and presents the code on a display associated with the managed device for scanning by the mobile device.

Invoicing and asset management are current areas of pain for customers, enterprises, and support organizations. Asset management for support services is a critical concern, particularly with respect to invoicing for support services.
Device connectivity has become omnipresent; today, even devices considered to be largely unintelligent have processors and network capabilities. In fact, technology advanced so quickly that many enterprises did not plan and maintain the proper software systems to effectively track and manage their assets (devices and software on the devices). Struggling to keep up with normal business activities while at the same time continuously trying to update their software resources, some enterprises have completely lost track as to the physical location of their devices and the software resources on each of their devices. Large scale updates to the devices with up-to-date software for purposes of asset management is infeasible for many enterprises.
The problem is even more acute for third-party service organizations that have been tasked with servicing assets on behalf of the enterprises. The service organizations cannot effectively perform updates, maintenance, and support on devices for which the contracting enterprises themselves do not have up-to-date information on the devices' locations and each device's current software configuration. Any large-scale attempt by a service organization to track down an enterprise's devices and each device's configuration quickly becomes out of date when business practices of the enterprise permit freely moving the devices around and installing new software on the devices.
Furthermore, some enterprises, such as banks have to maintain secure networks to their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). Banks are reluctant and government regulations may prohibit providing third-party service organizations network access to the ATMs. This means the service organization can only service the ATMs by physically being present at the ATMs, which is problematic when the banks freely move the ATMs from branch to branch and the banks are not up to date on the current locations of the ATMs.
In short, enterprises struggle with maintaining an accurate evergreen listing of their assets, which can be under contract for service with third-party organizations. This makes invoicing by the service organizations difficult when invoices submitted to the enterprises require asset location information for devices serviced and the serviced devices have already been relocated by the enterprises to new locations. Moreover, lack of evergreen listings makes timely service of the assets a significant challenge for the service organizations.


A connector includes a passage defined in a rear end thereof and a cover is pivotably connected to the connector. The cover includes a plurality of engaging teeth defined in an underside thereof and an axle passing through the engaging teeth. A terminal has a base from which a contact arm and a connection arm extend. The contact arm has a terminal contact end at a distal end thereof and the connection arm has a connection portion projecting from a distal end thereof. A notch is defined in the connection portion. A sharp plate extends from a top side of the connection arm. The terminal extends through the passage of the connector and the axle of the cover is engaged with the notch of the connection arm and the sharp plate is securely in contact with the inside of the passage of the connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a connection of a connector and a terminal, and in particular to a terminal with a connection arm which is connected to the axle of the cover.
2. The Prior Arts
A conventional way of connection of the terminal 30 and the connector 10 is disclosed in FIGS. 1A and 1B, wherein the connector 10 includes a passage defined in a rear end thereof and two engaging recesses are defined in two ends of the connector 10. A cover 12 including two positioning rods is connected to the connector 10 by engaging the positioning rods into the engaging recesses so that the cover 12 is pivotable about the positioning rods. Both positioning rods and engaging recesses are located at the inner sides of two ends of the connector 10 and therefore not visible in the figures. A plurality of engaging teeth 12a is defined in an underside of the cover 12. A space is defined between the passage and the engaging recesses so that a flatcable can be inserted into the space and the cover 12 is then closed to let the line contact ends be in contact with the terminal contact ends.
Referring to FIG. 2, the cover 12 includes an axle 12b which passes through the engaging teeth 12a. The two positioning rods are formed at the two ends of the axle 12b. When the terminal 30 extends through the passage, a connection arm 30b of the terminal 30 is engaged with the axle 12b of the cover 12 by means of a notch 30d as shown in FIG. 3A. The cover 12 is then pivoted to its open position as shown in FIG. 3B and a flatcable 40 is inserted into the space as shown in FIG. 3C. As shown in FIG. 3D, the cover 12 is then pivoted downward to its close position and the contact arm 30a of the terminal 30 is deformed slightly and the flatcable 40 is clamped between the cover 12 and the contact arm 30a.

Method for connecting a terminal to a connector and structure of the terminal


A browser based scanning utility is provided that includes an applet delivery module for delivering a scanning applet to a web browser. A browser based capture application executes the scanning applet using the browser. The browser based capture application initiates a call. A web scanning module receives the call and activates one or more scanners for scanning one or more documents into specific image files. The web scanning module uploads the specific images to a document capture server for storage and maintenance.

The invention is related to field of network applications, and in particular to a browser-based scanning utility.
Traditional document management, requiring extensive use of locally attached scanning devices, file servers, databases, and the like, has long been rooted in the technology of yesterday: namely, Windows-based client/server technology. A new era of computing is currently being ushered in; one that revolves around portability, cross platform support, and a new and growing installed base of mobile devices driven by Google, the resurgent Apple Inc. and others. Leveraging this new and increasingly adopted technology environment requires redesigning and, in many cases, reinventing wheels that no longer fit. Unfortunately, the enterprise document management space is largely tied to legacy client/server architecture. While most vendors offer a lightweight web client with limited functionality—to present a veneer of modernity—the bulk of the underlying technology is built on traditional Windows-based client server architecture. As Java technology continues to evolve and consume a greater percentage of development projects worldwide, more and more leading software companies are leveraging its portability and multi-platform capabilities to prepare for the next-generation Internet. The next generation Internet is one based on portability, open standards, and mobile device support. The ability to provide full document management functionality in the absence of traditional client/server technology while supporting any web browser on any platform along with a wide range of mobile devices presents a number of unique challenges.


A programmable co-processor system comprising a datapath, a microprogram, and a microcontroller is provided. The datapath includes one or more datapath elements operable to receive input signals. The microprogram memory includes a microprogram operable to control the datapath in order to process the input signals. The microcontroller is operable to modify the microprogram based on a modification command.

A co-processor is an additional processor that performs one or more specific tasks to reduce the load on the main processor, or CPU. For example, many personal computers include co-processor chips to perform specific arithmetic functions, which may significantly increase the speed of the computer.
One particular application in which co-processors are commonly used is for processing wireless telecommunication signals. Telecommunication signals transmitted by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, or PDAs, may be received by a wireless antenna and communicated to a base station node. The base station node then processes the received signals before sending them toward their final destination. The base station node may include one or more co-processors to perform specific tasks in processing the signals. For example, a base station node operating under the 3GPP FDD standard may include one or more co-processors to perform correlation functions for RAKE receiver operations, delay path searching, and preamble detection.


A razor handle, shaving system and shaving device whereby precise finger-tip control of the pitch, angle and pressure applied the fixed or replaceable shaving blades may be precisely controlled via the incremental movement of a ring shaped cylindrical handle.

1. Field of the Invention
This present invention relates to a novel razor for shaving, and more particularly to a novel handle which provides for precise incremental rotational movement of the single or dual blades systems. This invention also provides a novel method of shaving resulting from the unique features of the rolling razor handle.
2. Related Art
Razors for shaving, both disposable razors and cartridge systems, are well known in the art. A commonality found in the prior art is the elongated handle, it may be wide, it may be narrow and it is often surfaced for better gripping, but the razor head, whether it be single, dual or triple blades is supported on an elongated substantially stick-like member such as those illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,016 issued to Nissen and U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,824 issued to Ferraro.
Certain restrictions and limitations arise from the stick nature of an elongated handle used with a shaving system. It is difficult to accommodate the changing contours of the human face and the changing growth patterns of facial hair using a stick handle razor. Finger tip gripping of a stick handle may allow for greater maneuverability but the trade-off is to greatly limit control. To compensate for the inherent limitations of stick-like handles both the Nissen and Ferraro patents illustrate pivoting and swiveling shaving heads affixed to a stick-like handle.
Dual headed razors are found in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,328 issued to Sokoloff, teaches a full sized blade coupled with a reduced size trimming blade, mounted opposite each other for easy access. The Sokoloff razor is not intended as a bidirectional device.
A purportedly bidirectional razor for shaving is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,189 issued to Andrews. The Andrews systems illustrates a pair of mirror image blades on a stick handle and a method of pushing and pulling the blades against ones skin by moving the handle in one direction and then another. Aside from control problems with pushing a razor blade at the end of a stick handle up and against ones face and the associated instability and lack of control no mention suggestion or illustration of a ring shaped rotatable handle is taught therein, nor is a method of shaving using bidirectional movement by rolling the handle around the forefinger thereby always utilizing a controlled pulling action to shave.
Other novel feature or improvements from the prior art include the ergonomic ring shaped handle, finger mounting and precise pitch control.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel shaving device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel shaving method.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel single shaving head device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel dual shaving head device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel single shaving head method.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel dual shaving head method.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel disposable shaving device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel shaving device with replaceable blade cartridges.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel replaceable blade cartridge.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel replaceable blade cartridge mounting system.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved handle for a shaving device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel ring handle for a shaving device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel finger insertable handle for a shaving device.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a novel incrementally rotatable handle for a shaving device.
The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claim. The invention itself, however, both as to configuration, and method of operation, and the advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A new and distinct Carex cultivar named ‘CarFit01’ is disclosed, characterized by very compact growth, distinctive white variegation on the leaf margins and strong root establishment and development. The new variety is a Carex, suitable for commercial production in 15 to 19 inch pots.

The new cultivar was discovered by the inventor, Patrick FitzGerald, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland in August of 2006 as a naturally occurring, whole plant mutation found in a group of tissue culture plantlets in a commercial laboratory. The parent variety is an unpatented variety, Carex oshimensis 'Evergold.'
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar 'CarFit01' was first performed by tissue culture in Stoneyford, Kilkenny, Ireland in the Summer of 2007 and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type on successive generations.


A system for generating energy from sea or ocean waves flowing toward a shore, comprises a channel or a container and a slanting structure constructed above the surface of the sea. The slanting structure is located in the way of waves toward the channel or container so the waves are lifted along the slanting structure wherein the wave energy is transformed into a generally homogenous flow. The water flow enters the channel or container to fill it to a level higher than sea level. Preferably, the slanting structure is placed in a location where the horizontal distance between adjacent waves is twice the depth (vertical distance) between the adjacent waves.

The present application claims priority from the patent application filed in Israel by the present applicant, application No. 180052 filed on 14 Dec. 2006, and additions to the above application filed on 28 Oct. 2007.
The present invention relates to a system, whereby sea waves are captured and transformed into a current flowing in a channel constructed above the surface of the sea, generating energy by a continuous and homogenous flow of water on its way back to the sea.
The creation of energy from sea waves has been known in the past. Up to the present, the creation of energy from the sea or ocean waves has been based on the exploitation of these waves in their direct natural form, according to a wide variety of methods. However, these methods were characterized by a fundamental disadvantage: Lack of homogenous continuity between one wave and the next, thus considerably complicating the process of energy production.

System for generating energy from sea waves


An image forming apparatus includes a carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a plurality of development cartridges which develop the electrostatic latent image with toner to form a toner image to be transferred to a recording sheet, and a changeover unit which changes the development cartridges so that any one of the development cartridges is moved so as to face a surface of the carrier for development. At least two of the development cartridges contain the same color toners. The changeover unit repeatedly changes the development cartridges before an expiration of lifetime of one of the development cartridges which is positioned so as to face the carrier for the development.

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more specifically, to an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of development cartridges containing the same color toners are mounted, and capable of reducing bad effects as much as possible, the bad effects being occurred by operating a development cartridge to be operated excluding and not operating the remaining development cartridges.
Also, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more specifically, to an image forming apparatus which can smoothly continue an image forming operation when a plurality of development cartridges containing the same color toners are mounted to form a monochromatic image.
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus, using an electro-photographic recording method, in which an electrostatic latent image is exposed and formed on the surface of a carrier made of a photoreceptor is known. In the image forming apparatus, a toner image on the surface of the carrier, which is carried by developing the electrostatic latent image with toner, is transferred to a recording medium such as a recording sheet to thereby form an image. The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner by rotating a developing roller facing the surface of the carrier, and transferring and sticking toner on the surface of the developing roller to the carrier. The developing roller is supplied with toner by rotating a supply roller rotating within a toner containing space in pressure contact with the developing roller.
In the image forming apparatus employing such an electro-photographic recording method, a development cartridge in which a developing roller and a supply roller are arranged in a container containing toner is attached or removed to replenish toner. As the image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus having a construction in which a plurality of development cartridges is mountably configured, and the same color toners are contained within the development cartridges has been suggested. In this case, a development cartridge which sticks toner to the surface of the carrier is changed over at a timing of runout of toner, so that the number of replenishment of toner can be reduced to continue image forming (for example, see JP-A-2002-351190 and JP-A-2003-316106).
The image forming apparatuses disclosed in JP-A-2002-351190 and JP-A-2003-316106, are rotary type image forming apparatuses in which a plurality of development cartridges are accommodated and mounted around a rotating shaft of a rotary unit. However, there is also a tandem type image forming apparatus in which a plurality of development cartridges or carries is juxtaposed linearly.
As thus described, in the image forming apparatuses to which a plurality of development cartridges can be mounted, as disclosed in JP-A-2002-351190 and JP-A-2003-316106, a development cartridge facing the carrier is changed over to the next development cartridge after runout of toner in the facing development cartridge, thereby image forming does not need a work of replenishing toner. In addition, JP-A-2002-351190 discloses a changing over of a development cartridges before a toner around the supply roller runs out. This construction permits eliminating the timing for determining whether or not toner runs out completely and development becomes disabled, and realizing more continuous image forming.
Further, as such image forming apparatuses, an image forming apparatus in which only a developing roller and a supply roller of a development cartridge which faces the surface of a carrier and develops an electrostatic latent image is coupled with a driving source to transmit a rotational driving force is known.
However, in this type of image forming apparatus, since the remaining development cartridges excluding a development cartridge which performs image forming processing remains stationary, a state in which the developing roller and the supply roller are pressure-contacted with each other at the same place lasts. Therefore, when a development cartridge is changed over to perform new image forming, the effects may appear. Specifically, when a developing roller stops for a prolonged period of time, a trace which has been pressure-contacted with a supply roller may remain on the surface of the developing roller. In this case, when toner is stuck onto the surface of the carrier, a place corresponding to the position of pressure contact and other places does not match. As a result, for a while after starting to form an image, a striped trace (so called, leaving banding) for every one rotation of the developing roller may appear in a toner image, which may deteriorate the quality of an image to be formed.
Although a case in which a trace of pressure contact with the supply roller appears in a toner image as so-called leaving banding during a period for which the developing roller stops which deteriorates the image quality is described as an example in the present specification, the present invention is not limited thereto. A case in which a difference in characteristics may occur during the stopping period of development cartridges is also included because the developing surface of the developing roller is divided into two of inside and outside. If exposure period to the outside becomes, for example, long, a toner to stick to changes in quality, and it is included in a problem by leaving banding when development surface of a developing roller changes in quality by a toner to stick to. In addition, such problems are solved by rotating the developing roller.
Moreover, an another image forming apparatus suggests a construction which permits an image forming operation without causing a problem, such as noise, even when development cartridges are not accommodated (mounted) at all accommodating positions of the rotary unit (for example, see JP-A-2003-50494).
However, in a case in which development cartridges containing the same color toners are not mounted at accommodating positions adjacent to the developing rotary unit, when a toner within a development cartridge used runs out in forming a large amount of monochromatic images, the rotational operation (the changeover operation of development cartridges) should be repeated to move a development cartridge to be used to a developing position, which may take much time.
Here, as the image forming apparatus including the rotary unit, an image forming apparatus provided with a partition plate which partitions the interior of a container of a development cartridge, which contains toner, into a small space within which a supply roller rotates is known. In the image forming apparatus, it is necessary to put together (refresh) the toner within the container once by rotating the rotary unit so as to turn a development cartridge upside down after a certain amount of images has been formed, and then perform an action of replenishing toner into the space within which the supply roller rotates.
Specifically, in such as image forming apparatus, even before the toner within the development cartridge runs out, an action of replenishing toner into the space within which the supply roller rotates is performed in parallel with performing a changeover operation in which the rotary unit is rotated at a predetermined timing to cause the developing roller to face the carrier.
From the foregoing, even in a case in which the development cartridges containing the same color toners are mounted at all accommodating positions of the rotary unit, if the runout of toner occurs in any one of the development cartridges due to a difference between the consumptions of toner, the rotational operation of the rotary unit should be repeated to move a usable development cartridge to the developing position, similar to the above, even during the rotational operation of the rotary unit accompanied with the operation of replenishing the other development cartridges with toner.
As thus described, when the changeover operation of development cartridges are repeated during continuous image forming operation, an operator suffer from stress because he/she thinks that the image forming is not smoothly performed, which becomes a problem.

Image forming apparatus with changeover control for development cartridges


A ground fault detector for TI span equipment for transmitting signals from a central office to a network interface unit and receiving signals at the central office from the network interface unit. The TI span equipment includes a first pair of cables for transmitting data payload from the central office to the network interface unit and a second pair of cables for receiving data payload at the central office from the network interface unit. A line repeater is located along the TI span equipment between the central office and the network interface unit. The line repeater includes a transformer with core and a first, second, third and fourth coil. The coils are coupled to the transmit and receive span, and the transformer core saturates when the current differential between the coils exceeds a predetermined level. When the core is saturated, signals present on the first coil are not imposed on the second coil. A detector device senses the absence of a signal on the second coil determines that there is a ground fault.

The present invention relates generally to data links for telecommunications transmission facilities, and, more particularly, a ground fault detector for T1 span equipment.
Many telecommunications transmission facilities include a central office that transmits data signals over transmission lines to remote terminals and customer premises. The signals may be sent over two pairs of transmission lines in a digital format or differentially on two conductors, known as a Tip-Ring Pair.
The Bell telephone system in the United States, for example, has a widely utilized Digital "D" multiplexing pulse code modulation system. A "D" channel bank, for example, commonly provides multiple DS-1 signals that are carried on T1 span equipment. One pair of cables is provided for each direction of transmission.
The data, or "payload," signals to be sent over the transmission lines are sent differentially on the Tip-Ring Pair. A longitudinal, or common mode, direct current is applied to the simplex lead to power T1 line repeaters. Payload signals are transmitted by a telephone company central office to a series of regenerative repeaters or line repeaters.
The repeaters are spaced along the transmission lines approximately every 3,000-6,000 feet. When the first repeater receives the data from the central office, the signal may have degraded due to line losses, noise, interference and distortion. The repeater recognizes the presence or absence of a pulse at a particular point in time, and thereafter, if appropriate, generates a clean, new pulse.
The repeaters are powered by the transmission cable to generate the new pulses. The new pulses are transmitted by the line repeater along more cable to either another line repeater or to a Network Interface Unit ("NIU"). The NIU, in turn, transmits signals to and from equipment on the customer premises.
Some repeaters include a dead loop feature. In dead loop mode, a break in the transmission line or a disconnection of the customer's equipment from the NIU causes the line repeater to dead loop such that the powering current feed transmitted from the central office is routed back to the central office through the last repeater in the chain capable of being powered. Accordingly, the central office is advised of an abnormality along the transmission cable. The dead loop condition will be released if, for example, the line is repaired or the customer equipment is reconnected to the NIU.
The transmission facilities generally include a central office switch that provides an analog signal to a central office channel unit. The central office channel unit converts a two wire analog signal to a digital data signal transmitted on two pairs of cables. The digital data signals are transmitted to a remote transmission channel unit, or NIU. The digital data signal is then reconverted to an analog signal and provided, in analog form, on two a wire conductor, or Tip-Ring pair, to the customer premises.
Signals that are sent via digital carrier transmission lines from the central office reach a remote terminal unit before reaching the customer premises. The remote terminal then converts the digital signal to an analog signal, which may then be an intelligible signal for a telephone.
In the remote terminal, the digital data signals sent over the T1 lines are converted to analog telephone signals and then supplied to a customer loop telephone line. The analog telephone signals may then be received by the customer premises, which may include telephones and, in some cases, PBX units. Conversely, the remote terminals receive analog telephone signals from the telephones and PBX units and convert them to digital data signals that then can be transmitted over the T1 transmission system.
In operation of the T1 span equipment, there may be a ground fault such that, in effect, a lead is attached between one of the simplex transmission cables and ground. Such a fault may occur due to damage to a transmission cable. For example, construction digging may break or damage a transmission cable, or insulation coating the cable may deteriorate due to weather damage, animal damage, or other causes. Such a ground fault may result in signal loss or noise or errors being introduced into data transmitted along the cables between the central office and the network interface unit.
Occasionally, the central office may perform a test on various T1 span equipment, such as the repeaters, to determine whether direct current (d.c.) is being supplied, and thus whether or not there is a break in the simplex lines providing power to the repeaters. For example, the central office may sense current along the lines from the customer premises and the repeaters to the central office. If power is sensed along the receive line from the repeater, the central office determines that there is no break in the lines. In the case of a high resistance short, however, current is still present along the receive line, and the presence of this current may cause the central office to determine that there is no break in the lines. However, the current level along the receive lines is lower than the current supplied by the central office along the transmit line from the central office to the network interface unit. The system may fail to recognize this differential current and thus fail to report that a ground fault has occurred.

Ground fault detector for T1 span equipment


Disclosed is a skin washing apparatus using a brushless DC motor, including: a case for the skin washing apparatus; an operation unit installed outside the case, for commanding an ON/OFF operation of the skin washing apparatus and an switching operation for forward and reverse rotations in unit of a predetermined angle; a brushless DC motor installed inside the case to be operated by electric power received from the power supply so as to be rotated forwardly and reversely in unit of a predetermined angle; a control unit for outputting an electrical signal for controlling forward and reverse rotations of the brushless electric motor by a predetermined angle in response to a switching signal of the operation unit; and a skin washing brush mounted on a shaft of the brushless electric motor to be rotated forwardly and reversely according to an operation of the brushless electric motor.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a skin washing apparatus using a brushless DC electric motor, and more particularly to a skin washing apparatus using a brushless DC electric motor by which facial skin can be optimally washed with minimum power consumption by applying a brushless DC electric motor and applying a forward/reverse operation mode at a predetermined angle at the same time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, beauty of a human body is desired without distinction of age and sex and skin should be managed cleanly and systematically to achieve beauty of a human body, in particular, beauty of skin. To this end, skin care devices have been developed and used in various forms according to parts of the human body where the skin care devices are to be used to correspond to characteristic of the body parts.
In particular, methods for managing facial skin of the human body basically include skin care with cosmetics, and functional cosmetics are currently used for skin care.
Meanwhile, various apparatuses for washing facial skin have been proposed, which apparatuses largely correspond to a method of simply generating rotations when a washing brush is rotated, and a method of generating vibrations. Two vibration methods are generally applied to generate vibrations.
The method of rotating a washing brush simply through rotation of a motor is generally known in the art, and thus a further description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, a method of employing an eccentric disk and the basic concept of a motor which rotates in a spiral arc form will be briefly mentioned.
First, FIG. 1 shows a general eccentric rotation type vibration motor. As shown, a PCB positioning part is formed in a lower case 2 so that a PCB circuit board 6 may be positioned in the PCB positioning part 1. A permanent magnet 3 is fixedly installed at an upper portion of the lower case 2. A rotator 7 is rotatably installed above a stator, that is, the permanent magnet 3 while a gap being maintained between the stator and the rotator 7, and the rotator 7 includes a coil 8 and a segment 9 which are largely designed to be eccentric. In addition, the rotator 7 has an eccentric mass at one side thereof and functions as an eccentric mass.
The vibration motor requires a rectifying circuit by which coils through which current flows are changed according to a position of a rotator to rotate the rotator in a predetermined direction. A current circuit of a coin type vibration motor includes a brush 5 electrically connected to the PCB circuit 4 of the PCB circuit board 6, and a segment 9. In the principle of rotating the coin type vibration motor, the DC power input from the PCB circuit 4 flows to the coil through the segment 9 contacting the brush 5. Then, the segment 9 contacting the brush 5 is changed by the rotating rotator, rectifying the current.
Second, there is a vibration method employing a voice coil, which is most widely used in hard disk drives, and a schematic principle thereof will be described by using a hard disk drive. As shown in FIG. 2, a magnetic disk 110 is rotatably mounted to a spindle motor (not shown) installed in a base frame 100, a magnetic head actuator 200 driven to be rotated about a pivot shaft P to fly a magnetic head h on the disk 110, and a cover frame (not shown) coupled to the frame, for protecting the disk 110 and the magnetic head actuator 200 and interrupting introduction of foreign substances. Reference numeral 120 is a circuit driving part for transferring a signal between a main circuit board (not shown) interfacing with a device body such as a computer and the magnetic head h and controlling driving of the magnetic head actuator 200.
As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic head actuator 200 includes a voice coil motor (VCM) 210 having a lower yoke 211 and an upper yoke 212 to which a pair of magnets M are attached to face each other, a swing arm 220 rotated about the pivot shaft P by the voice coil motor 210 as a head stack assembly (HSA), a suspension 230 supported by the swing arm 220 and having a magnetic head h at a tip end thereof, and a bobbin 230 branched to correspond to the swing arm 220 and on which a coil is wound to be located between the magnets M.
The voice coil motor 210 is a kind of driving motor for rotating the swing arm 220 to move the magnetic head h to a desired position on the disk and uses Fleming's left hand rule, that is, a principle of generating a force when current flows through a conductor. A force is applied to the bobbin 230 to rotate the bobbin 230 by applying current to the coil 231 located between the magnets M. Accordingly, as the swing arm 220 branched to correspond to the bobbin 230 is rotated, the magnetic head h supported at an end of the swing arm 220 flies radially on the rotating disk 110 to search for and access a track, and the accessed information is signal-processed by the circuit driving part 120 and is recorded in or output from a computer.
Meanwhile, although the motor currently applied to skin washing uses a rotary motor or systems employing arc-form, spiral, reciprocal motions, the size of the product increases and current consumption also increases, reducing a life span of the battery.
Further, since a motor is rotated only in one direction according to the related art, the skin washing brush is also rotated in one direction when a washing liquid is applied to a face, resulting in a limit in the washing liquid uniformly contacting the skin.

Skin washing machine using brushless DC motor, method of controlling same, and program recording medium for performing the controlling method


A voltage generation unit generates a driving voltage for driving an LED. A first feedback path feeds back a voltage according to a voltage at one end of the LED. A second feedback path feeds back a voltage according to a voltage at the other end of the LED. A current driving circuit is provided on a path on which the voltage generation unit drives the LED. A control circuit controls the voltage generation unit so that one of first and second feedback voltages fed back by the first and second feedback paths, respectively is closer to a predetermined reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A small-sized information terminal such as a recent cellular telephone or a PDA (personal digital assistance) includes a device, for example, an LED (light emitting diode) employed as a backlight of a liquid crystal, that needs higher voltage than a voltage output from a battery. For example, a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is often employed in a small-sized information terminal of this type. A voltage output is generally about 3.5 volts (V) and the voltage output from the Li-ion battery even when the Li-ion battery is fully charged is as low as about 4.2 V. The LED needs a voltage higher than the battery voltage as a driving voltage. In this way, if the higher voltage than the battery voltage is required, the voltage necessary to drive a load circuit such as the LED is obtained by boosting the battery voltage using a switching regulator or a booster circuit such as a charge pump circuit (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-223095).
Meanwhile, a control circuit controls a boosting operation performed by such a booster circuit by feeding back a voltage at a certain terminal on the load circuit to the control circuit so that the load circuit can stably operate. For example, to drive the LED, the following method may be considered. A constant current source for driving the LED is connected to a cathode terminal of the LED, and the control circuit controls the cathode terminal so that a voltage at the cathode terminal is kept to a constant value (=Vx) while maintaining the brightness of the LED. The voltage Vx is decided so as not to saturate the constant current source. At this time, the voltage at the cathode terminal is fed back to the control circuit of the booster circuit, whereby the control circuit controls the booster circuit so that the voltage at the cathode terminal coincides with the voltage Vx.
Under these circumstances, the inventor of the present invention has recognized the following problems. According to the conventional method, a voltage at an anode terminal of the LED, that is, an output voltage of the booster circuit is stabilized to Vf+Vx while the constant current circuit applies current to the LED, where Vf is a forward voltage flowing through the LED.
When the LED is switched to an off state, the output voltage gradually lowers if a discharge path from an output capacitor of the booster circuit is present besides the LED. If no other discharge path than the LED is present, then electric charges are held in the output capacitor, and the output voltage is kept almost constant. Namely, the output voltage is according to a load state, that is, variable. If the output voltage is variable, the variable output voltage may possibly influence functions of the other circuits such as short-circuit detection and protection circuits. As a result, the booster circuit disadvantageously turns unstable as a whole.


An electronic device is disclosed. In addition, various embodiments understood through the disclosure may be possible. The electronic device includes a first antenna and a second antenna, a wireless communication circuit that is electrically connected to the first antenna and the second antenna and transmits and/or receives a signal through the first antenna and the second antenna, a switch that is electrically connected to the wireless communication circuit and is selectively connected to one of the first antenna and the second antenna, and a detection circuit that measures a magnitude of a first signal transmitted through the first antenna and a magnitude of a second signal through the second antenna, the second signal being obtained from at least a part of the first signal transmitted through the first antenna.

An electronic device that performs wireless communication such as a terminal may include a plurality of antennas. When a user of the electronic device holds only a portion corresponding to at least some of the plurality of antennas (e.g., the lower portion of the electronic device), the performance of at least one of the plurality of antennas may be deteriorated due to the user's hand. Therefore, it is necessary to perform switching of an antenna to be used according to the antenna state of the electronic device.
According to the prior art, the electronic device may determine whether to switch an antenna based on a received signal strength (e.g., a signal to noise ratio (SNR) or a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)) obtained through each of the plurality of antennas.

Wireless communication circuit for supporting antenna switching and device including same


A scheduler in, for example, an off-load engine reports events for processing data frames to processing engines. Each event to report has associated to it an event information to report to a respective processing engine for processing, for example, a data frame. Responsive to a prompt having a specified time, a processor looks up the event information to report at the specified time in one or more memories. For each event information to report at the specified time, at least some of the event information is forwarded to the respective processing engine. A state machine is used as the processor to implement functionality of the scheduler in hardware thereby providing off-loading of processing in the off-load engine from software to hardware.

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) defines standard interfaces between network nodes in order to aid interoperability between nodes from many vendors. Referring to FIG. 1, shown is a block diagram of a conventional UMTS network generally indicated by 5. In FIG. 1, a Radio Network Controller (RNC) 10 (two shown) forms part of the network 5. The RNC 10 is specified by three primary interfaces, Iub, Iur and Iu. Iub links 20 connect node Bs 30 with the RNC 10. Iur links 22 interconnect the RNCs 10 to enable radio diversity as MSs (Mobiles Stations) move throughout the network 5. Iu links 40 carry traffic between the RNCs 10 and a UMTS core network 50. In an Iu link there are two separate link types, Iu-CS and Iu-PS. Iu-CS links carry circuit switched traffic such as voice traffic between the RNC 10 and the UMTS core network 50. Iu-PS links carry packet (data) traffic between the RNCs 10 and the UMTS core network 50.
The standards that define UMTS are specified by a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Program) and consist of a number of releases. The UMTS standards define many different types of Frame Protocols, one for each channel type: Dedicated Transport Channel (DTCH or DCH), Forward Access CHannel (FACH), Random Access Channel (RACH), Paging Channel (PCH), etc. Of these channel types, the bulk of a frame protocol bandwidth is consumed by the DCH and such a channel is used, in most circumstances, by UE (User Equipment) 35 such as MSs for example, to connect to the network 5. Data processed at the RNC 10 is processed through several layers for both an uplink 60 and a downlink 70. For any one of the RNCs 10, the uplink 60 is defined for transmission from one of the node Bs 30 to the UMTS core network 50 through the RNC 10 and the downlink 60 is defined for transmission from the UMTS core network 50 to the node B 30 through the RNC 10.
FIG. 2 shows an example set of protocol layers implemented by the RNC 10. As shown in FIG. 2, data traffic at the RNC 10 is processed through an Iu protocol layer 80, an RLC (Radio Link Control) layer 90, a MAC (Media Access Control) layer 100, and an Iub FP (Frame Protocol) layer 110.
The Iub FP layer 110 provides formatting of data frames on the downlink 70. For the uplink 60, the Iub FP layer 110 handles for example DHO (Diversity Hand-Off), payload integrity, and parsing.
In the network 5, the UE 35 transmit traffic of any type on a shared medium and a procedure must be invoked to distribute packet transmission among all users. This procedure is known as a MAC protocol. The MAC layer 100 is responsible for mapping logical channels into physical channels. The MAC layer 100 is also used for priority handling of the UE 35 and data flow of the UE 35, traffic monitoring, ciphering, multiplexing, etc. In UMTS W-CDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access), there are several packet transmission mechanisms possible according to packet size, priority level, quality of service, frequency of occurrence etc. In addition, UMTS effectively supports a wide range of services ranging from very low bit rate to very high bit rate and from constant bit rate to variable bit rate on a single connection. This is achieved using service multiplexing which allows efficient utilization of radio resources. All these issues are addressed by the MAC layer 100. The MAC layer 100 also provides ciphering (encryption) in some cases.
The RLC layer 90 is responsible for acknowledged or unacknowledged data transfer, and transparent data transfer. The RLC layer 90 is also responsible for accuracy of data sent by UE 35.
The Iu protocol layer 80 provides formatting of data frames on the uplink 60.
In conventional designs, frames being transmitted through the layers 80, 90, 100, 110 are processed through the same processing path using software. Software is used because the UMTS standards define many different types of frame protocols for each channel type, and each channel type is processed differently. With the use of software at the RNC 10 data frames of different types are processed in a single processing path; however, the use of such generic software requires extensive CPU resources at the RNC 10 especially when there is a large number of users. As such, processing data frames in a single processing path using currently available software at the RNC 10 is very inefficient and imposes a large demand on CPU usage. In addition, in UMTS typically the bulk of a frame protocol bandwidth is consumed by the DCH.
Processing of data of a single type could be done using mostly hardware; however, in UMTS since different types of frame protocols are used, the data associated with the DCH, which form the bulk of the frame protocol bandwidth, is processed using software and this further compromises efficiency at the RNC 10.
Another problem with current software implementations for processing data frames is in DHO (Diversity Hand-Off). In some cases, for the uplink 60 the RNC 10 receives data frames which originate, for example, from one of MSs as UE 35 but which flow through different paths in the network 5 and are received at the RNC 10 from different node Bs 30. The data frames are collected and a combined data frame often referred to as a best data frame is obtained from the collected data frames. This process is referred to as DHO and is handled by the Iub FP layer 110 using software in order to deal with the different frame protocols. The processing in software once again compromises the efficiency of the RNC 10 in processing data traffic.
Yet another problem with current software implementations for processing data frames is in scheduling processing of the data frames. For example, in DHO data frames are combined into a combined data frame and for such a procedure to work, the procedure must be scheduled in a manner which allows sufficient time to be given for the arrival of several data frames before they can be combined. Current implementations make use of software based timers implemented on a general purpose operating system. Such implementations impose strict real time requirements on the system running the software and requires management of sophisticated timing systems. As such, one particular limitation is that the current implementations have a low capacity. In addition, the current implementations are also expensive.

Scheduling data frames for processing: apparatus, system and method


The present invention relates to improving the privacy of biometric information used in biometric authentication of identity by retaining all biometric information corresponding to a given user, and conducting all transactions related thereto (i.e., the actual authentication process) on a client (i.e., user) side of the system, thereby maximizing the user's control over biometric information corresponding to himself and preventing the storage of biometric templates on third-party servers outside of the control of the concerned individual. In a particular example of the present invention, security for the biometric information is further enhanced by encrypting the biometric template (used as a comparison reference during authentication, as is known) stored on the client side and completely destroying an original unencrypted version of the template. Also specified is secure storage of encryption keys for encrypting biometric data at the client. In yet a further example of the present invention, authentication is preferably conducted using the encrypted biometric templates.

Biometrics relates to measuring and analyzing features of the human body such as fingerprints, retina vein patterns, irises, voice patterns, facial structure, and hand/finger measurements for either authentication (i.e., one-to-one verification—"Am I who I claim I am?"), or identification (i.e., one-from-many identification—"Who am I?") purposes.
A particular use of biometric authentication is to provide a more secure identity authentication, compared with, for example, access badges (which can be lost or stolen) or pass codes (which can be used by someone other than the authorized individual).
Generally, biometric systems include capture devices to acquire biometric information, software algorithms for effective authentication/identification, and databases that store reference biometric data for comparison.
Biometric data is generated first by a step of enrollment in which a biometric characteristic, such as a fingerprint, is captured by an appropriate sensor, such as a fingerprint scanner. The captured information is then mathematically transformed into a numerical model called a reference template. The mathematical transformation is conventional in the art, specified in, for example, American National Standard for Information Technology—"Finger Minutiae Format for Data Interchange": ANSI INCITS 378-2004 and its revisions. Thereafter, one or more reference templates are stored in a conventional computer database as data files. The reference templates are sometimes known in the art as "gallery" templates. For the sake of simplicity in the present application, they will be referred to herein simply as reference templates.
For authentication (i.e., proof of identity), an individual presents his biometric characteristic by way of an appropriate detector or reader, such as a fingerprint scanner, palm scanner, retinal scanner, or a camera (for taking a facial image, for example). The detected biometric characteristic is then mathematically transformed into an input template (sometimes known in the art as a "probe" template) using the same transformation for creating the reference template, thereby creating an input template that can be compared with a respective stored reference template to confirm or reject the identity of the individual. The process of identification is similar, but the input template instead is compared against a plurality of stored reference templates to try to find a match.
To date, secure biometric authentication systems are based on client-server network arrangements, such as the conventional arrangement shown in FIG. 1.
With reference to FIG. 1, the biometric reference templates 110 are stored on or operably associated with (such as by way of a conventional database) one or more servers 100 remote from the individuals to whom the templates correspond. The user U (on the client side) has a smart device 102, such as a smart phone or computer, which includes an integrated biometric reader, such as a fingerprint scanner. The user U authenticates his identity by swiping the appropriate fingertip 104 across the scanner so that the fingerprint is read. The smart device 102 then transmits an authentication request 106 (including encrypted information corresponding to the fingerprint scan) via a communication network 108 to the remote server 100 where the corresponding reference template 110 is operably stored. A comparison between the fingerprint scan, converted into an input template, and the relevant reference template is made on the server side, and an authentication success/failure response 112 is returned to the client side via the network 108.
However, this conventional arrangement has some important disadvantages with respect to data privacy and network performance.
Ultimately, biometric information is personal information about an identifiable individual. As the use of biometric authentication increases, the manner in which the information is used and retained raises privacy concerns. Indeed, retention of biometric templates on third-party servers outside of the control of the concerned individual raises the possibility of, for example, tracking that individual's location and activity without the individual being aware, particularly if there is not a high degree of trust between the individual and the third party controlling the server.
In addition to the privacy issues mentioned above, the conventional arrangement of FIG. 1 generates a high data transmission load because of the large amount of traffic, usually consisting of large-sized transmissions of encrypted biometric data, directed to the remote server (where the reference biometric templates are stored). The arrangement of FIG. 1 is also not very scalable as a function of the number of client-side users.

Biometric verification with improved privacy and network performance in client-server networks


A method, performed at a transmitter, for increasing communication link distance and reliability in a communication channel or dual function radar communication system, is provided. The method includes calculating an information sequence, indices of non-zero elements and corresponding values in the sequence indicating information bits to be transmitted; shaping a Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) of the information sequence by special frequency-domain spectral shaping (FDSS) in the frequency domain to form a frequency-domain representation of chirp signals; mapping the shaped sequence to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers; performing an inverse DFT of the mapped shaped sequence to form chirp signals to be transmitted; and transmitting the chirp signals with a cycle prefix (CP).

In certain applications, chirp signals can provide robustness against distortions due to the non-linear components in a radio frequency (RF) chain, such as, for example, a non-linear power amplifier (PA). Chirp signals can sweep a large frequency spectrum while still being constant-envelope signals, and can provide good aperiodic autocorrelation (APAC) properties. Chirp signals are useful in such applications as communications systems, radar systems, commercial low-power communications systems such as Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks and short-range wireless sensing systems.
However, one of the challenges associated with using multiple chirp signals for communications is that the peak-to-mean-envelope power ratio (PMEPR) can be relatively high when multiple chirps are transmitted simultaneously. For a practical system, assuring that PMEPR is less than a certain threshold can increase link reliability and link distance. However, while limiting the number of simultaneously transmitted chirps can achieve increased link reliability and distance, this results in increasing spectral efficiency which is also problematic.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and methodology that addresses the aforementioned problems. The present disclosure addresses this need.

Method and system for wideband index modulation based on chirp signals


A low frequency torsional transducer for the generation and/or reception of shear waves in a substantially solid medium. The transducer includes a spool like radiating structure to which are fixedly attached spaced piezoelectric elements. The elements undergo shear movement upon being electrically excited or upon receiving shear waves. This shear movement causes the opposite ends of the radiating structure to move torsionally. The torsional movement causes radiation of shear waves which can be detected by a sensor and used to determine the degree of support for shear wave propagation in the media.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric transducer and, more particularly, to a low frequency transducer for the generation and/or reception of torsional shear waves.
2. Description of the Related Art
Shear waves are transversely propagating waves that can only be supported in an elastic media. Examples of such media are solid and semisolid materials, such as ocean floor sediment. Water does not support the propagation of shear waves because it is a fluid.
In geological surveying and ocean bottom profiling, among other fields, there is a need for measuring the degrees of support and energy dispersion for shear wave propagation. In particular there is a need to measure the sound speed and attenuation of shear-wave propagation in the media at sonar frequencies. The information provided by these measurements can result in improved understanding of a media. This is particularly important for low frequency propagation and the effects that the media can introduce to the propagation and acoustic wave energy.
More particularly, improved sonar equipment can be developed if it is more accurately known how shear waves move through sediment. Further, oil exploration efforts can better locate shale deposits and oil if shear wave movement can be more fully qualified. Also, it is beneficial to be able to monitor shear wave movement through ocean sediment after an earthquake on the ocean floor. It is also desired to detect to extent of shear wave propagation caused by underwater explosions.
The present technique for measuring geo-acoustic properties has been shear wave generation resulting from underwater explosions. This technique is costly and has significant environmental drawbacks. Also, it is difficult to obtain repeatable results or quantitative and qualitative studies.
Other transduction methods have included a bimorph piezoceramic transducer that generates shear waves along a single plane. This type of transducer is quite fragile and is of limited use in low frequency, higher power transmitting applications.
Thus, although means currently exist for measuring the degrees of support for shear wave propagation, they fail to provide the most effective, economical and easy to use transducer. A need therefore exists for an improved shear wave transducer.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A system and method for facilitating and simplifying testing and debugging of computer programs. is described A computer program is broken down to smaller components, such as, classes, functions, or objects, and then those smaller components are tested individually. Accordingly, specific aspects of the computer program can be effectively tested. The user can automatically perform a range of tests on a class or method when the class or method is compiled without integrating the class or method into a larger project.

Reliable and successful software is built through sound, efficient and thorough testing. However, software testing is labor intensive and expensive and accounts for a substantial portion of commercial software development costs. At the same time, software testing is critical and necessary to achieving quality software. Typically, software testing includes test suite generation, test suite execution validation, and regression testing.
Test suite generation involves creating a set of inputs which force the program or sub-program under test to execute different parts of the source code. This generated input set is called a "test suite." A good test suite fully exercises the program's functionality including the individual functions, methods, classes, and the like.
Test suite execution validation involves executing the program using the test suite and evaluating the program's outputs to validate the program's correctness. Errors detected during this task are corrected and the process is repeated until all tests execute correctly. Regression testing involves verifying new versions of the program by running the program against the test suite and comparing its outputs to the expected outputs from the original program. This task ensures that changes in the program source code do not introduce new defects.
Historically, test suite generation, test suite execution validation and regression testing were manual tasks. Only efforts to automate regression testing have proven successful. Nevertheless, as the size and complexity of software programs increase, the need to automate test suite generation and test suite execution validation becomes more important. It is difficult to test all the methods and functions in a complex program and be able to isolate a single faulty function within the complex program.
However, the difficulty in generating a test suite that executes most of the source code increases as the number of functions that call other functions (nested functions) increases within the program under test. A significant number of functions need to be executed to force the program to test a single function that calls those significant number of functions. Furthermore, during development of a complex program by a team of programmers, functions and methods are developed (typically, by different individuals) that may call other parts of the program that has not been developed yet. To be able to thoroughly test these newly developed functions and methods, the programmers need to wait for the whole project to be completed.
A debugger may be used to step through the program under test to facilitate fixing of problems. However, the debugger only follows the path of execution. However, when the users need to go through small modules of the program, they need to define the path by specifying the functions to be called, the arguments, and the values to be returned.
Therefore, what is needed is an automated test tool for assisting programmers in testing software programs that is capable of covering all of the program under test by breaking down the program to smaller components and then test those smaller components individually. Furthermore, what is needed is a system and method for testing a class, function, routine, or method as soon as it is compiled without integrating it into a larger project.

Modularizing a computer program for testing and debugging


A radar data processing device includes at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to digitize a plurality of input signals, wherein each input signal includes radar chirp and radar chirp reflection information received at one of a plurality of receiver antennas. The radar data processing device also includes Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) logic configured to generate FFT output samples based on each digitized input signal, wherein at least some of the generated FFT output samples are across antenna FFT output samples associated with at least two of the plurality of receiver antennas. The radar data processing device also includes a processor configured to determine a plurality of object parameters based on at least some of the generated FFT output samples, wherein the processor uses a neural network classifier trained to provide a confidence metric for at least one of the plurality of object parameters.

In a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar system, a sinusoid signal whose frequency increases linearly over time, also known as a "chirp", is transmitted, and one or more objects around the FMCW radar system reflect the transmitted chirp. A sequence of equispaced chirps are transmitted in a unit called a frame. The FMCW radar system processes chirps and related reflections to analyze characteristics of the object. Exemplary characteristics include the range of an object relative to the radar origin, the velocity of an object relative to the radar original, and the angle of an object relative to a radar origin.
Each chirp and related reflections are signals with varying amplitude as a function of time. One example technique to analyze characteristics of the object(s) involves obtaining Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) output samples of a plurality of input signals, where each input signal includes a chirp and related reflections. By analyzing the FFT output samples, FMCW radar system have been used to identify presence of an object, range of an object relative to a radar origin, velocity of an object relative to a radar origin, and angle of an object relative to a radar origin. For angle identification, FFT output samples based at least in part on reflections received by different receiver antennas are analyzed.

Radar data processing using neural network classifier and confidence metrics


A middle phase power-fetching type phase front/phase tail synchronized modulation circuit, comprising: a power supply unit, that is used to fetch power from the middle phase of an ordinary AC voltage waveform, and supplies it to a phase front/phase tail modulation unit as a normal operating voltage after rectification; and a phase front/phase tail modulation unit, it includes an MCU microcomputer, to control a driving circuit to turn-on, and control synchronously at least two bi-directional electronic power element, to generate a phase front/phase tail turn-on modulation signal. As such, while performing synchronous modulation from phase middle, phase front/phase tail can be retracted inward or expanded outward at the same time, so that phase front/phase tail turn-on output voltage average values complement each other, hereby achieving stable and modulated power supply.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a phase front/phase tail synchronized modulation circuit, and in particular to a middle phase power-fetching type phase front/phase tail synchronized modulation circuit, its output can be modulated synchronously from the middle phase, such that its phase front and phase tail can be refracted inward or expanded outward at the same time, so that the phase front turned-on output voltage average value and the phase tail turned-on output voltage average value complement each other, in achieving a stable and modulated power supply.
The Prior Arts
In general, the phase modulation circuit can be classified into a phase front modulation circuit and a phase tail modulation circuit, and it is utilized extensively in our daily life. In particular, it is used mostly frequently in modulation of illuminance of a light and rotation speed of an electric fan motor.
The conventional phase tail modulations are realized mostly through using a TRIAC transistor switches. The drawback of this type of phase tail modulation is that, once it is triggered to turn-on, it can not be turned off until the end of the phase cycle. In addition, the instantaneous activation current is rather large, thus it is apt to create a large peak current and large Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), and is liable to cause magnetic or light filament vibration noise, to cause light blinking. On the other hand, conventional phase front modulations are realized mostly through an MOSFET transistor switch. In its control, it can first be turned on and then turned off, to trigger accurately the zero phase activation. In application, its advantage is that, it will not produce large peak current, so that in activation, it will not generate large EMI, to reduce filament noise of incandescent light, so that its modulation effect is much better than that of the conventional TRIAC phase tail modulation.
The phase modulation circuit of the Prior Art is realized through phase front modulation or phase tail modulation. In other words, in a half cycle of voltage waveform, only a single phase modulation of either phase front or phase tail is performed. However, when the phase of a power supply is drifting, the increase of width of phase front or phase tail will cause the light to become brighter, while the decrease of width of phase front or phase tail will cause the light to become dimmer, thus it is liable to cause blinking and noise. For this reason, an improvement is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,099,132B2, wherein the circuit is turned on through combining the phase front and phase tail turn-ons, to effectively overcome the shortcomings of the either type of the two single phase modulations mentioned above.
However, quite a lot of the drawbacks still exist in U.S. Pat. No. 7,099,132B2. Refer to FIGS. 9 and 10 respectively for a circuit diagram of U.S. Pat. No. 7,099,132B2 according to the Prior Art; and a waveform diagram of phase front and phase tail modulation of U.S. Pat. No. 7,099,132B2 according to the Prior Art. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in the positive half cycle of AC voltage, MOSFET Q01 is turned on first, then the positive voltage passes through diode FW1 to load LOAD, then it arrives at MOSFET Q01. When voltage of the positive half cycle reaches point PNC1, MOSFET Q02 is turned on, while MOSFET Q01 is turned off. When the voltage in the positive half cycle reaches point PC1, MOSFET Q02 is turned off, while MOSFET Q01 is turned on, till the end of the positive half cycle of voltage. In the negative half cycle of AC voltage, MOSFET Q11 is turned on first, then the negative voltage passes through diode FW2 to load LOAD, then it arrives at MOSFET Q11. When voltage of the negative half cycle reaches point PNC2, MOSFET Q12 is turned on, while MOSFET Q11 is turned off. When the voltage in the negative half cycle reaches point PC2, MOSFET Q12 is turned off, while MOSFET Q11 is turned on, till the end of the negative half cycle of voltage.
In the descriptions above, in the positive and negative half cycles, when MOSFETs Q01 and Q11 are turned on, the current will pass through diode FW1 or FW2, to create voltage drop of 0.7V to cause overheating. The shortcoming of this design is that, basically, when 1 A current is passed, it could cause power loss of 1.4 W. In case 2 A current is passed through, the heat thus produced could cause MOSFETs Q01 and Q11 to reach a temperature as high as 80˜90° C. Another shortcoming of this design is that, the two transistors Q02 and Q12 in the circuit are turned-on and turned-off by the divided voltage of AC power supply. The operation points of transistors Q02 and Q12 are adjusted respectively through using P01 and D11, thus they can not fulfill the demand of complete synchronization. Therefore, the imbalance of output power between the positive half cycle and the negative half cycle could cause blinking of lights. In particular, when the voltage is not stable and can not be synchronized, the blinking of lights is especially evident. A further shortcoming of that U.S. patent is that, it can not derive the power it requires from the AC voltage waveform, a separate power circuit have to be designed to provide power. In addition, that circuit is not capable of preventing overheating and overload. As such, even when overheating occurs, the circuit can not be turned off, such that it will continue to heat up, until the circuit is burned out.
Therefore, presently, the design and performance of phase front/phase tail modulation circuit is not quite satisfactory, and it has much room for improvement.

Middle phase power-fetching type phase front/phase tail synchronized modulation circuit


A merge computer instruction is capable of interleaving respective bytes of two four-byte words and is used once to group most significant bytes and least significant bytes of first and second pixel components represented in a two-byte format and to group most significant bytes and least significant bytes of third and fourth pixel components represented in the two-byte format and a second time to group the most significant bytes of the first, second, third, and fourth pixel components and to group the least significant bytes of the first, second, third, and fourth pixel components. The least significant bytes of the first, second, third, and fourth pixel components represent the first, second, third, and fourth pixel components in a one-byte format and are stored as the respective pixel components in the one-byte format. Thus, four pixel components are converted from a two-byte format to a one-byte format using only two computer instructions. Eight contiguous bytes can be accessed in a single read computer instruction or a single write computer instruction. Accordingly, two read computer instructions retrieve eight pixel components in a two-byte format. The eight pixel components are converted to a one-byte format using four merge computer instructions and are stored in memory using a single write computer instruction. Accordingly, a four-band graphical image which includes one million pixels can be converted from a two-byte processing format to a one-byte display format using one million read computer instructions, one-half million merge computer instructions, and one-half million write computer instructions.

In many computer graphics systems in use today, individual picture elements, i.e., pixels, of a graphical image are stored in a particular format. For example, single-band greyscale pixels are commonly stored as unsigned eight-bit integers, and 4-band color pixels are commonly stored as four contiguous unsigned eight-bit integers. Graphical images, which are generated using data representing a model and a computer process such as a three-dimensional modeling system, frequently involve complex numerical calculations. It is common for a graphical image to be rendered while pixels of the graphical image are represented in a format which provides greater precision that the particular format in which displayed pixels are stored. For example, in a computer graphics system in which each band of a displayed pixel is stored as an eight-bit unsigned integer, each band of a pixel is frequently stored as a sixteen-bit unsigned integer during processing and is converted to an eight-bit unsigned integer substantially immediately prior to display of the pixel. Such format conversion of each band of a pixel is generally referred to as recasting the pixel.
Recasting conventionally requires (i) loading from the memory of a computer a single pixel or a single band of a pixel at a time, (ii) converting the pixel or the band of the pixel to a display format, and (iii) storing the converted pixel of band of a pixel. Graphical images commonly have approximately one thousand rows and approximately one thousand columns of pixels, i.e., approximately one million pixels, and color graphical images typically include four bands per pixel. Therefore, recasting by such conventional techniques typically involves approximately four million load operations and approximately four million store operations. In addition, the recasting of a pixel or a band of a pixel typically requires at least one computer instruction per pixel or per band of each pixel. Therefore, approximately another four million computer instructions are required to recasting each band of each pixel of a typical graphical image.
Processing of graphical images typically requires substantial processing resources. Requiring substantial processing resources to recast the pixels of a graphical image into a display format only adds to the processing resources required to render and display a graphical image. Because of the substantial computer system resources required for such graphical image recasting, a need persists in the industry for ever increasing efficiency in recasting of pixels or bands of pixels of graphical images from a high-precision processing format to a space-efficient display format.