A drive assembly has a housing block, on which there is arranged an electrical machine. The latter has a working shaft mounted in a shaft bore of the housing block and the rotational position of which is detected by a sensor device formed by a signal transmitter and a signal receiver comprising evaluation electronics. The shaft bore is closed by a cover, which is arranged between signal transmitter and signal receiver. The cover is formed in one piece with an electronics housing of the signal receiver. A centering device for the signal receiver is formed on the housing block on the electronics housing. The disclosed drive assembly simplifies the construction, functional testing and mounting of the signal receiver and at the same time improves the protection thereof against damaging environmental influences.

The disclosure relates to a drive assembly, in particular a hydraulic drive assembly of an electronically slip-controllable vehicle brake system.
A drive assembly of this type is already known, for example from DE 10 2014 221 015 A1. In particular, this known drive assembly is a hydraulic assembly of an electronically slip-controllable vehicle brake system. However, the disclosure is not restricted to such hydraulic assemblies but instead can be applied to any desired drive assemblies which are equipped with a motor or generator, for short an electric machine, and in which a rotational position of a working shaft is detected and/or evaluated with the aid of a sensor device. Known sensor devices have a signal transmitter and a signal receiver with associated evaluation electronics for this purpose.
In a drive assembly 10 known to the applicant and shown in FIG. 1, the signal transmitter 22 is arranged by means of a holding device 24 on one of the front ends of a working shaft 16 and revolves with this working shaft 16. A signal receiver 26, composed of a circuit board 32, a sensor IC 34 and evaluation electronics 38 formed on the circuit board 32, is fixed to a housing block 12 opposite the signal transmitter 22. For this purpose, conventional fixing means arranged on the circumference of the signal receiver 26 are used. In order to protect the evaluation electronics 38, the circuit board 32 and the sensor IC 34 against external damage and against undesired environmental influences, these are accommodated in the interior of an electronics housing 50 that is open toward the signal transmitter 22. A cover 40 pressed into the shaft bore 14 closes the shaft bore 14 toward the interior of said electronics housing 50. The cover 40 is formed in the shape of a cup, encloses the signal transmitter 22 circumferentially and, before the signal receiver 26 is anchored on the housing block 12, is anchored in the shaft bore 14 in a dedicated operation, preferably pressed in.
In addition to reliable separation of the electronics housing from the shaft bore, for the most precise detection possible of the rotational position of the working shaft, it is important that the signal transmitter and the signal receiver are aligned with each other and are arranged in the axial extension of the working shaft. Such an axially and radially aligned mounting of these components is demanding in terms of manufacture and often results in subsequent outlay on inspection and testing.

Drive assembly, in particular hydraulic assembly of an electronically slip-controllable vehicle brake system


An internal combustion engine is provided, which includes an engine body provided with a cylinder and a piston reciprocatably accommodated in the cylinder, a crankshaft that converts reciprocating movement of the piston into rotational movement, and a bearing member pivotally supporting the crankshaft via lubricating oil. The crankshaft includes a crank journal pivotally supported by the bearing member, and a counterweight extending radially outward from an axial end part of the crank journal. The crank journal has a recess formed in a part thereof corresponding to the extended position of the counterweight, the recess being depressed radially inwardly. The recess is deeper at the axial end part of the crank journal than an axial center part.

Internal combustion engines are each provided with a crankshaft which converts reciprocating movement of a piston reciprocatably accommodated in a cylinder into rotational movement. Crank journals of the crankshaft are each pivotally supported by a slide bearing via lubricating oil. JP2021-025653A discloses an internal combustion engine in which a plurality of recesses are formed in an outer surface of a crank journal to increase the retention of lubricating oil.
Meanwhile, in order to improve the fuel efficiency of the internal combustion engine, various kinds of mechanical losses need to be reduced. Further, in terms of suppressing friction loss of the sliding surface, it is desirable to use low-viscosity oil as the lubricating oil. However, when the low-viscosity oil is used, poor lubrication may occur in the bearing parts of the crank journals, and therefore, wear may occur in the crank journals. Further, since the crankshaft is pressed in a direction which intersects with the axial direction when the piston receives combustion pressure, a deforming force acts on the crankshaft. Therefore, wear due to the deformation of the crank journal itself may also become a problem.


Electrical arc suppression when terminals under load are connected/unconnected is provided via an applied magnetic field causing the arc path to be lengthened, with the consequences that the voltage necessary for the arc to be sustained is increased and the arc energy is decreased. In a preferred form, at least one magnet with a high permeability flux return path is placed adjacent the terminal proximity zone of initial/final touching of mating terminals. The magnetic field increases the arc length, and thereby suppresses the arc by increasing the voltage necessary to sustain the arc and decreasing the energy of the arc.

The present invention relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly to electrical arc suppression when the electrical connectors are separated from each other under load.
Power and signal distribution connectors mechanically and electrically connect at least two conductors at, ideally, the lowest possible power loss. Connectors are not designed to make and break an electrical circuit. Devices such as switches, relays and contactors are designed to switch current/voltage circuits. Nevertheless, during their service life, connectors can be plugged/unplugged under load many times (i.e. xe2x80x9chot pluggedxe2x80x9d). Very often this disconnection under load occurs when physically switching off the power in advance would be considered time-consuming and inconvenient. Also, connectors in automotive power networks are plugged and unplugged under load during diagnostic procedures, fuses are plugged at short circuit conditions, and so forth. Under some circumstances in the above situations, the connector suffers no significant damage with multiple engages/disengages. Other times, just one disconnect will damage the terminals beyond repair. In other words, under specific conditions, a long arc may be generated at engage/disengage, which may cause extensive terminal erosion. This erosion may damage the physical shape of the terminal, preventing re-engagement or proper terminal contact forces after assembly. Additionally, the electrical arc may have serious consequences for the environment or nearby personnel.
FIGS. 1A and 1B depict a pair of matable electrical connectors 10, wherein the male terminal 12 thereof has just been separated from the female terminal 14 thereof, and the tips of the terminals are presently within the terminal proximity zone Z. By xe2x80x9cterminal proximity zonexe2x80x9d is meant a zone length over which an electrical arc is most prone to arise when the terminals are subjected to an applied voltage (that is, when under load), which length may vary depending, for example, upon circuit load and atmospheric conditions. An electrical arc 16 leaps between the closest tips 12t, 14t of the terminals 12, 14, taking a most direct path therebetween. Because a most direct path is taken, the arc energy is maximal, resulting in potential for terminal erosion and for possible personnel injury.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable if such arcs could be suppressed (quenched).
As shown at FIGS. 2A and 2B, it is well known that if a wire 20 is located between attracting magnets 22, 24 so as to be inside the magnetic field B, and if a current I is flowing along the wire, then a force is applied to the moving electrons by the magnets, referred to as the xe2x80x9cLorentz Forcexe2x80x9d. The direction of the force depends upon the direction of the magnetic field B and the direction of the current I, as shown. The resulting force F applied to the wire depends upon the magnitude of both the current I and the magnetic field B, the length of the wire exposed to the magnetic field, and the relative orientation between the wire and the magnetic field, given by:
F=IlB sin xcex8,
where l is the length of wire exposed to the magnetic field B and xcex8 is the angle between B and I, as shown by FIG. 2. When the angle xcex8 is ninety degrees (that is, I is perpendicular to B), sin xcex8 equals one and the force F is a maximum. When the angle xcex8 is zero degrees (that is, I is parallel to B) sin xcex8 equals zero and the force F is a minimum (equal to zero).
It would be desirable if somehow the above discussed Lorentz Force could be adapted to suppress electrical arcing when connectors are connected/unconnected under load.
The present invention provides electrical arc suppression when terminals under load are connected/unconnected via an applied magnetic field causing the arc path to be lengthened, with the consequences that the voltage necessary for the arc to be sustained is increased and the arc energy is decreased.
An electrical arc may be generated between terminals (including electrodes, contacts, etc.) when both the voltage and the current exceed certain minimum values. These minimum values are determined by the electrode material (e.g. silver 12V/0.4A, and carbon 20V/0.01A). In this regard, a magnetic field electrical arc suppression assembly according to the present invention includes at least one magnet placed adjacent the location (terminal proximity zone) of initial/final touching of mating connector terminals. The magnetic field produced the at least one magnet pervades the space occupied by the air gap between the terminals (the terminal proximity zone) such that as the terminals are brought into contact or separated from contact and the circuit is live, the tendency of an electrical arc to arise and be sustained is suppressed (quenched) by the magnetic field applying a force on the moving electrons as the arc commences. This force causes the electrons to take a curved (or otherwise longer) path across the air gap rather than take a straight-line path. Because a curved path is longer than a direct (straight line) path, a higher arc voltage is required to sustain the arc and the arc energy is diminished, thus suppressing (quenching) the arc, and thus greatly reducing the energy of the arc.
The at least one magnet may, for example, be in the form of a single magnet or a pair of diametrically opposed, attracting magnets. The at least one magnet may be of the permanent type, or may be of the electromagnet type. A magnetic circuit is provided via a yoke, as for example composed of a ferromagnetic material, to minimize reluctance of the magnetic circuit and thereby optimize the magnetic field conditions in the air gap of the terminal proximity zone during engage/disengage of the terminals.
The arc suppression (quenching) effect of the magnetic field according to the present invention is not limited by choice of the location of the at least one magnet. For example, it is possible to have the at least one magnet either integral with, or unconnected with, the connector. In other words, the at least one magnet may be integrated into the structure of the connector, be attached to a stationary part of the connector (e.g., fuse box), or be connected to a movable part of the connector or another component (e.g., a wiring harness) or some combination thereof. It is important that the magnetic field in the terminal proximity zone be oriented as close as possible to perpendicular in relation to the direction of the electrical current. Also, since the arc suppression performance of the magnetic field is dependent upon the strength of the magnetic field, a stronger magnet gives a better arc suppression (quenching) performance.
The present invention includes all possible methods of packaging the at least one magnet, as for example by molding, spraying, assembling, etc. Further, where the electromagnet type is used, the current therefore may be from a circuit carrying current through the connectors, or may be from a circuit external to the connectors. Additionally, the aforedescribed magnetic field suppression of connector separation arcing may also be applied at component terminals used to connect relays, fuses, electronic modules, motors, resistors, capacitors, inductances, lamps, etc.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide suppression of electrical arcing between separating/connecting terminals under load via an applied magnetic field in the air gap between the terminals.
This and additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following specification of a preferred embodiment.


A boundary-scan circuit for a system clock input pin of an integrated circuit which prevents the transmission of undesirable pulses into the clock inputs of the core logic circuits during switching to or from the test clock. This is accomplished by synchronizing the signal that controls the switching from or to the system clock to provide such switching during the inactive portion of the system clock cycle. The boundary-scan circuit uses plural switching elements to provide sufficient current drive to prevent degradation of a rise time of any clock pulse transmitted thereby without the use of additional current buffers.

The present invention relates to a boundary-scan circuit, and more particularly to a boundary-scan circuit that selects between a system clock signal received by a clock pin of an electronic device and a test clock signal.
The semiconductor industry has adopted IEEE Std. 1149.1 (1990), which is hereby incorporated by reference, in order to provide a standard test architecture. The intent of the IEEE Std. 1149.1 standard is to provide compatibility of test control and data signals between devices from different manufacturers in much the same way that compatibility within a logic family, e.g. TTL, CMOS, etc., presently exists. This standard test architecture facilitates the development of standard tests and standard test development techniques.
The standard architecture has provisions for numerous types of testing. Boundary-scan testing and built-in-self-test (BIST) testing are two of the commonly used provisions. During both boundary-scan testing and BIST testing the circuit under test often is controlled by timing pulses from a test clock, rather than the normal pulses from a system clock. Thus, the electronic device must have some type of circuit that changes from the system clock signal pulses and to test clock signal pulses during a boundary-scan or BIST test.
In normal operation, the system clock is typically received by each electronic device, e.g. an ASIC or a PLA, via a clock input pin. During a test the test clock is used for all or a portion of the test and the system clock is disconnected from the circuit unless a portion of the test requires the use of the system clock.
A problem arises, though, as the circuit under test is switched from the system clock to the test clock. The problem occurs whenever the control signal that causes the switch from the system clock to the test clock switches while one or both of the clock signals are changing states. Switch over during such a time often causes the occurrence of undesirable pulses which cause uncertain and erratic results from the circuit under test. Any switching in the time region of a logic transition of one of the clock signals can cause one or more short pulses which are too short in duration and/or amplitude to properly qualify as logic pulses. Such pulses lead to metastable oscillations in cross coupled devices and uncertain responses from other types of logic devices. Additionally, the uncertainty of the response by the circuit under test may be exacerbated by current loading of the clock switching device, which loading detrimentally affects the rise time and amplitude of short pulses.
A very similar problem of undesirable pulses arises when the circuit under test switches back from the test clock signal to the system clock signal to resume normal operation of the circuit.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a boundary-scan circuit clock input circuit that switches from a system clock signal to a test clock signal without causing undesirable pulses that cause metastable oscillations and uncertain responses in core logic circuits.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a boundary-scan circuit clock input circuit that switches from a test clock signal to a system clock signal without causing undesirable pulses that cause metastable oscillations and uncertain responses in core logic circuits.

Boundary-scan input cell for a clock pin


An injector element for injecting a mixture of at least a first propellant and a second propellant into a combustion chamber. The injector element includes a first tubular wall defining a first duct for injecting the first propellant, and a second wall surrounding the first wall and defining, between the first and second walls, a second duct for injecting the second propellant. The first wall includes a first electrode for igniting the mixture by electric discharge.

Patent application FR 2 974 151 A1 describes an injector element for injecting a mixture of at least a first propellant and a second propellant into a combustion chamber. The injector element comprises a first tubular wall defining a first duct for injecting the first propellant, and a second wall surrounding the first wall and defining, between the first and second walls, a second duct for injecting the second propellant.
Patent application FR 2 974 151 A1 describes embodiments in which the injector element also includes a central body. The central body includes a device for igniting the mixture such that the ignition function is integrated in the injector element. Nevertheless, none of those examples provides entire satisfaction from the point of view of optimizing ignition of the mixture of propellants in order to initiate combustion. The invention thus seeks to propose an injector element in which ignition of the mixture of propellants is optimized.

Injection element having an ignition device


In a synchronous serial transfer apparatus, the number of lines which are necessary for a serial transfer is reduced, and even when a master/slave operation is to be performed, a serial transfer is possible between any communication apparatuses without using communication apparatuses which have different structures from each other such as a master and slave apparatuses and without using a master apparatus. Communication apparatuses (TR1 to TR3) are connected parallel to each other by one communication line (TRL). A potential fixing apparatus (VC), which fixes a potential on the communication line (TRL) to "High" or "Low" when outputs from all communication apparatuses (TR1 to TR3) are in a "High-Z" state, is connected to the communication line (TRL).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a synchronous serial transfer apparatus and a synchronous serial transfer method, and more particularly, to an apparatus for and a method of performing a synchronous serial transfer which reduces the number of communication lines which connect a plurality of communication apparatuses to each other.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 35 shows a structure of a conventional synchronous serial transfer apparatus for performing a synchronous serial transfer. In FIG. 35, n communication apparatuses SL1 to SLn are connected to a communication apparatus SLM. The communication apparatus SLM and the communication apparatuses SL1 to SLn are electrically connected to each other by wire line groups LG which include data transmission lines 38, data receive lines 39, clock lines 40 for synchronizing a transfer between a transmit end and a receiving end and control signal lines 41.
That is, the plurality of wire line groups LG extend from the communication apparatus SLM and are respectively connected to the communication apparatuses SL1 to SLn. With the communication apparatus SLM serving as a master apparatus and the communication apparatuses SL1 to SLn serving as slave apparatuses, communication is performed only between the master apparatus and the slave apparatuses. Communication between the slave apparatuses are performed through the master apparatus.
Having such a structure as described above, the conventional synchronous serial transfer apparatus requires the wire line groups each containing four lines to electrically connect the master apparatus and the slave apparatuses. As the number of the slave apparatuses increases, more lines are necessary, thereby making control over a serial transfer complex. In addition, since it is necessary that the master apparatuses contains in advance a structure for connecting a number of the slave apparatuses, the master apparatus is large.

Synchronous serial transfer apparatus and synchronous serial transfer method


This application provides a data transmission method and an apparatus. The method includes: sending, by a first device, first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate a time-frequency resource of a first reference signal, and the first reference signal is used to perform channel estimation on retransmitted data of first data; and sending, by the first device, the retransmitted data.

In a wireless communications system, a reference signal (RS), also referred to as a pilot signal, is a known signal sent by a sending device to a receiving device on a known resource. The receiving device may obtain channel-related information based on the received reference signal, to complete channel estimation or channel measurement. A channel measurement result may be used for resource scheduling and link adaptation, and a channel estimation result may be used by the receiving device to demodulate data.
An ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) service is an important service in a future mobile communications system. The URLLC service usually requires very high reliability (for example, 99.999%) and a very low latency (for example, 1 ms). A hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) technology may be used to improve reliability of the URLLC service. A URLLC packet may need to be transmitted a plurality of times. An interval between an initial transmission and a last retransmission usually does not exceed a latency of 1 ms required by the URLLC service, as shown in FIG. 1.
A current downlink reference signal design scheme in LTE cannot adapt to a new service such as the URLLC and a new application scenario, and data transmission efficiency is relatively low.


A light source device capable of switching to different color temperature planes includes a cooler, a first lighting module, a second lighting module and a rotating mechanism. The cooler has a first surface and a second surface formed at one side of the first surface. The first and second surfaces are non-coplanar to each other. The first lighting module is arranged onto the first surface by adhesion and the second lighting module is arranged onto the second surface by adhesion. The first lighting module and the second lighting module can radiate light of different color temperatures respectively. The rotating mechanism, which is connected to the cooler, provides a rotating operation to the cooler. When the first surface or the second surface is rotated for radiating light, the first lighting module or the second lighting module can emit an illumination of different colors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a light source device, in particular, to a light source device capable of switching to different color temperature planes.
2. Description of Prior Art
A common light source device, for example, desk lamp or indoor LED fixture, etc., includes a light source module that is comprised of red LED light source, blue LED light source and green LED light source. By adjusting the brightness of these three color lights and mixing these three color lights in proportion, it can provide an illumination of white light in different color temperatures.
According to one prior art, an illuminating system capable of adjusting color temperature mainly includes a light source module and a light mixing structure. The light source module is comprised of three color lights for generating a light source color with needed color temperature, while the light mixing structure can change the transmitting direction of the light. Thereby, the white light's color temperature is further changed via following operations. First, by changing the proportion of three color lights, the light source module adjusts the brightness of the lighting source for each color; second, through a light mixing of multiple reflections, the mixing structure generates a uniform light distribution.
In addition, according to another prior art, a fixture capable of changing lighting intensity and color temperature mainly includes a seat body, a plurality of LED light source and a control circuit. The seat body is provided with a column-shaped reflecting trough defined thereon, in which the LED light source are accommodated. The control circuit is electrically connected to the LED light source to thereby control the brightness of the LED light source with different colors. After being mixed in the reflecting trough, the light of the LED light source further radiates out for providing an illumination of white light in different color temperatures.
However, above illuminating system and fixture of prior arts still have following shortcomings in terms of practical usages. First, a control circuit must be applied to achieve a brightness adjustment for the light source module or the LED light source, but the designing and manufacturing procedure of the control circuit is very time-consuming and complex. Second, in order to uniformly mix the lights of three colors, the light mixing structure or the seat body must additionally be provided with a column-shaped reflecting trough. Because their structures are substantially complicated, the entire cost increases in terms of manufacture,
Accordingly, aiming to solve aforementioned shortcomings, after a substantially devoted study, in cooperation with the application of relatively academic principles, the inventor has at last proposed the present invention that is designed reasonably to possess the capability to improve the prior arts significantly.

Light source device having different color temperature rotating lighting modules


Two or more coupled sub-wells are inserted in the quantum well region of a MODFET to move the electron/hole gas away from the interface between the spacer layer and the well region. The channel can be constructed with a wire cross-section to confine the electron/hole gas in two dimensions, thereby reducing the scattering and improving the device performance. Structures with supply layer contacts, along with their application are described. Laterally coupled quantum wire MODFETs are also disclosed. The insertion of a coupled-well transport channel is applicable for Si MOSFETs in improving the high frequency performance.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to semiconductor field-effect transistors, in particular to modulation doped field effect transistors (MODFETs)
(2) Description of the Related Art
In semiconductor device technology, it is desirable to have transistors with high frequency capability. The performance of a conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) field-effect transistor (FET) is limited by scattering mechanisms. Scattering is due to the collision of charge carriers (electrons or holes) with impurities, lattice defects, and interface roughness at the SiO2/Si boundary. Dopant impurities are necessary to control the semiconductor conductivity. The technique of modulation doping has been devised to spatially separate the impurities from the charge transport channel. Modulation doped FET (MODFET) structures are known to overcome the scattering problem of a conventional FET.
In a basic semiconductor MODFET structure as shown in FIG. 1, a lightly doped pxe2x88x92InGaAs layer 11 is grown over an InP substrate 10 and is covered by an undoped [or not intentionally doped (NID)] InAlAs spacer layer 12 and an n-type InAlAs supply layer 13. Source contact 14 and drain contact 15 are formed respectively at the two ends of the supply layer 13 in the longitudinal (z) direction on an n+ region 16. A gate 17 of length L and width W covers the channel between the source 14 and drain 15 to control the current flow between them (without making an electrical contact). The gate is typically a Schottky contact on top of a cap layer 18. The n-InGaAs cap layer is grown over the supply layer.
The principle of operation is to establish an electron gas 19 at the heterointerface between the InGaAs layer 11 and the InAlAs spacer 12. The gas 19 forms on the InGaAs layer 11 side of this interface in a triangular conduction band quantum well. Since in this pxe2x88x92 or undoped (NID) layer 11, there are no impurities to scatter the electrons, the electrons can move with reduced collision frequency under an applied electric field between the source 14 and drain 15. As a result of this type of carrier channel, the MODFET has a much better high frequency performance than the order of 150 angstroms or less, then the electron gas 19 is confined in the lateral (x) direction, resulting in a quantum wire MODFET.
The MODFET, however, has a trade-off between impurity scattering and charge control. The spacer layer 12 is included in a typical device to provide a buffer between the electron gas 19 channel and the InAlAs supply layer 13. A thicker spacer reduces the impurity scattering, but at the expense of gate control, which results in a lower device transconductance, and poorer high-frequency performance. Thus, improvements to the basic MODFET structure are desirable.
An object of the present invention is to improve the high frequency performance of FETs and MODFETs. This objective is achieved by inserting a coupled-well transport channel in place of a conventional channel. In the case of MODFETs, this can be achieved by inserting an InGaAs/InAlAs/InGaAs coupled-well layer 11 in MODFETs. The coupled-well is created by two thin layers (wells) of InGaAs with a thin InAlAs barrier separating them. The coupled-well provides a potential profile in the transverse y-direction to move the electron gas 19 away from the interface (between the spacer 12 and the pxe2x88x92InGaAs layer 12), while maintaining the same gate control. For Si/Ge MODFETS, the coupled-well structure may be incorporated in devices for the Schottky type as well as MOS type gates. MOS gate MODFETs permit self-aligned gate structure as in MOSFETs.
For Si MOSFETs, one can have a SiGe/Si/SiGe coupled well adjacent to SiO2xe2x80x94Si (thin) layer. Here, Si layer adjacent to SiO2 gate oxide is thin, and transfers inversion layer charge to one of the SiGe quantum wells in the asymmetric coupled-well configuration. It may be mentioned that metal gate is generally replaced by a poly Si gate.
Another object of this invention is to reduce the width, W, of the channel in the lateral x-direction, so as to realize quantum wire MODFETs, for the purpose of achieving low-power operation, while enhancing the high-frequency performance. A variation of this is to obtain quantum dot MODFETs by reducing the channel length L in the z-direction.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a multiple channel quantum wire MODFET capable of coherent switching and other functions that are not achievable in conventional MODFETs. Still another objective of this invention is to realize a MODFET in which the supply layer is contacted independently, resulting in multiple gates. This enables dynamic selection of operational mode between normally ON (enhancement mode) and normally OFF (depletion mode), resulting in complementary logic. Supply layer contacts also allow precise control of depletion in the supply layer. These types of MODFET structures have an application in heterostructure acoustic charge transport spatial light modulators (HACT-SLMs). Unlike in conventional HACTs/HACT-SLMs, where the depletion is set by the cap layer during processing, and can degrade over time, the current invention allows continual depletion control through biasing.
The multiple channel quantum wire MODFET objective is achieved by laying side by side two laterally (x direction) coupled channels each with individual source, drain, and gate contacts.

Coupled-well structure for transport channel in field effect transistors


An H-bridge circuit controls a motor and includes a first series circuit of switching elements and a second series circuit of switching elements connected in parallel to the first series circuit. A motor driving control method includes a step of turning each of the switching elements Q2, Q3 off and turning-on or performing PWM control on the switching element Q1 and also turning the switching elements Q4 on; a step of performing PWM control on Q1; a step of turning off Q1; a step of repeating for a predetermined number of times a first kickback suppression period during which Q2 is turned on and Q4 is turned off and a second kickback suppression period during which Q2 is turned off and Q4 is turned on; and a step of turning Q2 on and turning on or performing PWM control on Q3.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor driving control method and a motor driving control device in each of which current flows through the coil of a motor to thereby drive the motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A driving control method of a single-phase motor will be explained below.
A description of a configuration of a motor driving control device 101 of a comparative example will be provided with reference to FIG. 10.
The motor driving control device 101 controls the driving of a motor 20 as a single-phase brushless motor. The motor 20 includes a position detector 30 as a Hall element, for example, and a motor coil Lm. The motor driving control device 101 includes a control circuit 104, a pre-drive circuit 103 and an H-bridge circuit 102.
The control circuit 104 generates a drive control signal Sd based on a position detection signal (positional information) Sp from the position detector 30 and outputs the drive control signal Sd to the pre-drive circuit 103.
The pre-drive circuit 103 generates drive signals H1, H2, L1 and L2 based on the drive control signal Sd. The drive signals H1, H2, L1 and L2 thus generated are output to the H-bridge circuit 102.
The H-bridge circuit 102 includes a first series circuit having first and second switching elements Q1, Q2 connected between a DC power source Vdd and the ground, and a second series circuit having a third and fourth switching elements Q3, Q4 connected in parallel to the first series circuit.
Each of the first and third switching elements Q1 and Q3 is a P-type MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor). Each of the second and fourth switching elements Q2 and Q4 is an N-type MOSFET. The motor coil Lm of the motor 20 is connected between a connection node of the first switching element Q1 and the second switching element Q2 and a connection node of the third switching element Q3 and the fourth switching element Q4.
The motor driving control device 101 turns on/off the first and fourth switching elements Q1, Q4 and the second and third switching elements Q2, Q3 in a complementary manner to thereby change the direction of a coil current IL flowing through the motor coil Lm. The motor is driven in this manner. A comparative example of the operation of the switching elements during respective energization control periods is shown FIG. 11.
In this case, as a concrete example, the operation states of the first and fourth switching elements Q1 to Q4 according to the energization control of the motor driving control device 101.
During a first energization control period (first period), the first switching element Q1 is subjected to PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control. Each of the second and third switching elements Q2, Q3 is turned off. The fourth switching element Q4 is turned on. Incidentally, the first switching element Q1 may not be subjected to PWM control but may be controlled so as to be in an on state.
During a PWM control period (second period), the first switching element Q1 is subjected to PWM control with a predetermined on-duty. In this case, a PWM pulse of one period is output based on turning-on and turning-off of this switching element. Each of the second and third switching elements Q2, Q3 is turned off like the first energization control period. The fourth switching element Q4 is turned on like the first energization control period.
During an all-phase off control period (third period), each of the first and fourth switching elements Q1 to Q4 is turned off.
During a second energization control period (fourth period), the third switching element Q3 is subjected to PWM control. The second switching element Q2 is turned on. Each of the first and fourth switching elements Q1, Q4 is turned off. Incidentally, the third switching element Q3 may not be subjected to PWM control but may be controlled so as to be in an on-state.
An example of the change of the coil current in the comparative example is shown in FIG. 12. The change of the coil current IL flowing through the motor coil in the control method is described with a graph, having an vertical axis that represents a current value and an horizontal axis that represents the time.
During the first energization control period, the coil current maintains a current value.
As time progresses during the PWM control period from a first time point t11 to a second time point t12, the coil current IL current value Ib of the second time point is reduced compared to that from the current value Ia of the previous first time point.
During the all-phase off control period from the second time point t12 to a third time point t13, the coil current IL reduces abruptly and becomes 0 A.
During the second energization control period on and after the third time point t13, the coil current IL gradually reduces and reaches a negative current value (−Ia) and thereafter maintains this negative current value (−Ia).
In this manner, according to the control method of the comparative example, since the all-phase off control period is provided at the time of switching the energization, the direction of flow of the coil current IL flowing through the motor coil Lm changes abruptly while accumulating a lot of energy in the motor coil Lm. Thus, a large regenerative current flows through a power source line and hence a serious inductive kickback occurs. As a result, a problem arises wherein the vibration of the single-phase motor and noise become large.
In view of such a problem, there is disclosed a motor control method for suppressing the inductive kickback. JP-A-2009-296850 describes a method for controlling a motor by controlling a motor coil bridged between a first transistor to a fourth transistor includes: a first energization control step of flowing current from the first transistor to the fourth transistor side through the motor coil; a first PWM control step of performing PWM control on the first transistor; a regenerative control step of generating regenerative current so as to flow from the third transistor to the fourth transistor side through the motor coil; a non-overlap control step of flowing current from the third transistor to the fourth transistor side though the motor coil; a second
PWM control step of executing PWM control on the second transistor; and a second energization control step of stopping the PWM control on the second transistor and flowing current from the second transistor to the third transistor side through the motor coil.
The motor control method described in JP-A-2009-296850 has the following problem. That is, in a case that an amount of energy to be regenerated is relatively small, energy accumulated in the motor coil can be entirely released by the regenerative control step and the non-overlap control step etc. However, in a case that an amount of energy to be regenerated is relatively large, energy accumulated in the motor coil can not be effectively released even by using these control steps. Thus, the motor may vibrate and noise may be generated due to the inductive kickback.

Motor driving control method and motor driving control device


A system and method for providing a haptic effect to a musical instrument is described. One method described comprises receiving a first signal having a set of parameters relating to sound, determining a haptic effect associated with at least one predetermined parameter from the set of parameters, and outputting a second signal associated with the haptic effect. The haptic effect can be determined using at least one predetermined parameter from the set of parameters to select the haptic effect from a database having one or more look-up tables. The second signal is provided to an actuator for causing a haptic effect at the musical instrument in response to receiving the second signal. The second signal can be applied to an input member, such as a key on a keyboard or a string on a guitar, or to the housing of the musical instrument, such as the neck of a guitar.

Designers and manufacturers of musical equipment, such as electronic pianos, are constantly striving to improve the musical equipment. For example, designers and manufacturers continue striving to make electronic instruments perform and feel like non-electronic musical instruments. One difference between electronic instruments and non-electronic instruments is that many electronic instruments typically provide little to no realistic haptic effects. As a result, musicians playing many electronic instruments can only hear the music and cannot achieve a satisfying feel of playing the music. In other words, pressing down on a key on an electronic keyboard feels differently than pressing down on a key on a piano, as there is generally no appreciable vibration from the key on the electronic keyboard and/or no appreciable resistance from the key on the electronic keyboard that is usable in an effective manner by most users of electronic musical instruments.
Another area for improvement is teaching musical instruments. Traditionally, a student watches a teacher play an instrument, and the student learns visually and acoustically. Piano lessons are typically taught with a student sitting next to a teacher with the teacher playing the piano thus demonstrating how to play a particular melody. Since the student does not have their fingers on the keyboard, the student cannot feel haptic feedback on the keys of the piano. Thus, the student cannot feel, in an effective and efficient manner, the instructor pressing down harder on one key than the other keys.
Thus, a need exists for methods and systems for providing haptic effects to a musical instrument.

System and method for providing a haptic effect to a musical instrument


The present invention aims to provide reduced coenzyme Q10, which is useful as food, food with nutrient function claims, food for specified health use, nutritional supplement, nutritional product, animal drug, drink, feed, cosmetic, pharmaceutical product, therapeutic drug, prophylactic drug and the like, and a production method of reduced coenzyme Q10. The present invention provides a production method of reduced coenzyme Q10, which includes reducing oxidized coenzyme Q10 with ascorbic acid or its analogue(s) as a reducing agent in a water-containing organic solvent at not more than pH 5. Using the method, the reaction time can be drastically shortened even without adding a basic substance and the like, and unpreferable side reactions can be minimized. Therefore, reduced coenzyme Q10 with high quality can be produced.

Oxidized coenzyme Q10, which is a benzoquinone derivative widely distributed in the living world, is also called vitamin Q due to its function like a vitamin, and is a component that rejuvenates the body as a nutrient source that brings weak cell activity to a healthy state. On the other hand, reduced coenzyme Q10 is a two-electron reduction form of oxidized coenzyme Q10, and oxidized coenzyme Q10 is an orange crystal, whereas reduced coenzyme Q10 is a white crystal. Reduced coenzyme Q10 and oxidized coenzyme Q10 are localized in mitochondria, lysosome, golgi apparatus, microsome, peroxisome, cellular membrane and the like, and are indispensable substances for the maintenance of biological functions, which are known to be involved in the activation of ATP production, antioxidant action in the body and stabilization of membrane as a constituent component of the electron transport system.
As a production method of reduced coenzyme Q10, it is known to be obtained, for example, by a method comprising producing coenzyme Q10 by a conventionally known method such as synthesis, fermentation, extraction from a naturally occurring substance and the like, and concentrating a reduced coenzyme Q10 fraction in an eluate from chromatography and the like (patent reference 1: JP-A-H10-109933). The patent reference 1 describes that, in this case, oxidized coenzyme Q10 contained in the above-mentioned reduced coenzyme Q10 may be reduced with a reducing agent such as sodium borohydride, sodium hydrosulfite (sodium dithionite) and the like, and concentrated by chromatography, and that the reduced coenzyme Q10 can also be obtained by a method comprising reacting existing highly pure coenzyme Q10 with the above-mentioned reducing agent.
In addition, a method of reducing oxidized coenzyme Q10 to reduced coenzyme Q10 by using ascorbic acid or its analogue(s) is also known (non-patent document 1: J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1990, 116, 9440-9447). In this document, a reduction reaction of oxidized coenzyme Q10 is performed in a mixed solvent of ethanol/water in the presence of sodium hydroxide.
On the other hand, the present inventors have also filed some patent applications relating to reduction reaction of oxidized coenzyme Q10 by using ascorbic acid or its analogue(s) as reducing agent (e.g., patent documents 2-4: WO03/006408, WO03/006409, WO03/032967). These patent documents describe that oxidized coenzyme Q10 can be reduced by using ascorbic acids or its analogue(s), a water-soluble organic solvent or water can be used as solvents, and a basic substance and bisulfite are added as reaction promoters.
However, oxidized coenzyme Q10, which is the starting material of these reduction reactions, and reduced coenzyme Q10, which is the resultant product, do not dissolve in water. Therefore, when water is used during reduction reaction, 2-phase reactions are generally employed requiring a large amount of water, which is not entirely advantageous from the aspects of volume efficiency and the like. As mentioned above, addition of a reaction promoter such as a basic substance, bisulfite and the like is generally proposed to shorten the reaction time of reduction reactions by using ascorbic acids or its analogue(s). When such a reaction promoter is used, incorporation of a separate step of removing the above-mentioned reaction promoter before obtaining reduced coenzyme Q10 also needs to be considered.    patent document 1: JP-A-10-109933    patent document 2: WO03/006408    patent document 3: WO03/006409    patent document 4: WO03/032967    non-patent document 1: J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1990, 116, 9440-9447

Method for production of reduced coenzyme Q


A machine for winding and boxing wound coils of filamentary material having a payout hole extending from the outer to the inner coil winding wherein a turret mechanism mounting two oppositely disposed end forms and corresponding collapsible mandrels and operative between first and second stations, wherein the first station enables filamentary material to be wound on one of the mandrels and associated end form and a second station wherein the mandrel and end form containing the wound coil is rotated to confront a boxing station; a boxing station including a platform having a movable back panel, a base panel and an inclined ramp facing the second station and being movable towards and away from the second station for receiving the wound coil from the collapsible mandrel; the boxing station receiving an unfolded box deposited on the base panel with a back panel folded against said back panel and including means for folding two opposite side panels of the box to enable reception of the wound coil in the partially assembled box; payout tube inserting means for inserting a payout tube in the payout hole of the wound coil through a payout hole in the top panel of the box and including means for grasping the free end of the wound coil and withdrawing it through the payout tube; and the boxing station including means for folding, gluing and sealing the flaps of the box.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 09/853,862 filed May 14, 2001 now U.S. Pat. 6,766,627.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to method and apparatus for winding and boxing wound coils of filamentary material, and more particularly to such method and apparatus for automatically inserting a payout tube into a radial opening in a wound coil of filamentary material, threading an end portion of the filamentary material through the payout tube, inserting the wound coil into a container and securing the end of the withdrawn filamentary material on the container, and closing the flaps of the container, sealing the container and removing the container from the machine.
2. Related Art
The following patents each disclose container structure for retaining a wound coil of filamentary material for feedout through a radial opening in the wound coil and out of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,491 to Gerwig discloses a package for a wind of flexible material and having end-forming flaps hinged about axes perpendicular to the axial opening of the wind. Truncated pyramids project inwardly from the end walls to control the unwinding of the coil and are formed by the folding of a blank of cardboard having extending flaps interleaved with the end flaps of the box to hold the pyramids in position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,817 to Newman discloses a package of a compressed wind with the end walls substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,270 to Newman et al. discloses a package provided with tapering members within the axial opening to guide the individual coils of the material as they are withdrawn, in the space between the cone and the inner wall there is arranged a removable solid material which is held against the inside coils of the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,315 discloses a package for containing a wound coil with a funnel having a stem positioned in the radial opening and with the mouth thereof substantially at the midplane of the package.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,636 to Wise discloses a carton having a series of connected walls forming a perimeter around the coil and each of the walls has opposed hinged flaps. Tabs located on the edge of each flap opposite the hinged connection and the tabs on each side of the coil interlock to form a tapered boss extending into the open center of the coil spaced from, but facing, the like opposing boss.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,533 to Kotzur et al discloses a container having an octagonal insert and corner payout and includes a feedout tube inserted in the radial hole of the wind. Opposite sides of the insert engage the inner surfaces of the container. The bottom and upper surfaces of the container include intersecting cone sections for supporting the inner windings of the wound filamentary material.
As is evident from a consideration of the above prior art there is a need for improved method and apparatus for automating the packaging of wound coils.

Machine for boxing wound coils of filamentary material


A control apparatus that is connected to at least one image capturing apparatus by wireless communication transmits, by multicast or broadcast via the wireless communication, a command for instructing to start a prescribed operation to each image capturing apparatus, in response to detection of an operation for instructing to start the prescribed operation, and transmits, by unicast via the wireless communication, a command for instructing to end the prescribed operation to each image capturing apparatus, in response to detection of the operation for instructing to end the prescribed operation. Then, the control apparatus confirms a response to transmission of the command for instructing to end the prescribed operation, and retransmits, by unicast, the command to end the prescribed operation to each image capturing apparatus whose response is not confirmed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus for controlling at least one image capturing apparatus connected via a communication means and a control system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, there are camera systems configured to enable cameras that are placed respectively under different shooting conditions and at different angles with respect to an object to perform a collaborative operation using a communication cable, a wireless communication apparatus, or the like. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-252568 discloses a camera system for enabling shooting of an object by operating a plurality of image capturing apparatus using one control apparatus via wireless communication, and displaying the shot image data with the control apparatus.
However, although a system using wireless communication is easy to handle compared to a system using wired communication since it does not need to be connected via a communication cable, such a system is easily affected by disturbances and the like, and thus is inferior in terms of communication reliability. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-252568 described above, although a technique with regard to cooperative shooting to operate a plurality of image capturing apparatus using one control apparatus is disclosed, there is no description of maintaining communication reliability against disturbances and the like. In order to solve the problem with regard to communication reliability, although a method for achieving reliability by performing communication retransmission processing and the like is conceivable, since the time period necessary for wireless communication becomes longer, it has been difficult to secure both a response and communication reliability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Control apparatus, control system, command transmission method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium


The image encoding device of the present invention is an image encoding device that encodes a still image and a moving image, the device including: a determination unit that determines a first upper limit and a second upper limit, the first upper limit indicating an upper limit of the amount of code per picture of still images, and the second upper limit indicating an upper limit of the amount of code per picture in a moving image; an encoding unit that encodes each of the still images and the moving image in such a manner that the first and second upper limits are satisfied; a multiplexing unit that generates a stream by multiplexing the encoded still images and the encoded moving image; a generation unit that generates management information that identifies the first and second upper limits; and an output unit that outputs the stream and the management information.

The following describes a DVD-Video disc (hereinafter simply referred to as a "DVD") of a conventional technology.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of a DVD. As shown in the bottom of FIG. 1, the DVD disc includes a logical address space in between the lead-in area and the lead-out area. In the logical address space, volume information of the file system is stored at the top, and application data such as video and audio is stored in the subsequent areas.
The file system, which is a file system compliant with ISO9660 and the Universal Disc Format (UDF), is a mechanism for representing data on a disc by units called directories and files. Even in a personal computer (PC) for everyday use, data stored in the hard disk in the form of directories and files are represented on the computer via a file system called FAT or NTFS, as a result of which usability is enhanced.
Both UDF and ISO9660 (which are sometimes referred to collectively as "UDF Bridge") are used in DVDs, and data can be read out by the file system driver of any of UDF and ISO9660. In the case of DVD-RAM/R/RW, which are rewritable DVD discs, data reading, writing, and deletion are physically possible via these file systems.
Data stored on a DVD can be viewed, via the UDF bridge, as directories or files as shown in the upper left of FIG. 1. Immediately below the root directory ("ROOT" in FIG. 1), a directory called "VIDEO_TS" is placed, where application data of the DVD is stored. The application data is stored as plural files. The following are some of the major files:                VIDEO_TS. IFO disc reproduction control information file        VTS—01—0. IFO video title set#1 reproduction control information file        VTS—01—0. VOB video title set#1 stream file
There are two types of extensions specified. "IFO" indicates that the corresponding file stores reproduction control information. "VOB" indicates that the corresponding file stores an MPEG stream being AV data. The reproduction control information is information that includes information for realizing interactivity (technique for dynamically changing the state of reproduction according to a user operation) employed for the DVD as well as information, such as meta data, which is attached to a title or an AV stream. The reproduction control information of the DVD is called navigation information in general.
The reproduction control information files include "VIDEO_TS. IFO" intended for the management of the entire disc, and "VTS—01—0. IFO" being the reproduction control information of an individual video title set (a single DVD disc can store plural titles, that is, different movies and movies with different versions). "01" in the body of the filename indicates the number of the video title set. In the case where the number of a video title set is #2, for example, the filename is "VTS—02—0. IFO".
The upper right of FIG. 1 shows a DVD navigation space in the application layer of the DVD, i.e., a logical structure space where the above-described reproduction control information is shown. Information in "VIDEO_TS. IFO" is shown in the DVD navigation space as Video Manager Information (VMGI).
Reproduction control information which exists for each "VTS—01—0. IFO" or for each video title set, is shown in the DVD navigation space as Video Title Set Information (VTSI).
VTSI describes Program Chain Information (PGCI) which is information about a reproduction sequence called a Program Chain (PGC). The PGCI is made up of a group of cells and a kind of programming information called a command. Each cell represents a part or the whole segments in a VOB (which is an abbreviation of Video Object and which includes an MPEG stream). The reproduction of a cell means to reproduce segments in the VOB that are specified by such cell.
A command, which is processed by a DVD-capable virtual machine, is similar to Java (registered trademark) Script executed on a browser. However, a DVD command is different from a Java (registered trademark) Script in that, while Java Script performs window and browser controls (e.g., opens a new browser window) in addition to logical operations, a DVD command performs only the reproduction control of AV titles, such as the specification of a chapter to be reproduced, in addition to logical operations.
Each cell includes, as its internal information, the start address and end address (logical storage address on the disc) of a VOB stored on the disc. A player reads out data using such information described in the cell about the start address and end address of the VOB, and reproduces the read data.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for describing the navigation information embedded in the AV stream. Interactivity, which is characteristics to a DVD, is not realized only by the navigation information stored in the above-described "VIDEO_TS. IFO" and "VTS—01—0. IFO"; several pieces of important information are multiplexed in the VOB together with video data and audio data, using dedicated carriers called navigation packs (hereinafter referred to as navi pack(s) or NV_PCK).
Here, a description is given of a menu as a simple example of interactivity. Several buttons appear on the menu screen. For each of such buttons, a process to be performed when such button is selected and activated, is defined. One button is selected on the menu (the fact that the button is selected is indicated to the user by a semitransparent color overlaid on such button in a highlighted manner). The user can shift to any of the buttons located above, below, right or left of the currently selected button, using the Up/Down/Right/Left key on the remote control. Using the Up/Down/Right/Left key on the remote control, the user moves the highlight to a button such user wishes to select and activate, and then determines (presses the Determination key). Accordingly, a program of the corresponding command is activated. In general, the reproduction of the corresponding title or chapter is activated by the command.
The upper left of FIG. 2 shows an overview of the control information stored in NV_PCK. NV_PCK includes highlight color information and button information of each button. The highlight color information describes color palette information, which specifies a semitransparent color of a highlight to be overlaid. Each button information describes: rectangular area information that is information about the position of each button; shift information indicating a move from one button to another button (specification of a destination button corresponding to a user selection of the Up/Down/Right/Left key); and button command information (a command to be executed when such button is selected).
As shown in the upper right center of FIG. 2, a highlight on the menu is generated as an overlay image. The overlay image is an image generated by giving a color specified by the color palette information to the rectangular area information in the button information. Such overlay image is displayed on the screen, superimposed on the background image shown in the right of FIG. 2.
The menu of the DVD is realized in the above-described manner. The reason that a part of the navigation data is embedded in the stream using NV_PCK is to allow the menu information to be dynamically updated in synchronization with the stream (e.g., to allow the menu to be displayed only for five to ten minutes in the middle of movie reproduction), and to realize the menu of the DVD without any problems even for an application which is likely to have a problem of synchronization timing. Another major reason is to improve user operability by, for example, storing, in NV_PCK, information for supporting special reproduction, so as to smoothly decode and reproduce AV data even when a DVD is reproduced in a special manner such as fast-forward reproduction and rewind reproduction.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a VOB being a DVD stream. As shown in the drawing, data such as video, audio, and subtitles (as shown in A) are each packetized and packed (as shown in B), based on the MPEG system standard (ISO/IEC13818-1), and multiplexed to be a single MPEG program stream (as shown in C). NV_PCK including a button command for realizing interactivity as described above is multiplexed together.
Multiplexing in the MPEG system is characterized in that, while each data to be multiplexed forms a bit string based on its decoding order, data to be multiplexed, i.e., video data, audio data, and subtitle data do not necessarily form a bit string in order of reproduction. This is attributable to the fact that a decoder model for a multiplexed MPEG system stream (generally referred to as a System Target Decoder or an STD (shown in D in FIG. 3) has decoder buffers corresponding to the respective elementary streams obtained by demultiplexing the multiplexed data, and such demultiplexed data are temporarily stored in the respective decoder buffers until the time of decoding. The size of decoder buffers specified by the DVD-Video standard differs on an elementary stream basis. The size of the buffer for video data is 232 KB, the size of the buffer for audio data is 4 KB, and the size of the buffer for subtitle data is 52 KB.
In other words, the subtitle data that is multiplexed together with the video data is not necessarily decoded or reproduced at the same timing.
Meanwhile, there is the Blu-ray Disc (BD) standard as a next-generation DVD standard.
While a DVD is intended for the package distribution of video with standard image quality (standard-definition image quality) as well as the recording of analog broadcasting (the DVD Video Recording format), a BD is capable of recording digital broadcasting with high-definition image quality as it is (the Blu-ray Disc Rewritable format; hereinafter referred to as the BD-RE).
However, since the BD-RE format widely supports the recording of digital broadcasting, information that supports special reproduction or the like is not optimized. Considering that high-definition video will be distributed in the future by means of package distribution at the rate higher than that for digital broadcasting (the BD-ROM format), there will be the need for a mechanism that stresses out a user even at the time of special reproduction.
The special reproduction support information (time map) of the BD-RE format is disclosed in Patent document 1.                Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-228656.

Image encoding device, and image decoding device


In a method and device for determining the moisture content and conductivity in the ground and in bulk materials, a capacitive sensor is disposed in the ground or the bulk material, the sensor is charged from a constant external voltage supply with a given initial current from a given first voltage threshold value to a given second voltage threshold value and either a voltage/time diagram is determined or a first charging time required for charging the sensor from the first to the second voltage threshold values by the constant external voltage supply is determined and a second charging time is determined wherein either the initial current and/or at least one of the two voltage threshold values are altered and the water content and the conductivity are determined by verification of the two charging times or of the voltage/time diagram.

The invention resides in a method and a device for determining the moisture content and conductivity in the ground and in bulk materials by way of a capacitive sensor introduced into the ground or the bulk material which is charged by a voltage and determining the time required for the charging of the sensor.
As a reliable measure for determining the moisture content in a soil sample or a bulk material the dielectric constant εm between two electrodes is used. In comparison with many other materials water has a very high dielectric constant so that already a small moisture content of the measuring volume that is in the soil sample or in the bulk material results in a significant change of the dielectric constant εm. Typical areas of application include particularly the surveillance of the ground as well as the quality control of agricultural products (for example, flour, legumes and soya but generally also in the production and transportation of moisture-sensitive goods such as sugar.
In the determination of the moisture content of a bulk material or the ground by way of the dielectric constant εm the additional determination of the conductivity is easily possible. The electric conductivity of a material can be used for determining the presence of contaminations which noticeably influence the electric conductivity or resistance of the moist material.
Therefore the measurement of the dielectric constant εm and the conductivity of a bulk material or ground area is suitable not only for a determination of the moisture content but also for determining impurities dissolved in the water.
The following methods for the determination of the dielectric constant εm and at the second time the conductivity σm in materials are known for a characterization of soils and bulk materials:
In the so-called TDR method [1] travel differences along a wave conductor (TDR probe) are utilized which generally change with the moisture content in the material around the wave conductor. The impulse passes through one wave conductor while a second wave conductor serves as reference mass. From a measured pulse speed, the dielectric constant is calculated and subsequently the moisture content Θ of the material is calculated. An increase of the dielectric constant results in a decrease of the pulse speed. The relationship between εm and Θ must be assumed to be known. For the operation and the registration of the TDR signal a cable tester is needed which must have a resolution of several 4 GHz up to more than 100 GHz depending on the required time resolution.
[2] describes additionally the determination of the conductivity σm.
The evaluation of a TDR signal is difficult. The cable tester required and an evaluation unit with the required resolution capability for travel time measurements needed in connection therewith is very expensive.
Alternatively, in [3] a capacity measurement method is proposed which utilizes an electromagnetic oscillation circuit for determining the dielectric constant εm of the material, which is essentially less expensive than the TDR method. In this case, a sensor is provided in the form of a condenser with two condenser electrodes connected to an oscillator. An oscillator, an analog electronic circuit, generates a sinus-shaped output signal whose frequency fosz is determined by the capacity of the sensor C3, but also by other components, particularly the required inductivity L for the oscillator. The relationship is as follows:fosz=√{square root over (LC3)}=1/√{square root over (LεmCa)}  (1)
A higher dielectric constant is consequently apparent from a lower fosz:
The frequency can be determined exactly, safely and inexpensively with simple means. In this way, also accurate determinations of dielectric constants are possible by this method.
The frequency fcso generally is dependent on the conductivity of the material being examined wherein an increasing conductivity generally results in lower frequencies. A higher dielectric constant is simulated in this way. However, this influence of the conductivity becomes smaller with increasing frequency. For determining the dielectric constant therefore preferably high measuring frequencies are used. Although, the influence of the conductivity is reduced thereby, it still remains.
For a common determination of the dielectric constant εm and the conductivity σm of a material, the sensor can therefore be considered to be a complex resistor in a substitute circuit. For the determination of the complex resistance with a real and an imaginary component again a network channel analyzer is required which increases the expenses for a simultaneous determination of the moisture content and the conductivity.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for performing a method of determining the moisture content and the conductivity in soils and in bulk materials in a relatively simple and inexpensive way.

Method and device for determining the moisture content and conductivity in the ground and in bulk materials

GSF - Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit GmbH


Embodiments of the disclosure relate to a biosample cartridge that includes radial slots for storing biosample carriers. The biosample cartridge has the same form factor as data tape cartridges used in automated tape libraries to allow the biosample cartridge to be handled by the same robotic mechanisms that handle the data tape cartridges. One aspect of the disclosure concerns a biosample cartridge that includes a rotatable biosample carrier holder. The biosample carrier holder includes radial slots for receiving biosample carriers which contain biosamples scanned and analyzed by automated tape libraries.

Samples of biological matters are analyzed in bio-assay processes to detect the presence of bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, and other substances of interest. The biological samples may be stored in sample carriers, such as microscope slides and capillary tubes, and analyzed by a biological detection instrument. The detection instrument may record the analysis results of a biosample on a data storage medium such as a computer memory, disk drive, magnetic tape, or compact disk, which may include an identification tag to correlate the biosample with the analysis results.
High-performance computer data storage systems such as optical disc and magnetic tape libraries possess the necessary automation to scan and analyze the biosamples at a very high speed, and tabulate the resulting analysis data. For example, these systems may analyze the biosamples using magnetic tape read-sensors to detect magnetized nanoparticles attached to the biosamples. The biosamples and analysis data may be stored in different locations following the analysis, which make it difficult to correlate the biosamples with the corresponding data when needed. For a large number of biosamples and carriers (e.g., microscope slides and capillary tubes) used to store the biosamples, the task of correlating the biosamples to their data becomes even more complex. It is desirable to exploit the use of automation functions available in data storage library systems to facilitate the correlation and management of biosample carriers and biosample analysis data.

Biosample cartridge with radial slots for storing biosample carriers and using in automated data storage systems

International Business Machines Corporation


A composite resilient scaffold may be used to grow, repair, and/or regenerate tissue such as articular cartilage. The composite scaffold is porous and at least substantially bioremovable. The composite scaffold includes a support structure coated with a discontinuous coating of separate and discrete particles of a ceramic material such as calcium phosphate. The calcium phosphate material may have a porous reticulated structure.

Articular cartilage covers the ends of all bones that form articulating joints in humans and animals. The articular cartilage acts in the joint as a mechanism for force distribution and as a bearing surface between different bones. Without articular cartilage, stress concentration and friction would occur to the degree that the joint would not move easily. Loss of the articular cartilage usually leads to painful arthritis and decreased joint motion.
Articular cartilage is characterized by a structural organization that includes specialized cells (chondrocytes) embedded in an intercellular material which is rich in proteoglycans, collagen fibrils of predominantly type II, other proteins, and water. Cartilage tissue is neither innervated nor penetrated by the vascular or lymphatic systems. However, in the mature joints of adults, the underlying subchondral bone tissue, which forms a narrow, continuous plate between the bone tissue and the cartilage, is innervated and vascularized. Beneath this bone plate, the bone tissue forms trabeculae, containing the marrow. In immature joints, articular cartilage is underlined by only primary bone trabeculae. A portion of the meniscal tissue in joints also consists of cartilage whose make-up is similar to articular cartilage.
Articular cartilage may be damaged by a traumatic injury or from degenerative conditions such as arthritis or osteoarthritis. The inability of articular cartilage to self-repair is a major problem in treating patients having an articular cartilage defect. Over the years a number of treatments have been developed in attempts to repair and/or regenerate articular cartilage. For example, one type of treatment includes subchondral drilling and abrasion. Unfortunately, treatments of this nature are ineffective in the long term because they do not promote formation of new or replacement cartilage tissue or cartilage-like tissue. Instead, these treatments result in the formation of scar or fibrous tissue, which cannot withstand long term joint loading. Thus, although the condition of patients treated using these technique initially improves, eventually it will deteriorate, possibly leading to osteoarthritis.
Another conventional therapy relied on for treating loss of cartilage is replacement with a prosthetic material, such as silicone for cosmetic repairs, or metal alloys for joint realignment. Placement of prostheses is commonly associated with significant loss of underlying tissue and bone without recovery of the full function allowed by the original cartilage, as well as the irritating presence of a foreign body. Other long term problems associated with a permanent foreign body can include infection, erosion, and instability.
More recently, new approaches to cartilage tissue repair have been proposed. One approach is based on implanting or injecting cells into a defect in a patient's cartilage tissue. The implant may include biocompatible synthetic polymeric support structures seeded with chondrocytes, fibroblasts, or bone-precursor cells. Although these approaches have served to further improve treatment of damaged cartilage, there are still a number of problems associated with them. For example, it is difficult to successfully grow the desired quantity and quality of cells on such support structures. Also, the implants may not have sufficient mechanical properties to withstand the loading and other stresses place thereon in the joint.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved scaffold that is biocompatible and better facilitates repair and/or regrowth of articular cartilage.


An embodiment of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising a radio frequency identification transceiver adapted for self jammer suppression. The transceiver may further comprise a phase shifter and variable attenuator/variable amplifier adjusted to minimize the power injected into a receive chain by the self jammer. In an embodiment of the present invention the present transceiver may further comprise at least one RF peak power detector to determine the power injected into the receive chain.

Full duplex RFID systems may need to deal with a high amplitude self jammer resulting from a powerful transmit signal either leaking from one antenna to another in a bi-static antenna system or being reflected from antenna because of its return loss in a monostatic antenna system. This self-jammer is always present during both transmit and receive periods although it may only be during receive periods that compression or desensitization of the receiver matters. While there are situations when there are other interferers that may occur at higher amplitudes, removing or supressing the self jammer will always improve system performance.
Thus, a strong need exists for full duplex radio frequency identification apparatuses, systems and methods adapted for self-jammer suppression.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

Radio frequency identification apparatus, system and method adapted for self-jammer cancellation