A neutron detecting and method of use for a semiconducting material having a formula of M1M2B14 where M1 is aluminum, magnesium, silver, sodium or scandium and M2 is boron, chromium, erbium, holmium, lithium, magnesium, thulium, titanium, yttrium, or gadolinium.

This invention relates to neutron detecting. Specifically, this invention relates to icosahedral boride semiconducting materials for neutron detection applications and methods of use.
The neutron is a sub-atomic particle which has mass, but no electrical charge. Since neutrons have no electrical charge, they cannot directly produce ionization in detectors. Therefore, neutrons cannot be directly detected. In other words, neutrons are difficult to detect, because they are not charged and thus do not interact electrically with most matter as electrons or protons do. As a result, neutron detectors must rely upon a conversion process upon which the presence of neutrons is deduced. In the conversion process, an incident neutron interacts with a nucleus to produce a secondary charged particle. The resulting charged particles can then be directly detected.
Neutrons are produced by fission of nuclear materials or by naturally-occurring radioactive decay. Detection of neutrons at transportation hubs in shipping containers or luggage can indicate the possible presence of smuggled nuclear materials or hidden nuclear weapons (WMDs). Practical, inexpensive solid state neutron detectors could have great application for Homeland Security, Antiterrorism, Nuclear Non-Proliferation applications, nuclear stockpile stewardship programs, nuclear power applications, Occupational Safety for any industry or research applications in which people work with or near fissionable material, nuclear reactors, or high energy accelerators, thermal neutron radiography, which is a powerful inspection/evaluation technique in industry and manufacturing, and they could even be fabricated into microminiaturized arrays to be used as detectors for high energy physics experiments among many other uses.
The need for neutron detectors has escalated in recent years. With the growing threat of terrorists trying to detonate a so-called dirty bomb containing radioactive material, improved devices for detecting plutonium from its neutron emissions are in great need.
Conventional neutron detectors employ high voltages in large gas-filled units. Neutron detection devices have been created using materials such as cadmium zinc telluride, however, neutron capture process produces high energy gamma rays which require the detectors to be large in order to detect the gamma rays efficiently.
Solid state neutron detectors could be mass produced with microfabrication techniques like those used in the semiconductor electronics industry. Additionally, they could be made inexpensive, miniaturized, portable, and operate on conventional low electronics voltages. Thus, they could greatly widen the practical applications for neutron detectors. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,771,730 to Dowben, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety and can be modified to incorporate this invention.
Studies have shown that boron, with a high neutron capture cross-section should therefore be good for solid-state detectors if suitable semiconductor materials can be developed. Boron-based neutron detectors have been created using materials such as pyrolytic boron nitride (BN), boron phosphide (BP), boron carbide (B4C). However, these materials have all formed relatively inefficient detectors. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,771,730 to Dowben, which can be modified to incorporate this invention and is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Prior attempts to develop a suitable detector material have either not worked at all, or had low sensitivity and suffered from the difficulties outlined above. Moreover, additional difficulties or complications encountered in the prior art include multiphase, rather than single phase material, great variability of properties, large lattice mismatch on Si substrates, a high lattice strain, rapid accumulation of radiation damage, or in the case of non-boron-based materials, a much lower neutron capture cross-section, large detector size, or stability problems They furthermore require the use of hazardous, toxic gasses either in the operation or fabrication of the materials. The materials of this invention show potential for improvement over the prior art because of these and other reasons.
Therefore, an improved icosahedral boride semiconducting material for neutron sensing applications and methods of use is desirable.
In light of the foregoing, the primary feature or advantage of the current invention is to provide an improved icosahedral boride semiconducting material for neutron sensing applications and methods of use.
Another feature or advantage of this invention is a material which possesses higher volumetric density of boron atoms than other boride-based neutron detector materials.
Another feature or advantage of the current invention is a material which can be easily made an n-type semiconducting boron-rich boride.
Another feature or advantage of the current invention is a material which can exhibit relatively high charge carrier mobility in either crystallized or amorphous form.
Another feature or advantage of the current invention is a material which is homogeneous, not multiphase, and in its amorphous form, does not possess grain boundaries.
Another feature or advantage of this invention is a material which, in its amorphous form, is more robust to radiation damage, more robust to the lithium by-products produced by nuclear reactions changing the doping, and easier to mass produce over the prior art.
A further feature or advantage of this invention is a material which, in its crystalline form, shows less lattice strain for growth on silicon (100) than other β-based materials.
Still another feature or advantage of this invention is a safer, non-toxic, more environmentally friendly method of fabrication than the prior art.
One or more of these or other features or advantages of the invention will be apparent from the specification and claims that follow.

Iowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.


A mobile communication network for providing access to a fixed network for access terminals within a geographical area is disclosed. A public mobile network contains a base station connected to a fixed network and is capable of communicating with the access terminals using a communication protocol within a part of the geographical area. A local wireless network is present within another part of the geographical area, wherein the base station is not capable of communicating with the access terminals. The local wireless network is connected to a fixed network via a network access devices. The local wireless network comprises at least one local wireless access point for communicating with the access terminal using the communication protocol. The local wireless network is arranged to send a message to an access terminal in the vicinity of the local wireless network containing an offer relating to call charges.

Broadband services have increasingly been used in the passed years and the use of broadband services will grow in the coming years. One of the development regarding broadband services is that wireless techniques are used in addition to broadband services to enable flexibility for the user. This can be accomplished with a local wireless access point is connected to a broadband network resulting in the opportunity for users the use mobile devices (or devices that are upgraded to become mobile devices) for accessing via the access point. An example of this is the WiFi concept where a laptop is provided with 2 wireless network interface card via which the laptop is able to communicate to the wireless access point (Wireless LAN (W-LAN)). In this manner the user has available broadband Internet because the wireless access point is connected via a broadband connection to the Internet. In general, a user can use his mobile device within a radius of about fifty meters around the access point.
This concept can be used to create a wireless home network, in which case a user needs a wireless access point situated in or near the home. The wireless access point is then connected to a fixed network. For example, this connection is a broadband connection to the Internet. A laptop or any other device that is provided with a network interface card for the communication with wireless access point can be used by the user to access the fixed network to which the wireless access point is connected. In other words, there is according to such a concept a local wireless network that results in not being limited to one or more specific physical locations in the house. The user can with this concept use his device on any physical location in or near the house as long as it is within the range of the wireless access point.
However, the drawback of the prior art is that in this concept the local wireless network can be used profitable only by the user who lives in the house where the local wireless network is present. In other words, usage of a wireless access point is only privately.

Concept for enabling access to a network using local wireless network


A Discrete Fourier Transform watermark for use with digital images/video. A Y component of a Y, U(Cb), V(Cr) digital data stream representing color components of digital video is extracted as the digital data for embedding the watermark. The digital data is then scaled to a standard size. A Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) is performed on the digital data, and a magnitude domain of the Discrete Fourier Transform is computed. The watermark is embedded into selected frequency bands of the computed magnitude domain of the Discrete Fourier Transform, thereby creating a watermarked magnitude domain. The selected frequency bands comprise one or more middle frequency bands, and the middle frequency bands comprise a band of circular rings of the magnitude domain. An inverse Discrete Fourier Transform is performed on the watermarked magnitude domain to reconstruct the digital data with the embedded watermark.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of digital watermarks, and more particularly, to a Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) watermark.
2. Description of the Related Art
(This application references a number of publications, as indicated in the specification by a reference number enclosed in brackets, e.g., [x]. These publications, along with their associated reference numbers, are identified in the section below entitled "References.")
With the recent growth of networked multimedia systems, techniques are needed to prevent (or at least deter) the illegal copying, forgery and distribution of media content comprised of digital audio, images and video. Many approaches are available for protecting such digital data, including encryption, authentication and time stamping.
One way to improve a claim of ownership over digital data, for instance, is to place a low-level signal or structure directly into the digital data. This signal or structure, known as a digital watermark, uniquely identifies the owner and can be easily extracted from the digital data. If the digital data is copied and distributed, the watermark is distributed along with the digital data. This is in contrast to the (easily removed) ownership information fields allowed by the MPEG-2 syntax.
Digital watermarking is an emerging technology. Several digital watermarking methods have been proposed.
For example, Cox et al. in [1] proposed and patented a digital watermark technology that is based on a spread spectrum watermark, wherein the watermark is embedded into a spread spectrum of video signals, such as Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) or Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficients.
Koch, Rindfrey and Zhao in [2] also proposed two general watermarks using DCT coefficients. However, the resulting DCT has no relationship to that of the image and, consequently, may be likely to cause noticeable artifacts in the image and be sensitive to noise.
A scene-based watermark has been proposed by Swanson, Zhu and Tewfik in [3]. In this method, each of a number of frames of a scene of video data undergoes a temporal wavelet transform, from which blocks are extracted. The blocks undergo perceptual masking in the frequency domain, such that a watermark is embedded therein. Once the watermark block is taken out of the frequency domain, a spatial mask of the original block is weighted to the watermark block, and added to the original block to obtain the watermarked block.
Pereira and Pun [4] proposed inserting a registration pattern in the watermarked image and trying to identify and invert the geometric distortion before watermark detection. As pointed out by Lin et al. [5], there are problems with this solution. One problem is that it may reduce image quality due to insertion of the registration pattern. Another problem is the possibility of a collusion attack, because all the watermarked images share a common registration pattern.
In Lin [5], a Fourier-Mellin transform was used to embed a watermark, which was cast in a rotation-, scale-, and translation-invariant domain. To solve the problem of instability in inverting a log-polar re-sampling of the Fourier magnitude, an iterative method was proposed to approximate this step. However, this approach is computationally complex, which makes it unsuitable for realtime applications.
Earlier, Solachidis and Pitas [6] proposed a circular symmetric watermarking scheme in the DFT domain where each watermark bit was embedded in a section of a circular ring in the frequency domain. In the case of rotation, a search for the rotated angle needed to be performed to detect the watermark.
Regardless of the merits of prior art methods, there is a need for an improved watermark for digital data that prevents copying, forgery and distribution of media content. The present invention satisfies this need. More specifically, the goal of the present invention is to provide unique, dynamic and robust digital watermarks for digital data, in order to trace any compromised copies of the digital data.

Discrete fourier transform (DFT) watermark


A hybrid-electric powertrain for a wheeled vehicle having an internal combustion engine, an electric generator, an electric motor and a battery. Transmission gearing establishes multiple torque flow paths including a forward drive torque flow path and a reverse drive torque flow path, the motor being isolated from forward drive gearing elements as it acts as a sole reverse drive power source.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hybrid electric vehicle powertrain having an internal combustion engine and an electric motor/generator and battery sub-system, which are independent power sources for powering vehicle traction wheels. At least one power flow path is established between each power source and the traction wheels through transmission gearing.
2. Background Art and Discussion of a Known Hybrid Powertrain
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,407,521 and 6,427,794 disclose hybrid vehicle powertrains having a motor/generator and an internal combustion engine, which function in cooperation with a planetary gear unit to define multiple power flow paths. The engine and the motor/generator provide parallel power delivery through the gear unit during one operating mode. The motor/generator can be used to establish a power flow path independently of the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,808 discloses a hybrid powertrain wherein an engine and an induction motor act in parallel power flow paths. The induction motor provides torque to complement engine torque during vehicle acceleration. It also can be clutched to the engine crankshaft to permit engine starting.
In the copending patent application identified above, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the planetary gear unit provides a mechanical power flow path between a generator and an engine. A separate motor acts as a secondary power source. The motor may act as a series power source or it may function in cooperation with the engine to establish split power delivery paths through the planetary gear unit. Further, the generator may function as a motor in a torque flow path through the planetary gear unit.
In the case of the hybrid transmission of the copending patent application, the planetary ring gear is connected directly to the output torque delivery shaft through a set of fixed ratio gears. This makes it possible for torque to be distributed from the planetary gear set to the vehicle traction wheels during forward drive. To establish reverse drive, it is necessary to use the electric motor as a torque source since the engine is effective to deliver driving torque through the planetary gearing only in the forward drive mode.
If the state-of-charge of the battery during reverse drive is below a desired level, operation in reverse drive must be severely restricted in order to protect the battery. If an attempt is made to charge the battery by operating the engine to create generator power for charging the battery, the reaction element of the planetary gear unit (which in this instance is the ring gear) would be subjected to reaction torque that must be overcome by the electric motor in order to achieve reverse drive. This limits reverse drive performance for the hybrid electric vehicle.

Hybrid vehicle powertrain with improved reverse drive performance


A Method to maintain Synchronization Tracking in TDD Wireless Communication comprises the steps: divide a midamble into two parts, then detect the first part and the second part of the midamble; perform an auto-correlation property operation between the two parts and a part corresponding to a local midamble and obtain two peaks; compare the amplitude of the two peaks; advance or retard a local timer based on the result of the comparison. The interlaced sampling method will harm the SNR of channel estimation only very slightly. By using this method, the sample frequency can be decreased to only one time of the chip rate of a TD-SCDMA system while still maintaining the ability to track the downlink synchronization.

TD-SCDMA is a 3G standard adopted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It takes advantage of TDMA and synchronous CDMA and provides high spectrum efficiency and service flexibility. In a TD-SCDMA system, it is very important that user equipment (UE) is synchronized to the received signal from Node-B. In general, signal synchronization can be divided into two stages: final synchronization and synchronization tracking. The base of synchronization is on a chip level. Every chip in Node-B is shaped into an ISI-free waveform by using a shaping filter, as shown in FIG. 1. Denote the waveform function of an RRC filter as f(t). In a UE system, to acquire the maximum SINRN, the UE should sample at the peak of the chip waveform, corresponding to time=0 in FIG. 1. In TD-SCDMA, there are two sub-frames in each radio frame, which is of ten milliseconds (10 ms) length. The sub-frame format is shown in FIG. 2. In a sub-frame, there are seven common time slots and two special time slots. The two special time slots include DwPTS and UpPTS. In FIG. 3, the structure of a common time slot is shown. There are two data parts in one time slot, and in the middle of the two data parts, there is a midamble part. The midamble is used to estimate the radio multi-path and is also quite important in maintaining the downlink synchronization.
After having acquired the initial synchronization of the downlink signal, the UE enters into the stage of keeping the synchronization. Because the UE does not know the exact time offset information between the local timer and the downlink signal from Node-B, traditionally an X-times sampling rate is used, where X is an integer larger than 1, i.e. 2, 4 or even 8. Then the UE uses an RRC filter to filter the sample stream. The filter output will shape an auto-correlation waveform of SYNC-DL. The highest peak corresponds to the most likely synchronization point. Using the method, the synchronization time error will be within [−Tc/2X, Tc/2X]. "Early/late gate" is a commonly seen implementation according to the theory set forth above. Another commonly used synchronization method is "τ dithering loop".
Because a high value of the sample multiple X raises the speed requirement for an analog to digital (A/D) converter, bigger buffer size and computation complexity are required. Bigger buffer size and computation complexity will raise the cost of the hardware system and the consumption of the A/D conversion. So in general, a smaller sample multiple X is better, but if the sample multiple X is too small, then the synchronization precision will decrease. Therefore, the sample multiple X is often set to a value of four (4).

Method and device to maintain synchronization tracking in TDD wireless communication


A method and apparatus for producing a hyperpolarized sample material for use in an NMR investigation provides for a cryogenic region having a target material containing a first hyperpolarizable nuclear species, a second hyperpolarizable nuclear species, and a nuclear spin polarizing agent, wherein the first nuclear species has a higher magnetic moment than the second nuclear species. Microwave energy is used to excite electron spin transitions in the polarizing agent in the presence of a magnetic field. The first hyperpolarizable nuclear species is thereby caused to interact with the electron spin system in the polarizing agent and generate hyperpolarization of at least the first nuclear species of the target material. The target material is then subjected to a lowered magnetic field, wherein the lowered magnetic field facilitates polarization transfer by nuclear thermal mixing between the species to thereby hyperpolarize the second nuclear species.

Dynamic nuclear polarization is a technique which has attracted increasing interest in recent years. Methods for dynamic nuclear polarization are described, for example, in WO-A-1999/035508, WO-A-2002/037132, and WO-A-2011/026103, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. The essence of the technique is to carry out a magnetic resonance investigation on a nuclear spin system (typically 13C or 15N) of which the spin polarization levels have been perturbed from their equilibrium values prior to a nuclear magnetic resonance investigation, and thereby enhance the sensitivity of the investigation. The perturbation of the spin polarization levels is achieved by interaction between an electron spin resonance transition and a nuclear spin system.
In the DNP experiment described in WO-A-1999/035508, a hyperpolarized solution of a high T1 agent is produced by dissolving a hyperpolarized solid sample of the high T1 agent in a physiologically tolerable solvent. The hyperpolarization of the solid sample is effected by means of a polarizing agent, which may be at least partially separated from the high T1 agent after use. The sample is then administered, for example by injection, to a patient, and is then irradiated using a second rf to excite nuclear spin transitions in selected nuclei e.g. the MR imaging nuclei of the high T1 agent. Magnetic resonance signals are detected and NMR spectral data, an image, dynamic flow data, diffusion data, perfusion data, physiological data may be measured. The long T1 results in persistence of the nuclear spin polarization, allowing significantly enhanced sensitivity in the NMR determination to be achieved over a useful time period.
One disadvantage of this approach is the relatively long polarization time (typically of the order of thirty minutes or more).

Device and method for rapid dynamic nuclear polarization


A guide for cleaning paint from a window to be used with a razor blade scraper or the like. The guide includes a first panel having a pair of opposed edges, one of the edges having a straight, elongated blade that may be placed against the window flush with a sash or glazed side of the window. A second panel extends from the opposed edge of the first panel, the second panel being in angular relation to the first panel. A third panel extends from the second panel, the third panel being substantially parallel with the first panel. A fourth panel extends from the third panel wherein the fourth panel may be held in one hand of the user while the other hand moves the scraper along the elongated blade to remove paint on the window except for a thin band covered by the blade.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a guide or tool to assist in cleaning or scraping paint from a window with a scraper or the like.
2. Prior Art
In painting window sashes, at least some paint will ordinarily be left on the window panes. Since it is unsightly to leave paint on the window pane, a razor blade or other known scraper is often used to remove the paint from the window pane after the painting has been completed. It is desirable for aesthetic reasons to leave a straight line when the paint has been removed. The use of a razor blade or other scraper may, however, result in gouging the window sash or glazing.
Moreover, it is desirable to leave a very thin line of paint on the window pane where the window sash meets the glass. If the sash or glazing therewith is scraped or cut, the seal which the paint provides against moisture is broken. Water or moisture may gather and work its way underneath the paint. The value of the paint is thereby diminished.
In the past, a number of devices have been utilized to scrape the paint from the window pane. Razor blade holders which retain a razor blade and have a handle such as Brown (U.S. Pat. No. 2,164,050) and Shinn, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 1,729,279) are typical. These holders and accompanying razor blades work well to scrape paint from the window. They do not, address the problem of aesthetically leaving a straight line or the problem of retaining the seal that the paint provides with the window.
Other devices have been utilized to trim paint from a window pane.
Paskaly (U.S. Pat. No. 2,893,042) provides a hand-held guide to trim paint from window panes after painting while leaving a narrow band of paint as a seal. The guide would be used in combination with a razor blade or other scraper. The guide is constructed of a multitude of pieces that are held together by fasteners. Additionally, the guide must mate with the window sash to operate.
Dobratz (U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,056) discloses a scraper device which is mounted on rollers wherein a blade spaced a short distance from the sash moves along the glass to trim paint.
Cortelyou, Jr. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,478) discloses a paint scraper with a body extending wider than the blade to leave a narrow border.
Various guards are likewise known which may be used during the painting process to prevent the paint from being applied in an undesirable area.
Morawski (U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,913), Hall (U.S. Pat. No. 1,386,706), Shotwell (U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,693 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,496), Miron (U.S. Pat. No. 2,726,633), Wendt (U.S. Pat. No. 1,411,462), Matter (U.S. Pat. No. 2,289,136) and Roe (U.S. Pat. No. 1,292,071) each disclose paint guards used during the painting process.
At the same time, it is known that when the paint is fresh it may be easily scraped off. After a period of time, the paint ages and loses its elasticity. Thereafter, scraping of the paint from the window pane tends to chip or shatter the paint. Again, not only is a straight line difficult to achieve but the seal provided by the paint is broken.
Accordingly, it is a principal object and purpose of the present invention to provide a guide for use with a scraper or the like in order to clean or scrape the paint from a window.
It is a further object and purpose of the present invention to provide a guide for cleaning paint from windows which will allow retention of and leave a thin border or line of paint on the window where the window sash meets the glass.
It is an additional object and purpose of the present invention to provide a guide for cleaning paint from windows wherein force may be applied to the border or line of paint to prevent the paint from chipping or cracking.


Disclosed is a paint composition of about 50 to about 95 wt % of a pigment, about 5 to about 50 wt % of a binder and sufficient solvent to give a solids content of about 30 to about 100 wt %. The pigment has two components--about 0 to about 90 wt % zinc and about 10 to about 100 wt % of a particular type of ferrophosphorus. The ferrophosphorus of this invention contains about 45 to about 63 wt % iron, about 20 to about 35 wt % phosphorus, about 2 to about 10 wt % vanadium, and about 1 to about 10 wt % chromium.

This invention relates to a paint composition that contains a particular type of ferrophosphorus. The ferrophosphorus used in the paint compositions of this invention contains relatively high concentrations of vanadium and chromium.
In the production of phosphorus and various phosphates, rocks high in phosphate content are ground, washed and formed into nodules. The nodules are heated in an arc furnace with coke and sand to reduce the phosphates to elemental phosphorus. The elemental phosphorus distills off and a product known as ferrophosphorus, a mixture of compounds of iron and phosphorus, forms beneath a layer of slag. The ferrophosphorus is a by-product which has been used in paints, welding compositions, and as a source of phosphorus in making steel.
Zinc dust is included in paint compositions for the purpose of reducing the corrosion of steels that the paint is applied to. The zinc is effective because it corrodes before the iron in the steel does and acts as a sacrificial metal. Ferrophosphorus is much less expensive than zinc and it has been found that some of the zinc in these paints can be replaced by ferrophosphorus without significantly reducing the effectiveness of the paint. Until now, ferrophosphorus that has been used for this purpose in paint has come from phosphate rock mined in the eastern portions of the United States.

Paint composition containing ferrophosphorus


A three-dimensional ultrasound imaging system includes an ultrasound probe to direct ultrasound waves to and to receive reflected ultrasound waves from a target volume of a subject under examination. The ultrasound probe is swept over the target volume along a linear scanning path and the reflected ultrasound waves are conveyed to a computer wherein successive two-dimensional images of the target volume are digitized. The digitized two-dimensional images can be used to generate a three-dimensional image with virtually no delay. A user interface allows a user to manipulate the displayed image. Specifically, the entire displayed image may be rotated about an arbitrary axis, a surface of the displayed image may be translated to provide different cross-sectional views of the image and a selected surface of the displayed image may be rotated about an arbitrary axis. All of these manipulations can be achieved via a single graphical input device such as a mouse connected to the computer.

In the medical field, it is common to use ultrasound diagnostic equipment to view internal organs of a subject. For example, in diagnosing prostate cancer, a diagnostician uses transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) to identify whether lesions are present as well as to determine the location, size and extent of lesions if present. Conventional ultrasound diagnostic equipment typically comprise an ultrasound probe for transmitting ultrasound signals into the subject and receiving reflected ultrasound signals therefrom. The reflected ultrasound signals received by the ultrasound probe are processed and a two-dimensional image of the target under examination is formed.
Unfortunately, this conventional equipment produces two-dimensional images even though the target under examination is three-dimensional. Also, the two-dimensional images represent a single thin plane taken at an arbitrary angle to the target making it very difficult to localize the image plane in the target and very difficult to reproduce an image at a particular location at a later time.
In U.S. application Ser. No. 08/419,049 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,454,371, assigned to the assignee of the present application, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, three-dimensional ultrasound imaging systems are described. Although, these systems overcome disadvantages associated with the prior art, improvements to enhance imaging and to increase the speed by which three-dimensional images can be generated from two-dimensional ultrasound images are continually being sought.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel system and method for generating a three-dimensional image from a succession of two-dimensional images, and a novel ultrasound imaging system.


A method of and mobile User Equipment, UE, for handling media types of an Internet Protocol, IP, multimedia communication session in an IP Multimedia communication Subsystem, IMS, wherein at the receipt of a session set up request message a mobile UE presents media type handling options based on the session set up request message. After receiving media type handling instructions by the mobile UE, based on the presented media type handling options, a session accept message is transmitted by the mobile UE in accordance with the media type handling instructions. Based on the media type handling instructions, media type may be routed by the IMS to terminal equipment remote from the mobile UE.

IMS is a communications platform for supporting rich multimedia communications with a mobile UE operating in a radio access network, such as GSM (Global System for Mobile communications), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), for the handling of media types such as video, including streaming video, images, audio, voice and data sharing. IMS applies applications that are based on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) signalling enabling multimedia sessions.
In private (home, office) and public (on the street, public offices, shops) environments, terminal equipment, such as (large) displays or screens are available, connected to an IP communication infrastructure, such as a wired or high speed wireless data network, which terminal equipment can be (temporary) seized by the mobile UE to handle media types of a multimedia communication session of an IMS client of the mobile UE as to display video content of such a communication session, for example. Other media types, such as audio, may also be directed or routed to suitable terminal equipment, such as loudspeakers belonging to a display or screen, for example.
When an IMS client is registered on a mobile UE, such as a mobile telephone, arriving media, such as video, is presented on the display of the telephone. For some communications or applications the display of the mobile user equipment is too small.
Prior art suggests to receive, using GSM or UMTS, for example, the video content at the mobile user equipment, and to redirect this video content, using a short range wireless communication technology, such as Bluetooth or Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), from the mobile UE to a nearby display or remote terminal equipment suited for completely viewing the video content, for example.
This may involve that the video content is processed by the mobile UE without actually being viewed at the mobile UE, while demanding a relatively high processing power of the processor of the mobile UE and consuming scarce battery power of the mobile UE.
The short range wireless communication technology, from its limited range and transmission capacity, poses limitations on the geographic distance between the mobile UE and the nearby display or remote terminal equipment, as well as on the quality of the video content to be displayed.

Method and mobile user equipment for handling media types of a communication session in an IMS communication system and an IMS node


The present invention provides a surface processing system for a work piece in the mechanical technical field. The system comprises at least one group of polishing units. A manipulator and several polishers with different polishing precisions are provided on the polishing units. The polishers are arranged around the manipulator in turn. The work piece could be moved by the manipulator between the processing center and the polishing units. The machined work piece is loaded by the manipulator for one time when the manipulator is located at the processing center. When the manipulator is located at the polishing units, the manipulator keeps holding the work piece and transfers the work piece in a preset sequence to each polisher corresponding to the polishing unit where the manipulator is located. The surface of work pieces having different wall thicknesses and complex surfaces could be processed in a large batch with a high efficiency.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a surface processing system in the polishing technical field, and in particular, to the surface processing treatment for a work piece, including a valve, a water pipe and, a water faucet.
2. Related Art
In the manufacturing industry, in order to protect the quality and aesthetic appearance of the products, polishing and finishing of the work piece are important processes for molding of components. Some problems may exist in the casting shape and machining size for components of complex appearance, particularly water faucets for bathrooms, including deviation, variation on wall thickness and inconsistency in shapes and positions, for which the components could not be processed by special machine tools. Therefore, man power will required for processing on abrasive belt machine and cloth wheel machine. As heat will be generated by finishing and friction and a large amount of metallic dust will be produced in the process of finishing, such working conditions are harmful to humans. Moreover, thanks to instability of manual operation, the finishing depth can not be easily and precisely determined. Consequently, low operation efficiency is resulted and the uniformity and stability of polishing products could not be sufficiently guaranteed.
Moreover, the ordinary finishing and polishing mechanisms are too simple to achieve grinding on various complex curved surfaces from multiple axial directions, orientations and angles. Therefore, the existing finishing and polishing mechanisms could be used for efficient and precise processing and mostly have to depend on rough grinding by technicians, for which the polishing effect for various work pieces could not be guaranteed. Moreover, in the filed of polishers, the work piece generally could not be positioned precisely as a result of defects of the structure of equipment, and the work piece usually has to be grasped by hands when the work piece is being finished. The work piece is swung by both hands to different angles and different parts of the work price could be polished by the polisher, for which the work piece could not be conveniently finished or in a time and cost effective manner.

Surface processing system for a work piece

Taizhou Federal Robot Technology Co., Ltd


When an N position sensor is ON, even though the N position is selected, the oil pressure supplied to a clutch C1 which is engaged during the transition from the non-running state to the running state is raised in advance to a predetermined oil pressure; and, if a running request is detected when a D position decision has not been made, irrespective of whether or not a shift lever has been shifted from its N position to its D position, first speed starting off from rest control is performed, in which the oil pressure supplied to the clutch C1 is raised to an oil pressure at which the clutch C1 is capable of power transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control device and a control method for an automatic transmission, and in particular relates to a control device and a control method for an automatic transmission, which are effective with regard to failure countermeasures during garage shifting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among types of automatic transmission mounted to a vehicle, there is a stepped type of automatic transmission which comprises a fluid coupling such as a torque converter or the like and a planetary gear type speed reduction device; and also there is a stepless type of automatic transmission which comprises a metallic belt wound between two pulleys whose effective diameters can be changed by oil pressure.
A stepped type automatic transmission is connected to the engine via a fluid coupling such as a torque converter or the like. Such a stepped type of automatic transmission comprises a transmission construction (a planetary gear type speed reduction device construction) which provides a plurality of power transmission paths, and, for example, changes over between these power transmission paths automatically based upon the accelerator opening amount and the vehicle speed; in other words, it is built so as to perform changeover between its various speed change ratios (running speed ranges) automatically. With this stepped type of automatic transmission, the engaged gear stage is determined by engaging and releasing predetermined combinations of clutch elements and brake elements (which are friction elements) and one way clutch elements.
On the other hand, a stepless type automatic transmission is also connected to the engine via a fluid coupling such as a torque converter or the like. For example, a belt type stepless transmission employs a metallic belt and a pair of pulleys, and implements continuous stepless speed changing by varying the effective diameters of these pulleys by oil pressure actuation. In more detail, this endless metallic belt is passed around an input side pulley, which is fixed to an input shaft, and an output side pulley, which is fixed to an output shaft. This input side pulley and output side pulley each comprises a pair of sheaves the width of the groove between with can be changed in a stepless manner, and, by thus changing the groove widths of the pulleys, the radiuses of the portions of the endless metallic belt which pass around the input side pulley and the output side pulley change, so that the rotational speed ratio between the input side pulley and the output side pulley, in other words the speed change ratio, can be changed continuously and steplessly.
With either of these types of automatic transmission, generally, a shift lever is provided to the vehicle in which the automatic transmission is fitted, this shift lever being actuated by the driver of the vehicle; and speed range positions (for example a reverse running position, a neutral position, and one or more forward running positions) are set based upon actuation of this shift lever.
In order to take a vehicle to which an automatic transmission having this type of structure is mounted out of its garage before driving the vehicle upon the road, or in order to put the vehicle back into the garage after driving the vehicle upon the road, or the like, so called garage shifting is performed, in which the shift lever is shifted from the parking (P) position to the reverse running (R) position in order to drive the vehicle backwards, or from the neutral (N) position to the forward running (D) position or to the reverse running (R) position, in order to move the vehicle forwards or backwards respectively.
In consideration of the possibility that the shift position for shift actuation, including such garage shift actuation, may not be accurately detected, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-5-306763, there is disclosed a shift position decision control device which, when the N position and the L position have been detected at the same time, gives priority to the detection of the L position.
This shift position decision control device is a shift position decision control device of an automatic transmission for a vehicle which includes a shift position detection means which detects the shift position set by a shift actuation mechanism electrically, and a means which operates a friction engaging element for engine braking by changing over an oil conduit within an oil pressure circuit, based upon an electrical detection signal for the shift position; and it includes: a decision means which decides whether or not a non-running position is being detected by the shift position detection means; a decision means which decides whether or not a shift position in which engine braking must be put into effect is detected by the shift position detection means; and an operating means which, when even in the state in which a non-running position is detected, also at the same time a shift position in which engine braking must be put into effect is detected, operates the friction engaging element for engine braking, by giving priority to the detection of the shift position in which engine braking must be put into effect.
With this shift position decision control device for an automatic transmission for a vehicle, even in the state in which a non-running position (the N position) is detected, when at the same time a shift position in which engine braking must be put into effect (the L position) is detected, it is arranged to give priority to the detection of this shift position in which engine braking must be put into effect, and, based upon this detection, the friction engaging element for engine braking is operated. As a result, the implementation of engine braking is not deteriorated.
It is included in the disclosure of the above document that shift operation is detected as a shift position by an electrical signal, and, based thereupon, the gear speed change of the automatic transmission (if it is of a stepped type), or the speed change gear ratio of the automatic transmission (if it is of a stepless type or of a stepless type which incorporates a sequential shift mechanism), is changed.
Now, when a fault occurs in the sensor (the switch) which detects this shift position, the driver is not able to engage the shift range to which he has shifted the shift lever. In particular, there is the possibility that it is not possible to start the vehicle off from rest, if the shift operation from the N position to the D position (garage shifting) cannot be detected.
However, in the above described Japanese Patent Application Publication No. JP-5-306763, no mention is made of this type of problem. Furthermore when, with the shift lever being in its D position, it is detected (erroneously) that the shift lever is still in its N position, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal and demands that the vehicle should start off from rest, a clutch (for example a clutch C1 for starting off from rest) which is a friction engaging element is abruptly engaged, so that, from the state in which the N position is engaged, abruptly the first speed range is engaged. At this time, since there is an inevitable response delay in a linear solenoid valve, in particular at low temperatures, accordingly there is a possibility that the actual oil pressure may exceed the commanded oil pressure, in which case there is a possibility that the control may become unstable.

Control device and control method for automatic transmission


A vehicle passenger side safety lamp system is a light with control circuitry mounted to the passenger side of a bus or tractor trailer rig to illuminate the right rear tire area beside the vehicle to increase driver visibility and thereby promote public road safety. The light assembly is crescent shaped and is wired to the right turn signal circuit to light automatically with the turn signal, and may be wired to illuminate automatically when a greater than 40 degree right turn is made. The light assembly becomes lighted when a reverse gear is entered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of lights and more specifically relates to a vehicle passenger side safety lamp system.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the more important factors which consumers consider when purchasing a vehicle is safety. To appeal to the consumer's desire for a safer automobile, manufacturers are equipping cars with new and innovative safety equipment each year. One potential hazard which has not been adequately addressed by auto manufacturers is the area surrounding the automobile in which the driver's view may be obstructed or inadequate due to the length of the vehicle. The areas along the sides of the automobile which are difficult to see from the driver's perspective are some of the more common problem areas. Because of these limitations, the driver is often in danger of causing an automobile accident. In situations such as changing lanes or pulling away from a curbside, turning around a curve, rear view or side view mirrors on an automobile are generally utilized. Unfortunately, these mirrors are adequate for giving only a limited view of the surrounding area, especially in low light or dark conditions. It is desirable that safety in driving is maximized such that pedestrians and property are suitably illuminated for the driver to avoid accident and injury.
The above-mentioned problem may be exacerbated when operating large vehicles; primarily, school buses and tractor-trailers, where the right side of these huge machines is difficult to fully see. School buses pose particular concern since these vehicles carry multitudes of children who walk alongside the bus when boarding. As such, many additional precautions must be taken by bus drivers; unfortunately, this can prove quite difficult because of the lack of full visibility discussed above. The hindrance is even worse when it is dark, since millions of school children are picked up before the sun rises and some are not dropped at home until after dark during the shortened days of winter months. Further pedestrians tend to stand close to the edge of the sidewalk while waiting to cross at a crosswalk. A solution to increase driver visibility and awareness is desirable.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,175,320; 5,467,071; and 6,572,250. This prior art is representative of lighting devices. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Ideally, a vehicle lighting device should provide an increase in driver visibility around a vehicle, and, yet, would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a reliable vehicle passenger side safety lamp system to illuminate the right rear tire area of school buses and other large vehicles such as tractor-trailers thereby increasing the visibility, helping to prevent injury to persons as well as damage to vehicles, and to avoid the above-mentioned problems.

Vehicle passenger side safety lamp systems


A multicast engine of a shared-memory switching fabric circuit increases the replication rate of data elements destined for multicast connections within a network switch by manipulating address information relating to those elements. The multicast engine cooperates with other components of the switching fabric circuit to minimize the total buffer requirements of the switch by storing only a single copy of each multicast data element in a location of shared memory. Specifically, the engine has a pipelined architecture that provides a multicasting capability for the switching fabric circuit by replicating only an address pointer to that memory location for each destination of the multicast connection.

A network switch of a data communications network provides a "switching" function for transferring information among entities of the network. Typically, the switch is a computer comprising a collection of ports interconnected by a switching fabric circuit. Each port couples the switch to a network entity over any of various types of media, including point-to-point serial line, Ethernet, FDDI or token ring connections. A network entity may consist of any device that "sources" (i.e., transmits) or "sinks" (i.e., receives) information over such media.
The switching function provided by the switch typically comprises receiving information at an input port from a network entity, forwarding that information to at least one other output port and, thereafter, transmitting the information over at least one medium to another entity of the network. In the case of an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch, the information is forwarded among the ports as a plurality of fixed-length data elements, or cells. Each cell is 53 bytes in length and consists of a 5-byte header field appended to a 48-byte data ("payload") field. The header field contains routing and other address information, e.g., virtual path (VP) and virtual circuit (VC) connection information, for the cell that is translated prior to transmission over the network.
Often, the destination of a cell may be more than one output port of the switch; this type of data transfer may involve a broadcast or multicast data connection. Point-to-multipoint connections generally degrade the performance of a switch because of the overhead needed to effect the translation and forwarding decisions for the cell. These decisions are typically rendered by the switching fabric circuit; examples of such fabrics include a shared-memory switching fabric, a shared-medium, output-buffered switching fabric based on, e.g., a time division multiplexing bus, and a crossbar, input-buffered switching fabric.
The bus-based switching fabric circuit is a multipoint data path that is shared among the ports. This architecture facilitates replication of an ATM cell because those ports destined to receive the cell merely copy its contents from the bus with essentially no replication latency. However, each copy of the cell is physically stored in an output buffer memory of the port, thereby necessitating a significant amount of total buffer capacity in order to effectively implement the multicasting capability.
The shared-memory architecture provides a generally higher buffer efficiency than other switching fabrics because of statistical buffer sharing, while achieving the optimal delay-throughput performance of bus-based switching for unicast (point-to-point) connection traffic. Yet, implemention of multicast functionality generally suffers from potentially slower multicast replication rates. The invention is directed to a mechanism for increasing the replication rate of a switching fabric circuit having a multicasting capability that requires minimal buffer capacity for multicast connection traffic.

Arbitration mechanism for a multicast logic engine of a switching fabric circuit


A method of evaluating the capillary pressure curve of rocks of an underground reservoir from measurements on rock debris or fragments such as cuttings from the reservoir, over the total saturation range of these rocks, within a short period and at a low cost, from these measurements is disclosed. The method comprises measuring the permeability k of the debris, measuring the capillary pressure curve Pc as a function of the saturation of these fragments initially saturated with a fluid (brine for example) by subjecting them to centrifugation, and parametrizing a capillary pressure curve Pc satisfying empirical relations depending on adjustable parameters, constrained to adjust to an asymptotic part of the capillary curve measured by centrifugation, and to the value of permeability k measured on the cuttings, so as to obtain the whole of the capillary pressure curve. Applications include hydrocarbon reservoir evaluation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of evaluating a capillary pressure curve of the rocks of an underground reservoir from measurements on rock debris taken therefrom.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Laboratory measurements on cores or cuttings
Measurement of petrophysical parameters such as the permeability, the porosity and the capillary properties on rock fragments obtained while drilling a well through an underground formation is an interesting opportunity for operator companies to rapidly obtain a first petrophysical characterization of producing zones traversed by the well.
French Patent 2,809,821, filed by the assignee, describes a system of evaluating physical parameters such as the absolute permeability of porous rocks of an underground reservoir zone, from cuttings returned to the surface in the drilling mud. In an enclosure where the cuttings are dipped in a viscous fluid, some of this fluid is injected at a pressure that increases with time until a predetermined pressure threshold is reached, so as to compress the gas trapped in the pores of the rock. This injection stage is followed by a relaxation stage where injection is stopped. The pressure evolution during the injection process is modelled from initial values selected for the physical parameters of the cuttings. A computer adjusts the values iteratively so as to obtain the best possible agreement between the modelled pressure curve and the pressure curve really measured.
French patent application 02/0023, filed by the assignee, describes another method of evaluating physical parameters such as the absolute permeability and the porosity of the rocks of an underground reservoir zone, also from cuttings. An enclosure containing the rock fragments and filled with a viscous fluid communicates with a vessel containing the same fluid at a predetermined pressure so as to compress the gas trapped in the pores of the rock. The time of application of this pressure, according to whether it is short or long, allows measuring either of the pressure variation in the enclosure or the variation of the volume actually absorbed by the rock fragments. The pressure or volume evolution in the enclosure is then modelled from initial values selected for the physical parameters of the fragments, and the values of the physical parameters of the rock fragments are iteratively adjusted so that the modelled evolution best adjusts to the measured evolution of the physical parameter in the enclosure.
In the field of petrophysical study, the capillary pressure is also a very important datum for operators because it conditions:
the initial distribution of the fluids in the reservoir from the aquifer zone (referred to as WOC, for water-oil contact, by those skilled in the art) to the upper part of the reservoir (transition zone). According to the capillary pressure curve associated with a reservoir rock and the nature of the fluids in place, this transition zone can extend over many meters, which has an important effect on the determination of the accumulations in place,
the input pressure of a rock, which is particularly important for cap rocks. For example, for a gas storage tank, the input pressure of the cap rocks conditions directly the allowable overpressure in the storage levels without having leaks.
With the current techniques, the capillary pressure curve is obtained by means of laboratory measurements on reservoir cores. These methods are expensive because of the coring operations as well as the measurements on the cores, and the results are often available only several months after drilling.
Approaches to rapidly obtain the capillary pressure curve
However, there are alternative methods described in the literature for evaluating the capillary pressure curve rapidly, either during drilling or slightly later.
The most commonly used approach uses the mercury porosimetry technique for measuring the air/mercury capillary pressure curve Pc directly from cuttings. However, the obtained curve is significantly different from the reference curve obtained from cores with high wetting fluid saturations. Further, this approach is based on the use of mercury, which is extremely polluting and progressively forbidden by the law in many countries, which poses a major problem for applying this technique in the near future.
Another known method uses the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technique to rapidly estimate the capillary pressure curve from stratigraphic data measured in the well shortly after drilling. It is notably described in the following publications:
Bowers, M., A. et al.: "Prediction Of Permeability From Capillary Pressure Curves Derived With NMR", 17 Sep. 1998,
Marshall, D., et al.: "Method For Correlating NMR Relaxometry And Mercury Injection Data", SCA No. Society of Core Analysts International Symposium 1995,
Volokitin, Y., W. J. et al.: "A Practical Approach To Obtain 1st Drainage Capillary Pressure Curves From NMR Core and Log Data", SCA No. Society of Core Analysts International Symposium 1999.
The NMR relaxation signal is first converted in terms of pore size distribution, then in terms of threshold size distribution, which allows calculation of a pseudo-capillary pressure curve. This approach has been tested on several samples of known curve Pc. The results show that a good agreement with the reference curves can only be obtained by means of a rigorous calibration stage to be carried out case by case according to the nature of the rocks studied. This calibration stage is necessary owing to the uncertainty on:
the NMR signal-pore size distribution conversion which depends on the value of the surface relaxivity which is variable according to the rocks, and
the pore size distribution-threshold size distribution conversion which depends on the nature of the rock and on the diagenesis process.
This approach is therefore not recommended in a predictive exploration context. In any case, it would not be applicable to cuttings.
Image analysis has also been the subject of work intended to obtain a curve Pc. The porous medium is first prepared in a form of a thin section photographed by a scanning electron microscopy or SEM. The image obtained is then analyzed so as to determine parameters representative of the proportion and of the shape of the voids in relation to the rock. In particular, it is possible to determine a threshold size distribution to reconstruct a pseudo-capillary pressure curve Pc. The main limitation of this method is the two-dimensional (2D) nature of the thin section, whereas the capillary pressure is by definition a three-dimensional (3D) property. Besides, this technique requires quite heavy conditioning, which is not really compatible with a result obtained slightly later. Image analysis could be applicable to cuttings but it would require careful calibration to acquire a good predictability.
Finally, it can be noted that the centrifuging technique is sometimes applied in the field to cuttings in order to extract the largest possible amount of drilling fluid from the rock to minimize pollutant discharges to the environment and to limit the cost by recycling the drilling fluid recovered. The inventors do not know of centrifugation of cuttings having been considered in order to determine capillary properties.

Method of evaluating the capillary pressure curve of an underground deposit rocks based on rock cuttings measurements


Improved music box motion generation mechanism is equipped with a wave-shaped cam ring housed at the bottom of the upper housing cavity of a mount case and a rotation disc disposed on top of the cam ring and having a number of symmetric through holes disposed along the periphery thereof and a central through hole located at the center thereof. With each symmetric through hole is associated a fixing member by way of a nut. An actuation rod having a follower disposed at the bottom end thereof is moveably engaged with the fixing member, the rod can move up and down and spin 360 degrees around and travel along with the fixed wave-shaped cam ring. A main shaft is disposed through the central through hole of the rotation disc with its bottom end connected to the music producing and driving shaft of a driving case. A spring tightening knob made in the shape of an umbrella is disposed at the top end of the main shaft whereby the rotational actuation of the knob can make the decoration article attached to each actuation rod spin around and move in circle with the rotation disc and move up and down simultaneously.

The present invention relates to an improved music box motion generation mechanism which is equipped with a wave-shaped cam ring and a rotation disc to which a main shaft is fixedly engaged along with a number of actuation rods engaged with the rotation disc by way of fixing members; the bottom of each actuation rod is in abutment against the wave-shaped cam ring. To each actuation rod is attached a decoration article, and onto the top end of the main shaft is mounted a spring tightening knob which can be rotationally actuated so as to make the main shaft and the rotation disc spin, permitting the decoration articles to move up and down and spin 360 degrees around and move in circle along with the rotational disc simultaneouly.
The conventional music box motion generation mechanism is as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, the muscic box 1 is provided with a base mount 11 having a housing cavity 12 in which is disposed a music producing and driving unit 13 equipped with a spring tightening knob 131 used to get a driving spring 132 tightened. A shaft 14 extended upwardly from the knob 131 is provided with a through hole 141 having inner threads 142 disposed thereon. An outer tube 15 having a flanged bottom 151 is used to house the shaft 14 so as to permit the same to be freely rotated. The flanged bottom 151 provided with outer threads 152 is led through a through hole 111 and is secured in place to the base mount 11 by a nut 153 located in the cavity 12.
The shaft 14 is integrally associated with the music producing and driving unit 13 so that the actuation of the turning knob 131 will make the shaft 14 spin. A through hole 141 is disposed at the top end of the shaft 14 with inner threads 142 disposed thereon so that a connection rod 16 having both ends provided with threads 161, 162 can be fixed in place to the shaft 14 with a decoration umbrella 17 having a through hole 171 disposed at the top end thereof attached to the other screwed end of the connection rod 16 by means of a fixing knob 18. A number of decoration articles 191 each mounted onto a securing pole 19 attached to the decoration umbrella 17.
This prior art music box structure is relatively simple, the decoration articles 191 are fixed by the securing poles 19 and can only move circularly with the spring biased shaft 14.

5th Floor, 7-1, Alley 56, Lane 166, Shih Pai Road Sec. 1

7th Floor, No. 9, Lane 100, Her Chiang Street


In a multi-channel data recorder, digital data for recording is converted to words of reduced length, and data for identifying the data channel is added to the reduced-length data words to produce a signal having a word length compatible for recording by a conventional data recorder.

The present invention relates to a multi-channel data recorder, and more particularly is applicable to a data recorder for recording data from a plurality of channels sequentially.
There is so called digital audio tape recorder (DAT) as a magnetic recording apparatus which makes slanted recording tracks sequentially arranged on a magnetic tape by using rotary heads and records digital audio signals on the recording tracks sequentially.
In such digital audio tape recorder, the audio signals are converted into a digital signal for recording and/or reproducing and effectively avoid tone degradation by means of execution of error correcting procedures.
Recently, by using an integrated circuit, an overall shape can be made compact and light-weight.
It is convenient if various data can be recorded by utilizing this kind of digital audio tape recorder.
Further, in such case, it is possible to record or reproduce the data easily using a construction of digital audio tape recorder and to form a compact and light weight tape recorder so that a signal recording format of this digital audio tape recorder can be utilized effectively.
FIG. 1 illustrates a signal recording mode of a digital audio tape recorder (DAT) to record signals on a tape by using so called rotary heads. In the digital audio tape recorder, two signal recording modes, that is, an SP (standard play) mode and an LP (long play) mode, are performed. In the SP mode, an input signal is able to be recorded as data having 16 bits in one word, 48 [kHz] in sampling frequency and two channels (i.e. L and R channels). In the LP mode, the input signal is able to be recorded with the numbers of the recording channels which are increased by two channels as compared to the SP mode.
FIG. 2 illustrates a standard of data conversion/compression in a case where, in the LP mode, the signal with 16 bits in one word is compressed into a signal with 12 bits in one word and is recorded on the tape. The 8 bits of the signal with 16 bits in one word is extracted corresponding to the amplitude level. Range bits of 4 bits representing the amplitude levels (or ranges) are generated and added to the 8 bits of the signal to record as a signal with 12 bits in one word on the tape. The low-order bits following the 8 bits extracted from the signal with 16 bits in one word are omitted when converting/compressing into 12 bits in one word.


A transmission assembly includes an inner housing member and an outer band member. The outer band member is slidingly received over the outer surface of the inner housing member. An inner surface of the outer band member includes a plurality of notches. After the outer band member is placed in a desired radial and axial alignment with the inner housing member, a plurality of deformations are lanced in the inner housing member. The deformations extend radially outward into the notches formed in the band member. The cooperation between the lanced deformations and the notches maintain the two pieces of the transmission assembly in an desired axial and radial alignment.

This invention generally relates to a vehicle transmission assembly having a power take off gear attached to the outside of an inner housing member.
In some automotive vehicle transmissions, a power take off gear is provided on the outside of a clutch housing member. In most instances the power take off gear is welded onto the outside of the clutch housing member. While such an arrangement has proven useful for many applications, it is not without shortcomings and drawbacks. For example, a welding process typically includes the formation of a flash on the exterior of the clutch housing that must be removed. Introducing an additional step of removing the undesirable flash during the manufacturing process adds additional labor and expense. Another shortcoming of welded arrangements is that the welding process can weaken or otherwise compromise the integrity of the clutch housing and/or the power take off gear especially when the welding process is not accurately or properly performed. A further difficulty is sometimes encountered when a secure weld is not achieved.
There is a need for an assembly process and an arrangement that results in a more efficient and reliable configuration. This invention addresses those needs by providing a transmission assembly that overcomes the drawbacks and shortcomings of the conventional arrangements.
In general terms, this invention is a transmission assembly having an inner housing member and an outer band member. The outer band member can be, for example, a power take off gear. The inner housing member preferably includes a plurality of circumferentially spaces splines on an inner surface of the housing member. An inner surface of the outer band member includes a plurality of notches. The outer band member is slid over the outer surface of the inner housing member and the two pieces are placed in a desired axial and radial alignment. A plurality of deformations are then formed in the inner housing member that protrude radially outward into the notches of the inner band member. The deformations preferably are lanced, using a lancing tool that acts upon the interior of the inner housing member. The placement of the deformations within the notches on the outer band member serves to maintain the outer band member in a proper axial and radial alignment with the inner housing member.
The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be described as follows.


An apparatus for preventing peripherals from back powering a host computer is disclosed. The apparatus use a timer and associated logic circuitry to determine the time period between signals being sent to the host computer from the peripheral device. Under predetermined time-out conditions, the current output by the peripheral is disabled to prevent the peripheral from back powering a main computer.

Computer systems typically comprise a CPU and supporting subsystems, such as a memory subsystem, a storage subsystem and a display subsystem. Moreover, while some computer systems are contained within a single host computer box and share a single power source, the vast majority of modern computer systems have at least one peripheral device that is separate from the host computer box and which derives power from an independent power supply. Typically, such a peripheral device communicates with the subsystems in the host computer via a communication bus. These communication buses comprise ground, power, control lines, data lines and so on that links the peripheral device with the host computer.
Because the host computer and the peripheral device are independently powered, they must be independently disconnected from their respective power sources. For example, when the computer system is shut down, it may be the case that the power supply that supplies power to the host computer box is powered down while certain peripheral devices such as printers and disk drives remain powered on. Whenever one of the power source to the host computer is powered down before the peripheral device is powered down. As a result, power may continue to flow from the peripheral device over the communication bus.
This continued power flow has caused problems in some computer systems. Where a host computer is disconnected first, power can flow back from the peripheral subsystem into the host computer and wreak havoc on the states of certain subsystems within the host computer. Potentially, the back power could place the host computer into a state so that it will not properly restart without taking remedial measures.
Accordingly, there is a need for a peripheral device that prevents back powering host computers.


An immersion lithography tool with a diverter element, positioned between the immersion element and the substrate, for altering the “footprint” or shape of the meniscus of the body of immersion liquid between the last optical element and an immersion element on one side, and the substrate on the other side when the substrate is moved. The apparatus includes a substrate holder to hold the substrate having an imaging surface and a projection optical system having a last optical element. The projection optical system projects an image onto a target imaging area on the substrate through the immersion liquid filled in a gap between the imaging surface of the substrate and the last optical element. An immersion element maintains the immersion fluid in the gap. The diverter element is positioned between the immersion element and the substrate. The diverter element alters the footprint shape of the meniscus of the body of immersion liquid, thereby preventing or reducing the amount of leakage from a space between the substrate and the immersion element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to immersion lithography tools, and more particularly, to an immersion lithography tool with an element, positioned between an immersion element and an object (e.g., a substrate), to prevent or reduce leakage of immersion fluid when the object is moved.
2. Related Art
A typical lithography tool includes a radiation source, a projection optical system, and a substrate stage to support and move a substrate to be imaged. A radiation-sensitive material, such as resist, is coated onto the substrate surface prior to placement onto the substrate stage. During operation, radiation energy from the radiation source is used to project an image defined by an imaging element through the projection optical system onto the substrate. The projection optical system typically includes a number of lenses. The lens or optical element closest to the substrate is often referred to as the "last" or "final" optical element.
The projection area during an exposure is typically much smaller than the imaging surface of the substrate. The substrate therefore has to be moved relative to the projection optical system to pattern the entire surface. In the semiconductor industry, two types of lithography tools are commonly used. With so-called "step and repeat" tools, the entire image pattern is projected at once in a single exposure onto a target area of the substrate. After the exposure, the wafer is moved or "stepped" in the X and/or Y direction and a new target area is exposed. This step and repeat process is performed over and over until the entire substrate surface is exposed. With scanning type lithography tools, the target area is exposed in a continuous or "scanning" motion. The imaging element is moved in one direction, while the substrate is moved in either the same or the opposite direction during exposure. After each scan, the substrate is then moved in the X and/or Y direction to the next scan target area. This process is repeated until all the desired areas on the substrate have been exposed.
It should be noted that lithography tools are typically used to image or pattern semiconductor wafers and flat panel displays. The term "substrate", as used herein, is intended to generically mean any work piece that can be patterned, including, but not limited to, semiconductor wafers and flat panel displays.
Immersion lithography systems use a layer of fluid that fills a gap between the final optical element of the projection optical system and the substrate. The fluid enhances the resolution of the system by enabling exposures with a numerical aperture (NA) greater than one, which is the theoretical limit for conventional "dry" lithography. The fluid in the gap permits the exposure with radiation that would otherwise be completely internally reflected at the optical-air interface. With immersion lithography, numerical apertures as high as the index of refraction of the fluid are possible. Immersion also increases the depth of focus for a given NA, which is the tolerable error in the vertical position of the substrate, compared to a conventional dry lithography system. Immersion lithography therefore has the ability to provide greater resolution than can be performed using conventional dry lithography, as the fluid essentially becomes part of the optical system of the lithography tool.
One known way of maintaining the immersion fluid in the gap where exposure of the substrate is to occur is with the use of an air curtain. For more information on air curtain type immersion tools, see for example U.S. Patent publication 2005/0007569 or European Patent Applications EP 1 477 856 A1 and EP 1 420 299 A2, incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.
It is also known to maintain the immersion fluid in the gap between the last optical element and the imaging surface of the substrate by submersing both in a container filled with immersion fluid. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,852, also incorporated by reference herein.
Another known way of maintaining the immersion fluid within the gap of a lithography tool is with the use of a confinement member that surrounds the last optical element immediately above the area to be exposed on the substrate. For more information on confinement member type immersion lithography tools, see U.S. application Ser. No. 11/362,833, and PCT Application Serial Numbers. PCT/US2004/22915 and PCT/US2005/14200, all incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, all incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
In yet another approach, which is a variation of the above-described submersion type tool, a large confinement plate is used for submerging the substrate to be imaged in the immersion fluid. For more details on confinement plate type immersion lithography tools, see U.S. patent publication 2007/0279608, incorporated by reference herein.
During semiconductor wafer fabrication for example, wafers are typically patterned one after another by the lithography tool. After a wafer has been patterned, it is replaced and the next wafer is exposed. This process is completed over and over, typically as fast as possible, to increase throughput. During a wafer exchange, the just exposed wafer typically has to be moved a relatively long distance from the exposure area to the wafer exchange area. Once the exchange takes place, the new wafer undergoes another relatively long-move to an alignment area. After alignment, the wafer undergoes yet another long-move back to the exposure area for exposure. For the sake of simplicity, all of the above-described moves are hereafter generically referred to as "long-moves".
Long-moves can be problematic with confinement member type immersion tools under certain circumstances. If the speed during a long-move is too fast, there is a tendency for the immersion fluid to leak out from under the confinement member, leaving a trail of water behind on the wafer. This problem can be either mitigated or altogether eliminated by reducing the speed of the long-moves. The drawback of the reduced speed, however, is that throughput is reduced as well.

Nozzle to help reduce the escape of immersion liquid from an immersion lithography tool


A data processing system manages transaction related information generated on a network of interconnected public access computers, including monitoring purchases and providing referral fee accounting based thereon. The integrated software package establishes a platform for Merchants and Site Owners for managing the negotiation of promotional and commercial contracts, the implementation of resulting promotional and commercial efforts, and final accounting in accordance with pre-established criteria. The system thus enables network users to take advantage of a retail sales channel on public or private electronic networks.

In the last four years, there has been an explosion of interest in the transaction of business by interconnected computers linked together in formal networks. The greatest interest is directed to the largest network today, known as the Internet. The Internet is in fact a compilation of smaller linked networks all providing essentially free public access to a wealth of information, stored at individual sites managed by numerous participants on the Internet. The Internet has already changed in dramatic fashion many of the ways people communicate, collect, and share information. More will certainly come, as a greater percentage of our population become comfortable with the machinations required to access and communicate with others on the Internet.
Of particular interest is the World Wide Web, or what is now more often abbreviated as the "web". The web is a collection of interconnected computers forming an important subset of the Internet. Due to its graphic capabilities, the web is fast becoming the focal point of all Internet communications, which are enhanced by the use of hyperlinks (or "links") interconnecting web sites to other sites using a special protocol. This protocol employs a common software structure predicated on the use of the computer code known as hypertext markup language or HTML. A link is created with this form of programming language by having a word in a text field (or a graphic image on a web page) linked to the location of another web page, via a string of information setting forth, at a minimum, the new web page address presented in hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP).
USERS access these web pages with an application program known as a browser; the two most popular are Navigator.RTM. by Netscape.RTM. Corp. and Explorer.RTM. by Microsoft.RTM. Corp. By clicking on the highlighted text (or specific graphic image), the USER'S connection to the current web page is transferred to the new web page address associated with the link--with the new page displayed on the screen. This powerful tool permits the USER to "surf the web" by clicking on an almost endless succession of links going to page after page all following a common thread as defined by the text or graphic component of the link label.
For example, if the word unicorn was highlighted on one web page, the USER'S selection of that word would lead to a new page having some connection (strong or weak) to the highlighted concept. A similar link may be created using a graphic image of a unicorn. In either case, the selection of the topic causes the new web page address to be inserted into the browser command line for execution.
One of the greatest promises for the Internet and, in particular, the web, involves its use as a vehicle of commerce. The enhanced communication, rich text, and graphic environment makes the web ideal for supporting a wide variety of transactions, with many of the features of a large collection of separate stores, such as a mall or similar, but with the ability to extensively shop a number of competing chains in an instant. By hopping between competing merchants on the web, the consumer is able to obtain a good price with minimal difficulty, i.e., no hassles for parking, surly store clerks, poor inventory, etc. With the use of secured credit cards or similar, the web consumer has many capabilities that his sidewalk counterpart is lacking.
Notwithstanding these advantages, commerce on the web has been moving at a snail's pace. Much of the problem lies in the sheer volume of information (there are currently over a million sites on the web) and the inability for the various merchants to get out the message on their products and services effectively or efficiently, thus leaving the merchant's corresponding web sites that comprise the critical information largely unknown to the general public. This problem has been exacerbated by the exponential growth in the number of web site pages in existence--all seeking visitors--and, in so doing, diluting the audience.
In an attempt to rectify this problem, there has been a recent effort to expand USER knowledge of various merchant's on the web by use of traditional advertising that is adapted to web strictures. For example, the use of glossy banner ads touting a product or service has now become reasonably common at a number of popular sites. These banners combine graphics and text into an appealing display triggering interest in the USER as they visit the site displaying the banner. By clicking on the banner, the USER is transported by the magic of the web to the Merchant site associated with the banner. This site is the merchant's web page, and provides all the information needed by the USER to partake in the merchant's goods and services. If inclined, after arriving at the merchant's site, the USER may order one or more products from the merchant and pay using an encrypted credit card number. Importantly, the USER would never have located the merchant but for the banner ad, and the merchant would not have booked the nascent sale without the USER'S access to the merchant's web site, via the banner ad. Accordingly, the commerce created by the banner ad or similar promotional based links is of increasing importance in allowing merchants to transact on the Internet.
Notwithstanding this importance, the systems in place to allow the use of referral based electronic commerce are archaic at best. Presently, the use of banners or similar at high traffic points on the web is supported by a fee based system that imprecisely gauges the level of use of the ads by visiting USERS. Typically, the cost for placing a banner is tied to the number of accesses as measured by CPM's (cost per thousand accesses). The merchant is thereafter charged a fee tied to this access level. This, however, fails to measure the much more vital success ratio of those accesses. More importantly, the tracking of accesses is non-standardized and without verification. Lacking these key attributes has retarded the expanded use of promotion based revenues for the content providers, who remain mired in raising revenues through subscription or CPM based approaches that continue to evidence significant consumer resistance. In turn, merchants have been skeptical about conducting commerce on public networks.
It was with the foregoing understanding that the present invention was made.

Data processing system for integrated tracking and management of commerce related activities on a public access network


A system for automatically cleaning toner build-up on a roller, such as the fuser pressure roller in an electrophotographic printing device, using the duplexing capability of the device. One embodiment is a method for cleaning a roller in an image forming device. The method includes the steps of: feeding a sheet of print media into the simplex paper path; printing a cleaning pattern on one side of the sheet; routing the sheet through the duplex paper path to invert the sheet; and routing the inverted sheet back through the simplex paper path. When the image forming device includes a fuser, such as with a laser printer, a toner image cleaning pattern is applied to the paper or other sheet media, the toner is fused to the paper, the paper is then routed through a duplexer and back through the fuser. When the cleaning page is fed into the image forming device the second time, it goes through the device with the printed side down. As it passes through the fuser, the toner that makes up the cleaning pattern becomes tacky. The tacky toner cleans the pressure roller as the roller comes in contact with the printed side of the page.

Electrophotographic printing involves applying a uniform surface charge to a photoconductor and exposing the photoconductor to imaging light in select areas to define a latent electrostatic image on the photoconductor. The latent image is developed by depositing toner particles on the surface of the photoconductor. The toner adheres to the imaged areas of the photoconductor to form a developed image that is transferred to paper or another imaging media. The loose toner is then fused to the paper by passing the paper between a heated fuser roller that contacts the top of the paper and an opposing pressure roller that contacts the bottom of the paper. Over time, toner builds up on the pressure roller. Toner build-up on the pressure roller must be cleaned periodically to maintain good print quality.
In the past, cleaning pads were used to clean toner build-up on the pressure roller. Cleaning pads are oil impregnated pads or fabric webs that contact the heated fuser roller to wipe away residual toner before the toner has a chance to deposit on the pressure roller. Cleaning pads have been largely eliminated from laser printers and other electrophotographic printing devices for both ecological and usability reasons. Cleaning pads have to be replaced each time the print cartridge is replaced. Eliminating cleaning pad replacement made it easier to replace the print cartridge. Cleaning pads require additional manufacturing materials--plastic substrate, fabric pad and lubricating oil--that often end up in a landfill. Since the elimination of cleaning pads, the build-up of toner on the fuser pressure rollers has become more of a problem. Newer self cleaning fuser designs have attempted to minimize toner build-up, but periodic cleaning is sometimes still necessary to maintain good print quality. The adverse effects of toner build-up on the pressure roller have become an increasingly important problem in those parts of the world where paper with high calcium carbonate content is used.
One solution to toner build-up in modern printing devices is the use of a cleaning page. Presently, the user must generate the cleaning page from the printer's front panel or by printing an appropriate image from the host. The cleaning page typically includes a wide diagonal bar printed across the width of the page along with text instructing the user to place the cleaning page back in the paper tray upside down and print the page again. When the cleaning page is fed into the printer the second time, it goes through the printer with the printed side down. As it passes through the fuser, the toner that makes up the diagonal stripe becomes tacky. The tacky toner cleans the pressure roller as the roller comes in contact with the printed side of the page. This manual process is inconvenient at best, and customers, particularly in network environments, either do not know how to or do not want to go through the effort of generating and processing the cleaning page.

System for cleaning rollers in an image forming device


Systems and methods for conducting autonomous underwater inspections of subsea and other underwater structures using a 3D laser mounted on an underwater platform such as AUV, an ROV or a tripod. The systems and methods described herein can be used for scanning underwater structures to gain a better understanding of the underwater structures, such as for example, for the purpose of generating a 3D virtual model of the underwater structure. The 3D virtual model can be used for many purposes including, but not limited to, directing inspection, repair, and manipulation of the underwater structure, navigating around the underwater structure, and other purposes.

Systems and methods that employ 3D sonar on an underwater vehicle to conduct inspections of subsea and other underwater structures is known from WO 2012/061069, WO 2012/061097, WO 2012/061099, WO 2012/061137, WO 2012/061135, and WO 2012/061134, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In WO 2012/061137, data resulting from the 3D sonar is used to generate a 3D virtual model of the underwater structure.

Underwater platform with LIDAR and related methods