An apparatus for isolating data receiving entity from a data sending entity includes a first data channel, coupled to the data sending entity, and a second data channel, coupled to the data receiving entity. A processor is programmed to compare a plurality of data words received from the first data channel to at least one data word characteristic of a data virus and to assert a control signal when a data word received from the first data channel corresponds to a data word characteristic of a data virus. An optical isolator is capable of isolating the first data channel from the second data channel when the processor detects a data virus. A controllable power supply is responsive to the control signal from the processor and coupled to the optical isolator, which provides power to the optical isolator only when the control signal from the processor is not asserted.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for isolating a computer system upon detection of a virus and similar data.
2. The Prior Art
Recently, transmission of data viruses over the Internet has become a serious concern for Internet users. To reduce the concern, several methods are used to isolate computers from the Internet while the users are in local mode. However, when users of such methods are in a connected mode, they become prey to any virus that they may unwittingly download.
Computer virus scanners are common and can be used to detect a virus once it is downloaded. However, such scanners cannot prevent the virus from being downloaded. They can only aid in the identification of a virus once it has already infected the user's computer.
Nowhere does the prior art disclose a method or apparatus for detecting a virus as it is being received from a network and isolating the user's computer from the Internet when an incoming virus is detected.

Method and apparatus for isolating a computer system upon detection of viruses and similar data


A method is provided for controlling a network element from a client at a remote work station connectable to the network, the network, element is registered for attributes to be tracked, and attributes associated with the network element are polled only if the client requests the monitoring of the network element.

A microfiche appendix is included in this application.
This invention relates, generally, to a method for controlling a network element and, more particularly, to a method for remotely controlling the network by communications through the network.
Network management systems in which network elements, or management agents, are remotely controlled from a remote, management work station by means of communications between the management work station and the managed network elements sent through the network are known. Such known network management systems employ a special communication protocol for communications between the remote work station running a management program and an element management server that contains a management information base that defines the interface between the work station and the network elements.
Known systems such as (Hewlett Packard HP-OV NNM or DM, Sun Microsystems Solstice) present an interface where the client application must poll the network element when status is needed. In these systems, the polling may not be coordinated and is replicated for each client, if each client is interested in the same attributes. Also, each of the clients receive the full results for each polling cycle (even if there was no change from the last cycle), increasing the bandwidth used to communicate between the client application and the network element, as well as creating additional processing overhead due to the replicated polling at the network element.
A method is provided for controlling a network element from a remote work station connectable to the network. The method provides for registering the network element for attributes to be tracked, and polling for attributes associated with the network element only if the client requests the monitoring of the network element. Changes in attributes are reported when the client requests notification of changes in attributes. For attributes polled for a plurality of clients, changes in the attributes to one of the plurality of clients requesting notification of changes in the attributes are reported.
The method further provides for polling once for a plurality of clients that registers for the same attributes and reporting asynchronously changes in the attributes to a plurality of clients.
Another aspect of the invention provides for running an object oriented program at the remote work station to control an object associated with the controllable network element, translating interface operations generated by the work station during the running of the object oriented program to corresponding translated interface operations in an object oriented language associated with the object being controlled, and connecting the corresponding translated interface operations through the network to an object server to control the object associated with the network element in accordance with the translated interface operations.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

Method for controlling a network element from a remote workstation


A user device includes a dual array camera in which a first camera includes a first image sensor without a color filter array to capture luminance, and a second camera includes a second image sensor with a color filter array to capture chrominance.

Various user devices, such as mobile or portable devices, include cameras to allow users to capture images and video. The dimensions of a camera depend on the dimensions of the lens, and the dimensions of the lens are interrelated to the focal length. The focal length depends on, for example, the field of view and the optical format (e.g., size of the sensor).

Light sensitive, low height, and high dynamic range camera


A method for maintaining modification management of a tailored document based on transcluded portions of one or more source documents, comprising determining modifications in each revision of each source document, storing said modifications, and notifying a user of the tailored document with respect to said determined modifications in each source document that are incorporated in the tailored document, wherein said modifications include any changes in the source documents between revisions of the source document.

Documents, including standards documents (documents associated with various standard organizations, such as ASTM International, etc.) and military specification can be analyzed and reorganized into a structure that allows automated dissemination of the information contained therein.
Thus, it is known that a method and system can organize, store and disseminate knowledge contained in a collection of standards documents that organizes subjects and requirements defined in those documents as an ontology and wherein the system is embodied, such as on a computer readable medium coupled to a processor, so as to annotate and convert documents in order to create a shared structured syntactic model of the documents, to create an ontology directed to a semantic tagger that creates a shared structured semantic model of the documents, a database for storing the documents syntactic and semantic models as objects in the ontology, as well as an interface permitting interrogation of the database.
Included in such systems and methods is the ability to create what is known as a transcluded (tailored) document; that is, a document that combines portions from multiple standards documents so as to form a tailored document.

Method, apparatus and computer program product for document change management in original and tailored documents


The present disclosure provides a direct type backlight module (1) and a display device. The direct type backlight module (1) includes: a back plate (10) including a body (110) and a side plate (120) protruding around an edge of the body (110), the body (110) and the side plate (120) are enclosed to form a receiving cavity (100), and a back surface of the body (110) is partially recessed towards the receiving cavity (100) to form a mounting groove (130); and a rear housing (20), covering the mounting groove (130), a back surface of the rear housing (20) is flush with an edge of the mounting groove (130) of the body (110). The direct type backlight module (1) overcomes the defect in the conventional display device that the rear housing protrudes from the back plate, causing uneven thickness of the display device.

People are of increasingly demanding of display devices such as televisions and computer monitors as the improvement of living standards. Generally, the display devices adopt two types of the backlight modules, namely, a side type backlight module and a direct type backlight module. The back side of the back plate of the direct type backlight module is usually flat. After the movement, the circuit board, and the rear housing are disposed on the back side of the back plate, the rear housing protrudes from the back plate, thereby causing uneven thickness of the display device and leading to a lot of inconvenience when user places the display device against the wall. On the other hand, the thickness of the display device is uneven, which also leads to a poor appearance, resulting in a fatigue aesthetic of the user.

Direct type backlight module and display device


An actuating device includes an exhaust flap of a supercharging pressure control of turbocharged internal combustion engines. The exhaust flap is arranged pivotably in an exhaust pipe, in particular in the housing of a turbine of an exhaust-gas turbocharger, and controls in dependence on the compressor-side supercharging pressure the opening cross section of a bypass line which circumvents the turbine. The exhaust flap is arranged on an actuator arm which is fastened on a shaft mounted rotatably in the exhaust pipe and adjustable from outside the exhaust pipe via an adjustment lever and a control rod which is articulated thereto and via a linear control motor. In order to avoid vibration-induced buzzing noise in the actuating device, a friction damper is connected into the force flow between the shaft and the control rod, in particular for system damping in the region of the exhaust flap.

The invention relates to an actuating device for an exhaust flap of a supercharging pressure control of turbocharged internal combustion engines.
In generic actuating devices noises may occur as a result of bearing clearances and joint clearances and as a result of excitation caused by operational vibrations of the internal combustion engine and by exhaust gas pulsations and are observed especially at the beginning deactivation of the compressor-side supercharging pressure or when the exhaust flap begins to withdraw from its valve seat in the exhaust pipe or also when the exhaust flap is open. The noises can also be caused as a result of high frequency impacting of the exhaust flap upon its valve seat, or as a result of resonance vibrations in the actuating device.

SCHERDEL INNOTEC FORSCHUNGS—UND ENTWICKLUNGS GMBH


Errors in closed loop transmit diversity (CLTD) feedback signaling may be detected and/or corrected by a mobile station, according to aspects of the present invention, based on signals received from a base station. The mobile station is generally configured to compute antenna weights to be applied at the base station and feed back corresponding antenna control bits to the base station, as in conventional CLTD systems. However, rather than automatically process subsequent transmissions received from the base station as if the base station properly received the antenna control bits and applied the computed antenna weights, the mobile station attempts to determine the antenna weights actually applied at the base station, and uses these determined antenna weights for processing the subsequent transmissions. Accordingly, even if a feedback signaling error occurred, resulting in the base station using the wrong antenna weights, the mobile station may properly process the transmissions. According to some aspects of the present invention, the base station transmits (feeds forward) antenna control bits actually received from the mobile station on a feed forward channel, and the mobile station processes subsequent transmissions using antenna weights generated based on the fed forward antenna control bits.

In prior art code division multiple access (CDMA) systems utilizing closed loop transmit diversity (CLTD), base stations having multiple antennas use an antenna weight coefficient vector to adjust the phase and/or relative amplitude of signals transmitted from each antenna. In such systems, a mobile station computes a set of optimized antenna weight coefficients that should be applied at the base station antennas to maximize the mobile received signal power. The mobile station then feeds back to the base station a set of antenna control bits for use by the base station in generating the optimized antenna weights.
However, one problem associated with CLTD schemes is that signaling errors on a feedback channel from the mobile station to the base station can lead to the use of the wrong antennas weights, which may have catastrophic results. For example, if a mobile station "blindly" processes (e.g., decode/demodulate) a transmission received from a base station on an assumption that the transmission was sent using antenna weights generated using the antenna control bits previously fed back to base station, feedback signaling errors may result in the mobile station demodulating/decoding the transmission using wrong antenna weights, which may lead to a very low demodulated signal-to-noise ratio, and a worthless, or invalid signal. This can lead to retransmissions, resulting in a reduction of bandwidth, and may even lead to data corruptions.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for feedback error detection in a wireless communications systems


An apparatus for carrying a workpiece adjacent an exterior surface of a vehicle, provides a stationary resting surface mounted on an exterior surface of the vehicle and one or more movable clamping bars positioned adjacent to the resting surface. A driving screw moves the clamping bar in a scissors type motion, alternately toward the resting surface, so as to clamp the workpiece, and away from the resting surface so as to release the workpiece, whereby the workpiece may be safely transported by the vehicle. The apparatus may be mounted onto a panel truck, normally adjacent to one or both side panels, or may be mounted on the sides of a pick-up type truck.

1. Field of the Present Disclosure
This invention relates generally to materials transporting devices, and more particularly to such a device for clamping panels onto the exterior of a truck for transporting such goods.
2. Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Adamczewski et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,123, teaches a precursor apparatus of a similar type to the present invention and intended for the same purpose. However, the '123 reference is not easily adapted for temporary mounting onto the exterior of a truck nor for easy adjustability for different sized trucks and workloads. The '123 reference teaches that the clamping drive be mounted under the truck with the screw piercing the truck body. This is undesirable in most cases to those that would haul materials on a non-commercial basis. The clamping action is direct with the movable jaw moving away and toward the stationary jaw. In the present invention a much more effective scissors-type motion is provided. The distinctions between '123 and the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
Peckenpaugh, Sr., et al., U.S. Pat No. 5,450,956 describes an adjustable, telescopic, carrying and storage case of variable and fixed length including a hollow adjustable, telescopic front member of variable length and a hollow adjustable, telescopic rear member of variable length that can be separated or connected tightly. The case is adjustable in length and can be used at a maximum length and at a minimum length for ease in transportation. The case is preferably used for carrying and storing different items including telescopic fishing rod assemblies. The telescopic front member comprises a first container portion and a plurality of adjustable front telescopic locking sections which are placed in an interlocking relationship through a plurality of annular tapered locking surfaces and a number of annular locking surfaces. The telescopic rear member comprises a second container portion and a plurality of adjustable rear telescopic locking sections which are placed in an interlocking relationship through a plurality of annular tapered locking surfaces and a number of annular locking surfaces.
Emer, EP0314632, describes an apparatus for the handling of sheets made of glass or other materials, as panels and the like, shaped as plates and to be used for supply said sheets or plates in working lines and to be mounted on an overhead traveling crane running along the working line. The apparatus comprises a frame provided with pneumatic devices for griping a sheet or plate at least two chains for the support of the frame and cooperating with means apt to case the suspended sheet or plate to be rotated, said chains being supported, through a support telescopic device of an adjustable length, by a truck traveling along the rail beams of the overhead traveling crane.
Lautenschlager, EP0580075, describes an automatic telescopic device for drawer runners, comprising a guide rail formed by a profile section turned over from sheet metal to be secured to the carcass wall, said guide rail having a profiled flange bent upwardly from a profiled flange projecting substantially at right angles and horizontally from the carcass wall and engaging from below the associated runner formed by a hollow profile section open at its underside to be removably secured to the drawer, and provided in the interior of the runner with raceways for rolling elements which are held in an elongated cage and can roll, on the one hand, on the raceways of the guide rail and, on the other hand, on raceways formed by associated regions of the inner surface of the runner, thereby allowing for longitudinal displacement of the runner relative to the guide rail, a component which can pivot between two end positions and is biased bistably into the end positions by means of spring arrangement being provided and having an open-ended recess for a projection projecting downwardly from the runner in a portion projecting beyond the horizontal profiled flange of the guide rail into the interior of the carcass, and the projection and the pivoting component being arranged relative to one another in relation to the runner or the guide rail in such a manner that, when the runner is displaced from the open-drawer position, as it approaches the closed position, the projection moves into the recess in the pivoting component in the end position associated with the opendrawer position and then, once the dead center of the pivoting component has been passed, is driven resiliently together with the latter into the closed-drawer position, characterised in that the pivoting component is mounted in a separate elongated housing secured to the guide rail so as to pivot about a substantially perpendicular axis and that a detent is provided immediately in front of the recess in the pivoting component as viewed in the direction of insertion of the drawer, wherein said detent is withdrawn into the housing into the path of the projection projecting from the runner in the end position associated with the open-drawer position, and in the end position associated with the closed-drawer position projects into the path of the projection, but can be traversed by the projection in the direction of insertion by means of resilient deformation.
Lechevallier, EP0691911 describes a removable frame for loading, unloading and moving container's of goods on trucks or wagons without typical lifting machinery such as cranes, gantries and such. It permits unload directly onto the ground. The invention is characterized by arrangement of a frame encompassing the load. Two lifting surfaces are provided with lateral spacing between them and are placed transverse of the vehicle's axle. Each of the surfaces is lifted by a telescoping jack and facility for locking the load in place is provided.
The prior art teaches a very wide range of materials storage and handling systems. However, the prior art does not teach that an actuated clamping device may be mounted onto a truck for clamping panel goods for transport. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.

Vehicle exterior material clamping apparatus with scissors-like closure motion


The invention is an easy to fold sanitary toilet seat cover for preventing direct contact between an individual's skin and the top and the side surfaces of a toilet seat. When unfolded, the toilet seat cover is sufficiently large to not only cover the entire elongated toilet seat, but also cover the sides of the seat. The disposable toilet seat cover comprises a polygonal annulus that is comprised of a quilted multilayer sheet having a water impervious layer and an absorbent layer, a wipe that is a detachable inner oval section that provides an opening to the toilet, and an adhesive fastening means for temporarily securing the polygonal annulus toilet seat. The water impervious layer comprises a coated layer and/or a filmic layer. The wipe detaches from an inner ovalled edge of the annulus, and is functional as a sanitary wipe or towel.

The public has been concerned with the cleanliness of toilet seats undoubtedly since the invention of the toilet seat. The issue is of particular concern with public toilets, wherein there is no knowledge of its current state of cleanliness prior to usage. Public places, such as bus stations, airports, restaurants and movie-houses, provide facilities that are used by extremely large numbers of people, and it is not practicable nor is it practiced to clean the toilet seat between uses. Consequently, these facilities, on the whole, are not clean and not esthetic. For such types of toilet facilities it is desired to provide a layer of protective material between the user and the toilet seat or the toilet bowl. Such layer of protective material should be easily replaced for each user. The dilemma is further aggravated when a young child is the one in need of the facility. The child's parent is concerned with not only the cleanliness of the toilet seat but also the dryness. Another concern is whether there is toilet paper, and the condition of the toilet seat after the child uses the toilet, as most children are less concerned with their tidiness than the supervising adult. For these reasons, there has been an abundance of inventive creativeness in the art of toilet seat covers. A number of common sense approaches are given in the description of the prior art. We are aware of the following:
U.S. Pat. No.Issue DateInventorTITLE1,745,223Jan. 28, 1930LightTOILET SEAT COVER2,313,311Mar. 9, 1943Arter et al.TOILET SEAT COVER3,851,341Dec. 3, 1974AoyamaSANITARY TOILETSEAT COVER4,850,061Jul. 25, 1989EngelFOLDED TOILETSEAT COVER4,887,321Dec. 19, 1989MacLeanSANITARY TOILETSEAT COVER6,073,274Jun. 13, 2000McQueenSANITARY TOILETSEAT COVER
Rose Light, in 1929, designed one of the first toilet seat covers that was patented. In U.S. Pat. No. 1,745,223 Light discloses a seat cover made of paper formed into a slip cover.
One of the first uses of adhesive to hold the toilet seat on was disclosed by Charles Arter and Samuel Peskind in U.S. Pat. No. 2,313,311. The added adhesive strips to a rectangular sheet having an elliptical center opening.
Aoyama, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,851,341 describes a sanitary toilet seat that is annular, and has an adhesive that has a low adhesion to itself and can be folded face to face. The center section is detachably secured to the front edge of the inner edge of the annulus.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,061, Engel discloses in his patent a disposable toilet seat cover can be made of any light weight sheet such as paper, plastic material, or a combination thereof. Engel specifically mentions paper coated with plastic. He notes that disposable toilet seat covers usually define an elliptical ring, which has an outer dimension of the toilet seat and an inner dimension which permits uninterrupted bowel movement and urination. Engel's position is that known disposable toilet seat covers of the above mentioned types suffer from the considerable disadvantage that they are inconvenient to carry, awkward to place on the toilet and tend to slide off the toilet seat or become crumpled when the user moves. It is known to use toilet seat covers provided with a sticking mechanism in the form of small adhesive patches mounted on the bottom surface of the seat cover. Such patches are covered with matching pieces of wax paper which serve as a protective cover for the adhesive patches. The major disadvantage of such known toilet seat covers is that the user must turn them upside down in order to pull off all the protective covers to reveal the adhesive patches. Such patches are covered with matching pieces of wax paper which serve as a protective cover for the adhesive patches. This process is inconvenient and tedious. Ironically, Engel's invention is also elliptical in shape, and in his discussion of the difficulty in removing the wax paper from the adhesive he does not address the issue that the elliptical shape may be contributing to the difficulty in exposing the adhesive patches, because of the difficulty in aligning the peel such that the wax paper is pulled off in a straight line. Also, with respect to exposing the adhesive, the release properties of wax paper are relatively poor as compared to other release media, such as silicone, and the release would be much harder. Engel also points out that the toilet seat cover may also be provided with an inner portion, outlined by perforations or other detachable means and thus easily removable before use. The inner portion is circular.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,274, like U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,061, discloses the use of thin water proof layers, except in the case of this patent where both the top and the bottom have water proof layers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,321 discloses a porous paper coated with a water repellent coating. The toilet seat cover is folded like an accordion and is suitable for being dispensed.
The prior art contains a wide range of sanitary toilet seat covers that are designed to prevent the user's skin from being directly exposed to the toilet seat.
The prior art fails to provide a simple configuration that may be easily folded and packaged to provide convenient portability for caregivers of children, while assuring an effective barrier against impurities and wetness which may be present on the toilet seat, and which is also disposable. Furthermore, the prior art fails to provide a sanitary toilet seat cover that is texturally a poor adherent, thereby minimizing the difficulty caused when there is incidental contact between the adhesive and the toilet seat cover material. The prior art fails short of providing a toilet seat cover that is soft and pliable and comfortable to the skin. The prior art generally discloses circular or elliptical inner sections, not an oval inner section, wherein an oval is more easily initiated and removed from the edge of an ovalled inner edge. Circular and elliptical inner sections are more likely to tear when removing than an oval section, because the apex is easy to dislodge and initiate. The prior art does not teach a center section that is soft enough to be used as a wipe, and absorbent enough that it can be used as a towel. The prior art furthermore does not teach the advantage of a towel having a protective barrier to keep the users hands clean. A further feature that is not addressed by the prior art is the propensity of adhesive fasteners to delaminate when peeled from the toilet seat, either leaving torn seat cover or adhesive residue.

Sanitary, portable and disposable toilet seat cover, with attached wipe


A system and method for automatically protecting private video content using cryptographic security for legacy systems is disclosed. A substantially continuous video signal representing video content in the process of being recorded on a transportable storage medium is intercepted. The intercepted substantially continuous video signal is divided into individual frames. Each frame stores a fixed amount of data in digital form. Each individual frame is encrypted into encrypted video content using an encryption cryptographic key and is stored. The encrypted frames are retrieved and decrypted using a decryption cryptographic key. The decrypted frames are combined into a substantially continuous video signal and output as video content in the process of being played from the transportable storage medium. In a further embodiment, private video content automatically authenticated using embedded cryptographic security, either alone or in conjunction with the encryption of video content.

Digital video cameras have become increasingly popular and are commonly used by professionals and consumers alike to produce videotaped movies or, simply "videos." Digital video cameras differ from conventional movie cameras by storing information on cartridges of electronic tape, rather than on photographic film reels. Images are converted and stored as a continuous electronic signal streamed onto videotapes for storage, editing and viewing.
The number and types of users of video camera technology has continued to grow for several reasons. Recording videos in digital form originally required significant amounts of storage capacity. However, recent advances in providing increased storage capacity at lower costs have made digital video camera technology available to a wider user base. Further, videos are more flexible than film and can be exchanged electronically, including over digital data transmission means, such as the Internet. Finally, de facto standardized video formats allow device-independent playback, even using commonly available Web-browsers.
The availability of standardized data formats and the ease of dissemination can facilitate the creation and distribution of illicit copies. Conventional digital video cameras, including recorders and players, lack fundamental security measures to protect against the unauthorized use and compromise of private video content and to provide trustworthy authentication of authorship. Several recent examples of video compromise and theft underscore the need for effective security for private video content. In one notorious case, a private video taken of a celebrity couple was stolen and posted on the Internet, resulting in embarrassment and harm to their reputations. In other instances, stolen video content has been reproduced and sold without authorization, thereby resulting in lost profits.
Similarly, digital video content can be easily fabricated or altered. Conventional digital video cameras, including recorders and players, likewise lack means for authenticating the identity of the author. Authentication is particularly important in such fields as law enforcement where the veracity of data and identity of authorship play critical roles.
In the prior art, copy guard protections have long been used to protect commercially produced videos. However, only rudimentary security measures using basic password protection exist for protecting private video content. Typically, a password is applied to the recorded digital data file and playback is disabled, absent the correct entry of the password. This form of password protection, though, protects the media as a whole and not the individual parts or frames. Moreover, the password is generally applied after recording is complete and not as part of the recording or playback processes. Thus, the video content is at risk of compromise until the password is secured. For these reasons, password security offers only marginal protection and is easily compromised.
As well, videotape equipment, including cameras, players, and the like, have been commercially available for years. Except as described above, these devices generally lack security features and the necessary expansion capabilities to introduce aftermarket accessories to provide such security. Consequently, video content generated and played by these "legacy" devices remains unprotected and subject to compromise.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach to provide security and authentication to private legacy digital video production equipment to protect content during playback and to authenticate an author. Preferably, such an approach would incorporate device-independent security transparently employed during both recordation and playback processes using a cryptographic security scheme.
There is a further need for an approach to providing security and authentication incorporated into legacy digital video media. Preferably, such an approach would selectively provide on-the-fly symmetric or asymmetric (or both) key encryption and decryption and would further provide trustworthy authentication of recorded data as an integral part of the data recordation and playback processes.

System and method for automatically protecting private video content using cryptographic security for legacy systems


Polyetherimide-metal laminates are formed by etching the surfaces of a polyetherimide web with a glycol-containing etchant followed by electroless nickel or cobalt deposition and then by copper deposition. The glycol-containing etchant can be utilized to form through holes through the web.

This invention relates to a process for texturing one or both surfaces of a polyimide sheet to form the base layer for metal laminates and to a process for coating one or both surfaces of the textured polyimide sheet with electrolessly deposited nickel or cobalt and then with electrolytic copper. This invention also relates to a process for forming holes through a polyimide sheet and to a process for coating the walls of the holes with electroless nickel or cobalt and then with electrolytic copper.
Certain electronic assemblies have conductor traces on both sides of a dielectric substrate. Preferred dielectrics for applications requiring flexible substrates, especially in multilayer constructions, involve the use of polyimide films. In general practice the conductive layers on this substrate are provided through the use of metal foils and adhesives specially formulated for their physical and thermal stability. The conductive layers are also provided in some cases through direct metalization by sputtering or by electroless deposition involving methods well known to those versed in the art.
Currently the only commercially available polyimide laminate materials produced in the absence of an adhesive, suitable for IPC Class 3 electronic circuit applications are produced by processes set forth in the related applications and patents referred to above. The adhesive bonding method has certain disadvantages especially in critical service and multilayer applications, where either properties of the adhesive or the physical space occupied by the adhesive are limiting factors. For example, these adhesive-bonded laminate materials exhibit poor dimensional stability, a severe disadvantage for laying up multilayer boards. The preferred construction (especially in multilayer applications) would avoid the use of adhesives and provide the metal directly bonded to the substrate except for the laminate product described and claimed in the above-identified copending applications and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,725,504 and 4,868,071.
Two present methods for preparing polyimide adhesiveless metal coated laminates are the related methods of vacuum and sputter deposition, followed by electrolytic copper buildup to desired thicknesses. Sputtering provides better adhesion than vapor deposition but neither technique provides physical properties adequate for critical service applications. Several commercially available single-sided materials are produced by these methods. The adhesion values obtained on subsequent copper buildup to greater than 25 .mu.m are very low for materials with sputtered copper. One structure has an initial chromium layer sputtered to the polyimide film which is then covered with a sputtered layer of copper. A disadvantage of this construction is that chromium is not removed easily during subtractive processing of electronic traces using standard etchants designed to remove copper.
An alternative method for preparing a polyimide adhesiveless metal clad laminate is to cast a liquid solution of a polyimic acid onto the surface of a metal foil, and to heat the entire composition to a temperature which will imidize the polyamic acid and form a polyimide or amide modified polyimide film. Several modifications of this basic technique are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,682,960; 3,781,596; 3,981,691; 4,148,969; and 4,496,794. At present, laminates produced by this technique have limited application areas due to their poor dimensional stability. This method is also limited by the availability of suitable thin metal foils.
In order to provide an adherent metal layer or layers to a polyimide film substrate by chemical metal deposition, several basic procedures are employed. Since processing is done in aqueous solutions, the surface of the polyimide film must be rendered hydrophilic to facilitate uniform adsorption of the catalyst used for seeding the electroless metal deposition. Commonly referred to as etching, this treatment also serves to microetch the surface of the polyimide, thus providing a mechanical interlock between the polyimide and metal layer. This surface preparative step will be referred to herein as texturing for purposes of this application to avoid confusion with the removal of unwanted metal during circuit preparation which also is referred to as etching in the printed circuit industry.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,791,848 and 3,821,016 to DeAngelo disclose an aqueous ethylenediamine basic composition wherein the diamine is present in an amount in excess of its degree of solubility, thereby forming a two-phase system. The preferred aqueous basic compounds are disclosed as the hydroxides of the alkali metals including sodium, potassium, lithium, rubidium, and cesium. The examples are specifically directed to texturing with sodium hydroxide in very strong solution containing the ethylenediamine in suspension so as to yield a pitted surface on the polyimide. Since a two-phase system is utilized, the polyimide surface tends to be non-uniformly and incompletely textured. The degree of texturing for a given portion of the surface depends upon which phase of the solution to which a portion of the surface is primarily exposed. These non-uniformities result in subsequent non-uniform deposition of catalyst and electroless metal and in a rough irregular appearance of the final metal coated film.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,538 to Politycki et al describes an attempt to produce a well-adherent double-sided laminate on polyimide film. The film surface is roughened by a fresh mixture of sulfuric and hydrochloric acids or by mechanical impingement of sand on the surface and, if needed, a further sodium hydroxide treatment may be employed. The polyimide film is then heated to expel water and then seeded for metalization in a colloidal palladium bath. After this, an electrically conductive, water-vapor permeable continuous layer of silver is deposited by electroless deposition and the film is heated at 150.degree. C. to expel water. Finally, a layer of copper is electrolytically deposited to form the laminate structure. No specific adhesion values are reported for the laminate produced by this method.
A high speed additive circuit process on a polyimide substrate using electroless nickel for metalization (no etching of metal required) is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,973 to Drotar et al. The basic process steps are: preparing the substrate, catalyzing, printing a mask, heat setting of the masking ink, electroless plating of a nickel/phosphorous alloy, heating at 195.degree. C. to improve metal to polyimide bond and then either electrolytic plating solder coating to decrease the electrical resistance of the resultant structure. The use of a nickel/phosphorous alloy as the metalizing layer may cause difficulty etching laminates produced by this method during subtractive circuit production methods. The adhesion values reported are 5.0 lb./in. maximum by a nonstandard test and there is no mention of the stability of the product to solder float or thermal cycling stress. The low adhesion of metal to polyimide limits the use of these laminates. The method of Drotar, therefore, does not provide a method for preparation of metal coated laminates for general use in the printed circuit industry.
It is to be understood that adhesion strength of metal to polyimide as measured by standard peel strength testing depends upon the specific polyimide utilized as the substrate in the laminate. For polyimides having relatively low tensile modules, peel strengths will be higher as compared to polyimides having a relatively higher tensile modules such as Upilex or Ultem films. In any event, for a given polyimide film failure, as a result of a peel strength test should occur within the polyimide film in preference to failure at the polyimide-metal interface since this shows that the adhesive bond between the metal and the polyimide exceeds the cohesive strength within the polyimide film.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,570 to Shirk et al, another additive method is disclosed wherein the electroless deposit may be nickel. The authors cite no advantage of one metal over another in the initial metalizing step, and specifically claim a patterned flame sensitized surface which is catalyzed, preferably with tin and palladium, then electroless plated with either copper, nickel, or cobalt. The method of Shirk et al also provides low bond strengths, and for the non-standard solder dip test disclosed, no advantage is stated for the use of electroless nickel rather than electroless copper or cobalt.
Another additive method for circuit preparation on a polyimide substrate is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,096 to Redmond et al. The method described is for texturing the surface of the polymer with a hydrazine/caustic solution, catalyzing, then plating with either electroless nickel, copper or cobalt. The method relates to the preparation of a specific circuit type by an additive process, and the maximum initial peel strength disclosed is only 4.6 lb./in. which is too low for general use in the printed circuit industry. Samples made by the method of this patent result in cohesive failure of the polyimide film at bond values of only 4.0 lb./in. using the optimum formulation of 60 percent hydrazine hydrate and 9.3 percent sodium hydroxide disclosed by Redmond in Table II. This lowering of the cohesive strength of the film is alluded to by Redmond in Column 4, lines 37-40, where the failure mode of well adhered and poorly adhered samples is discussed. Cohesive failure at such low values indicates degradation of the polymer film which is seen as ripping in the z-axis during peel testing. There is no disclosure of completely coating one or both surfaces of a polyimide sheet with electrolessly deposited metal followed by electrolytically deposited metal.
There have been prior attempts to provide an adherent metal layer on both sides of polyimide sheets by direct metalization using electroless copper followed by electrolytic copper buildup to the desired thickness. This technique has proven unsuitable in practice since blistering of the electroless copper layer usually occurs when simultaneously applied to both sides of the film. If blistering is avoided, the peel strength of the resultant laminate is less than that for a single-sided laminate of the same metal thickness.
Perrins, in Transactions of the Institute of Metal Finishing (1972) Volume 50, pp. 38-45, discloses a process for electroplating propylene polymers with electroless nickel or copper followed by electrolytic plating with copper. The plating in this case in conducted on only one side of propylene copolymer plaques. The use of the nickel provides improved adhesion especially after thermal cycling of the sample which will cause degradation of the copper/polymer bond. This process, where nickel is used as the base metal layer, has only been applied to injection molded or bulk processed polymers, but has not been extended for use on thin film substrates. Therefore, the nickel process has been restricted to use where the nickel layer is never removed but remains a permanent part of the finished article.
In "Applications of Additive Circuitry", a technical paper presented at the Institute of Printed Circuits in September, 1974, Brewer discloses a method in which nickel is deposited on both surfaces of a paper reinforced phenolic. Electroless copper is then deposited and the plated panel is heated beyond the glass transition temperature of the substrate material to improve the nickel to polymer adhesion. This method is not applicable to non-thermoplastic substrates such as polyimide films.
In Plating and Surface Finishing, "Interfacial Bonding of Nickel to Polyamide-Imide", Vol. 66, No. 6, (June, 1979) pp. 68-71, Levey et al, describes nickel plating on a rigid polyamide-imide substrate textured with an abrasive and/or sodium or potassium hydroxide. The article relates the effect of various surface treatments on metal adhesion, and specifically to the combination of mechanical abrasion followed by a chemical treatment such as dipping in aqueous alkali metal hydroxide solutions. The article states that no advantage was observed with the use of nickel rather than copper for the initial metalization of the polymer, and concludes that the adhesion of the metal to the polyamideimide substrate is a combination of both mechanical and chemical factors related to the substrate.
An additional polyimide treating process involving the use of a texturizing compound having a nitrogen-oxygen moiety is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 4,775,449.
Except for the laminate product described and claimed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,725,504 and 4,868,071 prior to the present invention, there has been no commercially viable method available for the direct coating of polyimide films with electrically conductive layers, without the use of an adhesive exhibiting adequate properties for general use in electronic circuitry. Adhesiveless laminates with metal on both sides have not been available due to the tendency for an electroless metal layer to blister during deposition onto both sides of a thin film, and to the destruction of polyimide to metal adhesion by thermal shock upon immersion in molten solder or because of undesirable reduction of film strength due to texturing. The problem of electroless metal blistering is especially acute in the complete metalization of thin polymeric film; hydrogen evolution during the deposition process has been suggested as a cause of electroless metal blistering. Electroless metal blistering on thin polymeric substrates is greatly reduced when the metal deposition is restricted to certain areas on the film (i.e., other than complete surface coverage).
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,725,504 and 4,868,071 processes are disclosed for forming polyimide film coated on both surfaces with electroless nickel or cobalt followed by electrolytic copper coated on the nickel or cobal which is useful for forming printed circuits. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,395 there is described a process for uniformly and substantially completely texturing the surface(s) of a polyimide film with a one-phase solution of an amine of the formula H.sub.2 N(CH.sub.2).sub.n NH.sub.2 where n is an integer from 2 to 6, an alkali metal hydroxide and a water miscible monohydric alcohol.
It would be desirable to provide a process for coating at least one surface of a polyimide film having an exposed copper surface and having sufficient adherent strength to the polyimide and sufficient resistance to thermal shock to render the resultant laminate useful for fabricating electronic circuits. In addition, it would be desirable to provide such a process which also permits the formation of through holes, the walls of which can be coated to form on exposed copper surface in order to provide electrical connection of circuits on both surfaces of the polyimide film.

Process for forming polyimide-metal laminates


This disclosure is directed to camera systems including a camera array, data buses shared by the cameras, and one or more processors that process images captured by the camera array. In one aspect, a camera system (450) includes a camera array (452), a controller (454), a number of camera buses (458-465), and a computing device (456) connected to the controller. Each camera is connected to one or more adjacent cameras and includes one or more processors. Each camera bus connects a subset of cameras of the camera array to the controller. And each camera can be operated to send to the controller only the image data used by the computing device to generate virtual images and receive instructions from the controller over a camera bus.

Computational photography is a technique to create images using a computer and a variety of data processing methods, which are applied to a number of digital images taken from different view points. The resulting photographic images are, in some cases, the same as those that would have been created by a single camera with characteristics that would be too difficult or expensive to manufacture. For example, it is possible to generate images or a video like those captured from cameras with large lenses or unusual optics. It is also possible to create synthetic or virtual images as if they were taken from an inaccessible position. Image-based rendering is as related technique used to create photorealistic images of a real scene that is also based on a set of two-dimensional images of the scene captured from different view points, but in this ease, the set of two-dimensional images is used to compose a three-dimensional model that can be used to render images of novel views of the scene not captured in the original set of two-dimensional images.
In both techniques, the generation of virtual images is based on the concept of light-fields, which model the distribution of light intensity and propagation in a scene. A fundamental component of these imaging methods is the acquisition of information about the light field using several views. For example, light-field measurements can be performed by moving a single camera to capture images of a static scene from different viewing positions. However, in general, the quality of the synthetic views depends on the number and resolution of those views, so it can be much more convenient to capture the light field using arrays with a large number of cameras.
In recent years, with the advent of inexpensive digital image sensors and advances in semiconductor device miniaturization larger amounts of computing power is available for processing images at a lower cost. These new innovations were expected reduce the cost of rendering images captured using camera arrays. However, the cost of image rendering using images obtained from camera arrays has actually increased. The problem is not due to the price of individual components, integration, or assembly, but is instead due to the high cost of acquiring and simultaneously transmitting the large amounts of image and video data captured by the cameras to a single computing device for processing. For example, an array of 25×25 Mpixel cameras (high-definition video), each camera operated at 30 frames/second, generates 112 Gbytes/second, with nearly 4 Gbytes for each frame. An increasing demand for higher camera resolution, video quality, and a broad range of virtual camera views have also contributed to the increased cost of rendering images acquired using camera arrays.
Developers and users of camera arrays continue to seek systems that lower the cost of image rendering.

Systems and methods for acquiring and processing image data produced by camera arrays

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A method for setting a transmission quality target value for power control in a mobile radiocommunication system, a method wherein:                an offset is applied in an anticipated way to said transmission quality target value to compensate for the effects of a compressed mode whereby transmission is interrupted during transmission gaps in compressed frames, and the transmission rate is correspondingly increased to compensate for said transmission gaps,        said offset includes a first component intended to compensate for the effects of said transmission rate increase, and a second component intended to compensate for the effects of said transmission gaps,        said transmission rate increase applies not only for a compressed frame but for a plurality of frames including said compressed frame, and said second component is not applied for all frames of said plurality of frames, but only for said compressed frame and/or for at least one frame, or recovery frame, following said compressed frame.

The present invention is generally concerned with mobile radiocommunication systems.
The present invention is more particularly concerned with power control techniques used in such systems to improve performances (in terms of quality of service, of capacity, . . . etc.).
The present invention is in particular applicable to mobile radiocommunication systems of CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) type. In particular, the present invention is applicable to UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System).
The CDMA is a multiple access technique which makes it possible for several users to be simultaneously active, using different spreading codes.
All that follows is valid for both downlink (link from BTS (Base Transceiver Station) to MS (Mobile Station)) and uplink (link from MS to BTS), but in order to simplify the description, only the downlink case will first be considered.
The quality of the link from a BTS to a MS depends on the ratio of the received signal power and the interference power at the MS (SIR: signal-to-interference ratio). When the SIR of one MS is low, or equivalency when the interference power is much larger than its power, its performance dramatically decreases. Therefore, in order to optimize the performance of a CDMA system, some algorithms are usually used in order to keep the SIR of each MS as close as possible to the target SIR at the receiver, like the inner loop power control algorithm.
The principle of the inner loop power control algorithm is that the MS periodically estimates the SIR of the received signal from the BTS, and compares this SIR to the target SIR (SIRtarget). If this estimated SIR is lower than the target SIR, the MS sends a command to the BTS for the BTS to increase its transmit power. Otherwise, the MS sends a command to the BTS for the BTS to decrease its transmit power. The target SIR is chosen by the MS (or BTS) in function of the required quality of service.
Additionally, another and usually slower power control algorithm, namely outer loop power control algorithm, enables to choose the best value of the target SIR. The principle of this algorithm is to regularly evaluate the quality of the transmission (BER, BLER, . . . ) and to compare this quality with the required quality of service (for example BER of 10−3 for speech service, BLER of 0.1 for packet service, . . . ). If this quality is below the required quality of service, the target SIR is increased. Otherwise, the target SIR is decreased. This algorithm is usually slow, since the quality needs to be averaged over several frames in order to have a reliable estimate. Of course many variants of this basic algorithm exist.
In some situations, the target SIR may change significantly during the transmission. For example, this is the case when the spreading factor of the physical data channel changes. Indeed, the lowest the spreading factor of this channel, the largest the required transmit power. The spreading factor can change frequently in variable rate services such as packet service. Indeed, if the spreading factor changes, the target SIR will vary much (in the ratio of the spreading factor variation). It is also the case if the MS requires to change of service, since each service has a different target SIR.
Another example is the compressed mode. In an inter-frequency hard handover, the mobile needs to make measurements on a frequency different from the frequency used for the downlink transmission. Thus, the base station needs to stop its transmission towards the concerned mobile, in order to allow this mobile to make measurements on this other frequency. In the UMTS standard, this is known as downlink compressed mode (i.e. the downlink transmission is temporarily stopped). Uplink compressed mode is also possible to make measurements on frequencies that are close to the uplink frequency. The periods where transmission is stopped are usually called transmission gaps, and the frames including transmission gaps are usually called compressed frames. Besides, to compensate for the transmission gaps, the transmission rate has to be correspondingly increased. Therefore, during compressed mode, since the inner loop power control is regularly stopped, and since the transmission rate is correspondingly increased, the target SIR needs to be larger to reach the same quality of service than during non-compressed, or normal, mode.
Because the outer-loop power control algorithm is usually a slow process, the target SIR will not change immediately and the transmission quality will be degraded during several frames. In extreme cases, this could cause the lost of the call.
Moreover, in the case of compressed mode, the target SIR needs to be changed only at certain fixed time to enable the mobile to perform measurements and then the target SIR needs to be changed back to the previous value. The outer-loop power control algorithm will not be able to track such quick variations of SIR.
In European patent application n° 99401766.3 filed on Jul. 13, 1999 by Applicant, a solution has been proposed to solve this problem. Briefly, the basic idea in this prior patent application is to anticipate the target SIR variation, i.e. to apply an expected variation, or offset, in an anticipated way, to the target SIR. This target SIR variation may be signaled from the transmitter to the receiver for a given transmission direction; for example, for downlink transmission, it may be signalled by the network to the MS or UE (User Equipment).
According to another idea in this prior patent application, in order to keep the signaling as low as possible, the target SIR increase due to the increased instantaneous bit rate and the target SIR increase due to degraded performances in compressed frames (i.e. due to transmission gaps) may be separated. For example, when the transmission rate increase in compressed mode is obtained by spreading factor reduction, this may be written:ΔSIR=10log(RCF/R)+δSIR where R is the instantaneous net bit rate before and after the compressed frame and RCF is the instantaneous net bit rate during the compressed frame (it being understood that the term "instantaneous bit rate" means that for a compressed frame, the time period used to calculate this rate is not the whole frame period but only the fraction of this frame period where data are transmitted); for example, 10log(RcF/R) is equal to 3 dB for UMTS, where the matching rate is the same for compressed and non compressed frames, when compressed mode by reducing the spreading factor by a factor of 2 is used.
Since the bit rate variation will be known by the UE, only the additional target SIR increase δSIR due to degraded performances during compressed frames may be signaled. The signaling overhead can be low if this variation is signaled with other compressed mode parameters (including transmission gap length (or period where transmission is stopped, periodicity, . . . ). For example, 2 bits could enable to signal the following values of δSIR:                −00: 0 dB        −01: 0.5 dB        −10: 1 dB        −11: 2 dB
Alternatively, ΔSIR could be directly signaled, but a larger number of bits would be required.
The UE will have to increase the target SIR by ΔSIR just before the compressed frames (or just after the transmission gap of the compressed frames) and decrease it back by the same value just after the compressed frames. This target SIR variation is done additionally to the usual downlink outer-loop algorithm that will have to take it into account. The Node B may increase simultaneously its transmit power by the same amount before the compressed frame and decrease it just after the compressed frames in order for the downlink received SIR to be as quickly as possible close to this new target SIR.
According to another idea in this prior patent application, at least when the transmission gap is at the end of the compressed frame, the performances in recovery frames (frames following the compressed frames) can also be degraded because of the power control interruption during the transmission gap. Therefore, it would be also desirable to increase the target SIR in recovery frames and to signal this target SIR increase to the UE. Alternatively, the same value (δSIR) as for compressed frames could be used in order to decrease the required signaling.
Therefore, according to this prior patent application, by anticipating the target SIR variation during compressed frames and recovery frames, an efficient outer loop power control in compressed mode can be achieved, at least when said compressed mode is obtained by reducing the spreading factor.
Now, in the UMTS standard for example, two ways exist to perform compressed mode:                reducing the spreading factor in the compressed frame, enabling to increase the instantaneous bit rate and thus to stop the transmission during a few slots,        using puncturing (i.e. several bits obtained after channel coding are not transmitted, so that the same amount of information bits can be sent over a shorter period, knowing that the channel coding will still enable to decode all information bits).
Compressed mode by puncturing has some particularities, which can be recalled by reference to the UMTS system for example.
One feature of UMTS is the possibility to transport multiple services on a same connection, i.e. multiple transport channels on a same physical channel. Such Transport Channels or TrCHs are separately processed according to a channel coding scheme (including error detecting, error correcting, rate matching, and interleaving) before being time-multiplexed to form a Coded Composite Transport Channel or CCTrCH to be mapped onto one or more physical channels. Processing according to this channel coding scheme is on a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) basis. In this channel coding scheme, rate matching includes the two techniques of puncturing and repeating; besides, an inter-frame interleaving is performed on the TTI length, or interleaving depth. Then each TTI is segmented into frames, and, after that, time-multiplexing and mapping on the physical channlel(s) are performed on a frame basis. Besides, each of the different transport channels TrCHi (i=1, . . . n) which are multiplexed to form a CCTrCH has its own TTI length, noted TTIi.
More information on these aspects of UMTS can be found in Technical Specification 3G TS25 212 V3.0.0 (1999-10).
Puncturing in compressed mode, which is included in rate matching, and which an be provided in addition to puncturing or repetition in normal mode, can either be performed on a frame basis or on a TTI basis.
If puncturing in compressed mode is performed on a frame basis, the above-recalled method according to the prior patent application still applies.
If puncturing in compressed mode is performed on a TTI basis, the transmission rate increase due to compressed mode applies to all frames of a TTI. Now, in the UMTS standard, TTI can be equal to 10, 20, 40, or 80 ms. Besides, as already mentioned, each of the different transport channels TrCHi (i=1, . . . n) which are multiplexed to form a CCTrCH has its own TTI length, noted TTIi. This is illustrated in FIG. 1, taking the example of three multiplexed transport channels noted TrCH1, TrCH2, TrCH3, and taking the example of TTI=40 ms for TrCH1, TTI=20 ms for TrCH2, TTI=10 ms for TrCH1, and a frame length equal to 10 ms. In this figure, the case of four consecutive frames sent on a physical channel is illustrated by way of example, and the case of a transmission gap TG overlapping two consecutive frames (in the circumstances the second and the third one of the four illustrated frames) is also illustrated by way of example.
In standardization proposal TSGR1#10(00)0086 presented at the 3GPP TSG-RAN Working Group 1 meeting #10 Beijing, China, Jan. 18-21, 2000, a modification of the above recalled method was presented for the case where the frames are compressed using puncturing and where puncturing is performed on a TTI basis.
According to this proposal of modification:
If there are "n" different TTI lengths in the CCTrCH (i.e. "n" transport channels multiplexed into the CCTrCH), then "n" separate DeltaSIR values (defined as coding gain degradation due to "too much" puncturing) DeltaSIR, i=1 . . . n, one for each TTI length, are signaled to the UE. These "n" DeltaSIR values should then be used in the following way for the outer loop power control.
For each frame the offset of the target SIR in compressed mode compared to target SIR in normal mode is:ΔSIRframe=max(ΔSIR1, . . . , ΔSIRn)where:ΔSIRi=ΔSIRi_compression+ΔSIRi_coding
If there is no transmission gap within the current TTIims for the TTI length of TTIi (i.e. within the current TTI of the transport channel TrCHi which is multiplexed inside this frame, as may also be understood by referring to FIG. 1), then:ΔSIRi_compression=0ΔSIRi_coding=0
If there is a transmission gap within the current TTIims for the TTI length of TTIi, then:ΔSIRi_compression=10 log (Fi•N/(Fi•N−TGLFi)) ΔSIRi_coding=DeltaSIRi
Here Fi is the number of frames in the TTIi, TGLFi is the gap length in slots (either from one gap, or a sum of several gaps) within those Fi frames, and N is the number of slots per frame (N=15 in the UMTS standard).
This method (hereafter also referred to as second method) therefore requires additional signaling compared to the above-recalled one (hereafter also referred to as first method) according to the above-mentioned prior patent application. Indeed, the values DeltaSIRi are signaled for each value of "i", i.e. for all possible values of TTI for the TrCHs multiplexed into the CCTrCH, therefore up to four values (the four possible values for TTI). Thus this second method does not make an efficient use of available radio resources, or needlessly contributes to a traffic increase in the network. Besides this second method increases the complexity, compared to the first one.
What would be desirable is a method which, notwithstanding the particularities of the compressed mode by puncturing, would not involve an increase in the amount of signaling compared to the first method, while still providing an efficient compensation for this type of compressed mode.
What would also be desirable is a method which, notwithstanding these particularities, would involve as few changes as possible compared to this first method, in order to be as far as possible applicable to both types of compressed modes (by puncturing and by reducing the spreading factor).
What would also be desirable is a method which would not involve a further increase in the amount of signalling and the complexity compared to the first method, while still providing an efficient compensation, in special cases of occurrence of compressed frames, such as when a transmission gap overlaps two consecutive frames.
In other words, there is a general need to simplify the signalling and the architecture of the equipments, while still providing an efficient compensation for outer-loop power control in compressed mode, in various types of compressed mode and/or various cases of occurrence of compressed frames.

Method for setting a transmission quality target value for power control in a mobile radiocommunication system


A vehicle door presenter actuator, including: an extension bar that is driven outward from the door presenter actuator by a nut that threadingly engages a power screw operatively secured to a motor of the vehicle door presenter actuator; and a barrel cam that is pivoted into contact with a switch as a pin of the nut slides within a cam path of the barrel cam as the nut drives the extension bar outward from the vehicle door presenter actuator.

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of vehicles, and more door presenters for vehicles.
Latch assemblies are known to releasably secure doors in a closed position. Operation of an inside door handle or an outside door handle releases the latch allowing the door to open. Subsequent closure of the door will automatically re-latch the latch.
Some latches (typically mounted on a vehicle door) have a latch bolt, typically in the form of a rotating claw which can be held in a closed position by a pivotally mounted pawl thereby retaining a striker (typically mounted on a door aperture) so as to hold an associated door closed.
Vehicle doors have "weather" seals typically around their periphery. These seals are made from elastomeric material and when the door is in the closed the weather seals are compressed therefore ensuring rain and dirt does not enter the vehicle. As will be appreciated, with the weather seals in a compressed condition, they tend to force the door open and this force is resisted by the pawl and claw.
Under normal conditions when the latch is initially opened the weather seals will push the door open enough to disengage the striker from the claw. However, under certain circumstances the door seals will not push the door to a position where the striker is fully disengaged from the claw. For example and when a temperature outside of the vehicle drops and the vehicle and parts of the weather seals are wet the water around the weather seals may freeze and the weather seals themselves may cool to below freezing. As such, the weather seals may be adhered to the door by ice and frost and thus the door may not move to an open position upon actuation of the vehicle door latch.
Therefore it is desirable to provide an actuator that will open the door when the temperatures around the vehicle create icing conditions that freeze the vehicle door to its door frame.

Door presenter actuator for vehicle door


Optimized stiffness in a disk drive suspension comprising a load beam and a flexure structure is realized by forming the flexure structure from a flexure and a flexible conductor in which the conductor is a laminate of conductive metal and plastic and has an easily controlled and relatively higher spring constant, while the flexure has a relatively lower spring constant.

This invention has to do with disk drive suspensions, more particularly with flexure and conductor assemblies for disk drive suspensions, and especially with the modification of flexure stiffness by fixing a flexible conductor having a separate stiffness thereto. Electrical connection and modification of the stiffness properties of the flexure are thus both obtained from a single arrangement of components.
The invention enables the use of very thin flexures having improved performance parameters. In a specific aspect, the invention provides disk drive suspensions and flexures therein in which the spring constant is the sum of the inherent spring constant in a very thin flexure and the greater spring constant of a conductor laminate secured to the flexure. In a further aspect, the invention provides for reduction in conductor induced biases and certain bimetallic bending effects observed in disk drive suspensions by routing of the conductor as a laminate circumjacently of the flexure and supporting it at multiple locations, while attaching the laminate at a selected flexure locus where the resulting bias is predictable and parallel to the flexure spring.

Suspension flexure with primary and secondary stiffness control


Disclosed are numerous embodiments of speakers of non-conventional shape. In one set of embodiments, each speaker comprises a pair of curved magnets and a curved voice coil plate located between the magnets and parallel to the magnets. In another set of embodiments, each speaker comprises two or more segments attached at an angle to one another, where each segment comprises a pair of bar magnets and a voice coil plate located between the magnets. Optionally, the magnets and voice coil plate can be curved or angled in a third-dimension as well. The embodiments allow for a speaker to be built of almost any shape.

A schematic illustration of commonly-used, prior art cone-type speaker 100 is shown in FIG. 1. Cone-type speaker 100 usually has a cylindrical shape and uses a cylindrical permanent magnet 10. Cone-type speaker 100 also comprises voice coil 11, diaphragm 12, basket 13, and damper 14. Notably, because diaphragm 12 is cone-shaped, it has a significant height, which sets a limit on how thin the overall speaker structure can be. In addition, T-yoke 15 has a significant height and also sets a limit on how thin the overall speaker structure can be.
This type of speaker contains a diaphragm whose outer boundary forms a circle when viewed from the top. A speaker with a circular shape often is not suitable for the structure in which the speaker is being placed, which results in an overall design that is inefficient.
What is needed is a speaker whose overall shape can be designed to conform to whatever space is available in the structure in which the speaker is to be placed.

Thin speaker with curved or angled structure


A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) receiver comprises an adjustable delay line, a secondary synchronization processor and a controller. The secondary synchronization processor performs frame synchronization on a received wireless signal that is provided via the adjustable delay line. The controller varies the sub-chip timing delays provided by the adjustable delay line until a measure of accuracy of the frame synchronization process exceeds a predetermined threshold, upon which frame synchronization occurs.

The present invention generally relates to secondary cell searching within 3rd generation (3G) wireless networks.
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a standard for 3G wireless networks, as defined by the International Telecommunications Union. UMTS defines a communication scheme composed of slots (2560 chips/slot), with 15 slots forming a frame (38,400 chips per frame). As is known, "chip" or "chip rate" refers to the rate of the spreading code within a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communication system. Each slot specifies, among other data, synchronization information used to synchronize communications between nodes of a UMTS compliant network.
An important procedure performed by a receiver within a UMTS network, for example one disposed within a mobile terminal, is the cell search operation. A cell search operation typically is performed after the receiver is powered on to determine synchronization information pertaining to the cell in which the receiver is located. The cell search operation generally accomplishes three things: slot synchronization, frame synchronization, and scrambling code determination.
In performing the cell search operation, the receiver accesses a Synchronization Channel (SCH) and a Common Pilot Channel (CPICH) of the transmitted signal. The SCH is a composite channel formed from a Primary SCH and a Secondary SCH. Within each slot, the Primary SCH specifies a Primary Synchronization Code (PSC). However, the Primary SCH only contains data during the first 256 chips of each 2560 chip slot.
The receiver uses the Primary SCH to acquire slot synchronization with a cell. Typically this is performed using a single matched filter, or other similar device. The filter is matched to the PSC which is common to all cells. The slot timing of a cell can be obtained by detecting peaks in the matched filter output.
The receiver performs frame synchronization using the Secondary SCH. The Secondary SCH specifies, within each slot, a Secondary Synchronization Code (SSC). Unlike the PSC, the SSC can be one of 16 different codes and each slot contains one SSC. The SSC used varies from slot to slot to form a sequence that has a period of one frame, or 15 slots. There are 64 possible SSC sequences and each sequence corresponds to one of 64 possible scrambling code groups. By observing a full frame of data, the receiver can determine which of the 64 SSC sequences is being transmitted. Since the SSC sequence repeats with a period equal to one frame, the sequence can be used to achieve frame synchronization at the receiver because frame boundaries can be identified. The SSC sequence that is transmitted further indicates which scrambling code group is used in the current cell.
Each scrambling code group includes 8 possible scrambling codes. To determine the actual scrambling code, the received CPICH signal can be correlated with each of the 8 possible scrambling codes in the identified scrambling code group until the correct scrambling code is determined. After the actual scrambling code has been identified, the Primary Common Control Channel (CCPCH) can be detected so that system and cell specific Broadcast Channel (BCH) information can be read.
A typical approach to Secondary SCH acquisition is to store, for each slot, the index of the strongest of the 16 SSC correlations. To find the SSC sequence with the highest number of matches, the resulting 15 indices are compared to reference sequences for all 64 possible scrambling code groups. From this comparison, the transmitted scrambling code group and the frame offset can be determined.
The processor used for Primary SCH acquisition typically is a single hardware device that is implemented with sub-chip accuracy. This higher accuracy allows the receiver to start the Secondary SCH correlation with improved accuracy. Because Secondary SCH processing involves performing 16 parallel correlations, one correlation for each of the 16 possible transmitted SSC codes, the Secondary SCH processors frequently are configured to use a single sample per chip to ease hardware requirements.
In an ideal environment, use of one sample per chip for Secondary Synchronization would not be problematic as the primary SCH processor would ideally synchronize to within a ¼ chip of the actual start of the slot. Accordingly, the Secondary SCH processor would work successfully despite using a single sample per chip. In practice, however, harsh channel environments can result in offsets of a ¼ of a chip or more during Primary Synchronization due to noise and other channel effects or distortions. If such synchronization offsets occur, performing Secondary Synchronization with only one sample per chip can result in a degraded correlation peak or, possibly, a completely erroneous correlation.
It would be desirable to perform Secondary SCH correlations with sub-chip accuracy while avoiding the significant increase in hardware that would result from implementing a typical sub-chip accurate Secondary SCH processor.

Method and system for sub-chip resolution for secondary cell search


Asphalt/polymer fibers include, by weight, 30% to 85% polymeric material and 15% to 70% asphaltic material, where the polymeric material has a melt flow index of no more than about 35 grams/10 minutes. Preferably, the combination of polymeric material and asphaltic material has a melt flow index of from 80 grams/10 minutes to 800 grams/10 minutes. The asphaltic material is preferably asphalt having a softening point of from 82.degree. C. to 177.degree. C. The polymeric material is preferably a polymer selected from polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyesters, ethylene copolymers, acrylates, methacrylates, and mixtures of these polymers. The organic fibers of asphalt/polymer may be intermingled with mineral reinforcing fibers and formed into products such as mats.

Products such as insulation and structural products have been made from mineral fibers, particularly glass fibers, for some time. A well-known rotary process of making mineral fibers includes centrifuging molten mineral material through small orifices to form mineral fibers. Molten mineral material is supplied to a rotating annular spinner. The spinner has a peripheral wall with a plurality of small orifices. The spinner is heated to keep the mineral material in the molten state. As the spinner is rotated, centrifugal force moves the molten mineral material against the peripheral wall. The molten mineral material is centrifuged from the rotating spinner and forced through the orifices in the peripheral wall of the spinner to form mineral fibers. This process provides an efficient way of producing mineral fibers at high production rates.
Many uses for polymeric fibers, such as polymer fibers, have been developed because of the desirable qualities of organic fibers. For example, polymeric fibers can be used to produce insulation products having a great degree of flexibility. Polymeric fibers are more resistant to breaking under deflection than glass fibers in typical insulation products. These polymeric fiber insulation products also have better handleability than glass fibers because they do not irritate the skin. Polymeric fibers can be used in a wide range of applications including sorbent materials, thermal and acoustical insulation, filters, and stuffing/padding materials.
To take advantage of the proven efficiency and high production rates of the rotary process of producing mineral fibers, it would be desirable to be able to produce organic fibers, including polymer fibers, in a similar way. But molten polymeric material has different physical properties from a molten mineral material. Some molten polymeric materials have decomposition temperatures that limit the upper spinner temperature. As a result, these materials are too viscous for producing fibers by a rotary process at the temperatures where they can be processed. For example, polypropylene with a melt flow index below 35 is unsuitable for a rotary fiberizing process. It would be possible to provide a polymeric material having a higher melt flow index. However, the cost of such a material would be significantly higher. Therefore, it would be desirable to be able to use a rotary process to make fibers from polymeric materials having a low melt flow index.

Owens Corning Fiberglas Technology, Inc.