An air spinning machine for producing a yarn from a fiber structure includes a spinneret with an internal eddy chamber. A spindle in the spinneret has an intake opening and extends into the eddy chamber. An annular gap is formed between an outside surface of the spindle and an inside wall of the eddy chamber. Air jets in the spinneret introduce air into the eddy chamber to impart twist to the fiber structure at the intake opening. An interior draw-off channel in the spinneret has a longitudinal axis by means of which the yarn is withdrawn from the eddy chamber. The air jets are aligned in a direction relative to a front side of the spindle around the intake opening so that some of the air introduced via the air jets during a spinning operation enters the annular gap and a remainder of the air enters the draw-off channel.

Air spinning machines with corresponding spinnerets are known in the prior art and are used to produce a yarn from an elongated fiber structure. The outer fibers of the fiber structure are wound around the interior core fibers with the help of an eddy air current created by the air jets inside the eddy chamber in the area of an intake opening of the yarn-forming element and thereby form the wound fibers that are characteristic of the desired strength of the yarn. This results in a yarn with a true twist which is ultimately discharged from the eddy chamber through a draw-off channel and can be wound onto a sleeve for example.
In the sense of the present invention in general, the term yarn is also understood to refer to a fiber structure, in which at least some of the fibers are wound around an interior core. Therefore, this includes a yarn in the traditional sense which can be processed with the help of a weaving machine for example to form a fabric. Also however the invention also relates air spinning machines with the help of which so-called roving (another term is slubbing or card sliver) can be produced. This type of yarn is characterized in that, despite having a certain strength sufficient to transport the yarn to a downstream textile machine, it is still capable of being drawn. The roving can thus be drawn before the final spinning with the help of a drawing device, for example, the stretching device of a textile machine that processes the roving, for example, a ring spinning machine.
In the area of the intake of the spinneret, a fiber guide element by means of which the fiber structure is guided into the spinneret and ultimately into the region of the yarn forming element is usually arranged in the area of the intake, wherein spindles having an interior draw-off channel are used as yarn-forming elements.
In the area of the front side of the spindle surrounding the intake opening, compressed air is introduced into the eddy chamber through the air jets, so that ultimately the aforementioned rotating eddy air current is obtained due to the corresponding alignment of the air jets. As a result, individual exterior fibers are separated from the fiber structure leaving the fiber guide element and/or are drawn out of the fiber structure for a distance and wrapped around the front side of the spindle. In the remaining course, these fibers rotate on the surface of the spindle. Subsequently, due to the forward movement of the interior core fibers of the fiber structure, the rotating fibers are wound around the core fibers, thereby forming the yarn.
In addition to the pressure of the air introduced through the air jets and the geometry of the spinneret, the spindle in particular and the eddy chamber are of crucial importance for the formation of the yarn.

Air spinning machine and a method for producing a yarn


A low profile connector assembly includes a conductive shell defining multiple interface ports and solderable surfaces configured to be surface mounted to a circuit board, and a center contact pin located in each respective interface port, wherein the center contact pin is substantially coplanar with the solderable surface. Integrally assembled mechanical fasteners reduce installation time and cost of the connector.

The invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to coaxial connectors.
Coaxial connectors for interconnecting electrical components typically include a conductive signal path and a conductive shield surrounding the signal path. The conductive shield provides a return path through the connector and also prevents radio frequency (RF) leakage from the signal path. Sometimes referred to as RF connectors, coaxial connectors are used with and are employed in a wide variety of electrical and electronic devices and packages. Conventional RF connectors, however, are disadvantaged in several aspects.
For example, and like other electrical connectors and components, the increasing miniaturization of modem devices has rendered known coaxial connectors unsuitable for use in smaller and smaller devices and electronic packages. A number of discrete connectors, such as right angle, through-hole, or surface mount RF connectors, are typically positioned on a top surface of a circuit board and each connector extends entirely above the top surface of the board. The connector height profile, however, inhibits effective space management in the internal space of a device.
As another example, conventional RF connectors sometimes require special processing and fixturing to hold the connector in place while they are soldered to a circuit board, adding to the cost of installing the connectors to the board. Additionally each discrete connector typically must be separately installed and secured to the board and/or a panel connected to a supporting chassis of a device. Installing large numbers of connectors one at a time can be time intensive and expensive, and effectively limits the density of connectors on the board as some spacing between the connectors is required for installation.
Still further, obtaining optimum signal transmission in some types of RF connectors, particularly right angle connectors, has been difficult to achieve due to impedance matching problems in the right angle geometry of the connector.


Embodiments of the present invention provide medical devices and methods for treating a target site within the body, such as for treating vascular abnormalities. For example, one embodiment provides a stent graft including an occlusive material having a preset, overlapping configuration comprising at least three inverted overlapping layers that are folded over one another. The at least three inverted overlapping layers are configured to be separated and disposed within a catheter in a non-overlapping configuration and return to the preset, overlapping configuration when deployed from the catheter.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical devices and, in particular, to a multi-layered device for treating a target site within the body, such as a vascular abnormality.
2) Description of Related Art
Medical devices such as occluders, flow restrictors, shunts, and stent/grafts are known in the art. For example, devices may be made with a single layer of braided wire fabric to occlude, restrict, or shunt flow through vessels, organs, cavities, or the like. These single-layered devices may be elongated to a reduced diameter for delivery through a catheter and resume their memorized shape when released from the delivery catheter.
Medical devices, such as multi-layered occluders and stent grafts, have also been developed in order to occlude or exclude vascular abnormalities. For example, the medical devices may include multiple layers of coaxially disposed layers of material that are configured to substantially slow the flow of blood and facilitate thrombosis. The idea is that having a greater metallic surface area using a multi-layered device speeds clot formation in comparison to single layer devices and eliminates the need for an additional material such as a polyester fabric often included in single layer devices. If the layers of material are tied together, the layers must elongate the same to be able to be tied at the middle of their longitudinal axis and to be grasped at their ends for loading within a delivery system. If the layers do not elongate the same, one of the layers will be longer than the others in a drawn down configuration, such that some of the layers will be difficult to grasp for delivery. When the layers have the same elongation, the braid geometry is similar between the layers, which can create holes in the device when the layers line up the same. Altering the braid geometry may prevent these gaps, but may lead to differences in elongation, as described above.
Multi-layer devices may be lower in delivery profile than single metal layer devices which incorporate an additional polyester fabric to facilitate occlusion because the metal filaments in a multi-layer device use smaller diameter wire and the multiple layers can all be reduced substantially in diameter together by elongation, where as the polyester fabric must be folded over itself for delivery, causing greater delivery profile in single layer devices. The profile for delivery of multiple layer devices is determined by the additive thickness of each layer in the elongated state. It would be advantageous, if all the benefits of a multi-layer device could be achieved with a lower delivery profile such as by delivering each layer sequentially. A lower delivery profile would provide for a smaller sized delivery catheter, a smaller puncture size into the vasculature, and less trauma to the vascular tissue in passage of the delivery catheter through the vasculature. In addition, smaller catheters are more flexible, and the device may be able to be placed in more difficult to reach anatomical sites such as through smaller diameter vessels or through more tortuous pathways.
Therefore, there is a need for a medical device that is capable of effectively treating various target sites within the body. Moreover, there is a need for a medical device that may be easily delivered and adequately anchored at the target site. In addition, there is a need for a medical device that may be delivered to a target site that is less traumatic to the vasculature and that may be used to prophylactically treat various conditions that may be in more difficult to reach anatomy.

Multi-layered medical device for treating a target site and associated method


A method for reconstructing optical properties of a diffracting object immersed in a liquid medium using a reconstruction system that comprises a spatially coherent light source and a matrix photodetector, wherein the liquid medium and the matrix photodetector are separated by a distance along a vertical direction. The method comprises illuminating the liquid medium, measuring (with the matrix photodetector) an intensity of a diffraction pattern transmitted by the illuminated medium along a vertical direction, and reconstructing the optical properties of the diffracting object at a reconstruction height according to a reconstruction algorithm from the measured intensity, wherein the reconstruction height has a value less than that of the distance between the medium and the matrix photodetector along the vertical direction.

A method for reconstructing optical properties of diffracting objects by means of a lensless imaging device is known from the article entitled, Lensfree in-line holographic detection of bacteria, Poher et al. In this method, dust particles are placed on the surface of a protective cap, located at about 400 μm from a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor) sensor, the dust particles are illuminated with a spatially coherent light source, and the CMOS sensor measures the intensity of the diffraction patterns corresponding to waves diffracted by the dust particles when they are illuminated. The complex amplitude of the dust particles is reconstructed, according to a reconstruction algorithm, from the measured intensity, the reconstruction algorithm depending on a reconstruction height. The reconstruction height is substantially equal to the height of the protective cap of the CMOS sensor (i.e., substantially equal to the distance between the dust particles and the CMOS sensor along the illumination direction of the particles). However, such a reconstruction method does not allow access to more specific information, notably relating to the structure of the observed particles. Thus, when the observed particles are cells, this method does not give the possibility of distinguishing and viewing the nucleus from the cytoplasm of a single cell.
Thus, a need still exists for a method and system of reconstructing optical properties of diffracting objects, for objects having a diameter of less than 50 μm, notably cells, or colonies of bacteria, giving the possibility of obtaining more specific information on said objects.

Method and system for reconstructing optical properties of diffracting objects immersed in a liquid medium

Commissariat a l'energie atomique et aux energies alternatives


After drying the surface of a tin plating layer having a thickness of 0.4 to 3 μm which is formed on a base material of copper or a copper alloy by electroplating at a current density of 5 to 13 A/dm2 in a tin plating solution consisting of water, tin sulfate, sulfuric acid and a surfactant, the surface of the tin plating layer is heated to melt tin, and then, cooled to cause a layer of the tin plating layer on the side of the outermost surface to be a tin layer, which has a structure obtained by solidification after melting, while causing a layer of the tin plating layer between the tin layer and the base material to be a copper-tin alloy layer, to produce a tin-plated product wherein a tin layer, which has a structure obtained by solidification after melting, is formed on a copper-tin alloy layer formed on a base material of copper or a copper alloy and wherein the tin-plated product has a glossiness of 0.3 to 0.7.

As conventional materials of insertable and extractable connecting terminals, there are used tin-plated products wherein a tin plating film is formed as the outermost layer of a conductive material, such as copper or a copper alloy. In particular, tin-plated products are used as the materials of information communication equipment for automotive vehicles, portable telephones and personal computers, control substrates for industrial equipment, such as robots, terminals, such as connectors, lead frames, relays and switches, and bus bars, from the points of view of their small contact resistance, contact reliability, corrosion resistance, solderability, economy and so forth.
Tin plating is generally carried out by electroplating. After electroplating, a reflow treatment (tin melting treatment) is carried out in order to remove the internal stress in tin-plated products to suppress the occurrence of whiskers. If the reflow treatment is thus carried out after tin plating, a part of tin diffuses to the components of the underlying layer to form a compound layer, and a tin or tin alloy layer is formed thereon.
As a tin-plated product produced by such a reflow treatment, there is proposed a tin-plated product wherein a pure tin layer is formed on a copper-tin compound layer formed on a base material of copper or a copper alloy, the thickness of the pure tin layer being in the range of from 0.3 μm to 1.5 μm, and wherein the average particle diameter of the copper-tin compound layer on a surface substantially parallel to the interfaces between the layers of the tin-plated product is 1.3 μm or more, the arithmetic average roughness Ra of the surface of the tin-plated product being 0.15 μm or more (see, e.g., Patent Document 1).
There are also proposed tin-plated products, such as a terminal for fitting type connector wherein a nickel layer, a copper-tin alloy layer and a tin layer are formed on a copper alloy bar in this order as the surface coating layers and wherein the tin layer is smoothed by a reflow treatment (see, e.g., Patent Document 2), a copper or copper alloy bar which has a reflowed tin plating layer wherein the specular reflectance of the surface thereof is in the range of from 25 to 65 (see, e.g., Patent Document 3) and an electrically conductive material for connecting parts wherein a tin coating layer is formed on a copper-tin alloy coating layer formed on the surface of a base material of a copper alloy bar and wherein the surface thereof is reflow-treated for causing a part of the copper-tin alloy layer to be exposed on the surface of the tin coating layer (see, e.g., Patent Document 4).

Tin-plated product and method for producing same


A path search circuit according to the present invention has an orthogonal multi-beam forming section 4 for directional reception with a plurality of orthogonal multi-beams orthogonal one to another, correlation-operating sections 61–6M for correlation-operating outputs of the orthogonal multi-beam forming section 4 with a known signal, weight multiplying sections 81–8Nb for multiplying the output of the correlation-operating section 61–6M by a weight converted into a beam space, delay profile generating sections 91–9Nb for generating delay profiles from the output signals of the weight multiplying sections 81–8Nb, and a path detecting section 10 for detecting a reception timing and arrival direction of arrival path from the delay profile. This path search circuit can enhance the accuracy of path direction detection by the use of a directional reception signal, and further reduce the direction dependence of path timing detection accuracy.

The signal, to be received by a base station apparatus, suffers interference with various signals, causing the deterioration in reception quality. There is known an adaptive array antenna as an art of suppressing the interference and receiving strongly only the signal arriving in a desired direction. In the adaptive array antenna, the weighting coefficient for multiplied on a reception signal (hereinafter, the weighting coefficient is referred to as "weight") is adjusted to regulate the amplitude and phase for provision to the reception signal, thereby making it possible to receive strongly only the signal arriving in a desired direction.
Meanwhile, the radio receiver requires a path timing detector circuit (hereinafter, referred to as "path search circuit") to detect a reception timing of a desired signal. By combining this with the adaptive array antenna art, further correct detection of reception timing is made possible. Incidentally, reception timing is got by, for example, detecting the timing of the correlating peak obtained by the mutual correlating operation with a predetermined signal.
There is, as a conventional adaptive array antenna device having a path search circuit, a disclosure in JP-A-2001-345747. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a direct-spread CDMA schemed receiver having a conventional adaptive array. In the below, explanation is made on the operation by using FIG. 14. The RF signal, received at antenna elements 1411–141N in the number of n shown in FIG. 14, is sent to the respective radio receiving sections 1421–142N of the antenna elements. In the radio receiving sections 1421–142N, respectively these RF signals are frequency-converted into intermediate frequency (IF band) and amplified by not-shown automatic gain amplifiers.
Furthermore, after orthogonal detection into an I/Q-channel base band signal by the not-shown orthogonal detector, a not-shown A/D converter converts into and outputs a digital signal. Beam-forming sections 1441–1444, because of direct-spread CDMA receivers for the base band signal received at the antenna elements 1411–141N, multiply a code correlating value process output of a not-shown desired wave signal by a plurality of orthogonal beam weights orthogonal one to another. By multiplying beam weights in the beam-forming sections 1441–1444 and thereafter combining them, phase correction is made between the output of the antenna elements 1411–141N.
Due to this, the beam-forming sections 1441–1444 can generate respectively one beams and output them to the corresponding delay profile generating sections 1451–1454. On the basis of the beams a-d outputted from the beam-forming sections 1441–1444, the delay profile generating sections 1451–1454 generate a delay profiles and output them to a path detecting section 1460. Incidentally, the delay profiles represents the status of multipath propagation which is a representation of reception level of arriving path on a delay time axis.
The path detecting section 1460 detects an effective path out of the beam-based delay profiles and notifies a finger section of its timing and beam number.
By the above operation, it is made possible to implement communications with a desired communication area segmented into a plurality of beams and to mitigate the interference of a beam communication signal from other users. By detecting a reception timing after reducing the affection by an interfering user, the accuracy can be improved.
However, in the conventional receiver employing the above configuration, in the case that there is an arrival of a mobile terminal (hereinafter, referred to as "desired user") radio wave to be intentionally caught by the base station in an intermediate direction of the directional beams due to a plurality of orthogonal beam weights, the directional gain deteriorates and the interference components are not fully suppressed. In this manner, there is a problem of causing a direction dependence that reception-timing detection accuracy varies depending upon an arriving direction of a desired user's radio wave.
The present invention has been made in view of such points, and it is an object to provide a path search circuit which reduces the direction dependence of detection accuracy during path reception timing detection of a desired user's radio wave.

Path search circuit, radio receiver and radio transmitter, utilizing a directional beam


A bicycle wheel includes a hub. The wheel also includes a fully asymmetric carbon fiber rim. The carbon fiber rim includes a curved sidewall and a straight sidewall, the straight sidewall being thicker than the curved sidewall. The wheel also includes a number of symmetric left and right spokes connecting the hub to the rim.

Bicycle wheel rims are structural elements that retain a bicycle tire in place, provide braking surfaces, and provide attachment points for spokes. The wheel rims are subject to a variety of forces, including forces that are generated during acceleration, turning, braking, impacts as the tire passes over variations in the terrain, forces exerted on the rim by the spokes and inflated tire, and other forces. In addition to considering these forces in designing a wheel rim, for high performance applications, such as sprinting or bicycle racing, the mass, aerodynamics, and rotational inertia the bicycle rim are also significant design considerations.
Additionally, the number of gears on bicycles continues to increase. To accommodate an increasing number of gears, bicycle wheels may be asymmetric (dished). In an asymmetric rim, the spokes that connect the bicycle rim to the hub may have differences in length and tension. The asymmetry of the spokes and the differences in spoke forces directly influences the rim performance and can lead to increased maintenance and reliability challenges.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.

Bicycle wheels with asymmetric carbon fiber rims


A method of aligning one end of a passenger boarding bridge with a doorway of an aircraft includes a step of parking the aircraft within a parking space that is defined adjacent to the passenger boarding bridge. An imager disposed aboard the aircraft is used for scanning a target that is located proximate the parking space, the target including machine-readable information that is uniquely associated with the passenger boarding bridge. Data relating to the machine-readable information of the target is extracted from image data and used for encoding a signal for transmission to a controller of the passenger boarding bridge. The controller determines the presence of the extracted data and compares the data to a unique bridge identifier code for that passenger boarding bridge. When a match is determined, then communication with an aircraft within or proximate a parking space adjacent to that passenger boarding bridge is confirmed.

In order to make aircraft passengers comfortable, and in order to transport them between an airport terminal building and an aircraft in such a way that they are protected from the weather and from other environmental influences, passenger boarding bridges are used which are telescopically extensible and the height of which is adjustable. For instance, an apron drive bridge includes a plurality of adjustable modules, including: a rotunda, a telescopic tunnel, a bubble section, a cab, and elevating columns with wheel carriage. Other common types of passenger boarding bridges include radial drive bridges and over-the-wing (OTW) bridges. These types of passenger boarding bridges are adjustable, for instance to compensate for different sized aircraft and to compensate for imprecise parking of aircraft at an airport terminal.
A manual bridge alignment system requires that a human operator is present to perform the alignment operation each time an aircraft arrives. Delays occur when the human operator is not standing-by to perform the alignment operation as soon as the aircraft comes to a stop. In addition, human operators are prone to errors that result in the passenger boarding bridge being driven into the aircraft or into a piece of ground service equipment. Such collisions involving the passenger boarding bridge are costly and also result in delays. In order to avoid causing a collision, human operators tend to err on the side of caution and drive the passenger boarding bridge slowly and cautiously.
Semi-automated bridge alignment systems also require a human operator, but the human operator may be present at a remote location and interact with the bridge control system in a tele-robotic manner. One human operator may interact with a plurality of different passenger boarding bridges, thereby reducing the costs associated with training and paying the salaries of human operators. Alternatively, certain movements of the bridge are automated, whilst other movements are performed under the control of the human operator.
Automated bridge alignment systems provide a number of advantages compared to manual and semi-automated systems. For instance, automated bridge alignment systems do not require a human operator, and therefore the costs that are associated with training and paying the salaries of human operators are reduced or eliminated. Furthermore, an automated bridge alignment system is always standing by to control the passenger boarding bridge as soon as an aircraft comes to a stop. Accordingly, delays associated with dispatching a human operator to perform a bridge alignment operation are eliminated, particularly during periods of heavy aircraft traffic.
Early attempts at automated bridge alignment systems employed imagers and sensors disposed on or about the passenger boarding bridge, for sensing locations of aircraft doorways and for sensing close approach of the bridge to the aircraft. More recently, automated bridge alignment systems have been developed in which beacon docking signals and/or control signals are transmitted wirelessly between an aircraft and a passenger boarding bridge, as described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,637,063, 6,742,210, 6,757,927 and 6,907,635, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Other systems relying upon wireless transmission of signals between an aircraft and a passenger boarding bridge during alignment are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/149,401, 11/155,502, 11/157,934 and 11/157,938, the entire contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Unfortunately, automated bridge alignment systems still are susceptible to errors that result in the passenger boarding bridge being driven into the aircraft. For instance, in a system in which an aircraft wirelessly transmits a call signal for initiating an automated alignment operation of a passenger boarding bridge, it is possible that one or more neighboring passenger boarding bridges may intercept and act upon the call signal as well. In this case, an aircraft may inadvertently initiate automated docking of more than one passenger boarding bridge at time. As a result, the neighboring bridges may collide with aircraft or ground service equipment located adjacent thereto, particularly since the bridge movement is sudden and unexpected. Similarly, control signals and/or confirmation signals that are exchanged between an aircraft and an assigned passenger boarding bridge may be intercepted and acted upon by other passenger boarding bridges in close proximity to the assigned passenger boarding bridge. With the growing number of automated bridge alignment systems that are in use at airports, the problem of cross-talk related bridge incidents is becoming more of a concern.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/373,976, Hutton teaches the use of unique aircraft identifier codes for encoding signals for transmission between an aircraft and a controller of an automated bridge alignment system. Since no two aircraft have the same unique aircraft identifier code, a message that is encoded with a particular unique aircraft identifier code may be positively identified as originating from a particular aircraft. When it is determined that the message has originated from a particular aircraft that is assigned to the passenger boarding bridge, then the controller of the automated bridge alignment system accepts the message as a valid message to be acted upon during a current bridge alignment operation. Optionally, messages transmitted to the aircraft from the controller are also encoded using the same unique aircraft identifier code. The system and method using unique aircraft identifier codes is useful and supports very secure communication between aircraft and ground based bridge control systems. Accordingly, the system and method addresses the problem of cross-talk related bridge incidents. However, the unique aircraft identifier code for every aircraft that is assigned to a passenger boarding bridge must be provided in advance to the controller of the automated bridge alignment system. Last minute gate assignment changes may result in an aircraft arriving at a passenger boarding bridge "unannounced," such that the controller of the automated bridge alignment system does not recognize messages transmitted therefrom as valid messages to be acted upon during a current bridge alignment operation. In addition, some aircraft may not have a unique aircraft identifier.

System and method for wireless communication between an aircraft and a passenger boarding bridge


A system and method for facilitating money transfer from a primary account holder to one or more partner accounts. The primary account holder uses a self-service terminal, which displays information on each of several related partner accounts. The displayed partner account information permits the selection of the partner account into which money is to be transferred.

The process of "wiring money" has been used for many years as a means to transfer money from a person at one location to a second person at a different location. The process is not always convenient since, among other things, the sender and the recipient typically need to visit a money transfer office either to send or to receive the money. More recently, people wanting to transfer money have been able to use an ATM (automated teller machine) or other self-service terminal to conduct money transfer transactions.
The process of transferring money, even if done at an ATM, can be time-consuming and complicated, as well as inconvenient. For example, the sender will need to know the account of the recipient if it is an inter-account transfer, or may need to know detailed destination information if the money is to be retrieved at a location other than one with a self-service terminal. Further, if an ATM is to be used by both the sender and the recipient, the sender may need to get a PIN (personal identification number), as well as security/payout codes and other information, from the initiating ATM, and separately communicate that information to the recipient, in order for money to be retrieved by the recipient at a dispensing ATM or location.

System and method for transferring money


A system and method for broadcasting an audio signal in a turbo-coded satellite digital audio broadcasting system is provided that utilizes the combination of a turbo coding system having code combining and code diversity techniques to lower the power required for transmittal and to transmit at a higher code rate of 1/4 by utilizing the puncturing sequence and a pilot signal assisted orthogonal CDMA; the invention includes an improved receiver system that uses modified RAKE receivers in order to mitigate the Rayleigh multipath fading, shadowing, and temporal blockage and improve performance. The invention further uses a terrestrial gap filler network having a reduced amount of gap fillers.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) system for the wide-area distribution of multiple channels of audio programming, and in particular to a DAB system and method having improved receiver performance through coding gain from code diversity and packet combining, and distributed gap filler network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several DAB methods and systems have been proposed for Direct Broadcast Satellite Radio that essentially broadcasts digital audio signals for reception by fixed and mobile receivers. Such DAB systems and methods heretofore have yet to overcome problems that affect the overall system performance so as to make it commercially feasible. The most significant problems in DAB systems are signal shadowing, fading, and temporal blockage. Shadowing problems are dominated by factors such as the intermittent blockage of the line of sight to the receiver from the satellite by natural or man-made objects. For example, in suburban environments tree shadowing is the prominent signal impairment, while in urban environments, buildings cause the major shadowing effect. Fading problems are mainly caused by multipath signals to the mobile receiver in suburban and urban environments. Signal fading can be mitigated by adapting temporal diversity techniques such as time diversity and spatial diversity. Conventional time diversity schemes operate on the same signal so as to randomize the outage patterns through interleaving, data repetition, and/or some form of channel coding. Conventional spatial diversity techniques operate on the same signal using a dual satellite scheme and/or an antenna diversity technique for remedying shadowing and temporal blockages.
Conventional DAB systems and methods have sought to mitigate the problems of multipath fading and foliage attenuation by employing two geosynchronous satellites. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,319,673 and 5,278,863 to Briskman disclose a polarization diversity technique in a spread spectrum system (either direct sequence or frequency hopping schemes) that employs frequency diversity to combat fading in a frequency selective channel. A conventional Code Division Multiple access (CDMA) system, using two geosynchronous satellites and a dual diversity technique is utilized, however, the Briskman system cannot provide seamless high performance service over the entire coverage area, since conventional CDMA system performance is limited by self-interference. Self-interference is induced by the cross-correlations of the Pseudo Noise (PN) sequences used for the different program channels. Furthermore, the Briskman system employs a dual polarization approach to separate signals from two satellites, the receiver then selecting the stronger of the two broadcasts of the same signal. While a dual satellite system increases the probability that a mobile or fixed receiver has line-of-sight contact with one of at least two satellites, the unselected satellite's signal must be separated and eliminated from further signal processing, otherwise, the weaker signal acts like added noise to the stronger signal. Additionally, preserving the polarization in the mobile signal path is very difficult because the reflected signals tend to invert the polarization. Therefore, conventional DAB systems are inefficient in power and bandwidth usage whereby performance is inadequate for subscription-grade quality of service.
Finally, even with two satellites, signal blockage, shadowing, and fading problems continue to occur in urban and suburban environments. Conventional DAB systems have sought to solve this problem by employing a network of gap filler transmitters to provide the signal when both satellites are blocked from view. However, such network of gap fillers transmitting the same broadcast signal increases the self-interference problem, which in turn increases the cost and complexity of the gap filler network because of the desire to use increased transmit power levels to combat self-interference. Previous attempts to solve this problem have been inadequate for subscription grade service given the intended DAB service area (continental United States) and the pervasiveness of the shadowing/fading problem; this has created new cost problems whereby gap fillers are required in virtually all urban and suburban locations. Therefore, the DAB method and system of the present invention advantageously provides a way to reduce the number and cost of such gap fillers and a critical solution to the overall network design problem. The DAB method and system of the present invention advantageously utilizes code diversity (whereby two different non-self-interfering turbo encoded signals are transmitted and substantially combined inside the receiver) to provide improved performance through higher coding gains, fewer gap fillers, and reduced transmit power level requirements from either of each of the satellite or the gap fillers.
Other DAB systems have used dual antennas and a Viterbi-algorithm method over a fading channel to reduce the affects of signal fading in the received signal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,598 to Backstrom et al. discloses a system for receiving radio signals on at least two mutually spaced antennas and a receiver to process samples of the signal using a Viterbi-algorithm thereby reducing signal fading. Various antenna diversity schemes also have been used and these are characterized by the orthogonal polarization of the broadcast signals. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,485,485 to Briskman, a dual antenna system is disclosed that selects the stronger of two signals having substantially the same content and frequency. The dual antenna approach requires two physical antennas on the mobile receiving station which is inconvenient and expensive as multiple antennas are installed on the vehicle's roof, and their employment illustrates the severity of the reception problems of conventional DAB systems. Additionally, the performance gain due to a dual-antenna system is minimal unless the receiver uses extensive signal processing techniques to accurately compensate for the angle of arrival. The method and system of the present invention solves these problems by advantageously utilizing RAKE receivers to combine multipath signals from satellites and gap fillers at the DAB receiver.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,156 to Teder et al. discloses a system and method for coherently demodulating an uplink signal in a multirate, CDMA system. However, the receiver performance of the conventional CDMA and/or Viterbi based coding systems is limited by multiple access channel interference and does not provide performance and coding gains at the level provided by the present invention. As a result, the present invention uses a Turbo Code method and system along with Orthogonal Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA) techniques to advantageously eliminate the effects of multiple access interference and provide high coding gain, which results in robust DAB reception at lower overall power levels.
Finally, an error coding system using turbo codes, ie., codes that associate with parallel concatenation of two convolutional codes separated by an interleaver, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,446,747 to Berrou and U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,570 to Berrou et al. While such systems have acceptable coding gain they do not address the dual-signal path case or the benefits provided through the use of code combining and code diversity. These codes do not transmit interleaved data elements, but only transmit uninterleaved data elements and parity check elements from both uninterleaved and interleaved sequences. The present invention transmits uninterleaved and interleaved data elements with corresponding coded data elements to two separate signal paths, and at the turbo decoder, combines these two elements advantageously to achieve an effective overall code rate 1/4 from the simultaneous reception and combination of two code rate 1/2 signals, thereby providing significantly improved performance.
The present invention is aimed at overcoming these different drawbacks of the prior art.

Method and receiver for coded satellite digital audio broadcasting


A cascaded stack of routing units each of which routes packets that it receives at its external ports and which conduct an election for a lead router that lends network and media access control addresses to the router interfaces of the other units in the stack. These other subordinate units have selected ancillary functions suppressed but otherwise have full routing capability. A packet entering the stack and requiring routing is routed by the unit that receives it and is thereafter bridged to its egress port.

Network units, such as switches and routers which include a multiplicity of ports for connection to other units or users are commonly made with a fixed number of ports in order to achieve efficiency of manufacture. It is well known to 'stack' such units, by which is meant their connection by what is known as a cascade connection, which enables them not only to receive and forward packets from their own ports but also to forward packets to other units in the stack where destination ports are on a unit other than the unit which first received the packet. Packets which are passed between the units for this purpose travel on a cascade connection, which normally comprises a data path (for the packets) and a control path which enables the units to exchange control and status information for a variety of purposes. These paths may be physically separate but need not be. Physically the units may be stackable, though the physical aspect of stacking is not an essential feature of the present invention. Known stacking arrangements are disclosed and exemplified by the Super Stack 3 Switch 3300 made by 3Com Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. and the Switch 4400 of the same Corporation.
Although the facility of stacking has a substantial number of operational benefits, there are difficulties which may offset those benefits.
For example, since all packets that are received by any unit in the stack and require forwarding from another unit must travel by way of the cascade, the requirement for bandwidth in the cascade connection can be very substantial. It is desirable in almost all circumstances to minimise the usage of bandwidth on the cascade.
Two well-known network functions are 'bridging' and 'routing'. The former term, as well as the term 'bridge', is normally used to signify the receiving and forwarding of addressed data packets in accordance with media access control addresses (layer 2 addresses).
Routing is used to signify communication between different sub-nets or networks. Although media access control addresses are employed to convey a packet on each hop of a journey, routers are employed to determine a multiple-hop route for a packet. For this purpose it has recourse to a number of well known resources, such as a router information protocol or the like by means of which it can build 'directories' or routing tables.
It is known to provide a stack of switch units which have routing enabled in one unit only, the routing functions if any in the other units being disabled. Such a scheme requires all traffic that requires routing and not received at or forwarded from the routing unit to traverse the cascade twice, and also heavily loads the single active routing entity.


The information terminal device of the invention has a first function of displaying non-confidential data in a selectable manner on its display screen and, in response to the user's selection of the non-confidential data, showing the details of the non-confidential data. The information terminal device also has a second function of displaying confidential data in a selectable manner and, in response to the user's selection of the confidential data, showing the details of the confidential data. The first function is given as one normally selectable menu option and is activated by the user's selection of the corresponding menu. The second function is, however, not given as a normally selectable menu option and is triggered only by the user's series of operations of an operation unit in a preset sequence. No operation-related display appears on the display screen of the information terminal device during the user's series of operations of the operation unit. The information terminal device of this configuration does not hint even the presence of confidential data to any third person and thus effectively prevents the third person from analyzing or decoding the data stored in the information terminal device and having illegal access to the confidential data. This arrangement of the invention desirably enables the safe handling of confidential data without the potential for leakage of the confidential data from the information terminal device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information terminal device that is capable of transmitting data to and from a server device on a communication line. More specifically the invention pertains to the technique of preventing intentional or unintentional leakage of confidential data from the information terminal device.
2. Background Art
The advancement of the communication technology and the computer-related technology has significantly enhanced the performances of diverse information terminal devices including cell phones, PDAs (personal digital assistances), and laptops. These information terminal devices have the comparable throughput to those of some old versions of desktop computers. With the improved performances, various functions including a mail function, a browser function, a word processing function, and a spreadsheet function are installed in such information terminal devices. These information terminal devices are mobile and portable and are thus usable at any time and at any location, for example, during a business trip or during a travel.
The information terminal device is mobile and portable and is thus not free from the possibility of being lost or stolen to be transferred to the third person. There is accordingly a fear that confidential data stored in the information terminal device is leaked to the outside. In order to enable the information terminal device to safely deal with emails of confidentiality and other confidential data including important document data, one proposed technique sets a password to the confidential emails and the confidential data and requires entry of the valid password to open the confidential emails and the confidential data (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Gazette No. 2003-209544).
The proposed technique requires entry of the valid password to open the confidential data. The display of a folder for storage of the confidential data and a password entry window, however, undesirably informs the third person of the presence of the confidential data. There is accordingly a fear that the third person breaks the password and leaks the contents of the confidential data to the outside.
The object of the invention is thus to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art technique and to provide a technique of concealing even the presence of confidential data to any third person and thus enabling an information terminal device to safely and securely deal with the confidential data.

Information terminal device and character data display method


A container for storing and dispensing respiratory mask liners includes a housing defining a cavity therein and a cover arranged to be received on the housing, the cover including an upper face having an opening formed therein. The container further includes a lever having a first end and a second end, the lever first end pivotally connected to the cover for engaging and dispensing respiratory mask liners stored within the container through the opening.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious and potentially fatal medical condition in which a person's airway becomes physically blocked multiple times during sleep, restricting oxygen intake and causing the person to awake gasping for breath. Possible effects of the condition include extreme fatigue, high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks, and sometimes even death.
One of the most common treatments of obstructive sleep apnea is the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. These machines deliver a continuous flow of pressurized air to the airway through a hose and mask fitted to the face. Patient compliance is a major problem with CPAP users, however, due to discomfort, air leaks, and general ineffectiveness. It is estimated that up to 50% of users discontinue use.
Most CPAP masks currently available are made from silicone, rubber, vinyl, or a nylon-based fabric. These materials are typically water and gas impermeable, which can block off pores, cause sweating, and create pressure marks on the face, increasing the discomfort of the mask. Furthermore, most mask manufacturers recommend against the use of skin or face cream with CPAP masks since the mask material directly contacts the skin. This is a problem for many users, especially those that have dry skin and depend on night cream for skin care.
A liner can be used to improve the comfort, effectiveness, and/or patient compliance of CPAP and other respiratory masks, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,365,733, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. Such a liner may be held in place by the pressure of the respiratory mask upon the face (e.g., by straps around the head), and then the liner is easily removable and replaceable when the mask is removed. Users may purchase packs containing multiple replacement liners which must be stored and then are dispensed as needed when it is necessary for the liner currently in use to be replaced.

Container for storing and dispensing respiratory mask liners


Networks and networks for performance monitoring (PM) in a passive optical network, which contain at least one optical line terminator (OLT) and at least one optical network terminal (ONT), provide increased PM flexibility over traditional ONT management and control interface functionality. These networks and networks include setting a PM initialization time at the ONT, maintaining a base PM time at the ONT, zeroing an interval end time counter at the ONT and collecting a first set of PM data in PM bins for a specified PM time interval. The interval end time counter can sequentially increment after completing collection the first set of PM data. Once collection of the first set of PM data is complete and the interval end time counter has been incremented, these networks and networks can collect more sets of PM data in other PM bins for the PM time interval. Once PM data are collected, the OLT can retrieve the PM initialization time and the base PM time from the ONT, as well as the PM data from the PM bins. The OLT can retrieve any of the sets of PM data that were collected during PM data collection. For collecting non-current sets of PM data, the OLT can use the PM initialization time and the base PM time, together with the current network time, to determine a PM bin offset used to identify the appropriate PM bin from which to retrieve the sought-after PM data.

1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present invention relates to a passive optical network (PON). More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method of using optical line terminator (OLT) system time during optical network terminal (ONT) performance monitoring (PM) on the PON.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most networks in the telecommunications networks of today are based on active components at the serving office exchange and termination points at the customer premises as well as in the repeaters, relays and other devices in the transmission path between the exchange and the customer. In this context, active components are devices that require power of some sort, and generally comprise processors, memory chips and other devices that are active and processing information within and along the transmission path.
In contrast, within a typical passive optical network (PON), all active components between the central office exchange and the customers' premises are eliminated, and passive optical components are put into the network to guide traffic based on splitting the power of optical wavelengths to endpoints along the way. This replacement of active components with passive components provides a cost-savings to service providers by eliminating the need to power and service active components in the transmission loop. The passive splitters or couplers are merely devices working to pass or restrict light, and as such, have no power or processing requirements.
In general, a typical PON consists of an optical line terminator (OLT), which is located at a central office (CO), and a set of associated optical network terminals (ONTs), which are located at customers' premises. Between the OLT and the ONTs lies optical distribution networks (ODNs), which includes fibers and one or more of passive splitters and passive couplers. An exemplary PON is described in the International Telecommunication Union Recommendation, ITU-T Recommendation G.983.1, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical PON. As shown in FIG. 1, in a PON network, fiber can be run from the CO exchange, via an OLT, to an ODN, and then individual fiber strands to each ONT at a building, home or other serving equipment. Each fiber from the OLT can be can be split from the using passive splitters and/or couplers. This allows for an expensive piece of fiber cable from the CO exchange to be shared among many customers, thereby dramatically lowering the overall costs of deployment for fiber to the business (FTTB), fiber to the home (FTTH), and fiber to the curb (FTTC) applications. The alternative would be to run individual fiber or copper strands from the exchange to each customer, which results in a much higher serving cost per customer.
The main fiber run on a PON network can operate at 155 Mps, 622 Mbps, 1.25 Gbps or 2.5 Gbps the various PON standards. Bandwidth allocated to each customer from this aggregate bandwidth can be static or dynamically assigned in order to support voice, data and/or video applications. With PON, a single fiber from the CO exchange can service 16, 32 or more buildings through the use of both passive devices to split the optical signal, and PON protocols to control the sending and transmission of signals across the shared access facility.
In the typical PON, the process of transporting data downstream to the customer premises is different from transporting data upstream from the customer premises. Downstream data is broadcasted from the OLT to each ONT, and each ONT processes the data destined to it by matching the address at the protocol transmission unit header. Upstream traffic is more complicated due to the shared media nature of the ODN. There is a need to coordinate between the transmissions of each of the ONTs to the OLT in order to avoid collisions. Upstream data is transmitted according to control mechanisms in the OLT, in which dedicated transmission time slots are granted to each individual ONT. The time slots are synchronized so that transmission bursts from different ONTs do not collide.
FIG. 2 illustrates a typical ONT at a customer's location within the PON of today. In the example of FIG. 2, the ONT is active and decouples the access network delivery mechanism, at the core shell, from the in-house distribution, at the service shell. The ONT core shell consists of ODN interface, User Port, Transmission, Services and Customers Multiplexing (MUX)/de-multiplexing functions. The ONT common shell includes power and Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM).
FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary OLT of the typical PON of today. As shown in FIG. 3, the OLT service shell is connected to the switched networks via standardized interfaces at the exchange. At the distribution side, the OLT core shell presents optical accesses according to the agreed requirements, in terms of bit rate, power budget, and the like. The OLT common shell, much like the ONT, includes power and Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM).
In general, the Optical Distribution Network (ODN) provides the optical transmission medium for the physical connection of the ONTs to the OLTs. Individual ODNs may be combined and extended through the use of optical amplifiers. FIG. 4 illustrates a typical ODN connection between the OLT and one or more ONTs of the typical PON of today.
Part of the OAM function of the OLTs and ONTs of the typical PON includes an element management system (EMS), which includes performance management (or, performance monitoring). Specifically, OAM of the ONT includes the ONT management and control interface (OMCI) functions. An exemplary OMCI for a typical PON is described in the International Telecommunication Union Recommendation, ITU-T Recommendation G.983.2, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety and for all purposes. However, existing OMCI standards (such as, for example, G.983.2) do not communicate system time to an ONT, do not provide the ability to send an OLT's system time to the ONT and ultimately, do not provide the ability to associate a time with the performance monitoring bins (e.g. 15-minute collection time periods) collected and reported by the ONTs.
Thus, what is needed is a method and system that provides the ability to send an OLT's system time to an ONT, and then associate this system time with PM bins collected and reported by the ONT to the OLT within a PON.

System and method for performance monitoring in a passive optical network


Enhancement of responsiveness of a pressure-sensitive pointing device can be realized without deteriorating the performance for removal of low frequency noises. A voltage corresponding to a strain along an x-axis direction of the pressure-sensitive pointing device (11) is amplified by an operational amplifier (3), passes a switch (SW1), then it is digitized by an ADC (7) before being inputted to a digital processing circuit (2). A voltage corresponding to a strain along a y-axis direction of the pressure-sensitive pointing device (11) is amplified by an operational amplifier (4), passes a switch (SW2), then it is digitized by the ADC (7) before being inputted to the digital processing circuit (2). A switch (SW3) is turned on for a predetermined time upon the switchover between the switches (SW1), (SW2) and the output sides of the switches (SW1), (SW2) are connected to a capacitor (6) having large capacitance. The capacitor (6) is charged or discharged at a response speed corresponding to drive capacities of the operational amplifiers (3), (4), so that the voltages corresponding to the strains along the x-axis direction and y-axis direction rapidly reach a given value. Upon elapse of the predetermined time, a low pass filter made up of the resistor (5) and the capacitor (6) removes the low frequency noises.

A pressure-sensitive pointing device installed in a keyboard of a notebook PC, and so forth is made up such that when a user presses down an operation console of the device in a desired direction with a fingertip, a load applied in that direction is detected by a strain sensor built inside the device, and a detection signal of the strain sensor is processed, whereupon a pointer such as a cursor, or the like, shown on a display of the notebook PC, is caused to shift. At this point in time, a shifting direction of the pointer is determined correspondingly to a direction of the load applied to the tip of the device, and a shifting speed is determined correspondingly to magnitude of the load.
As a conventional signal processing system for processing output signals of a pressure-sensitive pointing device (hereinafter referred to also as a pointing device), there is available an input unit as disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the input unit.
An output signal of a pressure-sensitive pointing device 51 is inputted to such a signal processing system 41. The pressure-sensitive pointing device 51 comprises a strain sensor 51a for detecting a load in a plus direction along an x-axis (hereinafter referred to as a +X direction), a strain sensor 51b for detecting a load in a minus direction along the x-axis (hereinafter referred to as a −X direction), a strain sensor 51c for detecting a load in a plus direction along a y-axis (hereinafter referred to as a +Y direction), and a strain sensor 51d for detecting a load in a minus direction along the y-axis (hereinafter referred to as a −Y direction), the respective loads resulting from an operation of an operation console, not shown. The strain sensors 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d each are made up of a strain gauge such as a piezoelectric resistance element, and when the operation console, not shown, is operated in the +X direction, the −X direction, the +Y direction, and the −Y direction, respectively, the strain sensors 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d each are pressed downward corresponding to respective directions of operations, and respective resistance values thereof undergo a change due to the respective loads applied thereto. The strain sensors 51a, 51b are connected in series, and the strain sensors 51c, 51d are connected in series. In this case, the x-axis refers to an axis in a side-to-side direction or in the lateral direction of the pointing device 51, as seen from a user, while the y-axis refers to an axis in a front-to-back direction or the longitudinal direction of the pointing device 51. Further, the x-axis corresponds to a side-to-side direction, or the lateral direction, on a display of a notebook PC, and so forth, in which the pointing device 51 is installed, and the y-axis corresponds to a front-to-back direction or the longitudinal direction, on the display. Such series-connected circuits as described are connected in parallel, forming a parallel-connected circuit, and a power supply voltage Vdd is fed to the parallel-connected circuit.
The four strain sensors, under no load, are equal in resistance value, however, when the operation console is operated in the +X direction, the −X direction, the +Y direction, and the −Y direction, respectively, the resistance value of any of the strain sensors 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d, positioned in the direction of an operation, undergoes a change, whereupon a strain along the x-axis direction is detected as a voltage change via a node 51e between the strain sensors 51a, 51b while a strain along the y-axis direction is detected as a voltage change via a node 51f between the strain sensors 51c, 51d. If the operation console is pressed down in a slanting direction (a direction within a plane containing the x-axis, and the y-axis, but nonparallel to the x-axis and the y-axis) at this point in time, there are detected a stain corresponding to an x-axis direction component of a vector in a direction in which the operation console is pressed down, and a stain corresponding to a y-axis direction component of the vector. Upon removal of the load, the respective resistance values of the strain sensors revert to the respective resistance values thereof, under no load, and potentials at the nodes 51e, 51f, respectively, revert to respective values before the voltage change.
Low-pass filters 52, 53 comprise capacitors 52a, 53a, and resistors 52b, 53b, respectively, and with the low-pass filters 52, 53, an upper cut-off frequency is set to on the order of 150 Hz so as to remove low frequency noise components out of respective output signals of operational amplifiers 43, 44, to be described later. Further, an output side of the low-pass filter 52 is connected to terminals 41a, 41b of the signal processing system 41, respectively, and an output side of the low-pass filter 53 is connected to terminals 41c, 41d of the signal processing system 41, respectively.
The signal processing system 41 comprises a digital processing circuit 42 having a CPU 42a, ROM 42b, RAM 42c, for executing control of the signal processing system 41 in whole, and so forth, the operational amplifier 43 having an inverting input side connected to the terminal 41a, and a noninverting input side connected to an output side of a digital-to-analog converter (hereinafter referred to as a DAC) 46 to be described later, an output side of the operational amplifier 43 being connected to the terminal 41b, the operational amplifier 44 having an inverting input side connected to the terminal 41c, and a noninverting input side connected to an output side of a DAC 47 to be described later, an output side of the operational amplifier 44 being connected to the terminal 41d, an analog switch SW 11 connected to the output side of the operational amplifier 43, an analog switch SW 12 connected to the output side of the operational amplifier 44, an analog-to-digital converter (hereinafter referred to as an ADC) 45 having an input side connected to a common output side of the analog switches SW 11, SW 12, and having an output side connected to an input side of the digital processing circuit 42, the DAC 46 having an input side connected to an output side of the digital processing circuit 42, and having the output side connected to the noninverting input side of the operational amplifier 43, and the DAC 47 having an input side connected to the output side of the digital processing circuit 42, and having the output side connected to the noninverting input side of the operational amplifier 44. The low-pass filters 52, 53 serve as feedback circuits of the operational amplifiers 43, 44, respectively.
There is described hereinafter an operation of the signal processing system 41 having such a configuration described as above.
The voltage corresponding to the strain along the x-axis direction, outputted from the node 51e of the pressure-sensitive pointing device 51, is inputted from the terminal 41a to the inverting input side of the operational amplifier 43. Similarly, the voltage corresponding to the strain along the y-axis direction, outputted from the node 51f of the pressure-sensitive pointing device 51, is inputted from the terminal 41c to the inverting input side of the operational amplifier 44. Reference data outputted from the digital processing circuit 42 is converted into an analog reference voltage by the DAC 46 to be subsequently inputted to the noninverting input side of the operational amplifier 43. The reference data outputted from the digital processing circuit 42 is converted into the analog reference voltage by the DAC 47 to be subsequently inputted to the noninverting input side of the operational amplifier 44. Now, assuming that the strain sensors 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d, under no load, each have a resistance value Rs, and the resistors 52b, 53b of the low-pass filters 52, 53, respectively, each have a resistance value Rf, the operational amplifiers 43, 44 each have a gain of −{Rf/(Rs/2)}, so that a change (on the order of ±10 mV) in the voltage corresponding to the strains along the x-axis, and the y-axis, respectively, can be amplified to a voltage change (on the order of ±1 V) centering around the analog reference voltage.
Rectangular waves Asw 11, and Asw 12, undergoing an alternate change in level for every detection period T1 (for example, every 10 msec) as shown in FIG. 7, are inputted as switching control signals to the analog switches SW 11, SW 12, respectively. The analog switches SW 11, SW 12 are turned ON, respectively, during a period when the rectangular waves Asw 11, and Asw 12 are being held high, respectively, while the analog switches SW 11, SW 12 are turned OFF, respectively, during a period when the rectangular waves Asw 11, and Asw 12 are being held low, respectively, so that the analog switches SW 11, SW 12 are alternately turned ON during the detection period T1. Accordingly, a voltage Vx 11, corresponding to the strain along the x-axis direction, and a voltage Vy 11, corresponding to the strain along the y-axis, alternately appear on the common output side of the analog switches SW 11, SW 12, that is, on the input side of the ADC 45, as shown in FIG. 7. Those voltages Vx 11, Vy 11, corresponding to the respective strains, are digitized by the ADC 45 before being inputted to the digital processing circuit 42.
Patent Document 1: JP 7-319617 A

Signal processing system for a pointing input device


Fibers having an electrically conductive outer surface and having an average diameter of less than about 5 millimeters; and a dielectric polymeric layer comprising a polymer having a main polymer chain on the outer surface, the dielectric polymeric layer having a thickness of less than about 50 microns, the main polymer chain comprising carbon. Fiber transistors having an on/off ratio of at least about 10. Techniques for making fibers and fiber transistors.

Transistors are ubiquitous in electronic systems ranging from supercomputers to cellular telephones. For example, transistors facilitate the creation of sensors, actuators and visual display devices. Further distribution of transistors and other electronic devices in service of new end-use applications is desirable.
There is accordingly a need for suitable processes for producing transistors and other electronic devices on diverse substrates, and for the resulting transistors and other electronic devices.

Fiber having dielectric polymeric layer on electrically conductive surface


The present invention relates to a method and a structure for attaching nonslip members to both sides of a sock, in which nonslip members having a variety of patterns may be firmly attached to an inner side and an outer side of a sock, which need a nonslip member, using a mold, the nonslip member includes air holes to be smoothly ventilated, and a size of the nonslip member is adequately adjusted according to a thickness and an area of the mold.

Generally, socks are worn on feet to protect and warm wearer's feet. Recently, in addition to simple basic functions, a variety of types of functional socks for the purpose of being used for climbing, sports, fashions, and the like have been sold on the market.
When playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball, running a marathon, marching, and the like, blisters are generated due to rubbing between a sock and a bottom of a foot. Since many blisters are generated in exercise events which require a great deal of sprinting, quick stops, and changes of direction as a main event, it is very important to prevent slips between a foot and a sock and the sock and a shoe during exercise. Particularly, in a timed event such as a marathon, running, and the like, tennis, basketball, soccer, and the like which require agility, and exercise events with a large number of repetitions such as long-distance walking, long-distance climbing, and the like, nonslip member between a foot and a sock and nonslip member between the sock and a shoe are very important in safe and quick changes in direction, stops, starts, and the like. In a golf swing, antislip is very important for maintaining a stable swing posture and increasing impact power by preventing slipping of a bottom of a left foot or a right foot on which a load is concentrated so as to effectively perform the golf swing. That is, in all types of exercises, antislip is essential in order to maximize an effect of exercise or to protect a player's body.
The nonslip member not only reduces a loss of power during an exercising process and effectively uses power but also prevents a foot and an ankle from tilting back and forth due to an exercising force and being exhausted or sore. Particularly, the nonslip member is more necessary for people who seriously exercise, such as soldiers who march a long distance and professional players who exercise professionally, and fitness enthusiasts and the like who exercise significantly more than ordinary people. As an example, an athlete, Hyun Jeong, withdrew from the Australian Open in 2018 due to a foot injury caused by blisters on the bottom of his foot. There are many causes of generating blisters on a foot, but mostly, blisters are generated by repetitive rubbing, chafing, and jamming phenomena occurring between a shoe and a sock. Dermis is separated from epidermis due to friction transferred to the skin of a bottom of a foot, that is, a shearing force, and a body fluid leaks therebetween and forms blisters.
Meanwhile, in the following patent document, an existing single-side nonslip member bottom disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1176866 has an effect of strengthening grip between a floor and a sock by attaching a nonslip member to an outer side of the sock but cannot resolve slipping between the sock and a foot. Also, there are problems such as a phenomenon wherein the sock is pulled backward and a phenomenon wherein the foot and sock slip due to the grip between the floor and the sock, and in a severe situation, the sock is folded. Particularly, since an inner side of a sport pile sock is formed as a pile structure on which forming a nonslip member structure is impossible, currently released sport socks are limited to having a single nonslip member material on an outer side.
To this end, Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1438186 discloses an antislip type sock for exercise, in which an antislip portion formed of silicone is provided on a part which protrudes from a bottom of a foot below a big toe that may be an impact point and in which a force is intensively concentrated during exercise so as to prevent slipping during a variety of exercise events.
Also, in the following patent document, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0121046 discloses a sock having an acupressure function, in which an acupressure protrusion capable of practicing acupressure treatment is formed on an inner side of a sock so that the acupressure protrusion protruding from the inner side of the sock delivers a stimulus to an acupuncture point of a toe or a bottom of a foot so as to practice acupressure treatment to facilitate blood circulation and allow each body part to be healthy.
Also, in the following patent document, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0480796 discloses a safe sport sock having a particular functionality capable of protecting a toenail, a toe ligament, muscle, and a joint from a pressure, a shock, vibrations caused by an external force and of a ball and friction therebetween, being stepped by an opponent's foot, or the like and capable of preventing a phenomenon in which a foot slips in a shoe and is pushed or tilts toward any side.
However, conventionally, since a nonslip member is attached to a desired position of an inner side or outer side of a sock using a sticker-type patch, silk printing, silicone coating, or the like, it is structurally impossible to firmly attach a nonslip member to a sock and there is a problem in which the nonslip member is easily separated. Particularly, since the inner side of the sock is fluffy, it is difficult to attach the nonslip member to the inner side of the sock. Accordingly, the nonslip member is easily separated from the sock while being washed.
Also, conventionally, since a nonslip member part is not ventilated, a foot sweats a lot and becomes wet. When the nonslip member is wet with sweat, a water membrane is formed and slipping occurs such that a nonslip member function is destroyed.
Also, conventionally, since a nonslip member is manufactured with a uniform thickness and a uniform area and is attached or a nonslip member is attached through silk printing or silicone coating with a uniform thickness and a uniform area, it is structurally impossible to adequately adjust a thickness and a size of the nonslip member.
Recently, although double-sided nonslip member socks have been developed or released in some domestic or foreign sport brands, manufacturing costs and selling prices are very high such that consumer accessibility is low and there are problems in hygroscopicity, durability, applicability of design, and the like. As an example, both-sided nonslip member socks have become known to consumers due to releasing of Trusox but are low in accessibility due to a slightly high price range and are not popularized due to a limitation in workability and a restriction in design so as to be used only as products for professional athletes or sports enthusiasts.

Method for attaching nonslip members to both sides of sock


A drawer for a fibre management cabinet has a number of splice cassettes mounted on it by means of hinges. Each cassette hold a single splice. Fibres leading into a splice cassette are fed through the hinges of that splice cassette.

This invention relates to cable management and in particularly, but not exclusively, related to management of optical fibre splices.
As the penetration of optical fibre into networks increases, greater concentrations of fibre splices occur. This applies at head ends of systems, for example telephone exchanges or other exchanges, where cabled or otherwise packaged fibre is broken out into connectors. In such applications large numbers of fibres, and thus of fibre splices, may be present and careful management of the fibre is required. Similar requirements apply in non-fibre environments such as copper. In the case of fibre, the need to minimise bending losses can lead to fibre management systems being rather bulky. Conversely there is also a need to provide management systems which are compact.


The machine for making a shoe upper comprises a reel holder rack, a dial and a sinker crown, a needle cylinder with a vertical axis and forward and backward movement having a plurality of grooves, inside of which the needles are slidable, controlled by selection thereof, a cup element, at least four feeders assembled along the circumference of the machine, guide, first brake, first recovery means for recovering each of the threads to be fed to said needles for forming the upper and a suction bell for unloading said upper, said selection of said needles comprising a pre-selection cam defining a working path and a non-working path of the heels of the elastic jacks of the corresponding needles and sub-needles of said cylinder and a lifting cam defining a first path executing working stitches and a second lowered path with respect to the first path executing tuck stitches.

As is well known, present-day sports footwear generally comprises two primary elements: an upper and a sole.
After being formed, the upper is fixed to the sole, whose task is to reduce reaction forces while the user is walking thanks to different layers making it up, such as, for example, a central layer of the sole and a tread.
In particular, the central layer has the task of protecting and ensuring the comfort of the foot, whereas the tread that of protecting the central layer.
In fact, the tread must be wear resistant and must guarantee the user maximum traction on the ground.
The upper can be made of different materials, which can be leather, polymeric materials, materials situated inside the upper to improve the comfort thereof and textile materials to favour the breathing of the foot.
The foregoing implies that an upper must sometimes be made with several parts made of different materials which must subsequently be assembled together by stitching or the use of glues or else by hot melting of some types of materials.
This implies high manufacturing costs due to lengthy production times, the use of specialised labour and considerable wastes of material.
Uppers have also been made on knitting machines with the use of a single thread to reduce the stitching of the upper and production waste.
However, not being shaped, an upper made on these machines requires further processing which increases the production costs thereof.
Recently, circular hosiery machines have been used to make an upper for shoes, but with poor results, essentially due to the impossibility of using on these machine yarns of a different count and a different texture, which can be soft, springy, rough or smooth.
Furthermore, on this type of machines it is not possible to use yarns with certain physical characteristics, such as, for example, elasticity or resistance, or yarns with a particular twist or caged, knop or flocked yarns and still others.
This limitation implies that the upper of a shoe, made on this type of machinery, will not be able to have different mechanical and physical characteristics of significance in the different areas making it up.
Such an upper, therefore, is not suitable for use in sports applications and/or at a professional level or for heavy-duty uses, such as hiking and mountaineering or marathons, or even everyday use where a high degree of comfort and pleasing aesthetics are required.

Machine for making an upper for a shoe, an upper and a shoe thus made


A recording apparatus comprises a printer body having a case. An ink nozzle is in the interior of the printer body. An opening and closing member is movably affixed to an upper side of the printer body and is configured to open and close. An external tank is located exterior to the printer body. A tube, a portion of which is exterior to the printer body, provides a liquid from the external tank to the ink nozzle. One or both of the printer body and the opening and closing member are configured to define a tube insertion part, which has a cutout portion or a finger engage portion. The tube extends into the printer body through the cutout portion or the finger engage portion.

Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid supply flow path device that connects a liquid ejecting apparatus body such as a printer to an external tank, and a liquid ejecting or recording apparatus using the same.
Background Art
In the existing art, an ink jet type printer (hereinafter, referred to as "printer") is widely known as a liquid ejecting or recording apparatus that ejects a liquid to a target. The printer has a recording head on a carriage that reciprocates, and printing is performed on a recording medium as a target by ejecting an ink (liquid) supplied from an ink cartridge (liquid receiver) to the recording head, from a nozzle formed in the recording head. As such printers, in the existing art, for example, there are known: printers of a type in which an ink cartridge is mounted on a carriage (so-called on-carriage type) as described in Patent Document 1; and printers of a type in which an ink cartridge is mounted at a fixing position on the printer which is different from a carriage (so called off-carriage type) as described in Patent Document 2.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2004-262092
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2003-320680

Liquid supply flow path device and liquid ejecting apparatus using the same


By using a medium containing an ingredient for activating brewer's yeast, a brewer's yeast cell body is immersed in the medium in the presence of an added inorganic salt; and the immersion is stirred at a predetermined temperature to concurrently carry out an aerobic activation treatment, resulting in the formation of a brewer's yeast cell body containing a high ribonucleic acid content comprising 10% by weight or more of ribonucleic acid based on the weight of the cell body.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is available as a raw material for a drug or a flavor enhancer such as 5′-inosinic acid (IMP) or 5′-guanylic acid (GMP). In general, the ribonucleic acid production employs yeast cell bodies that are cultured using waste molasses or liquid sugar as a major carbon source. Especially, yeasts are utilized for this purpose, Candida utilis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In an approach to increasing the ribonucleic acid content of yeast, attempts have been made, which include culturing in antibiotic-added media, the examination of major carbon sources and the isolation of mutant strains. Specifically, as U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,352 reports, a yeast of a Candida species is mutated, a strain having KCl susceptibility is then isolated, and a yeast cell body containing a ribonucleic acid content of 12% by weight or more in the solid mass (dried cell body) is thus produced. Further according to the publication of JP-A-11-196, 859, a low temperature sensitive mutant is isolated from Candida utilis and a yeast cell body containing a ribonucleic acid content of 20% by weight or more in the solid mass is thus obtained.
Brewer's yeast that is used in brewing beer is washed after beer production; and its heat-dried cell bodies are utilized for the productions of dietary supplements and yeast extracts, and thus they are widely recognized as safe. Nevertheless, the yeast cell bodies recovered after beer production contain ribonucleic acid as much as at a level of about 4 to 6% in their solid masses; therefore, they have been considered as materials that are inadequate to extract ribonucleic acid on a commercial scale. Hence, studies of increased ribonucleic acid contents have been focused on Candida yeast species rather than on Saccharomyces yeast species, including bakers' yeast. The Candida yeast cell bodies, however, cannot necessarily be said to be non-toxic to the health of humans and animals and adequate precautions will be needed in the utilization of their products as foodstuff or feed additives. For this reason, there was proposed a method for increasing ribonucleic acid in a yeast cell body which uses a baker's yeast (Saccharomyces species of Saccharomyces cerevisiae DSM5616) under limitative fed-batch culture conditions (JP-A-05-176757). This method allowed a cell body having a ribonucleic acid content of 10% or more to be produced even when the solid mass exceeded 30 g/L. However, it was again only possible to attain the high ribonucleic acid content by limiting the strain for use in culturing as described above.
Thus, up till the present time there has not been known any brewer's yeast conventionally used having a ribonucleic acid content of 10% or more based on the weight of its cell body. Nor has there been an accomplished method for increasing the ribonucleic acid content of a brewer's yeast cell body to the aforementioned level.
Accordingly, this invention aims at providing a brewer's yeast cell body containing a high ribonucleic acid content comprising 10% by weight or more of ribonucleic acid based on the weight of the cell body; and it further aims at providing a method for efficiently producing such a brewer's yeast cell body without any restrictions of the strain to be used.

Ribonucleic acid-enriched brewer's yeast cells and process for producing the same


The disclosure describes embodiments for modifying an operation of a vehicle component based on a Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving, by a V2X receiver, a V2X message including context data that describes a context of a V2X transmitter in an environment, wherein the V2X receiver is not sufficiently able to identify the V2X transmitter as an originator of the V2X message within the environment. The method includes determining, by the V2X receiver, digital data describing an identity of the V2X transmitter as the originator of the V2X message within the environment based on the context data. The method includes modifying the operation of the vehicle component of the V2X receiver based on the digital data describing the identity of the V2X transmitter. The vehicle component includes, for example, one or more of an autonomous driving system and an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS system).

The specification relates to a context system for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications. In some embodiments, the context system provides V2X receivers with improved understanding of the V2X data that is included in V2X messages that are transmitted by V2X transmitters.
After 2020, all vehicles sold in the United States will be required to be compliant with the Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) standard. Connected vehicles that are compliant with the DSRC standard broadcast DSRC messages. Connected vehicles that broadcast DSRC messages are referred to as "DSRC transmitters." Connected vehicles that receive the DSRC messages are referred to as "DSRC receivers." DSRC messages include DSRC data that describe state information about the DSRC transmitter (e.g., its location, speed, heading, etc.) that that is critical for the proper operation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS systems) and autonomous driving systems which are included in the DSRC receivers.
Unfortunately, DSRC receivers frequently struggle to understand which vehicles transmitted the DSRC message, thereby rendering the DSRC data included in the DSRC message less valuable as a data source for the DSRC receivers. Improved ability to identify the transmitter of different DSRC messages would significantly improve the performance of a connected ADAS systems in general, and autonomous driving systems in particular. Described herein are embodiments of a context system that provides a connected vehicle with the ability to identify the transmitter of different V2X messages (e.g., DSRC messages) received by the connected vehicle.

Context system for improved understanding of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications by V2X receivers


An actuator 23d for pushing a plurality of friction plates 44, 44 to a plurality of plates 37, 37 to be braked is composed of members including electroactive polymer, the shape of the elastomer of which is changed by electric energy.

The present invention relates to improvements in an electric brake device, which is used for braking a vehicle, especially for braking an automobile, which generates a braking force by utilizing electric energy such as voltage and electric current.
Concerning the brake device for braking a vehicle, various types of brake devices have been developed and put into practical use. Especially, concerning the brake device used for braking an automobile, a hydraulic brake device, in which a braking force is generated by hydraulic pressure, is widely used. Concerning this hydraulic brake device, for example, a disc brake described in JP-A-55-123029 or a drum brake described in JP-A-09-100849 is widely used. A drum type caliper brake described in JP-A-59-050234 is used in some fields. In order to generate a stronger braking force, a multiple plate type disc brake device described in JP-Y-01-044820 has been conventionally proposed.
Since highly sophisticated control is applied to a vehicle recently, various types of electric brake devices, in which a braking force is generated by electric energy, have been proposed. The electric brake device is advantageous as follows. When the electric brake device is adopted, it is unnecessary to provide a master cylinder, a booster and hydraulic pipes, which need large spaces for installation, and further the manufacturing costs of which are high. Accordingly, the costs can be reduced and further the electric brake device can be easily installed. Furthermore, a period of time from when a driver has stepped on the brake pedal to when a braking force is generated can be reduced. Furthermore, sophisticated control can be conducted in order to maintain stability of running.
As an electric brake device which has been developed in the above circumstances, for example, a direct driven actuator type electric brake device described in JP-A-60-136629 is known. Alternatively, a rotary motor type electric brake device described in JP-A-10-504876 is known. Concerning the direct driven actuator type electric brake device, in addition to the electric brake device described in JP-A-60-136629 in which piezoelectric ceramic is used, it is possible to use an electric brake device in which a linear motor is used. On the other hand, concerning the rotary motor type electric brake device described in JP-10-504876, it is possible to use an electric brake device in which a rotary motion of an electric motor is converted into a linear motion by a feed screw mechanism and others.
On the other hand, an invention about electroactive polymer, the shape of which is changed by electric energy, is described in JP-A-2001-286162 and JP-A-2003-506858 and Non-patent Document 1 (Dielectric elastomer for MEMS and NEMS/EPAM technology and development from now on, by Masatake Chiba, pages 32 to 38, Vol. 18. No. 1 of "Electronic Packaging Technology" published by K. K. Gijyutsu Chosa Kai on Dec. 20, 2001). As described in the paragraph [0008] of the specification of JP-A-2001-286162, this electroactive polymer is composed and operated as follows. A pair of electrodes are provided on both sides of a plate-shaped elastomer polymer EP. When a voltage impressed between both the electrodes is adjusted, the elastomer polymer EP is expanded and contracted. JP-A-2001-286162 and JP-A-2003-506858 suggest the use of the above electroactive polymer for driving a portion to be driven of a valve device, a pump device, a robot or an artificial organ. Non-patent Document 1 introduces an artificial muscle in which an electroactive high polymer is used. According to the introduction of Non-patent Document 1, the performance of this artificial muscle is high in such a manner that the efficiency is high and the distortion is not less than 300%, the drive pressure is 8 MPa and the response time is not more than 0.5 ms.
In the electric brake device described in JP-A-60-136629 in which the actuator is made of piezoelectric ceramics, the following problems may be encountered. It is possible to increase a pushing force generated by the actuator. However, it is difficult to ensure a quantity of deformation of the actuator in the pushing direction. Therefore, when the pushing force is set at a high intensity at the time of applying the brake, it is impossible for the actuator to be deformed to be a sufficiently small size at the time when braking is not conducted, and the rotary member and the friction member are rubbed on each other. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a high intensity of braking force while dragging of the rotary member and the friction member is being prevented. The occurrence of dragging is not preferable, because the running performance such as a fuel consumption or acceleration is deteriorated. On the other hand, in the case of an actuator in which a linear motor is used, it is possible to ensure a quantity of deformation, while the occurrence of dragging is being prevented. However, it is impossible to endure a sufficiently high pushing force.
On the other hand, in the rotating motor type electric brake device described in JP-A-10-504876, it is possible to make obtaining of a sufficiently high pushing force be compatible with obtaining of a sufficiently large quantity of deformation. However, the number of parts is so large that the weight and the volume are increased. Further, in the case of applying the brake, frictional engagement and elastic deformation are caused in a large number of portions. Therefore, the efficiency is so low that energy can not be effectively utilized.
In JP-A-2001-286162, JP-A-2003-506858 and Non-patent Document 1, various descriptions are made about the use of electroactive polymer characterized in that a quantity of deformation is large and the energy conversion efficiency is high. However, it is considered that this electroactive polymer is applied to an actuator used for a conveyer, an opening and closing device for a door and a movable portion of a robot (For example, refer to page 35 of Non-patent document 1).


A tool for determining if a two piece grommet is properly installed is provided. The tool includes a housing having a button. The button is movable from an up position to a down position. In the up position, indicia is displayed indicating that the grommet is not properly installed. In the down position, indicia is displayed indicating that the grommet is properly installed. The tool further includes a cup gauge and a stroke pin assembly. The cup gauge is dimensioned to fittingly engage the cup. The stroke pin assembly includes a stroke pin and a movable support. The button rests the movable support. The actuation of a stroke pin displaces the movable part away from the button, allowing the button to fall to the down position.

Grommets are currently known and used with sheets of fabric such as carpet. Grommets may be configured to include a structure for which another article may be attached. The grommet has a first piece and a second piece. The first and second pieces are fitted together pinching the carpet therebetween. Such a grommet may be assembled and attached to a carpet of an automotive vehicle as shown in FIG. 1. The grommet includes a cup formed by the snap fitment engagement of the first piece to the second piece.
During installation of the carpet, the grommets are mounted to the carpet such that the first piece is fitted through an opening from the underside of the carpet and the top piece is mounted on top of the first piece and snapped together. The carpet is then installed onto the vehicle, thus hiding the cup from view. Accordingly, it may be difficult to determine if the grommet has been installed properly.
Accordingly, it remains desirable to have a tool which provides a visual notification that the respective tabs are fully engaged with a respective seating surface of the flanges.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.