The invention relates to methods for indexing samples during the sequencing of polynucleotide templates, resulting in the attachment of tags specific to the source of each nucleic acid sample such that after a sequencing run, both the source and sequence of each polynucleotide can be determined. Thus, the present invention pertains to analysis of complex genomes (e.g., human genomes), as well as multiplexing less complex genomes, such as those of bacteria, viruses, mitochondria, and the like.

Several publications and patent documents are referenced in this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. The disclosure of each of these publications and documents is incorporated by reference herein.
Advances in the study of biological molecules have been led, in part, by improvement in technologies used to characterise the molecules or their biological reactions. In particular, the study of the nucleic acids DNA and RNA has benefited from developing technologies used for sequence analysis.
The study of complex genomes, in particular, the search for the genetic basis of disease in humans requires genotyping on a massive scale. Screens for numerous genetic markers performed on populations large enough to yield statistically significant data are needed before associations can be made between a given genotype and a particular disease. However large-scale genotyping is demanding in terms of the cost of both materials and labour involved, and the time taken to perform the study, especially if the methodology employed involves separate serial analysis of individual DNA samples. One shortcut is to pool DNA from many individuals and to determine parameters such as the ratio of changes at certain positions in the genome. Such measurements of 'allele frequency' in the pool of samples can be used to correlate the relationship between the changes in the genome sequence and the occurrence of a disease. Hence, an association study involving 1000 patients would in theory only necessitate a 'one-pot' reaction for each genetic change. Pooling therefore represents an effective technique for analysing large quantities of samples in a facile manner.
One disadvantage of pooling samples prior to analysis is that information pertaining to individual DNA samples is lost; only global information such as allele frequencies is gathered, as there is no easy method for discerning which individuals gave rise to a particular genotype. An ability to genotype large populations in a small number of reactions, while retaining the information relating to the source of the individual samples, would yield the information content of a full non-pooled population screen in the time and at the cost of a pooled reaction.
Several of the new methods employed for high throughput DNA sequencing (Nature. 437, 376-380 (2005); Science. 309, 5741, 1728-1732 (2005)) rely on a universal amplification reaction, whereby a DNA sample is randomly fragmented, then treated such that the ends of the different fragments all contain the same DNA sequence. Fragments with universal ends can be amplified in a single reaction with a single pair of amplification primers. Separation of the library of fragments to the single molecule level prior to amplification ensures that the amplified molecules form discrete populations that can then be further analysed. Such separations can be performed either in emulsions (Nature. 437, 376-380 (2005); Science. 309, 5741, 1728-1732 (2005)), or on a surface (Nucleic Acids Research 27, e34 (1999); Nucleic Acids Research 15, e87 (2000)).
WO 98/44151 and WO 00/18957 both describe methods of forming polynucleotide arrays based on 'solid-phase' nucleic acid amplification, which is a bridging amplification reaction wherein the amplification products are immobilised on a solid support in order to form arrays comprised of nucleic acid clusters or 'colonies'. Each cluster or colony on such an array is formed from a plurality of identical immobilised polynucleotide strands and a plurality of identical immobilised complementary polynucleotide strands. The arrays so-formed are generally referred to herein as 'clustered arrays' and their general features will be further understood by reference to WO 98/44151 or WO 00/18957, the contents of both documents being incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.
In common with all amplification techniques, solid-phase bridging amplification requires the use of forward and reverse amplification primers which include 'template-specific' nucleotide sequences which are capable of annealing to sequences in the template to be amplified, or the complement thereof, under the conditions of the annealing steps of the amplification reaction. The sequences in the template to which the primers anneal under conditions of the amplification reaction may be referred to herein as 'primer-binding' sequences.
Certain embodiments of the methods described in WO 98/44151 and WO 00/18957 make use of 'universal' primers to amplify templates comprising a variable template portion that it is desired to amplify flanked 5′ and 3′ by common or 'universal' primer binding sequences. The 'universal' forward and reverse primers include sequences capable of annealing to the 'universal' primer binding sequences in the template construct. The variable template portion, or 'target' may itself be of known, unknown or partially known sequence. This approach has the advantage that it is not necessary to design a specific pair of primers for each target sequence to be amplified; the same primers can be used for amplification of different templates provided that each template is modified by addition of the same universal primer-binding sequences to its 5′ and 3′ ends. The variable target sequence can therefore be any DNA fragment of interest. An analogous approach can be used to amplify a mixture of templates (targets with known ends), such as a plurality or library of target nucleic acid molecules (e.g. genomic DNA fragments), using a single pair of universal forward and reverse primers, provided that each template molecule in the mixture is modified by the addition of the same universal primer-binding sequences.
DNA from more than one source can be sequenced on an array if each DNA sample is first tagged to enable its identification after it has been sequenced. Many low scale DNA-tag methodologies already exist, for example fluorescent labelling (Haughland, Handbook of Fluorescent Probes and Research Products, Invitrogen/Molecular Probes), but these are limited in scope to less than 10 or so reactions in parallel. DNA tags can be added to the ends of DNA fragments by cloning, of example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,097. The tags consist of eight four base 'words', where each word uses only three bases (A, T and C) in various combinations resulting in a total of 16,777,216 different tags that all have the same base pair composition and melting points. Such tags are used to label target molecules in a sample so that after an amplification reaction, each original molecule in the sample has a unique tag. The tags can then be used to 'sort' the sample onto beads containing sequences complementary to the tags such that each bead contains multiple copies of a single amplified target sequence (Brenner et al., (2000) Nature Biotechnology, 18, 630). In this application the tags are not sequenced, so the method does not provide a method of analysing targets from multiple samples, but rather a method of sorting a mixture of amplified templates from a single sample. The problem with enabling the method for individual samples rather than individual molecules is that the tags are synthesised in a combinatorial manner, meaning that all 16,777,216 different sequences are obtained in a single mixture in the same tube. Whilst this is ideal for treating one sample such that each individual molecule in the sample carries a different tag, it does not permit attachment of the same tag to every molecule in the sample.
DNA samples from multiple sources can, however, be tagged with different nucleic acid tags such that the source of the sample can be identified. Previous application WO05068656 describes the generic concept of indexing samples. In order to utilise this invention on arrays of amplified single molecule templates, for example as described in WO9844151, WO06099579 or WO04069849, it is advantageous to prepare the nucleic acids using the novel method described herein. The optimised DNA sample preparation techniques described herein are applicable to any method where the samples are amplified prior to sequencing. The DNA sample preparation techniques presented herein describe in detail the optimal placements of the sequencing primers and indexed tags within the DNA constructs to be sequenced.

Methods for indexing samples and sequencing multiple polynucleotide templates


An on-line teaching, learning and assessing system provides a teacher rapid feedback while teaching a classroom lesson on STEM principles by measuring student progress in learning the principles wherein student progress is measured by students' correct answers to assessment questions. The system includes at least one teacher computer and a plurality of student computers linked to the at least one teacher computer by a communications network. Each computer includes an input device and a touch sensitive screen for receiving handwritten input. The teacher inputs the teacher computer with at least one assessment question and at least one corresponding correct answer to the question, both inputs being handwritten using math expressions and STEM sketches. The student inputs the student computer with at least one student answer corresponding to the assessment question, the answer being handwritten using math expressions and STEM sketches.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to teaching tools for the teaching, learning, and assessing of student understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, and, more particularly, relates to tools which utilize a touch sensitive computer screen to teach, learn, and assess student understanding of STEM subjects.
Description of Related Art
In the field of education, devices or systems of cooperating devices which are used to enhance teaching and learning are commonly referred to as either teaching tools or teaching interventions. Furthermore, the evaluation of certain aspects of an educational process, such as subject matter questions or achievement tests administered to students, is commonly referred to as an assessment.
Currently, various tools or interventions, as they are called in the art, are used to teach and motivate the learning of mathematical and physical concepts. These tools include chalkboard, whiteboard, graphing calculator, personal computers, pen-enabled tablet computers, Interactive Whiteboards (IWB), computational mathematics engines, concept visualization software tools, and the experimental laboratory. Whereas each of these tools individually engages students in its own way, a physical disconnect exists between them. For example, a graphing calculator is separate and distinct from a chalkboard and each of these tools requires different expertise to use. When a teacher switches from tool to tool, the change interrupts the flow of teaching and distracts students.
Recently, mobile tablets with touch sensitive screens (for example, iPar devices, Android™ devices, and similar devices), because of their low cost, are becoming ubiquitous in classroom environments. Teachers and students are using the didactic features of tablets to teach and learn STEM subjects wherein notation is an important requirement. For example, entering a math notation, such as
      x    =                            -          b                ±                                            b              2                        -                          4                            a                                                                                c                                                  2                a              ,is more difficult and time consuming when entering these types of expressions into a computer using a keyboard and mouse compared to a user inputting the touch sensitive screen of a tablet with a stylus or fingertip, as if using paper and pencil.
Teachers of STEM subjects recognize the need for frequent assessments of student progress in understanding the principles being taught and teachers administer such assessments or quizzes in class even though they usually lead to distracting tool changes. For example, when a teacher is teaching a class using one or more of the teaching tools such as those mentioned above and spontaneously decides to ascertain whether the students are grasping what is being taught, the teacher does not have a convenient means by which to measure simultaneously the understanding of all of the students in the class. In order to assess all of the students, the teacher typically asks the students to provide a handwritten answer to a question. This requires the students to use a paper and pencil to answer the question and requires the teacher to collect and evaluate the answers, a process which is time consuming and interrupts the flow of teaching. A tool is needed in the art which minimizes these interruptions in the flow of teaching and, in particular, enables teachers to evaluate frequently class progress in understanding STEM principles without having to switch tools to make the assessments.
What follows are descriptions of products which are known in the industry and which are currently available as computerized teaching interventions for the teaching of STEM subjects:
Graphing calculators have been widely adopted in classrooms because of their computational power, but they require significant training before users (both students and teachers) become experts at finding the complicated sequence of button pushes needed to solve and graph problems.
Microsoft Math™ is graphing calculator software targeted toward use in math education. Even though its interface is tablet PC enabled and incorporates rudimentary entry of handwritten math, it is not a fully pen-centric application. The application requires keyboard entry for effective use. Also, the Microsoft Math™ software product does not offer ease of entry of mathematical notation, interface commands and free-form drawings.
XThink's MathJournal™ is a Tablet PC application for the type of mathematical problem solving that is performed by engineers and scientists rather than students. It focuses on functionality rather than on an uninterrupted teaching experience.
Interactive Physics™ and The Geometer's SketchPad™ require users to learn an unfamiliar WIMP-based (Windows, Icons, Menu's, Pointers) visual language. This unfamiliar, as compared to pencil and paper, style of interaction makes these programs inaccessible to many casual users, and presents significant usage barriers for classroom and problem solving settings.
Systems such as Mathematica™, Maple™, Matlab™, and MathCar are focused primarily on entering mathematics for computation, symbolic mathematics, and illustration. These tools require complex scripting languages for mathematical entry. Although these languages use mathematical notation, they are one dimensional and require unconventional keyboard-based entry which is much less intuitive than using 2D handwritten mathematics. None of these systems let the user create diagrams on the screen of a computer in a natural pencil-and-paper style.
FluidMath™ provides a system for the teaching and learning of STEM subjects through the use of handwritten input into pen-enabled computers. FluidMath™ enables the user of a tablet PC to create, solve, and explore STEM principles all in his own handwriting as if working with pencil and paper. However, FluidMath™ does not teach a system which can administer student assessments as disclosed in the present invention.
None of the systems, devices and software described above provides a teaching intervention which has the computer functionality to interpret answers to assessments which are handwritten with standard math notation on the screen of a pen-enabled computer in order to provide a quick in-class assessment for the teacher to evaluate a class's understanding of STEM principles as they are being taught in class. Finally, none of the aforementioned systems, devices and software has the computer functionality to administer periodic tests in class as well as homework assignments and general achievement tests, and collect students' handwritten solutions, evaluate the students' answers presented in handwritten standard math notation and establish automated performance records for each student.
There are also a number of U.S. patents which disclose teaching systems and methods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,520 which issued to Eric Hamilton on Jan. 5, 1993, discloses a computer-assisted instructional information delivery system having at least two stations—one station for an instructor and one or more stations for students. An interactive monitor is positioned in each station. Each interactive monitor displays instructional information in visual form as inputted by a stylus or light pen on the interactive monitor. A network communication system operated by a central processing unit and corresponding software communicates the instructional information from the stylus as inputted on one of the interactive monitors and selectively displays the instructional information simultaneously and concurrently onto any or all of the interactive monitors of the stations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,760,748, which issued to Omar Hakim on Jul. 6, 2004, discloses an interactive electronic instructional system as a teaching interface between a teacher and students where data is transmitted from the teacher's terminal to the students' terminals. The data is received at the student terminals and is separated into execution data and instructional data. The student terminals are grouped into teams allowing student teams to interact with a group decision. This encourages team participation by shy or otherwise reluctant students. Team answer data is transmitted from one of the student terminals in the team to the teacher's terminal. The teacher monitors team answer data to infer class progress towards a goal. The teacher may modify the instructional data based on the progress.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,213,211, which issued to Sanders et al. on May 1, 2007, discloses a system for knowledge transfer in a group setting and comprises a plurality of participant work areas and a moderator work area. Each of the plurality of participant work areas has at least one corresponding participant input-device, and each of the participant input-devices is adapted to define participant images that are then included on the corresponding participant work area. The moderator work area comprises at least one moderator input-device. The at least one moderator input-device is adapted to define moderator images that are then included on the moderator work area and to select moderator images that are then simultaneously included on each of the plurality of participant work areas. The moderator input-device is further adapted to select participant images from any of the plurality of participant work areas that are then included on the moderator work area.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,466,958, which issued to Dunk et al. on Dec. 16, 2008, discloses an on-line teaching and learning system with rapid change-by-change or real-time reinforcement of student responses to math questions, including monitoring by the teacher of the actual responses as well as their correctness. Equations or expressions are entered by selecting one or more symbols from a menu, selecting one or more symbols using buttons in the application, using one or more hotkeys, and/or entering information in a character bases syntax.
The above-noted products and U.S. patents do not disclose systems which enable teachers to combine the use of pen-enabled computers and handwritten input of math notation to minimize interruptions in the flow of teaching when assessing students' understanding of STEM principles. There is needed in the art a means wherein a teacher can administer an in-class assessment to students using tablet PCs and have the students' handwritten answers automatically collected and evaluated by the intervention, thereby providing a teacher with an in-class report regarding student progress. Finally, there is needed in the art an intervention which can be used to administer homework assignments and periodic tests to the users of pen-enabled computers linked on a network, collect via the network the answers which are handwritten by the users on the screens of their computers, interpret the answers, judge whether they are right or wrong and produce student performance records.

Computerized system and method for teaching, learning, and assessing the knowledge of stem principles


A system and method for determining a relative importance of a selected test in a plurality of tests, comprising a computational device for receiving one or more characteristics relating to an importance of the code, an importance of each of the plurality of tests, or both; and for determining the relative importance of the selected test according to said characteristics.

Various methods are known in the art for determining test impact analytics. Test impact analytics relates to the impact of a particular test on determining the behavior of code, and in particular, whether such code is executing in an expected manner according to the expected parameters and is therefore showing expected behavior.
Not all tests are necessary to determine whether code shows such expected behavior. For example, tests that only cover code that has not changed may not be necessary to run. However it may be difficult to determine which tests are relevant for which aspects of the code, and even more difficult to determine which tests are of relatively greater importance.

System and method for test selection according to test impact analytics


The present invention relates to a miniature robot using a plurality of piezo legs capable of deforming in two degrees of freedom by supplying input voltage signals, and an integrated artificial neural network behavior controller capable of modeling complex behavioral patterns and gait patterns by a simple structure. The miniature robot with multiple legs includes: a main body; a plurality of piezo legs constituted by bimorph piezoelectric elements and connected to the main body to generate motion through morphological deformation in two degrees of freedom by applied voltage signals, thereby resulting in movement on the ground; and a control part including an artificial neural network behavior controller, which controls motion patterns by feeding back information with respect to the environment transmitted from external sensors and to electrical signals transmitted when the piezo legs contact the surface of the ground, to control the voltage applied to each of the piezo legs.

Miniature robots usually have limited functions and mission capabilities due to a small-sized control part. Especially when a miniature robot performs tasks as photographing, communication, simple cleaning or coating etc. Simultaneously during movements. Applications in microtubules, blood vessels, internal organs might be representative examples.
As an example of such a miniature robot, Korean Patent No. 0402920 discloses an endoscopic micro robot including a rotational shaft rotated by a drive motor installed in a body, a plurality of legs driven by a plurality of cams having phase differences around the rotational shaft, and a propelling parts for moving the body.
However, the micro robot of the above patent has a significant drawback as the robot is moved by complex mechanical sub-system configuration which hence obtains a limit for miniaturization.
In order to solve this problem, Korean Patent No. 0950708 discloses a miniature robot, in which a piezo actuator is applied to a robot joint and the miniature robot can be driven by transformating a linear motion of the piezo actuator into a rotary motion.
However, since most of simple mechanisms using the piezo of the conventional miniature robot or other principles have one degree of freedom in the up and down direction or the fore and aft direction, it is not easy to perform accurate motion and behavior control an unstructured path. In addition, since a number of power transmission mechanisms are needed to convert a one-degree-of-freedom motion of the piezo into multi-degrees-of-freedom motion, there is still a problem of a complex driving mechanism.

Miniature robot having multiple legs using piezo legs having two degrees of freedom

DAEGU GYEONGBUK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Embodiments of the invention provide a semiconductor structure and a method of forming a semiconductor structure. Embodiments of the semiconductor structure have a plurality of fins on a substrate. The semiconductor has, and the method achieves, a silicide layer formed on and substantially surrounding at least one epitaxial region formed on a top portion of the plurality of fins. Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and structure for forming a conformal silicide layer on the epitaxial regions that are formed on the top portion of unmerged fins of a finFET.

As integrated circuits continue to scale downward in size, the finFET (fin field effect transistor) is becoming attractive for use with modern semiconductor devices. In a finFET, the channel is formed by a semiconductor vertical fin (as compared with a planar channel in a conventional CMOS), and a gate electrode is located and wrapped around the vertical fin. Creating a contact with the fin having the proper density is of serious concern for device operation. Reducing contact resistance is critical to improvement of speed of device operation. It is therefore desirable to have improved methods and structures to improve finFET performance.

Structure and method of forming silicide on fins


A moisture resistant rustproof smart hanger system provides a set of plastic spindles or thumb wheels permanently attached to a hanger. The spindles are designed to record, for a particular garment, the last cleaned date, the number of times worn, and the last worn date. A user sets the “Last Cleaned” date when a garment or apparel is first placed on the smart hanger; the “Times Worn” indicator is set to 01. The user updates the dates on the “Times Worn” and “Last Worn” record indicators each time the garment or apparel is worn. Each of the thumb wheels is locked by friction or a spring loaded bar that engages teeth on the thumb wheels to prevent accidental rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a smart hanger system and more particularly to a clothes hanger construction that incorporates plastic numbering spindles with locks that convey to the user various information on the article of clothing carried on the hanger.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many patents address issues related to hanger designs that provide the user with information pertaining to the article of clothing carried on a hanger. These patents disclose various recording means for keeping track of certain information regarding the article of clothing, but the recording means are not moisture resistant, and as a result are prone to rusting. Moisture retention and subsequent rusting of the disclosed recording means occurs during normal usage, resulting from wet or damp articles of clothing being carried on the hanger.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,284 to Column discloses a garment wear recorder by way of a paper blank folded over a hanger, wrapping over the upper portion of the hanger. The paper blank has an aperture and tabs, which can be folded one at a time when the garment is worn. The number of folded tabs keeps tally of garment usage. This folding process is destructive to the paper blank. When all the available fold tabs on the paper blank are used, garment usage can no longer be recorded, therefore when the garment usage is greater than the number of fold tabs available on the paper blank, the recording means is ineffective. The paper blank merely allows tallying of the number of times a garment is worn, it does not record the date last cleaned, the date last used, and is disposed to ineffectiveness if the garment's use exceeds the number of fold tabs available. Furthermore, the paper blank used in the '284 patented device is not moisture resistant and is subsequently vulnerable to water damage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,104 to Bailey discloses a message device for use with clothes hangers. A cylindrical message display includes a plurality of stacked relatively rotatable cylindrical segments. Each of the segments is inscribed with messages at discrete radial increments of the peripheral surfaces thereof. The segments are housed in a frame, which clips onto the hook portion of a clothes hanger. By aligning a selection of messages against an index, the state of wear concerning the clothing on the hanger can be displayed. The message device of the '104 patent disclosure is a separate device and is not integral with the hanger. It has to be hung on the hanger; the hanger, itself, does not keep track of the article of clothing usage information. Upper barrel 21 of the message device relates to the upper clothing while the lower barrel 22 of the device relates to the lower clothing. The device displays only one set of information, not a collection of information. Specific information not included by the device comprises the date last cleaned, the date last worn and the number of times the clothing is worn.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,010 to Stutzman discloses a clothing wear monitoring device. A garment wear monitor records the number of times an article of clothing is worn. The monitor is removably or permanently affixed to a clothing hanger, or is removably affixed to the garment directly. Each time the garment is worn the garment wear monitor is automatically advanced by one number. As an alternative, the advancement may be accomplished manually. The garment wear monitor may also display the date on which the garment was last cleaned. A threshold indicator serves to remind the user to have the garment cleaned when a predetermined number of wearings have taken place. The garment wear monitor may display the number of wearings and the date of last cleaning by a mechanically movable scale or by an electronic digital display. The '010 patent disclosure describes different configurations of the clothes wear monitor and the device may be of the stand-alone variety, adapted to be attached to a garment or hanger. Alternatively, the device may be permanently attached to the garment hanger. Regardless of the attachment method used, the device only records date cleaned and number of times worn. It has no provision for recording the date of last use of a garment. Being electronic, the device is easily damaged with moisture and is not rustproof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,361 to Satterwhite discloses a clothing usage indicator. Indicia representative of the days of the month, the days of the week, and the months of the year, are shown. Associated indicators are provided for indicating a particular day of the month, a particular day of the week, and a particular month of the year. The associated indicators are movable along the edges and along interior slots in the device. A suitable connector is provided for associating the device with an article of clothing. Preferably, the connector includes a loop or other device whereby an indicator can be slipped over the hooked end of a clothing hanger for association with a particular article of clothing. The device records the date that the article of clothing was last worn. The clothing usage indicator of the '361 patent records last usage date of clothing and has in some arrangements an unprinted area to record notes. This indicator may be attached to a garment or a hanger; but is not permanently affixed to a hanger. It does not record the date last cleaned, or the number of times worn. The arrangements using paperboard or lightweight metal may be vulnerable to moisture and therefore susceptible to rusting.
There remains a need in the art for a low cost, easy to manufacture, moisture resistant, rustproof, smart hanger system wherein a set of indicators permanently affixed to the hanger indicate to the user information regarding the article of clothing hung on the hanger. It would be particularly advantageous if information provided by the smart hanger system included 1) the date the article of clothing was last cleaned; 2) the date it was last worn; and 3) the number of times the article of clothing had been worn subsequent to the last washing or dry-cleaning.


An electrical connector is provided, in which each conductive terminal is respectively provided with a first connecting portion at left and right sides of a contact pin of a chip module. A first contact arm and a second contact arm respectively extend upwards from each of the paired first connecting portions, the two first contact arms and the two second contact arms are respectively used for conducting the contact pin, and elastically deform in directions substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of the contact pin. The first contact arm and the second contact arm extending from the same first connecting portion are independent of each other.

Currently, an electrical connector is usually used in the field to connect a chip module (or other electronic components) to a circuit board, so as to achieve an effective electrical connection there-between. The electrical connector includes a base, a plurality of conductive terminals disposed in the base, a cover capable of sliding along the base and covered on the base, and a driving mechanism for driving the cover to slide along the base. When a pin of a chip module is conducted with contact arms of the conductive terminal for operation, since a single contact arm is respectively disposed at left and right sides of the pin, the following defects may exist: the conductive terminal provides a small contact area for conducting the pin, which leads to low conductivity and undesirable heat dissipation effect, such that the contact resistance is increased, and poor contact easily occurs due to oxidation of the contact arms after a long-term use.
In order to overcome the above mentioned defects, an electrical connector as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has been disclosed in the related art. A basal portion 8041 of a terminal 804 extends upwards to form two elastic arms 8042. The two elastic arms 8042 extend towards each other to respectively form an abutting section 8043. A gap 806 is formed between the two abutting sections 8043. Two sides of the basal portion 8041 extend upwards to form two opposite arm portions 8044. The two arm portions 8044 respectively have a contact portion 8045. The two contact portions 8045 and the two abutting sections 8043 are disposed in a front-rear manner. The two abutting sections 8043 and the two contact portions 8045 define an accommodating space 808. The accommodating space 808 is used for accommodating a pin 810 of a chip module, such that the pin 810 forms a stable four-point contact with the two abutting sections 8043 and the two contact portions 8045. However, since the two elastic arms 8042 are located in a moving direction of the pin 810, a counter thrust against the pin 810 is generated. Although the counter thrust may be quite small, the pin 810 may still be deformed if the pin 810 is under the counter thrust for a long time, such that the contact performance of the pin 810 with the terminal 804 is affected. In addition, if the counter thrusts applied to all the pins 810 jointly react on a cam mechanism (not shown) for driving the chip module to move, it may lead to deterioration of the cam mechanism (not shown), and may also cause breakage of an insulating body 802.
Another electrical connector as shown in FIG. 3 has been disclosed in the related art. The electrical connector includes an insulating body 902 and a plurality of pairs of terminals 904. One receiving hole 9021 of the insulating body 902 respectively receives a pair of the terminals 904. Each of the terminals 904 has a basal portion 9041. An elastic arm 9042 extends upwards from the basal portion 9041. The elastic arm 9042 extends laterally to form two contact arms 9043. A receiving space 908 is formed between the two contact arms 9043 of one pair of the terminals 904. The receiving space 908 is used for accommodating a pin (not shown) of a chip module (not shown), such that the pin (not shown) pushes the contact arms 9043 on two sides of the moving direction thereof, so as to form a four-point contact. However, since the terminal 904 may have a tolerance introduced during manufacturing, a lateral deviation may occur when the terminal 904 is fixed in the receiving hole 9021. The chip module (not shown) may also have a tolerance introduced during manufacturing. Since the same elastic arm 9042 extends laterally to form the two contact arms 9043, the two contact arms 9043 may interfere with each other when undergoing elastic deformation. That is, when the pin (not shown) pushes against the two contact arms 9043, the two contact arms 9043 undergo elastic deformation at the same time due to the elastic arm 9042. Thus, the pin (not shown) cannot contact the contact arms 9043 at two sides thereof. Accordingly, the pin (not shown) cannot form a desired four-point contact with the contact arms 9043.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.


A portable electronic device, like a cellular telephone is capable of detecting collisions between vehicles and notifying the proper authorities. The device includes a microprocessor and memory, in addition to an accelerometer and global positioning systems receiver. The memory includes at least one filter for screening out false positives, which are false collision detections. In one embodiment, the device determines its velocity. It then checks to see if its velocity falls within a range associated with moving vehicles. If so, the device monitors the accelerometer. When acceleration values in excess of a predetermined threshold are detected, the device pauses and again checks its velocity. If the velocity has fallen from the range associated with moving vehicles to a range associated with a vehicle that has sustained a collision, the device notifies emergency personnel that a collision has occurred. Another filter includes an operability check of the keypad, coupled with a notification message that the authorities will be called if the keypad has not been actuated within a predetermined time. Another embodiment includes a detector capable of detecting a vehicular cradle, such that the notification only occurs when high acceleration values are detected in a vehicle.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for detecting collisions between vehicles, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for using a portable electronic device, like a cellular telephone, to detect collisions using acceleration data, and to notify a third party when such collisions occur.
2. Background Art
Collisions between vehicles are bad experiences for everyone involved. Not only are they costly and time consuming, but serious collisions may even cause life-threatening injuries as well. The amount of time that lapses between impact and notification of authorities to the arrival of emergency personnel can mean the difference between life and death. Immediate notification of the accident is imperative in reducing the overall response time of emergency services.
For minor "fenderbenders", immediate response time is generally not a problem. To begin, such minor accidents generally do not involve life-threatening injuries. Additionally, as most people carry cellular telephones when they travel, a person involved in a minor accident may simply call "911" after the collision.
For serious accidents, however, simply calling the authorities may not be possible. Seriously injured travelers often lose either consciousness or the ability to operate a phone in such accidents. Consequently, an unconscious or seriously injured driver or passenger risks sustaining permanent injuries or even death by not being able to use a phone.
One prior art solution to this "automatic notification" problem is to couple a telematic device to a vehicle's safety systems. For example, cars equipped with the OnStar™ system have alert systems that are tied to the deployment of airbags. The OnStar™ system further included an embedded cellular phone. When a person is involved in an accident, and the airbags deploy, the OnStar™ system places a cellular call and notifies an operator of the deployment. If the car is equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) device, the OnStar™ system will notify the operator of the vehicle's location as well.
The problem with this prior art solution is that many cars are sold without OnStar™. Such systems are not standard equipment, and are generally sold as an option for an additional fee. Additionally, older cars, built before OnStar™, do not include this equipment (and may not even include airbags). Further, passenger transportation, like busses and trains, generally do not include such notification equipment.
There is thus a need for an improved collision notification system that is portable and that works independently, without the need of embedded vehicular subsystems.

Method and apparatus for detecting vehicular collisions


A sensor is mounted to or embedded in a wheel hub. The sensor node includes a power source and a sensing device that detects and monitors at least one parameter associated with the wheel hub. The sensor node also includes a communication module that communicates via wireless communication signals and a processing device in communication with the sensing device and the communication module. The processing device collects data from the sensing devices, processes the data, and based on that processing, communicates information relating to the wheel hub to a remote server or network. A mesh network of multiple sensor nodes can be applied to multiple different wheel hubs on a vehicle and communicate with a central processing device. The processing device can thus monitor performance and/or operation of each wheel hub.

A wheel hub is an automotive part used on most automotive vehicles, including cars, passenger vehicles, and light and heavy trucks. The wheel hub houses the wheel bearing and attaches to the brake rotor. Essentially, the wheel hub keeps the wheel spinning while also keeping it attached to the vehicle. As such, it is important to ensure that the wheel hub is operating efficiently and effectively to maintain proper performance of the vehicle. Monitoring the operating parameters of the wheel hub can help ensure continuing wheel hub performance by identifying and diagnosing potential operating issues. However, because the wheel hub comprises many moving parts and has a location that is often subject to harsh environmental conditions, it can be difficult to continuously monitor wheel hub parameters using traditional sensing equipment.


Method and electronic device for the pulse-modulated actuation of a load in a vehicle, a period duration (TPM) of a frequency (fPM) of the pulse modulation being able to be divided into an integer number (N) of sections (TSTEP), the duration of each of which corresponds to a multiple of a period duration (TOSC) of a clock signal, and the method having the steps of: calculating a frequency (fPM+1, fPM) or period duration (TPM+1, TPM) of a period of the pulse modulation on the basis of underlying frequency modulation, and determining the duration of a respective section (TSTEP) of a period duration (TPM) of the pulse modulation using the calculated frequency (fPM+1, fPM) or period duration (TPM+1, TPM) of a period of the pulse modulation.

Pulse-width-modulation ("PWM") actuation is often used in electronic control units for an anti-lock braking system ("ABS") and/or an electronic stability program ("ESP") in order to implement digital/analog conversion, for example for actuating the valves, operating the pump, or brightness-controllable warning lamps. Such a method is described, for example, in German patent publication No. DE 10 2012 213 874 A1, in which an actual duty factor of the PWM is changed from a first duty factor to a second duty factor in order to limit peak currents and the maximum gradient of the current edges when actuating a pump motor. The PWM actuations are usually generated by integrated circuits (e.g., microcontroller and mixed-signal circuit). However, the disadvantage of the actuation with a pulse-width-modulated signal may be that the frequent switching-on and switching-off of the output driver stages results in increased electromagnetic radiation and/or disruption of the energy supply network in the vehicle. A selected fixed PWM frequency may also become noticeable as undesired noise in the vehicle. These disadvantages are partially compensated for using complicated techniques outside the integrated circuits, for example, stabilization circuits for the voltage supply at the level of the electronic control unit or noise-suppressing measures in the vehicle.
As such, it is desirable to present a cost-effective but improved electromagnetic compatability, in particular emitted interference, and to reduce the emission of background noise. In addition, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.


A device for ascertaining the charge able to be drawn from an energy store, in particular a battery, up to a specified cutoff, is provided. A particularly precise charge prediction may be achieved if a mathematical energy store model is used, which mathematically represents the electrical properties of the energy store and with the aid of which a charge predictor calculates the charge able to be drawn in the case of a specified discharge current. The charge predictor is connected with an estimator for a state variable and parameter, which estimator ascertains state variables and/or parameters for the mathematical energy store model from current operating performance quantities of the energy store.

In the case of electrical energy stores such as batteries, for example, the current charge able to be drawn is an important variable, since it expresses the energy reserve still available before a minimum capacity required of the energy store is undershot. Especially in the field of automotive technology, a precise prediction of the charge able to be drawn is more decisive than the knowledge of the current charge state of the battery defined via the average acid concentration in the lead accumulator, since the latter only provides information about the charge already drawn in relation to the full charge, but not, however, about the amount of charge that is still able to be drawn.
The entire charge still able to be drawn immediately determines the availability of the electrical loads connected to the energy store. The knowledge of the charge able to be drawn may additionally be used for measures of open-loop or closed-loop control technology such as are used, for example, for an energy management system in a vehicle. This makes it possible, for example, to initiate, in time before reaching a minimum charge reserve, consumption-reducing measures such as switching off or dimming less important loads.
A method is described in published European patent document EP-0376967 to determine the charge able to be drawn from an energy store. In this instance, the charge able to be drawn is estimated via empirically ascertained characteristics maps, which are stored in a processing unit, as a function of a constant discharging current, of the battery temperature and of aging effects on the basis of the Peukert formula. To be sure, this makes it possible to ascertain the charge able to be drawn up to a cutoff, which is characterized by the complete discharge of the energy store; however, it is not possible to determine the charge able to be drawn before undershooting a specified minimum terminal voltage or before undershooting a minimum capacity of the energy store. Moreover, determining the charge able to be drawn on the basis of the Peukert formula is relatively imprecise, since different effects influencing the state of the cutoff such as, e.g., an active mass loss at the electrodes due to the ageing of the battery or the formation of ice at the electrodes at low temperatures are not taken into account.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a device and a method for ascertaining the charge able to be drawn from an energy store, which allow for a very precise determination of the charge able to be drawn before meeting a specified cutoff criterion.

Method and device for determining the charge that can be drawn from an energy accumulator


A managed directory service receives a request from a first service to link a directory of a contractor service to the first service's directory. The managed directory service identifies a group within the directory of the contractor service and links the directories using this group. Through the link, the managed directory service enables users in the group to authenticate to the first service's directory using credentials for the directory of the contractor service.

Customers utilize directory services to create and maintain a directory (e.g., file systems, files, users, security policies, network resources, applications, system storage, etc.) for data management and, generally, access to a variety of resources. However, a customer desiring to enable external entities (e.g., contractors, etc.) to be represented in this directory to enable access to the customer's resources can encounter numerous difficulties. Adding an external entity can often require use of out-of-band processes that can delay the onboarding time for the external entity. Further, if the external entity is terminated or is no longer associated with the customer, removing the external entity from the directory is difficult and can result in the external entity maintaining privileges that it should no longer have. Maintenance of multiple directories on behalf of the customer often increases the administrative burden of the customer, as maintenance and security of the multiple directories requires additional resources to perform.

Cross-organization registration for single sign-on


A switcher mixer architecture creates special effects such as a dissolve or a wipe from one priority structure of the elements of an image scene to a completely different prioritized ordering of those same or even other elements that comprise the same or a different image scene. The special effect can be thought of as a "priority transition" in the sense that the priority of a set of input image signals can be transitioned from that of a "from" image to that of a "to" image. The switcher mixer architecture eliminates a soft border artifact from the special effect by allowing a border to be given its own priority as though the border were a separate image input as well as to couple together (1) a source, or "from," image having one or more elements; (2) a destination, or "to," image having one or more elements, which could be the same or different than the "from" image elements; and (3) a border image for separating the source image and the destination image in an image display.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mixer priority architecture and, more particularly, to a mixer priority architecture which is usable with image signal processors to eliminate a soft border transition artifact so commonly encountered with known image processors.
2. Description of Related Art
Known image processors of the type capable of switching image signals are sometimes called "switchers" in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,853,784, which issued Aug. 1, 1989 and which is entitled "Video Switcher with Independent Processing of Selected Video Signals," describes a switcher with several video input source signals, which are separately selectable. A selected video input signal is processed by a channel processor. It is common that a key signal, which is associated with a video input signal, will be modified during the channel processing. The channel processor then provides a processed output signal to a video combiner. The combiner combines several processor output signals as well as their modified key signals and provides a combined output signal--all in response to, and under the control of, priority signals received from an operator interface module.
Special video effects like wipes or dissolves are obtainable by adjusting values of a video input source signal. A two input switcher including a mixer can adjust the video input values (a) by multiplying, which is also called cutting in the art, a first input video signal by a mix coefficient .alpha.; and (b) by multiplying a second input video signal by the complement of the mix coefficient, i.e. by (1-.alpha.); and (c) by combining by way of summing the two products. Typically, wipes and dissolves differ in the time interval over which the mix coefficient .alpha. changes. For example, on the one hand, if the mix coefficient .alpha. changes over a time interval that is much shorter than a video field interval, there typically being two fields in a frame, then the mixture is a wipe. A wipe can give a visual perception similar to that of a vertical line moving across a television screen in such a manner that an existing picture is replaced, for example, in a generally left-to-right direction by a new picture. On the other hand, if the mix coefficient .alpha. changes over a time interval that is equal to or longer than a video field interval then the mixture is a dissolve, which is also called a "fade" in the art. A dissolve can give a visual perception similar to that of one image replacing another image on the screen. Stated in an alternative way, in a wipe, the mix coefficient tends to differ among the different pixels that comprise the picture whereas, in a dissolve, the mix coefficient tends to be the same for all pixels that comprise the picture.
Other special video effects can be obtained by changing a priority signal. For example, in response to differing values of a priority signal, a composite video picture can be changed so that a component scene which is the foreground scene of a picture at one point in time becomes the background scene of the picture at another point in time. U.S. Pat. No. 4,758,892, which issued Jul. 19, 1988 and which is entitled "System for Producing a Video Combine from Multiple Video Images" describes a switcher including a combiner that combines two or more channels of video signals in such a way as to make scenes or images corresponding to the video signals appear to be one behind the other as in accordance with a selected priority. That combiner may result in a picture which displays a first video image from one channel of highest priority in the foreground, followed by a second video image from a second channel, which in turn is in front of, and followed by, a third video image from a third channel, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,499, which issued Jul. 27, 1993 to the present applicant and which is entitled "Keyed, True-Transparency Image Information combine" and which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses another combiner structure that dynamically rank orders the individual input image signals; generates true transparency image key signals; and processes background key signals. Keyer units are switchably changed to produce true transparency processed key signals such that a keyer unit can modify the value of its processed key signal with the values of the input key signals in higher priority channels to generate a true transparency processed key signal for a j-th priority channel. The combiner also cuts each respective input image signal V.sub.i and background signal V.sub.B by its respective processed key signal and combines the plurality of cut signals to generate an output image combine signal V.sub.C which is usable in displaying a special video effect.
A border, or boundary, area of a picture scene can be defined by reference to the transition between one region of the picture where a key, or mix coefficient .alpha., has a value of one and another region where the key .alpha. has a value of zero. Borders, or edges, or boundaries, or transition regions, are not always that distinct. At times a transition may occur in passing from one region of a picture across a boundary to another region of the picture. For example, a border may be visually transparent, or "soft," which means that underlying parts of the picture will actually remain visible through a superimposed picture.
Unfortunately, known switchers typically produce an artifact when opaque priority elements are wiped on or off with a soft border and in particular when opaque images are visually located behind the border. Within the soft border region, an opaque element commonly becomes transparent, thereby revealing any lower priority elements, or scenes, behind it. This is optically incorrect and therefore is considered to be a problem which needs a solution. The problem arises because known switchers modify the input key signals by changing the transparency characteristic of the video signal. What results is a transparent element which was and should be an opaque element.


A developing device includes a toner carrying member, a developer carrying member, a layer thickness restricting portion, a rotation control portion, and a developer carrying member difference voltage control portion. The rotation control portion, when developing is not performed, causes the developer carrying member to rotate forwardly and then to rotate reversely. The developer carrying member difference voltage control portion, in the non-developing forward rotation state, sets a voltage of the developer carrying member that is based on a potential of the toner carrying member, to a voltage that is smaller than a first reference voltage that is set when the developing is performed. The non-developing forward rotation state is a state in which the developer carrying member rotates forwardly when the developing is not performed.

The present disclosure relates to a developing device, an image forming apparatus, and a developing device control method.
In general, in a developing device installed in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the thickness of a layer of developer formed on the surface of a developer carrying member is restricted by a layer thickness restricting portion. The layer thickness restricting portion is called a doctor blade or a restriction blade.
In some cases, the developer carrying member carries a two-component developer which contains toner and carrier. The developing device may include the developer carrying member and a toner carrying member, wherein the developer carrying member rotates while carrying the two-component developer, and the toner carrying member carries the toner supplied from the developer carrying member. In this case, the toner carrying member supplies the toner to an image carrying member on which an electrostatic latent image has been formed, such that the electrostatic latent image is developed by the toner. This developing method is called a touchdown developing or an interactive touchdown developing.
In the developing device, a large amount of toner and/or carrier separated from the developer carrying member may be deposited or adhered to the surface of the layer thickness restricting portion. The toner deposited on the layer thickness restricting portion is easy to move to the image carrying member, which may have an adverse effect on the image quality. In addition, if the developer containing the toner and/or the carrier adheres to the front-edge surface of the layer thickness restricting portion, the layer of the two-component developer formed on the outer circumferential surface of the developer carrying member becomes thinner. This results in a degradation of the image quality.
There is known a technology in which the developer carrying member carrying the two-component developer thereon is rotated in a direction reverse to a rotation direction of the developing, in order to remove the toner that has deposited on the layer thickness restricting portion. In this case, the magnetic brush of the two-component developer formed on the surface of the developer carrying member rubs off the toner deposited on the layer thickness restricting portion.

Developing device, image forming apparatus, developing device control method


A device that serves multiple purposes by being transformable between various states. In one state, the device operates as a cart such as is typical for transporting items to the beach for fishing or sunbathing. In another state, the device operates as a chair with a back to provide seating for a user. Finally, the device can also be adjusted to a storage state which decreases its size for easy storage. The device can be adjusted between the various states without having to use tools or without having to worry about storing, securing or keeping track of a bunch of lose parts. The device is particular well suited for fishing and can include fishing pole holders, a shade panel and cup holders.

The origin of the cart concept surely followed closely behind that of the wheel. For what good is the wheel if it is not employed for the purpose of transport? The concept of a cart in its most general form, therefore, is hardly a novel concept. Early man, no doubt, invented the first cart and man has steadily innovated ever more unique designs since. The present invention is yet another unprecedented variation of the tried and true apparatus generally known as a cart.
Carts are everywhere. They vary in design perhaps as much as snowflakes vary in structure. Society uses carts for everything from serving lemonade on the outdoor patio in the summer to gathering wood for a toasty fire in the winter. The uses for carts are endless and, consequently, cart designs are nearly as unbounded. For example, along the coasts of our great nation, people use sundry carts to organize themselves for a convenient and relaxing day of fishing. Whether the redfish are biting somewhere along the beach or the pompano are being caught off the local pier, coastal fishermen commonly employ a cart of some kind to transport all their equipment to the hot spot du jour.
Ah, to go fishing. What a simple pleasure it is. Once the hook is baited and in the water, time seems to slow down. The euphoria of going fishing, however, is often squelched by the overwhelming logistical exercise of organizing and transporting all the necessary equipment. It is not uncommon for a fisherman to use old grocery store shopping carts, wheelbarrows, or even a child's red radio flyer. They have to have a way to get all the equipment to the fishing site, and just plain carrying it is not realistic—mainly because any trip between the shore and the car beyond the required first trip cuts into the fishing time and, could cost the angler that one special bite. Coastal fishermen, especially, need coolers with ice, bait, tackle boxes, fishing rods, chairs, umbrellas, etc., etc. Any way that this process of getting equipment to a site can be streamlined is a welcomed innovation by fishermen everywhere.
So it is clear, a cart goes hand in hand with a serious fisherman. However, there is always the space issue. Simply put, the average person simply does not have enough space in his or her garage or basement to neatly store all of his or her toys or equipment. For the angler, the fishing poles neatly hang on a few hooks on a wall in the garage—but a cart? A fishing cart that is of adequate size to meet the fisherman's toting requirements is certainly going to take up valuable garage area. One technique to address the storage space requirements for a cart is simply to disassemble the cart. However, the typical cart, once assembled, is never to be disassembled—especially if the assembly process was cumbersome and directed by poorly written instructions. And if a user is required to disassemble the cart for storage, the process is typically time consuming, requires the user to hunt down and collect all of the necessary tools and finally, once disassembled the user must take care to ensure that all the parts are securely stored in a manner to prevent them from being misplaced, lost or tossed prior to the next assembly process. Therefore, what is needed in the art is a cart that can be used by an angler or any other equipment toting human but that can be easily stored using a minimum amount of space, tools, effort and that does not include any risk of losing critical parts.
Carts are great and all but one of the big problems with carts is that they aren't good for much else other than hauling equipment. Thus, other than during the short periods of time when equipment or supplies are being hauled from point A to point B, a cart generally just sits around and provides no benefit whatsoever. It would be beneficial if the cart could actually be used for another purpose while it is not being used to haul equipment. Furthermore, it would be even more beneficial if the cart could be used for another purpose and, that purpose could help to reduce the amount of equipment that needs to be hauled by the cart. For instance, when tailgating, fishing, heading out to junior's baseball game or the like, one of the typical necessities is adequate seating. Well if you have ever been the victim stuck with the task of toting the fold-out chairs, you will fully understand that any relief from this task is quite welcomed. Thus, what is needed in the art is a cart that can not only help to tote seating devices, but that can actually operate as a seating device in and of itself when it is not being used to haul equipment.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a cart system that is not just a simple cart for organizing and transporting equipment, but is also collapsible for ease of storage when not in use and transformable into a seat once its duties as a transport device have been completed.

Transformable cart and seating apparatus


A key ring according to embodiments is press-fitted onto a steering shaft (column shaft) at a position that is radially outer side of a fit portion at which multiple shaft members that constitute the steering shaft (column shaft) are fitted to each other, and that is substantially the same as the position of the key ring in the axial direction. When a lock bar is inserted into a lock bar insertion portion formed in an outer periphery of the key ring, the key ring restricts rotation of the steering shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a steering apparatus that includes a key ring that forms a lock mechanism that restricts the rotation of a steering shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lock mechanism (steering lock mechanism) is usually provided in a steering apparatus for a vehicle, as a theft-prevention measure. The lock mechanism restricts the rotation of a steering shaft, when a power source, for example, an engine is at a standstill because a switch, for example, an ignition key, an ignition knob or a push button, is off.
In this type of lock mechanism, generally, when a lock bar is inserted into a key ring that is press-fitted onto the outer periphery of a steering shaft to which a steering torque is transmitted, the rotation of the key ring is prohibited. Because the rotation of the key ring is prohibited, the lock mechanism restricts the rotation of the steering shaft using a friction force at a press-fit portion. If a steering torque that exceeds the friction force is input in the steering shaft, the steering shaft slides with respect to the key ring. The lock mechanism allows the steering shaft to rotate at a sliding torque that corresponds to the friction force and that is generated when the steering shaft slides with respect to the key ring. Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to the lock mechanism.
In many cases, hollow shafts are used as steering shafts for reduction in weight. However, the rigidity of a hollow shaft is low. Therefore, the hollow shaft may be slightly deformed when a key ring is press-fitted onto the hollow shaft. Accordingly, if the hollow shaft on which the key ring is press-fitted is used as a steering shaft, there is a possibility that the sliding torque is not stable.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-335165 (JP-A-2006-335165) describes an art in which a quenching process is performed on a portion of a hollow steering shaft, on which the key ring is press-fitted (and a press-fit portion of the key ring). According to this related art, the rigidity of the portion of the hollow shaft, on which the key ring is press-fitted, is increased.


A cargo door assembly is provided for a van-type vehicle in which vertically spaced pairs of hook and catch plate engagements are carried at the interface between two mating doors and each of the sets of plates is reinforced in mounting within the doors. The hook of each pair is carried on one of the two doors and the catch is carried on the other. They form catch assemblies which are arranged to engage when the doors are closed to resist inward deflection of the doors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle doors and, more specifically, to vehicle doors arranged on the side of van-type vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
In the manufacture and sale of automotive vehicles of the type generally referred to as "vans", it is customary to provide for ingress and egress to rear portions of the vehicle body through a rearwardly placed side door or doors positioned on at least one side of the vehicle. The doors come generally in two types: sliding doors and center opening, outwardly swinging cargo doors.
Continuing study into the resistance of the body structures of these van-type vehicles to the imposition of external forces has resulted in the establishment of certain design goals for enhancing the resistance of side vehicle structures to imposition of such loads.
It is known in the prior art to enhance the resistance of side impact of a vehicle door through the provision of special formations at top and bottom edges of the door such as is exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,588 to Sobajima et al. It is also known to provide interengageable locking elements between a door and a vehicle body as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,228 to Cornacchia. Both of these exemplary teachings, however, require substantial modification of the adjacent vehicle body structure and, importantly, do not treat problems in the dynamics of deflection occasioned by the nonsolid interface between the two doors of the set of cargo doors.


A wall element having at least one cooling channel formed therein, the wall element presenting an inside surface and an outside surface, the channel comprising a hole and a diffusion portion, the hole opening out at one end in the inside surface, and at the other end in a diffusion portion where it forms an orifice, the diffusion portion flaring around said orifice and being defined by a bottom wall and a side margin. Said bottom wall presents a first plane portion into which the hole opens out, and a second plane portion situated in front of the first plane portion, said first and second plane portions being inclined in the thickness of the wall. The oriented angle of inclination of said first plane portion is less than the positive oriented angle of inclination of said second plane portion.

Document FR 2 889 089 describes an example of a wall element of the above-specified type forming part of the wall of a hollow blade for an airplane turbojet turbine. FIG. 1 shows another known example, analogous to that of FR 2 889 089. In this example the shape of the diffusion portion 20 is determined by aerodynamic and thermal constraints set by the designer. However, this diffusion portion 20 penetrates very deeply into the wall 22. This has the effect of locally thinning the wall 22 and of weakening it from a mechanical point of view. Under strong and repeated thermal stresses, this thinning encourages the local appearance of cracking, and in the long term of cracks that propagate throughout the part. In particular, is at the hole 23, where the thickness E′ of the wall is at its thinnest, that cracks or crack starters are generally seen to appear.


A cover for a handheld electronic device, including a cover piece that fits over a side surface of a handheld electronic device, a plurality of proximity sensors mounted in the cover piece, and directed outward from the side surface, for detecting user gestures performed outside the side surface, wireless communication circuitry, and a processor configured to operate the proximity sensors, and to cause the wireless communication circuitry to transmit commands to the electronic device in response to gestures detected by the proximity sensors.

Conventional touch sensitive virtual buttons, i.e., buttons painted on a stationary flat surface and actuated by touch, are capacitance-based or resistance-based. Certain touch sensitive user input systems detect hovering objects as well. Examples include U.S. Publication No. 2008/0012835 A1 for HOVER AND TOUCH DETECTION FOR DIGITIZER and U.S. Publication No. 2006/0244733 A1 for TOUCH SENSITIVE DEVICE AND METHOD USING PRE-TOUCH INFORMATION.
Prior art hover detection systems based on reflected light determine a height of an object above a surface based on an amount of reflected light: the nearer the object—the more light is reflected onto the detector situated beneath the touch surface. Therefore, prior art systems are able to detect a hovering object over time and determine whether the object is moving closer or farther away based on relative amounts of detected light. I.e., diminishing light detection over time indicates an object moving away from the surface, and increasing light detection over time indicates an object moving toward the surface. In other words, the determined height is relative to other heights in a series of detections, but the actual height remains unknown. Indeed, different materials reflect different amounts of light, e.g., a white glove reflects more light than a black glove, and the reflective properties of a hovering object are not known by the system. Therefore, the system cannot determine the height at which the object is situated above the surface based on the amount of reflected light detected. In addition, because prior art proximity detectors require a series of detections of the object at different heights in order to rank the heights in relation to each other, a single proximity detection or a series of detections of a stationary hovering object will provide little information about the height of the object.
Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) enable interaction with visual elements displayed on a screen. When the extent of a GUI exceeds that of the screen, a user is restricted to interacting with only the portion of the GUI that is displayed on the screen. In order to activate a visual element virtually located outside of the displayed portion of the GUI, the user must pan the GUI, moving a portion of the GUI from outside of the display into the display, while displacing a currently displayed portion of the GUI out of the display. It would thus be of advantage to enable user interactions with GUI elements that are virtually located beyond the display area of the screen, without panning the GUI.
Wireless communication is the transfer of data between two or more devices that are not connected by a physical conductor. Common wireless technologies use electromagnetic wireless telecommunication, including inter alia radio. BLUETOOTH® is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances, using short wavelength radio transmission in the ISM band from 2400-2480 MHz. Two popular wireless applications are a hands-free headset for controlling a mobile phone, and a wireless mouse for a personal computer.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Removable protective cover with embedded proximity sensors


Control circuitry is described for regulating charging current from a current source to a battery. The control circuitry includes a switch for transmitting the charging current from the current source to the positive terminal of the battery. A charge pump drives the gate terminal of the switch above the positive terminal voltage. A comparator stage with hysteresis gates the charge pump. A filtering stage senses the battery voltage and drives the comparator stage. The control circuitry controls the average value of the battery voltage by pulse width modulating the charging current.

The present invention relates to circuits for charging battery cells. More specifically, the present invention provides an apparatus for charging lithium-ion battery cells using pulse width modulation of a constant current source.
Because of their superior performance characteristics in a number of areas, lithium-ion batteries have quickly gained acceptance in portable electronics applications since their introduction in the early 1990's. Lithium-ion cells retain their charge considerably longer than comparable nickel-cadmium (NiCad) cells and are significantly smaller, both of which are desirable characteristics as consumer electronics such as, for example, cellular phones continue to decrease in size. However, in replacing NiCad technology with lithium-ion technology, there are some challenges which must be overcome with regard to all of the existing hardware configured for use with NiCad batteries. For one thing, the smaller profiles of lithium-ion batteries must be adapted to fit into devices originally designed to accommodate the larger NiCad batteries. For another, lithium-ion charger technology must be made available which rivals the cost and simplicity of NiCad charging technology, particularly where the NiCad charger comes with the consumer electronic device, i.e., a cordless phone charging base.
Unfortunately, the charging units currently available for lithium-ion cells are expensive and complex. For example, one commonly available configuration employs two control loops which precisely control both the charging voltage and current. Such chargers maintain a constant current until the battery voltage is in the desired range at which time the battery voltage is kept constant and the current is gradually folded back. By contrast, NiCad chargers are much less expensive and much simpler than their lithium-ion counterparts, often employing, for example, a poorly regulated constant current source and a voltage sensor. As a result, the consumer who upgrades a NiCad-based device to lithium-ion cells will not be able to place the consumer electronic device in its original NiCad charging stand. Rather he will have to purchase a stand-alone, dedicated lithium-ion charger at considerable additional expense.
It is desirable that consumers be able to take advantage of the superior performance of lithium-ion batteries while continuing to derive value from previously purchased consumer electronics and battery chargers. Therefore, some means to configure lithium-ion batteries for use in such applications is needed.

Control loop for pulse charging lithium ion cells


An elevator installation includes a device for monitoring the state of support belts. An elevator car and a counterweight are connected by the support belts and are movable in a vertical shaft in opposite sense along guide tracks. The monitoring device is fastened to the guide track by a support and has a guide device, preferably a guide roller, which guides the support belt along a scanning surface the monitoring device. The scanning surface and the support belt are protected simply and effectively against damage.

The elevator installation is installed in a substantially vertical shaft. It essentially consists of a car and a counterweight which are arranged to be movable in the shaft in opposite sense along guide rails. The car and the counterweight are connected together and supported by means of a support means. A state of the support means is monitored by means of a support means monitoring unit.
A support cable monitoring unit for ascertaining the state of a support cable of an elevator installation is known from patent document JP 2004149317, which unit is arranged in the engine room in the vicinity of a drive engine or also at a guide rail in the vicinity of the drive engine of this elevator installation. In this case a mounting enables fastening of the support cable monitoring unit to a drive engine foundation or to a guide rail. The mounting relieves a user from holding the support cable monitoring unit. The arrangement in the vicinity of the drive engine has the obvious advantage that—during travel over a height of the shaft—principally loaded sections of the support means are detected. The support cable monitoring unit can be connected with an evaluating unit.
A disadvantage of this arrangement is that on the one hand the support cables, which are moved along the support cable monitoring unit, can damage or scratch scanning surfaces of the support cable monitoring unit or that edges of the support cable monitoring unit damage a support cable. Moreover, present-day elevators are increasingly provided with belt-like support means instead of support cables. In this case the support cable is no longer recognizable as a single support cable, but is disposed in a casing enclosing several cables. Such belt-like support means are particularly sensitive, since the surrounding casing consists of rubber or plastic material.

Elevator support means monitoring device and a method


The present invention is directed to systems and methods for facilitating real-time instant messaging among a group of people. In one embodiment, the instant messages are clustered around a theme, such as a picture, a graphic or even bit mapped data. The common theme acts as a marker, and messages are accumulated around that marker for distribution to a group of people associated with that marker. In one embodiment, the messages are transient in nature and thus have no permanency in any database.

With the widespread availability of electronic networks came the advent of electronic mail (e-mail). Communication phenomenon in the digital world has gone from e-mail to instant messaging to chat. Text messaging, especially among mobile device users, is now extremely popular. Messaging formats tend to be point to point and sequential in nature. Thus, when a soccer coach needs to inform the team that a game is delayed an hour, the coach must either use an e-mail system where he/she has a pre-defined list or must text message each player individually.
The problem is compounded when a group of people are trying to decide on a movie or where to meet for dinner. Each has an idea of what he/she would like to see, and it would be nice if each could see the comments of the others without resorting to e-mail accounts.

Systems and methods for controlling group messaging


A system and method is described for manufacturing an out of plane integrated circuit inductor. A plurality of parallel metal bars are formed on a substrate and covered with a first passivation layer. A ferromagnetic core is then deposited over the first passivation layer with its length perpendicular to the plurality of parallel metal bars. A second passivation layer is deposited over the ferromagnetic core and vias are etched through the passivation layers to the alternate ends of the underlying parallel metal bars. A plurality of cross connection metal bars are then formed on the second passivation layer with vertical portions that fill the vias and connect the alternate ends of the plurality of parallel metal bars to form an inductor coil. A third passivation layer is then deposited over the cross connection metal bars.

Some types of prior art integrated circuit inductors have coils that lie in a plane that is parallel to the plane of an underlying substrate. The axis of the coils in these "in plane" inductors is perpendicular to the plane of the underlying substrate. This arrangement causes most of the magnetic flux of the inductor to penetrate into the substrate. Magnetic flux in the substrate induces lossy eddy currents and degrades the quality factor (Q) of the inductor.
To solve this problem various types of prior art "out of plane" integrated circuit inductors have been developed. One type of prior art "out of plane" inductor comprises three dimensional micro-coils that are fabricated on a planar substrate. The three dimensional micro-coils are micro-machined using micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The micro-coils form an "out of plane" solenoid that has its longitudinal axis parallel to the surface of an underlying substrate. This arrangement causes less magnetic flux to enter the substrate and cause fewer eddy currents.
Other types of out of plane inductors have been designed in which the elements that make up the coils of the inductor are fabricated within the layers of an integrated circuit. The elements are connected to form a three dimensional out of plane coil within the integrated circuit.
The prior art methods for forming these types of out of plane inductors have significant drawbacks. The prior art methods tend to be relatively expensive, require numerous and complex manufacturing steps, and have questionable controllability. In addition, some of the prior art manufacturing methods require considerable time to perform.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved system and method for manufacturing an out of plane integrated circuit inductor. There is a need in the art for an inexpensive, simple, and reliable system and method for manufacturing an out of plane integrated circuit inductor.

System and method for manufacturing an out of plane integrated circuit inductor


A test system for a heterogeneous multipath network. A tester system evaluates a plurality of status indicators from a plurality of types of test components in a network. Based on the status indicators of at least one of the test components, the tester system selects a first test to be performed. After executing the first test, the tester system selects a second test to be performed based on the status indicators of at least one of the test components and a result of the first test.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to testing computer hardware and software and more particularly to a method, apparatus and program storage device for deploying and testing computer hardware and software in heterogeneous multipath computer systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Many enterprise computer products require testing in a systems environment with many components combined together via networks. For example, an enterprise level storage server solution typically includes the storage server as well as storage management console control software designed to run on one or more workstations coupled to the storage server via a network. Part of the process of developing a new storage server includes testing the storage server at various stages of development in a network coupled to storage management consoles via a network.
A conventional approach to setting up testing of a computer hardware and or software product under development involves having a development team manually set up a physical resource, such as a server, in a desired manner and often install one or more software packages as part of the test environment. The Rational® Tool Set is an example of a conventional tool set for deploying tests on a given platform, such as for testing a Linux server. Such conventional tool sets are designed for use in testing finished products where each unit of the product being tested should have essentially the same functionality, therefore any test failure indicates a product malfunction. These conventional tool sets are not designed to handle test deployment in an unstable networked systems environment. Therefore in a product development environment where it is necessary to test a range of product build releases at varying stages of development and functionality a test team has to manually rebuild the test suites to test each different stage of build release. Typically some portion of the development team has to drop their development work to manually test the build release to ensure that the build release to be delivered to a test team is in a usable state that will allow for meaningful testing and/or interaction with external interfaces to occur. A common procedure today is to run a standard test suite (commonly called a smoke test) against the build release to ensure that it meets a certain minimum set of criteria before being deployed for more comprehensive testing.
There are clear drawbacks with this conventional approach to testing products under development including that it takes a great deal of time to manually perform many aspects of the process of evaluating a product build to determine whether it is ready for more comprehensive testing. For example, conventional approaches to test deployment are often plagued by functional limitations in the command line interface ("CLI"), graphical user interface ("GUI"), or application program interface ("API"). Furthermore, since the process is manual there exists a large degree of user influence that dictates what the outcome of the evaluation will be, for example, certain test cases might be skipped. Furthermore, as with any human-executed task, a test case result may be inaccurate based on configuration errors, missed steps or plain and simple misinterpretation and/or misunderstanding of the resulting output. This can turn out to be not only time consuming but quite costly if a software or hardware error escapes into the field with the product.
It can be seen that there is a need for an improved product test deployment and execution process to improve the efficiency, accuracy and reliability of the process.

Heterogeneous multipath path network test system

International Business Machines Corporation


A process for attaching a shoe upper to a sole includes the steps of forming clasps having inner and outer staples, folding the clasps around the ends or edge of the upper so that the inner staples attach the clasps to the upper, and inserting clasped portions of the upper into corresponding apertures formed in the sole so that the outer staples attach the upper to the sole.

The present invention relates generally to shoes and, more particularly, to a process for attaching a shoe upper to a sole by applying clasps, and the resulting shoe.
A first aspect of the present invention is generally characterized in a process for attaching a shoe upper to a sole by applying clasps to an edge or ends of the upper, and inserting the clasps into apertures formed in the sole, this arrangement forming an article which is extremely resilient and flexible, imparting comfort to the user. Each clasp includes inner and outer staples, the inner staples attaching the clasp to an end or edge of the upper, and the outer staples attaching the above assembly (i.e., the clasp and the end of the upper) to the sole upon insertion of the above assembly into the sole apertures. The upper and the sole can be manufactured from any material suitable for performing their respective functions, e.g. leather, plastics, fabric, etc. The clasps can also be manufactured from any material which is suitable for performing its respective function such as, for example, metal (iron, steel, bronze, etc.), plastics, or any other material which is suitable to perform the twofold function of attaching itself to the upper and to the sole. The upper can be made up of individual strips having respective ends or edges, or the upper can have a continuous edge, the clasps being attached thereto so that the ends, along with the clasps, can be inserted into corresponding apertures of about the same size formed in the sole. In one embodiment, a shoe is illustrated having an upper made up of a combination of wide and narrow strips; however, in accordance with the present invention, the clasps can be applied to any type of shoe including, but not limited to, a shoe having an upper with a continuous edge.
A second aspect of the present invention is generally characterized in a shoe fabricated in accordance with the above process.
The invention will be better understood by way of the accompanying drawings, represented by figures briefly described as follows, when taken along with the description below.

Process for attaching a shoe upper to a sole by applying clasps, and the resulting shoe


A system for the emergency oxygen supply of passengers in an aircraft includes at least one primary oxygen mask and at least one secondary oxygen mask arranged in the aircraft in a compartment above a seat, and a retaining receptacle arranged in the compartment. The at least one primary oxygen mask and at least one secondary oxygen mask are each connected to an oxygen source by way of a tube. The at least one primary oxygen mask drops out of the compartment before the at least one secondary oxygen mask when a flap of the compartment opens. The at least one secondary oxygen mask is arranged in the at least one retaining receptacle. The retaining receptacle is connected to the compartment by a first connector and to an activation device of the oxygen source by a second connector. The at least one primary oxygen mask can activate the oxygen source.

In aircraft, a sudden pressure drop can occur in the aircraft cabin. The sudden pressure drop in the aircraft cabin can lead to an acute lack of oxygen concerning the passengers. For this reason, passenger aircraft are equipped with emergency oxygen supply systems and oxygen masks which are mostly arranged in the cabin ceiling above the seats and in the case of such a pressure drop automatically drop from cabin ceiling or from suitable compartments which are provided for these in the cabin ceiling, by way of opening. Usually, the supply of oxygen to the oxygen mask is activated by way of pulling on the mask in the direction of the passenger, so that he can then be immediately supplied with oxygen. The oxygen mask containers in the cabin ceiling can comprise additional or secondary oxygen masks which can be used for example for travelling babies or the crew and which do not immediately fall out, but only after pulling on an already fallen mask. The primary object of this is to permit the masks to drop in an orderly manner and to prevent entanglement.
From DE 10 2013 220 478 A1 it is known to hold the secondary masks in the cabin ceiling in the respective oxygen mask containers with films, wherein the films press the secondary oxygen masks into the housing of the oxygen mask container and at one location are connected to the housing and at another location to the activation control of the oxygen source.
However, this arrangement entails a few risks which can compromise an intended application in the case of an emergency situation in the aircraft. For example, there is the risk of the secondary oxygen masks which are packed in such a manner getting stuck between the housing of the oxygen mask container and the film, instead of falling out when they are activated. Moreover, the film can be under tension due to high temperatures since it is fastened to the housing at two points, as mentioned above, and by way of this can be deformed such that it forms a cavity, in which the secondary oxygen mask after its activation or after the activation of the oxygen source is then fixedly held in an unintended manner. Moreover, it is disadvantageous that the film exerts quite a high pressure upon the secondary oxygen masks which are held therein, so that these adhere to one another—in the case that several are provided—or to the film.
It is further counted as belonging to the state of the art to arrange several oxygen masks such that these all drop simultaneously from the receptacle. This entails the danger of the masks which hang down next to one another becoming tangled and further entails the problem of the stowage of the masks in the receptacle after a trial release or a false alarm.

System for the emergency oxygen supply of passengers in an aircraft


A sound source control information generating apparatus, an electronic percussion instrument, and a sound source control information generating method, adapted for preventing generation of an unintended sound caused by a rebound of an object placed on one struck head, are provided. According to the present invention, if a first output value with respect to one struck head is obtained, the one struck head serves as a target struck head, and information is generated for controlling a sound source means such that a sound generation process performed by the sound source means differs according to whether the first output value obtained with respect to the target struck head or a value corresponding to the first output value is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sound source control information generating apparatus and particularly relates to a sound source control information generating apparatus, an electronic percussion instrument, and a sound source control information generating method adapted for preventing generation of an unintended sound caused by a rebound of an object placed on one of multiple struck heads.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-255871 discloses an electronic percussion instrument having a struck head that is divided into four portions. When one struck head is struck, the electronic percussion instrument generates a sound responsive to the stroke with use of a pressure sensor disposed on a back side of each struck head and a piezoelectric sensor disposed on a back side of a case.

Sound source control information generating apparatus, electronic percussion instrument, and sound source control information generating method