The present invention provides a system for monitoring the usage of individual vehicular seat belts. Each belt is equipped with a local indicator which is adapted to indicate when a seatbelt is not properly fastened. A second display, preferable near the vehicle's dashboard and readily visible to the driver shows the status of each of the vehicle's seatbelts. Finally, a third display located near the rear the rear window of the vehicle displays the status of all vehicle seatbelts in a fashion readily observable by a following motorist such as a law enforcement official. An optional seat occupancy sensor may also be used to render the system more intelligent and minimize indications of unbuckled seatbelts for unoccupied seats.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device to encourage the wearing of automobile seatbelts. More particularly, the invention comprises a system of indicators specifically displaying which occupant of a vehicle does not have his or her seat fastened, the indicators being visible outside the vehicle to aid law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of seat belt statutes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Each year, lives are lost in motor vehicle accidents because one or more occupants were not wearing a seat belt. The advent of air bags and other passive restraint devices has helped this situation but still, air bags in and of themselves do not provide complete protection of the vehicle driver or passenger(s) in the event of a collision. Because of the overwhelming evidence that seatbelts do save lives, many states have passed mandatory seat belt laws with fines for non-compliance. For whatever the reasons, many people still do not "buckle up" before departing in a motor vehicle. Because law enforcement officials have no easy way to insure that all vehicle occupants are wearing seatbelts, there is far too often disregard of the seat belt laws.
Many ideas have been proposed to solve this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,874,474 for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETECTING THE UTILIZATION OF A VEHICLE SAFETY BELT; issued Apr. 1, 1975 to Norman G. Quantz, teaches a system for detecting the occupancy of a seat and the state of the seat belt (i.e., buckled or unbuckled). An unspecified signal is presented to a "utilization device". Quantz, however, provides no indication of how many or which seat belts remain unfastened and, in addition, provides no signal visible outside the vehicle indicating that one or more seat belts associated with occupied seats remain unfastened.
In contradistinction, the instant invention provides indicators at each seatbelt buckle showing the status of that particular seatbelt. In addition, signals specifically indicating which seatbelts remain unfastened are provided to both the vehicle driver and, externally, to following motorists, such as law enforcement personnel.
Another seat occupancy sensing system is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,473 for SENSING SYSTEM FOR SENSING STATE OF WEAR OF SEATBELT; issued Aug. 5, 1975 to Atushi Ueda, et al. The Ueda, et al. system provides for switch contacts within the seat structure for sensing occupancy but still provides no seat-specific information regarding the fastened/unfastened status of individual seat belts.
The inventive system, on the other hand, provides seat-specific information regarding the status of each seatbelt in the vehicle. This information is displayed in a manner observable by a trailing motorist such as a law enforcement officer.
Another approach to the problem of encouraging the wearing of seat belts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,645 for SEAT BELT SYSTEM WITH STARTER ENGINE LOCK AND ALARM; issued Aug. 15, 1978 to Donald J. Lewis, et al. Lewis et al. teach a system wherein if a vehicle's front seat is occupied but the occupant has not fastened his or her seatbelt, the engine can not be started and, in addition, an alarm is sounded. Lewis et al., however, provide no visual indication of a seatbelt buckle's status either at the buckle, at the driver's region of the dashboard, or at a location viewable from outside the vehicle.
Finally, Japanese Patent No. JP361009360(a) for SETTING CHECKER FOR SEAT BELT, issued January, 1998 to Isuke Hzuka, et al. teaches an indicator lamp outside the vehicle body which is illuminated if a vehicle occupant has not fastened his or her seatbelt. Hzuka et al. do not teach a system indicating which vehicle occupant or occupants do not have their seatbelts fastened, but rather provide a single visual indication outside the vehicle. Neither do they teach the use of individual indicators at each seatbelt buckle.
In each one of these prior art inventions, some form of seatbelt monitoring is disclosed. Some included general indicators which show that at least one seatbelt is not fastened. No combination of this or any other prior art known to the Applicant provides any visual indication of the status of individual seatbelts, either inside or outside the vehicle.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to either describe or render obvious the instant invention as claimed.

Apparatus and method for verifying seatbelt use in a motor vehicle


A transmitter is provided to address transmitter non-idealities. The transmitter uses a series of envelope detectors to detect imbalances between an I branch and a Q branch of an I/Q modulator that is implemented as part of the transmitter's front end, and these detected imbalances may be compensated by pre-distorting digital baseband signals fed to the I branch and the Q branch. The transmitter may also use a series of envelope detectors to detect nonlinearities in one or more of the transmitter's amplification stages, and these detected nonlinearities may be compensated by modifying the baseband signals via a digital linearization pre-compensator. The transmitter may also support both implementations in either a time-switched or simultaneous manner, allowing for I/Q imbalances and nonlinearities to be addressed using a single transmitter design.

Virtually all RF transmitters with quadrature topologies (e.g. not polar, EER, etc.) contain various non-idealities. These non-idealities may include imbalances between the quadrature branches (e.g., I/Q (or, alternatively, IQ) imbalances between the I and Q branches of the I/Q modulator). These I/Q imbalances mainly depend on the transmitter circuit design and manufacturing process variations, and may distort transmitted signals and degrade the quality of the transmitter. Moreover, once the device implementing the transmitter is in the "field," (i.e., during ordinary use), these imbalances will further vary over time. Thus, these I/Q imbalance variations depend in the short-term on the supply voltage variations, silicon temperature variations, operating frequency, etc., and in the long term on silicon aging. Therefore, compensating for I/Q imbalances is an arduous task.
Non-idealities may also include non-linear characteristics of one or more amplifier stages implemented as part of the transmitter design. For instance, it is common for transmit analog/RF front-ends (TX-AFE) with low power consumption constraints to present nonlinear behavior, or be designed to operate in nonlinear regions (e.g. to optimize power efficiency). The nonlinear behavior can become even more complex when RF memory effects come into play (generating so-called AM-PM, PM-PM and PM-AM type distortions). And, like the I/Q imbalances, TX-AFE nonlinearities are also subject to variations throughout time (e.g. depending in the short-term on temperature, supply voltage, and operating frequency variations, and on the long-term on silicon aging). Therefore, compensating for such nonlinearities is likewise a complex task.
The exemplary aspects of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawing in which an element first appears is typically indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Envelope detector-based feedback for radio frequency (RF) transmitters


A memory system includes a nonvolatile memory, a memory controller included in a first package, and a memory interface circuit included in a second package that is different from the first package. The memory controller includes an encoder for performing encoding for error correction. The memory controller is configured to encode first data into second data using the encoder, and program the second data into a location in the nonvolatile memory. The memory interface circuit is interposed between the memory and the memory controller. The memory interface circuit includes a decoder for performing decoding for error correction. The memory interface circuit is configured to read third data from a first location in the nonvolatile memory, diagnose the third data by decoding the third data using the decoder, and convey a result of the diagnosis to the memory controller.

In a storage device implemented with a semiconductor memory such as a NAND type flash memory, a memory controller performs various maintenance operations on the semiconductor memory in order to prevent, for example, a data loss. As an example of the maintenance operations, a diagnosis may be performed on the stored data. The processing amount of the maintenance operations tends to increase with the increase in capacity of the semiconductor memory.


A process for testing an electronic equipment linked to a computer coupled to a data entry and display console with a screen, effecting an interface with an operator. The test includes a list of commands to be executed. The process displays a test chart on the screen, made up of groups of cells, a group being associated with a command. For at least one command, its group of cells includes a cell which is to be supplied with a label of the command, a cell which is to be supplied with an expected result of the command, a cell which is reserved for an actual result of the command, and a cell which is reserved for the result of a comparison between the actual result and the expected result. Further, the process displays, after the execution of the command, the actual result and the result of the comparison. Such a process may find particular application to tests of various modules of an aircraft whether they take place in the design, production, or exploitation phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process and a device for testing electronic equipments, more especially intended to be used in the field of avionics for testing the modules of an aircraft, these modules being driven by at least one computer.
2. Discussion of the Background
in the production phase, the electronic equipments of aircraft must successfully pass, contractually, acceptance tests before they can be placed on the market. These tests are known by the initials ATP standing for xe2x80x9cAcceptance Test Procedurexe2x80x9d.
In the exploitation phase, the electronic equipments must also undergo tests, when a defect is detected, so as to identify the fault and locate the component or components responsible. These electronic equipments having a relatively long lifetime, of the order of twenty years, they are also required to pass validation tests so as to verify that they still meet the regulations in force. These regulations change as a function of technological advances.
In the design phase, the constructor is required to perform tests so as to verify that the equipment under construction does indeed possess the expected functionalities and that the electronic equipment interacting with others meets the specifications properly.
In the design and production phase the tests take place at the constructor""s premises and in the exploitation phase they may take place at the constructor""s premises if the electronic equipment is removed from the aircraft and returned or in approved test stations possessed by the main airline companies.
These various tests are steps which are absolutely necessary in a field where a very high level of safety is required.
In the course of its life, an electronic equipment will undergo several tests with the aid of different test devices, according to which phase it is in, without there being any link between the various test devices and between the results of past tests and of the test in progress.
Likewise, a particular test device will be used to independently test several similar equipments which are in the same phase of their existence. For each equipment, the results of the test are saved, but there is no interactivity between the results of the tests undergone by several similar electronic equipments.
A conventional test device includes an interpreter linked to a test bed itself linked to the electronic equipment. The test device receives, in machine language, a list of commands or test specifications. The test device, on the basis of these commands, drives the test bed which applies stimuli to the electronic components of the equipment and performs measurements. An operator checks whether these measurements correspond to the anticipated result. Multimeter oscilloscopes or other measuring apparatuses are available to the operator.
In the event of a defect, several series of complementary tests are available to attempt to detect the origin of the defect.
The list of machine language commands is compiled by a coder operator on the basis of a list of commands in a more elaborate language familiar to the technician requesting the test. The technicians have their own discipline-specific languages.
The risks of introducing errors, especially of syntax, into the test programs while they are being written in elaborate language and/or while they are being coded are not negligible and the time for setting up a test is often very long by virtue of the numerous corrections, flaws being detected only when the whole test has been run.
In the field of avionics, the activity of testing is an activity which is absolutely necessary but it is very expensive since several types of test devices coexist, since human intervention is an important factor, and since in the event of a defect, numerous investigations are generally undertaken before the cause thereof can be detected.
The present invention aims to reduce the costs of the testing activity by proposing a single test device which is capable of carrying out the tests of an electronic equipment throughout its existence. This test device is easy to use since the operator performing the test can talk to it in his own language. Transcoding is eliminated and set-up time reduced since the test can be executed command by command.
More precisely the present invention proposes a process for testing an electronic equipment linked to a computer coupled to a data entry and display console with a screen effecting an interface with an operator. A test comprises a list of commands to be executed. It consists in displaying a test chart on the screen, made up of groups of cells, a group being associated with a command. For at least one command, the associated group of cells includes a cell which is to be supplied with a label of the command, a cell which is to be supplied with an expected result of the command, a cell which is reserved for an actual result of the command, a cell which is reserved for the result of a comparison between the actual result and the expected result.
It thereafter consists in displaying, after the execution of the command, the actual result and the result of the comparison.
To simplify input, each label can be associated with a command type and the group of cells can include a cell to be supplied with the command type, the supplying of this cell causing the associated label to appear in the cell of the group to be supplied with the label.
To save time and make input more reliable, selecting a cell to be supplied with the command type can afford access to a dictionary containing a list of command types and for each type the associated label.
A label includes at least one argument and an argument is either of parameter type, independent of the equipment to be tested, or of variable type, dependent on the equipment to be tested.
To further facilitate input, in the event of selecting a cell to be supplied with a label, having an argument of variable type, the process can authorize access to a database associating the variable with the different values which it can take.
To allow an operator regardless of his speciality to carry out the test, the values of a variable are expressed differently according to an identifier chosen by an operator, this identifier depending on the speciality of the operator.
To facilitate the identification of syntax errors and of defective commands, the group of cells furthermore includes a cell to be supplied with a step of the command.
It is beneficial to be able to save the contents of the cells of a group after the execution of a command. Processing can be performed on the basis of the saves.
In the event of a difference between the actual result and the expected result of a command, it is advantageous to have available at least one complementary test contained in a library of complementary tests.
Access to a fault-locating database may be provided. This database groups together saves of commands relating to electronic equipments previously tested, at least one zone of which exhibited a defect, and establishes a link between the defective zone and at least one command for which a difference exists between the actual result and the expected result.
Certain electronic equipments require the intervention of the operator to carry out the test. The process then consists in displaying on the screen a representation of at least one part of the equipment to be tested and in signalling to the operator the intervention to be carried out by depicting it on the representation.
The present invention also relates to a device for testing an electronic equipment including a computer linked to the electronic equipment, coupled to a data entry and display console with a screen effecting an interface with an operator. The screen displays a test chart with, for at least one command, a group of cells which includes amongst them a cell to be supplied with a label of the command, a cell to be supplied with an expected result of-the command, a cell reserved for an actual result of the command, a cell reserved for the result of a comparison between the actual result and the expected result and means for displaying the actual result and the result of the comparison.

Method and device for testing electronic equipment


A multiple-slide die-casting machine for casting pieces has a frame. A table is operatively mounted to the frame. A slide guiding mechanism is secured to the table and has slides. Each slide has a die section. The slides are actuatable in a close/open action such that the die sections mate to form a die cavity. An injection unit is mounted to the frame and is adapted to be connected to a molten medium supply. The injection unit has a nozzle and is adapted to inject molten medium from the supply into the die cavity through the nozzle for casting a piece. A relative displacement configuration is provided between the table and the injection unit such that the die sections on the table are disengageable from with the nozzle for injection of a cast product from the die cavity.

Magnesium alloys have become increasingly popular for their distinct characteristics. Magnesium is the lightest of all structural materials, and has excellent strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness. Also, magnesium has EMI shielding properties, and is thus widely used in electronic devices. For example, magnesium is now used in cellular phones, cameras, CD players and other handheld devices. Accordingly, die-casting machines have been adapted over the years to produce components in magnesium.
In the die-casting industry, there are generally two types of casting machines. The conventional die-casting machine has a moving platen and a fixed platen, the platens having complementary die portions. The moving portion is displaceable so as to form a cavity with its die portion and the die portion of the fixed platen. An injection unit is positioned in the fixed part and is supplied with molten medium from an injector unit so as to fill the cavity with the molten medium. The molten medium solidifies in the cavity in the shape thereof. The cast piece is then ejected from the cavity by the separation of the moving part from the fixed part. The injection unit is either directly positioned in a molten metal bath, in the case of a hot chamber die casting machine, or receives a molten metal supply from a surrounding furnace, in the case of a cold chamber die-casting machine.
In parting-line casting, a multiple-slide die-casting machine is used, and has two or more moving slides each having a die portion. The slides meet to form a die cavity from all of the die portions. The injection unit is generally positioned on the parting line between a pair of slides, hence giving it the name "parting-line injection/casting." More complex parts can be cast in parting-line casting than in conventional casting. However, more complex motions are also involved. Typically, the slides are each displaceable. The die, resulting from the cooperation of the slides, and the injection unit must meet for the injection. Therefore, there must be some relative displacement between the injection unit and the slides.
One of the ways to perform the cooperation between the slides and the injection unit is to provide mobility to the injection unit. The injection unit has a portion thereof in a bath of molten casting medium from which it supplies the die. In the case of conventional magnesium die-casting, the bath of molten magnesium has a film of shielding fluid on a top surface thereof to reduce oxidation between the molten magnesium and the ambient oxygen. Displacements of the injection unit in the bath create an exposure of the molten medium, but the shielding film on the surface of the bath ensures that the molten magnesium is not overexposed to oxygen, or to air moisture. However, in previous attempts to cast pieces in magnesium in parting-line casting, because of the reactive nature of molten magnesium due to its relatively high melting point, the displacement of the injection unit in the molten bath of magnesium causes waves in the liquid metal. The waves disturb the shielding gas, and this results in oxidation, thereby necessitating frequent cleaning to remove the oxide build-ups.
Magnesium has a relatively high melting point, but a relatively low specific heat. There is a risk of solidification of the magnesium prior to the molten magnesium reaching the die. Therefore, temperature control is an important aspect of magnesium die-casting.
Also, molten magnesium is highly reactive and safety measures must be taken when magnesium is cast. For instance, extensive use of hydraulic fluid should be limited. It is desirable to adapt parting-line die-casting technology to magnesium, to enable the casting of more complex cast products.


A system and method of passive ranging for a luminous target which employs a prior knowledge of atmospheric attenuation of spectral frequencies to determine range by comparing the intensities of a frequency component, that is attenuated by propagation through the atmosphere, with a frequency component that is not.

Various objects, such as the plume of a rocket or other fire, or a hot filament or gas discharge of a lamp, are known to act as sources of radiation having characteristic spectra. There are situations in which it is desirable to determine the location of such a source from a viewing site distant from the source, the location, data including range, elevation and azimuth of the target source from the viewing site. However, a problem arises in that the usual apparatuses for determination of target location, such as active radar, are not operative with the foregoing type of radiant energy signal for a passive determination of the ranging of the source.
Therefore, the need exists for a means of passively determining the range to sources of thermal radiation.

Passive ranging to source of known spectral emission


This invention is directed to a method for enhancing the diamond nucleation on a substrate prior to providing a diamond film thereon. More particularly, it is directed to a method which involved ultrasonic treatment of the substrate surface with a fluid consisting essentially of unsaturated oxygen-free hydrocarbons and diamond grit.

With its superior hardness, transparency, thermal conductivity and chemical stability, diamond would be the material of choice for a vast array of components for tribological or high-stress optical applications. Applications range from relatively mundane tooling for machining of abrasive materials such as metal-matrix composites to windows and optical objectives for ultra-high velocity missiles and aircraft. Until recently, actual applications of diamond has been limited to those which may be satisfied by optically poor but relatively cheap sintered polycrystalline diamond compact (PCD) or sections cut from large, and therefore extremely expensive, diamond crystals. Such applications are further limited to shapes and configurations which may be produced from such "bulk" materials. Over the last decade, rapid advances in the technology of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of diamond in the form of films and coatings has opened the range of diamond applications. Using the CVD methods an object of almost any shape may be coated with diamond so long as the material itself can survive the conditions required for diamond CVD. Some examples of new applications include high frequency loudspeakers, complex cutting tools, dies, drills, reamers and taps, X-ray transparent vacuum windows, abrasion resistant objectives for military optical systems and heat extraction for super-high density electronic circuits.
Although physical survival in the diamond growth environment is the primary criterion for a substrate suitable for diamond coating, a second criteria is that diamond nucleate on and adhere to the surface. Diamond nucleates most readily on diamond itself. Diamond also nucleates on cubic boron-nitride, which is even less available than diamond, and to a lesser extent some carbides (boron-carbide, silicon-carbide and tungsten carbide). Therefore, for most practical applications, some sort of pretreatment to promote diamond nucleation is necessary. Several methods for enhancing diamond nucleation have been demonstrated. These fall into three broad categories: (1) in-situ (meaning in the growth reactor) bombardment with hydrocarbon ions (as demonstrated by Stoner and Glass), (2) direct dispersal of find diamond grit by spray- or spin-coating (U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,701 or Massood et al. 1991), and (3) physical abrasion by diamond particles by mechanical contact (scratching or polishing) or bombardment by ultrasonic agitation of diamond grit suspended in a suitable fluid. The first appears to be limited to crystalline silicon substrates, while the second is suitable only for nearly flat or simply shaped objects. In the third category, physical scratching is also limited to simple shapes determined by the medium (e.g. sandpaper) which carries the diamond abrasive, is often inconsistent and can physically damage the substrate. The ultrasonic bombardment method has grown in popularity because it is gentler, suitable to virtually any substrate material or shape, and is very reproducible. In all published descriptions of this method we are aware of the suspending liquid has been described as simple water or a heavy alcohol, usually isopropanol. Although higher densities are occasionally reported, typical nucleation densities of the order 10.sup.8 nuclei/cm.sup.2 are generally obtained and are sufficient for many applications. However, if an extremely smooth, fine-grained film, or a very thin film free of microscopic pin-holes is desired, much higher densities must be achieved consistently. Furthermore, for some substrates an increased density of nuclei translates into superior film adhesion. It is desirable, therefore, to use a pretreatment process for enhancement of diamond nucleation which can readily produce 10.sup.11 nuclei/cm.sup.2 on a substrate of arbitrary shape and size without macroscopic damage. The present invention provides such a pretreatment method for diamond nucleation.

Process for deposition of ultra-fine grained polycrystalline diamond films


Faults on power lines are detected by measuring the voltage and current at one end of a power line and using these measurements, together with values of series and shunt parameters of the line, to calculate values of voltage and current at an intermediate point on the linexe2x80x94the so-called xe2x80x9creach pointxe2x80x9d. At least the calculated voltage is used to determine whether a fault lies within a particular zone on the line. The calculation utilizes a value of a derivative of the measured current with respect to time and is able to take into account the sectioning of a line into discrete lengths corresponding to, for example, overhead and cable sections. To increase accuracy, the line or each discrete section of the line is conceptually divided into subsections each having its own parameter values. In a second aspect, detection of whether a fault lies within a particular zone involves the measurement of the voltage and current at one end of the line both before and after the fault, the calculation of a complex impedance between an intermediate point of the line and a reference point, normally earth, the use of these measured values and values relating to line parameters and to a source impedance at the second end of the line, and the determination of the sign of the complex impedance.

The invention relates to a fault-detection apparatus for detecting the presence of a fault in an electrical power line, and in particular, but not exclusively, a multi-phase underground-cable power line and a composite line including an underground-cable power line.
Fault-detection arrangements are known in which the line being monitored for faults is modelled simply as series inductance and resistance elements, any shunt capacitance that may exist between the line and any other line or earth being ignored. Such a line will normally be an overhead power line. FIG. 1 shows this scenario, in which a line 10 is considered to have a lumped impedance Z, consisting of an inductive reactance XL associated with an inductive component L, and a resistance RL and is monitored in terms of voltage Vr and current Ir at one end of the line. The other end of the line may be connected to a load which may be another AC power connection.
The voltage Vr (known as the xe2x80x9crelaying voltagexe2x80x9d) is related to the current Ir (known as the xe2x80x9crelaying currentxe2x80x9d) by the equation:
Vr=IrZxe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
Since the relaying voltage and current are known by measurement, a value for Z can be calculated and, if the line impedance parameters per unit-length are known, an indication can be derived as to whether the fault lies within the particular section of line being monitored by the relaying equipment.
Discrete signal processing techniques allow calculation of Z in terms of R and L using the equation:                               v          r                =                              Ri            r                    +                      L                                                      ⅆ                                  i                  r                                                            ⅆ                t                                                                        (        2        )
The use of the differential equation (2) rather than the phase equation (1) removes the need for the relay input signals vr and ir to be at a specified frequency. Thus equation (2) could be equally valid when applied to a 50 Hz or 60 Hz system, so that R and L could in principle be solved over a range of discrete time-signal frequencies of the relay inputs vr and ir.
The value of shunt capacitance present in overhead lines is sufficiently low to be neglected at power-system frequency so that equation (2) can be used to determine the values of R and L. However, the presence of capacitance causes high-frequency travelling waves to be generated when a fault occurs and these can cause errors in the calculation of R and L. It is therefore necessary to remove the travelling-wave frequencies from the signals vr and ir before calculating R and L using equation (2). Since these frequencies are relatively high with respect to the power-system frequency, they can be removed by short-window digital filters without causing the relay operating time to be extended beyond one power-frequency cycle.
On cable circuits, however, the values of shunt capacitance are much greater and the travelling-wave noise is far lower in frequency, so that its effects are less easily removed by filtering. On this basis the values of R and L calculated from equation (2) no longer accurately represent the location of the fault.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided relay equipment for an electrical power line, characterized by fault-detection means comprising:
a signal-deriving means for deriving first and second signals representative of a voltage and current, respectively, at a first end of said line;
a calculating means for calculating from said first and second signals and from defined values of series and shunt parameters of said line a value of voltage and current associated with a point along said line intermediate said first end and a second end of said line; and
a fault-location determining means for determining from said calculated voltage and current values whether a fault lies between said first end and said intermediate point.
The calculating means may calculate said intermediate-point voltage and current values using a value of a derivative of said second signal with respect to time, and preferably employing the matrix relationship:       [                                        v            1                                                            i            1                                ]    =            [                                    1                                              -                              (                                                      R                    0                                    +                                                            L                      0                                                                                ⅆ                                              ⅆ                        t                                                                                )                                                                                -                                  C                  0                                                                          ⅆ                                  ⅆ                  t                                                                          1                              ]                  xe2x80x83        [                                        v            0                                                            i            0                                ]
where v1, i1 are said voltage and current at said intermediate point, v0, i0 are said voltage and current at said first end of the line, R0 and L0 are said series parameters of the line and C0 is a shunt parameter of the line.
The calculating means may be arranged to model said line as a plurality p of line-portions in series having respective series and shunt parameters, said matrix relationship being:       [                                        v            1                                                            i            1                                ]    =            ∏              m        =        1            p                  xe2x80x83                          [                  xe2x80x83                                                            1                                                      -                                  (                                                            R                                              0                                                m                                                              +                                                                  L                                                  0                                                    m                                                                                ⅆ                                                  ⅆ                          t                                                                                )                                                                                -                                      C                                          0                                            m                                                                                ⅆ                                      ⅆ                    t                                                                                1                                                        xe2x80x83                ]                          xe2x80x83            [                                                  v              0                                                                          i              0                                          ]
Corresponding parameters of said line-portions may have substantially the same value.
The line may be composed of a plurality q of sections in series having respective series and shunt parameters, each of said plurality q of sections being composed of a plurality p of line-portions in series having respective series and shunt parameters, said matrix relationship being:       [                                        v            q                                                            i            q                                ]    =            ∏              n        =        0                    q        -        1                        xe2x80x83                          ∏                  m          =          1                p                          xe2x80x83                                    [                      xe2x80x83                                                                        1                                                              -                                      (                                                                  R                                                  n                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                                              m                                                                    +                                                                        L                                                      n                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                                                m                                                                                ⅆ                                                      ⅆ                            t                                                                                )                                                                                -                                          C                                              n                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                        m                                                                                ⅆ                                          ⅆ                      t                                                                                1                                                                    xe2x80x83                    ]                                  xe2x80x83                [                                                            v                0                                                                                i                0                                                    ]
At least the shunt parameters of said sections may not all be of substantially the same value. The sections may correspond to respective distinct forms of line including at least one overhead line section and at least one cable section.
Each of said line or line-portions is preferably modelled by said calculating means as a xcex93-network, though a xcfx80-network may also be employed.
The fault-location determining means may comprise means for detecting whether said voltage at said intermediate point is zero, positive or negative relative to a reference quantity, a zero result indicating that there is a fault at said intermediate point, a positive result indicating that there is a fault between said point and one end of said line and a negative result indicating that there is a fault between said point and the other end of said line. The reference quantity may be the current associated with said intermediate point.
The calculating means may comprise means for calculating from said calculated voltage and current values a value of a complex impedance between said first end and said intermediate point, and said fault-location determining means may comprise means for evaluating a sign of said complex impedance. The calculating means may calculate said value of a complex impedance by means of the equation:   v  =      Ri    +          L                              ⅆ          i                          ⅆ          t
where v and i are said intermediate-point voltage and current values, respectively, and R and L are components of said complex impedance.
A negative result may indicate that there is a fault between said intermediate point and said first end of said line and a positive result indicate that there is a fault between said intermediate point and said second end of said line.
The intermediate point will usually lie approximately 80% of the way along said line from said first end of the line.
The signal-deriving means may be adapted to derive said first and second signals both before and after the occurrence of a fault on said line, said calculating means may be adapted to calculate from said pre-fault and post-fault first and second signals and from said parameters and from a value of a source impedance of said second end of said line a change in a value of voltage and current associated with said intermediate point and to calculate from said change a value of a complex impedance existing between said intermediate point and a reference point, and said fault-location determining means may be adapted to determine a sign of an imaginary part of said complex impedance and to infer from said sign a position of said fault relative to said intermediate point.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a method of determining if a fault on a power line lies within a particular zone of said line comprises the steps of:
measuring a voltage and current at a first end of said line before and after the occurrence of a fault;
calculating the complex impedance between a point on said line intermediate said first end and a second end of the line and a reference point, said complex fault impedance calculation utilizing the measured voltage and current values and values relating to parameters of the line and to a source impedance at said second end of the line;
determining a sign of an imaginary part of said complex impedance; and
inferring from said sign a position of said fault relative to said intermediate point on said line.
The inference of said fault position may follow the rule that a negative sign indicates a fault between one of said ends and said intermediate point of said line, a positive sign indicates a fault between the other of said ends and said intermediate point of said line and a zero imaginary part indicates a fault at said intermediate point itself.
The step of calculating the complex impedance may comprises a calculation of the voltage and current at said intermediate point using the equation:       [                                        v            1                                                            i            1                                ]    =            [                                    1                                              -                              (                                                      R                    0                                    +                                                            L                      0                                                                                ⅆ                                              ⅆ                        t                                                                                )                                                                                -                                  C                  0                                                                          ⅆ                                  ⅆ                  t                                                                          1                              ]                  xe2x80x83        [                                        v            0                                                            i            0                                ]
where v0, i0 are the voltage and current at said first end of the line, v1, i1 are the voltage and current at said intermediate point and R0, L0 are series parameters and C0 is a shunt parameter of said line.
The line may be divided into a plurality q of sections and said step of calculating the complex impedance may comprise a calculation of a voltage and current at said intermediate point using the equation:       [                                        v            q                                                            i            q                                ]    =            ∏              n        =        0                    q        -        1                        xe2x80x83                          [                  xe2x80x83                                                            1                                                      -                                  (                                                            R                      n                                        +                                                                  L                        n                                                                                ⅆ                                                  ⅆ                          t                                                                                )                                                                                -                                      C                    n                                                                                ⅆ                                      ⅆ                    t                                                                                1                                                        xe2x80x83                ]                          xe2x80x83            [                                                  v              0                                                                          i              0                                          ]
where v0, i0 are the voltage and current at said first end of the line, vq, iq are the voltage and current at said intermediate point and Rn, Ln are series parameters and Cn is a shunt parameter of respective said sections of the line.
The line or each of said sections may be conceptually subdivided into p line-portions having respective line parameters, and said step of calculating the complex impedance may comprise a calculation of a voltage and current at said intermediate point using the equation:       [                                        v            q                                                            i            q                                ]    =            ∏              n        =        0                    q        -        1                        xe2x80x83                          ∏                  m          =          1                p                          xe2x80x83                                    [                      xe2x80x83                                                                        1                                                              -                                      (                                                                  R                                                  n                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                                              m                                                                    +                                                                        L                                                      n                                                                                xe2x80x83                                                                                m                                                                                ⅆ                                                      ⅆ                            t                                                                                )                                                                                -                                          C                                              n                                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                        m                                                                                ⅆ                                          ⅆ                      t                                                                                1                                                                    xe2x80x83                    ]                                  xe2x80x83                [                                                            v                0                                                                                i                0                                                    ]
The intermediate point may lie approximately 80% of the way along the line from said first end thereof.


An electrical downhole centrifugal pump for pumping fluids from a deep well includes a relatively small diameter pump housing which is suspended from a tubing string and including a series of impellers and diffusers. The impellers are mounted on a vertical shaft connected to a motor for driving the impellers relative to the diffusers on the housing. Upper and lower shrouds enclose the top and bottom surfaces of impeller blades rotating with the shaft. A first group of impellers are arranged to move freely longitudinally on the shaft while a second group are fixed to the shaft to prevent relative longitudinal motion. A lifting vane is formed on the outer surface of the upper shroud on the impellers which are fixed to the shaft. A net lifting force is thus applied to the shaft by those impellers of the second group having upthrust impellers to diminish the load carried by a pump shaft thrust bearing.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a deep well electrical submersible pump and in particular to a pump for pumping fluids from a relatively small diameter wellbore under high load conditions.
When pressures in an oil reservoir have fallen to the point where a well will not produce at its most economical rate by natural energy, some method of artificial lift is employed. One of the lifting methods employed in such situations is that of a submersible electrical pump which is an especially built centrifugal pump, the shaft of which is directly connected to an electric motor. The entire unit is sized so that it may be lowered into the well on a pipe string commonly called tubing, to the desired operating depth. In operation, the motor causes the pump to rotate so that impellers in the pump apply centrifugal forces to the fluids entering the pump intake. The pump is installed on the production tubing below the fluid level in the wellbore. Since both the pump and the pump motor are submerged in the well fluid, electric current is supplied through a special heavy duty armored cable. The total pressure developed by such a pump forces fluid up the tubing string to the surface. The capacity of this type of pump can range from 200 to 26,000 barrels a day depending upon the depth from which the fluid is lifted and the size of the wellbore casing which determines the maximum diameter of the pump.
The electric submersible pump (ESP) is perhaps the most versatile of the major oil production artificial lift methods. ESPs are used to produce a variety of fluids and the gas, chemicals, and contaminants commonly found in these fluids. Currently ESPs are operated economically in virtually every known oil field environment. Relatively high gas fluid ratios can be handled using tapered designed pumps and/or a special gas separator pump intake. An ESP can be operated in a deviated or directionally drilled well. Although the recommended operating position is in a straight section, the ESP can operate in a horizontal position. ESPs have efficiently lifted fluids in wells deeper than 12,000 feet. The pumps can be operated in casings as small as 4.5 inches OD. Many studies indicate that ESPs are the most efficient lift method and the most economical on a cost per lifted barrel basis. The ESP historically has been applied in lifting water or low oil cut wells that perform similar to water wells. These pumps are typically constructed with impellers being mounted either fixed or floating on a vertical shaft, which when rotated, centrifugally force fluids outwardly and upwardly through a multiplicity of impeller diffuser stages to sequentially lift fluid to the surface. In effect, the stages of the pump sequentially pressurize the fluid so that the aggregate pressure increase can overcome the hydrostatic head within the fluid column above the pump and thus eventually move the fluids to the surface. These pumps are designed to minimize the effect of hydrostatic pressures in the wellbore on the pump parts. This is typically done by the utilization of balancing hubs or drums to minimize forces within the pump to prevent any unnecessarily high forces from being imparted to the parts thereof which would in turn impose high frictional forces on the moving parts therein to generate excessive wear of the parts. The hydrostatic forces which are encountered at the pump level in such a well typically are a result of the height of the fluid column in the tubing string above the pump which is acting down upon the pump parts. In a large diameter wellbore it is possible to use a pump of sufficient diameter to employ a large thrust bearing. Such a large thrust bearing is capable of absorbing greater loads which may be imposed upon the pump. However, in a small diameter bore hole, the thrust-bearing size is compromised to the extent that it may not be sufficient to withstand the downward forces exerted upon the pump shaft in deep well applications. In this case such forces acting on the pump parts may generate wear to the extent that such a pump system is impractical.
One design which has been used to overcome this problem of excess force on the pump shaft, is that of a bottom floater pump. In such a pump, impellers on the upper end of the pump are fixed to the pump shaft. Therefore, a portion of the load on the pump shaft due to hydrostatic pressure acting on the cross-sectional area of the shaft, is transmitted to the impellers fixed on the shaft. The impellers in turn have thrust washers which engage mating surfaces on the diffusers which in turn are connected to the pump housing so that the load of the pump shaft is partially absorbed eventually by the pump housing, which is carried by the tubing string thus relieving the load on the thrust bearing. The bottom impellers in such a pump are permitted to float on the pump shaft so that thrust loads on the impellers are not transmitted to the shaft and vice versa. This bottom floater impeller design has been frequently employed in small diameter pumps, such as being run into deep wells, when it is not desired to impart heavy loads onto the thrust bearings which are limited in size by the small housing diameter available. However, when the operating depth of the well is such that the hydrostatic forces operating on the pump shaft become excessive, the small thrust bearing which is dictated by the small diameter pump housing is not able to withstand the thrust loads even though a portion of the shaft load is transferred to the pump housing by way of the fixed impellers on the shaft. Additionally, in the bottom floater system just described, as the bore hole depth increases, the down loading of the shaft which is transferred to the pump parts causes wear on the pump parts to the extent that the system is no longer practical.
These problems associated with wear to bearing surfaces created by such deep well pumps has in the past also been treated to a certain extent by the use of balancing hubs or the like which attempt to provide pressure balance on pump components so that friction surfaces which are caused to engage one another are placed as near as possible under balanced force conditions, to thereby minimize the frictional forces acting on such engaging surfaces. An example of this is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,809,590 to Brown which shows an electric motor driven pump wherein discharge pressures are rerouted back into the pump system to act upwardly on pump surfaces against which such discharge pressure are being imposed in order to generate a pressure balance and thus minimize wear forces acting on the relatively moving parts. This is done by providing a pressure balancing disk which is mounted on the pump shaft and internal pressure balancing passages are used to bring a fluid pressure differential to the balancing disk.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,777 to Havenstein shows a centrifugal pump including an axillary impeller arranged additionally to the pump impeller proper to provide for pressure reduction and a throttling device to bring about an equalization of thrust forces acting on the impeller.
Vitu U.S. Pat. No. 1,867,290 also describes a centrifugal pump wherein openings are provided in the impeller to permit the passage of at least part of the volume of the liquid being handled by the pump to the back side of the impeller in order to balance pressures on the two sides of the impellers.
Peterson U.S. Pat. No. 1,609,306 also shows a balancing disk for adjusting forces of a centrifugal well pump.
In each of the above systems an attempt is made to balance pressures acting on a surface by transmitting through some means the higher discharge pressures to lower pressure surfaces in the apparatus to thereby balance forces acting on the various parts. Some of these systems are rather simple and yet others are very complex, but in any event, they are not sufficient or practical to deal with the extremely high forces that are encountered in deep well operations contemplated by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention, to provide a new and improved pump system which will obviate the load problems occurring in deep wells having small diameter pumps by providing a net upthrust lifting force on selected impellers which upthrust is transmitted to the pump shaft to partially offset shaft forces acting down on the thrust bearing.

Deep well electrical submersible pump with uplift generating impeller means


The present disclosure provides an efficient and effective method for allocating provisional PUIDs and PGIDs to subscriber units and groups during a failure, such that when the communication system recovers, there is a decrease in or elimination of the number of dropped or missed communications. The present disclosure reserves a range of provisional PUIDs and PGIDs for resource controllers operating in a region of system failure to assign when subscriber units roam into the region of failure in the communication system. The present disclosure addresses creating PUID and PGID ranges for resource controllers to assign to roaming subscriber units in order to allow for assignment of PUIDs and PGIDs during periods of subsystem isolation and site trunking, i.e., when the particular site or subsystem cannot communicate with the rest of the communication system. The present disclosure also addresses recovering from these situations, re-registration, and reallocation of PUIDs and PGIDs.

Public and private safety communications using land mobile radio services have been growing at a steady rate. As such, it is becoming increasingly important for organizations and their respective communication systems to interoperate with one another. Interoperability between organizations includes the ability of a first organization's communication network and/or system to support a second (foreign) organization's subscriber units when subscriber units from the second organization roam into the first organization's communication network and/or system. In other words, it is important for subscriber units to have the ability to travel away from their home coverage system and into the coverage region of a foreign communication system, request services from the foreign communication system, and acquire such services.
While subscriber units currently are able to efficiently receive and use resources from foreign communication systems during normal or non-failure situations, often subscriber units, physically located in, but foreign to, a communication system ("roaming subscriber units") miss or drop communications when a site or subsystem within the foreign communication system is in a failure mode, such as site trunking or subsystem isolation, respectively.
Without physically roaming into another communication system, subscriber units may also affiliate with subscriber groups from different systems. Subscriber units from one system may participate in the foreign system's subscriber group (i.e., a "non-native subscriber group") efficiently during normal or non-failure situations, even though the subscriber unit is physically located in a different system. However, when the site or subsystem in which the subscriber unit is physically located experiences a failure, such as site trunking or subsystem isolation, the subscriber units affiliated with the non-native subscriber group may miss or drop communications.
One reason for missed and dropped communications is because of the lack of a comprehensive and effective method in which the subscriber unit is identified and allocated resources by the communication system during and after the communication system failure. Currently, there is no effective method to identify roaming subscriber units and assign provisional unit identification to roaming subscriber units during, or in the event of, a communication system failure. Similarly, there is no effective method for identifying and assigning provisional group identifications for non-native subscriber groups during, or in the event of, a communication system failure. In addition, there is no method to effectively request that the roaming subscriber units or non-native subscriber groups re-register with the communication system when the failure situation no longer applies, without the roaming subscriber unit or the subscriber unit affiliated with the non-native subscriber group missing or dropping communications.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are not often depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. It will also be understood that the terms and expressions with respect to their corresponding respective regions of inquiry and study except where specific meaning have otherwise been set forth herein.

Method of assigning provisional identification to a subscriber unit and group


In a method for forming reclosable packages on a conventional form-fill-and-seal machine, a "Y-type" zipper strip is fed toward and longitudinally down the filling spout thereof. A thermoplastic film is wrapped around the filling spout enclosing the zipper strip, and the lateral edges of the film are bonded together to form a longitudinal seam. The zipper strip webs are attached by sealing bars to the inside of the tube so formed from the thermoplastic film between the fill tube and the sealing bars. At intervals, transverse seams are formed to produce individual reclosable packages, which may also be separated from one another. The packages are filled with product during the course of their manufacture.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in the manufacturing of reclosable plastic bags, and, more particularly, to a method which permits such bags to be formed as they are fed over a filling spout of a filling machine whereby the bags are formed and simultaneously filled with a product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The art of making reclosable plastic bags provided with mating profiles which form a zipper to render the bags reclosable is well-defined in prior patents. Examples of such patents are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,709,533; 4,894,975; and 5,046,300.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,533 shows an apparatus and a method wherein film is fed downwardly wrapped around a form-fill tube and the edges of the film are brought together pressed between pressing rollers guiding the edges together so that an outer seal can be formed. Means are provided for feeding interlocked zipper members between the film layers and between the rollers and the filling spout. Following the rollers, there are located uniquely positioned and shaped bars which include inner bars that have a space between them to guide the center portion of the zipper and these bars also form a backing for outer heated bars which seal the webs of the zipper to the inner surface of the bag film. The outer bars also extend around the edges of the bag to simultaneously form an outer security seal or lip seal. The thus formed and sealed zipper tube is filled through the spout and cross-seals with cross-cutters to complete the individual bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,975 also shows an apparatus and method wherein film is fed downwardly wrapped around a form-fill tube and the edges of the film are brought together in adjacency. The adjacent edges of the film are joined such as by heat sealing to interlocked zipper members, which thereafter form the sole juncture between the edges of the film and which zipper members provide a reclosable opening for the top of the completed bag. A web extends between the zipper strips, either above or below the interlocking elements, which web can be constructed of a weight and width with optimum characteristics for forming a security seal at the top of the bag and forming a tamper-evident seal. In a single rapid operation, a bag is formed wherein the film of the bag has optimum characteristics for the bag, and the plastic of the zipper and of the web therebetween have optimum characteristics for the functions of the zipper and functions of the security tamper-evident seal. The thus formed and sealed zipper tube is filled through the spout and cross-sealed with cross-cutters to complete the individual bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,300 shows a method and apparatus for forming reclosable packages wherein a flat packaging film is formed over a forming shoulder and into a tubular shape about a central member. The packaging film is advanced vertically downward along the length of the central member, and a reclosable profile element is threaded inside the tubular shape of the packaging film. The tubular packaging film is deformed to form a longitudinally extending loop of packaging film, and the interlocked zipper members are guided into the loop. The interlocked zipper members are then adhered to the inner surface of the loop of packaging film. The thus formed and sealed zipper tube is filled through the spout and cross-sealed with cross-cutters to complete the individual bags. It should be noted, that in each of the above described prior art methods some portion of the film is drawn away from the fill tube at substantially a right angle to the fill tube to receive the zipper strips. This additional film causes a problem of potential wrinkling of the film at the cross seal locations.
The present invention represents an improved approach toward the attachment of a reclosable profile element to a tubular packaging film, and toward the formation of a reclosable plastic bag, with product contents therein which does not require the film to be away from the fill tube.

Method of making reclosable plastic bags on a form, fill and seal machine


In some embodiments, a processor-based system may include at least one processor, at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, a boot block stored at a first memory location, a capsule update stored at a second memory location, a startup authenticated code module to ensure the integrity of the boot block upon a restart of the processor-based system, code which is executable by the processor-based system to cause the processor-based system to validate the boot block with the startup authenticated code module upon the restart of the processor-based system, and, if the boot block is successfully validated, to validate the capsule update for the processor-based system with the startup authenticated code module. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Intel® trusted execution technology for safer computing, code named LaGrande Technology (LT), is a versatile set of hardware extensions to Intel® processors and chipsets that enhances any personal computer (PC) platform (for example, the digital office platform) with security capabilities such as measured launch and protected execution. LT is a component of the Intel safer computing initiative, and was first introduced in client platforms. Intel trusted execution technology provides hardware-based mechanisms that help protect against software-based attacks and protects the confidentiality and integrity of data (for example, passwords, keys, etc.) stored or created on a personal computer (PC).
Better protection is achieved by enabling an environment where applications can run within their own space, protected from all other software on the system. These capabilities provide the protection mechanisms, rooted in hardware, that are necessary to provide trust in the application's execution environment and help protect vital data and processes from being compromised by malicious software running on a platform.
In Intel trusted execution technology control flow, a VMM (Virtual Machine Monitor) loader launches an Intel signed module which is presented with the cryptographic measurement of the platform firmware code (and/or platform Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) code). This module contains what is known as a launch control policy (LCP) engine. This policy engine compares this measurement with what is recorded in a policy data structure and communicates to the VMM the security "goodness" of the BIOS firmware. The VMM gets to choose whether to trust the measured platform BIOS code or not. If it trusts the BIOS code, it will launch a secure environment.

Apparatus and method for secure boot environment


A system for redistributing a multiple input audio/video and data signals having a redistributing device equipped to receive signals in a multiple formats and redistribute a selected signal to a user""s premises over conductors, preferably existing twisted-pair telephone wire. The redistributing device is in interactive communication with a communications interface located in the user""s premises which receives user-input control signals and contains switching circuitry which routes the selected signal to the user""s premises where it is received by the receiving unit such as a television receiver. A single redistributing device services an entire multi-user network from a common distribution point, and services multiple users independently. The system of the invention does not interfere with normal use of the telephone network, so users can interactively access services provided by the system and use the telephone at the same time. In one preferred embodiment the system of the invention dynamically allocates frequencies and modulation techniques to various output signals, to maximize spectral efficiency and minimize interference and cross-talk.

This invention relates to communications systems. In particular, this invention relates to an interactive audio/video and data telecommunications system which integrates and redistributes audio/video and data signals received in multiple formats to multiple users over existing telephone wires.
Modern society is heavily reliant upon many different kinds of audio/video and data telecommunications services affecting all aspects of daily life. Television is one of the most popular sources of information and entertainment. Other sources of information and entertainment include computer networks such as the Internet, which today offers services such as interactive shopping, banking, gaming, venues for discussion and social intercourse and many other products and services, home video games, video/DVD movie rentals, radio and television broadcasts and the like. These types of services provide a virtually unlimited variety of information and entertainment to practically every corner of the world.
However, these services have evolved independently over many decades and as such are provided in different formats and through disparate channels of distribution. For example, television signals can be received by off-air antenna, cable redistribution networks (CATV) and satellite broadcasts, but access to each signal source is independent of the others and requires specialized equipment and/or service providers. A television set can be equipped to receive signals from all of these sources, but only one at a time so some form of switching equipment at the receiving end is required to change the television signal source. Further, each of these signals itself comprises many channels, which complicates attempts to pool the services into a single integrated system. The Internet is accessible by modem over CATV or telephone wires, but is typically connected to a computer which is a completely separate viewing system.
Prior to the invention there has never been a system available for integrating these types of services, which would allow a user to instantaneously access any channel provided by any telecommunications or broadcast service using a single system. Moreover, prior to the invention there has not been an inexpensive system available which is interactive, simple to use and delivers any desired telecommunications and broadcast service over a single network of twisted pair telephone wires.
A new technology known as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is now available which carries high-bandwidth data to subscribers over PSTN telephone lines using a form of fixed frequency Direct Multitone (DMT). Where the subscriber is located in proximity to a telephone company which offers DSL service, data rates of up to 7 Mb/s are available, which permits the continuous transmission of video (including motion video) and audio signals without interfering with telephony (voice) transmissions.
In conventional analog telephony the data rate is limited by filters which convert digital data streams to analog form suitable for PSTN telephone transmission cables, which is very bandwidth intensive. In DSL, digital data is transmitted without conversion to analog, which allows for a much wider transmission bandwidth in a signal that can be separated from the analog voice signal. However, in order to accomplish this over existing PSTN wiring, all existing digital-to-analog filters must be removed, which is a very expensive process, which increases as the distance from the telephone company facility increases, and results in a high cost to DSL subscribers. Moreover, outdoor PSTN cable is subject to degradation, and any signal carried on outdoor wiring is vulnerable to ambient em interference and attenuation due to multiple taps and other connections. These factors combine to limit the usefulness of fixed frequency DMT.
It would accordingly be advantageous to provide a system for integrating broadcast and telecommunications signals from a variety of sources, which can utilize conventional twisted-pair telephone wiring within a subscriber""s premises and does not rely upon transmission to the premises via outdoor PSTN cables utilizing dynamic frequency allocation (DFA). It would further be advantageous to provide such a system which permits interactive signal selection of virtually any type of broadcast or telecommunications signal by a user, and which maximizes definition and minimizes interference by adaptively allocating bandwidth to signals based on the nature of the signal and its data content, amongst other factors.
The present invention provides an interactive audio/video and data redistribution system which pools the various broadcast and telecommunications services available to a user, integrating these services in a single system which redistributes audio/video and data signals received in multiple formats to multiple users. The invention allows each user to remotely select and control the audio/video or data signal source desired to be viewed or accessed and provides access any available broadcast and telecommunications system through a single receiving unit, in the preferred embodiment a television receiver or microprocessor appliance (MPA) such as a computer. Further, the invention provides an interactive system which is simple to operate and allows the user to utilize interactive services such as those available over the Internet. Still further, the invention can be implemented over existing telephone wires, which considerably reduces the cost of the system and renders installation of the system easy and inexpensive.
The invention accomplishes this by providing a redistributing device which is equipped to receive telecommunications signals in any desired format and redistribute selected signals to a user""s premises. The redistributing device is in interactive communication with an interface located in the user""s premises which receives control signals from the user input using, in the preferred embodiment, a conventional infrared (IR) remote control device, and contains switching circuitry which routes the selected signal to the user""s premises where it is received by the receiving unit, preferably a television receiver or microprocessor appliance (MPA) such as a computer.
A single redistributing device services an entire multi-user network from a common distribution point for conventional telephone wire, and services multiple users independently. Thus, in the preferred embodiment the redistribution occurs within the users"" premises or a central office and is not reliant upon transmission across outdoor cable.
Moreover, the system of the invention does not interfere with normal use of the telephone network, so users can be interactively access services provided by the system and use the telephone at the same time, or any existing off-air or CATV wiring, so users have the option of receiving services over these networks as well.
Each user may select access to a telecommunications system or program from a menu-driven user interface, which may provide many levels of sub-menus with options specific to the particular telecommunications service selected by the user. The users within the network thus can instantaneously and independently access any available telecommunications service regardless of the input signal format.
In the preferred embodiment the system of the invention is equipped with channel lockout for parental control, optionally a signal processor which prevents videotaping of received programs, a magnetic card reader or other access control device, a system log which records all activities and services accessed by users within the network for billing purposes, a system override which allows the system operator to deny access to selected users of selected services, or redistribute selected programming (for example a message in an emergency situation), and other features which will become apparent from the description below.
In the preferred embodiment, the system of the invention dynamically selects and allocates a redistribution frequency and modulation technique suitable for the particular service (signal) selected by each user. This may be based on such factors as interference from other sources, attenuation due to cable length (to subscriber premises) and cable type, signal-to-noise ratio, data density of the signal and signal sharing with other subscriber-selected signals being redistributed.
The system of the invention also permits multiple broadcasts to be carried within a single signal using suitable modulation techniques, for example quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). This allows the same twisted pair to accommodate command signals, rebroadcast output signals, analog voice signals and data signals at the same time; and permits a single subscriber to receive more than one broadcast or telecommunications service at a time, superposed within a single signal, so that different receivers within a single subscriber premises can receive different services.
One preferred embodiment of the invention is a browser-based system, according to which the selected signals are redistributed in browser-compatible format. This allows the system of the invention to be used with computers, either connected to a browser-adapted wall plate (using, for example, TCP/IP or open transport protocols), or within an intranet or local area network. In this embodiment redistributed motion video data signals are displayed by commercially available motion video helper software, with or without associated audio, in compressed or uncompressed format.
The system of the invention also has the capacity to monitor, track and record subscriber usage for each broadcast or telecommunications service, and to selectively block or enable specific services to individual subscribers. The system may also include billing software which invoices subscribers based on usage of each service over any specified period.
The system of the invention thus integrates Internet, television, video-on-demand, telephony, data transfer, gaming, music-on-demand and T-commerce (television-based commerce) into a single interactive system which can be made accessible to each unit within a building or complex, or alternatively to each subscriber within a local loop, all over conventional twisted-pair telephone wiring. Further, because the system of the invention is connected to all broadcast and telecommunications services, it can be used to reroute long distance telephone service to Internet telephony (VoIP and VoFR), with attendant cost savings to the subscriber, and to route an Internet connection (eg. audio/video data signals) to a computer or a television receiver with the appropriate signal format.
The present invention thus provides a system for redistributing a plurality of audio/video and data signals over conductors, comprising a server, and a redistributor for receiving a plurality of input signals, comprising for each input signal, a demodulator for demodulating the signal, the server controlling an output channel selection of the input signal responsive to one or more control signals input into a communications interface, wherein the redistributor dynamically selects and allocates a redistribution frequency suitable for each output signal based on one or more of: attenuation due to interference from other sources, attenuation due to cable length, signal loss, signal-to-noise ratio, data density of the output signal and signal sharing with other output signals.
The present invention further provides a method of redistributing a plurality of audio/video and data signals to a plurality of communications interfaces over conductors, comprising the steps of (a) receiving a plurality of input signals at a signal redistributor, (b) demodulating each input signal, (c) processing each input signal to a format suitable for switching, (d) switching an output of the redistributor according to one or more control signals input into a communications interface, (e) selecting and allocating a redistribution frequency suitable for the output signal based on one or more of: attenuation due to interference from other sources, attenuation due to cable length, signal loss, signal-to-noise ratio, data density of the output signal and signal sharing with other output signals, and (f) routing the output of the redistributor to the communications interface for transmission to a receiving device.
In a further aspect of the invention the output signal comprises a plurality of superposed signals, whereby each of a plurality of communications interfaces within a single subscriber premises is tuned to a different frequency so as to transmit to its associated receiver one of the superposed signals.

Audio/video signal redistribution system


In the case of a tangential-belt drive for an open-end spinning machine, having a tangential belt driving the spinning rotors of several spinning units arranged behind one another, it is provided that the spinning units each comprise a pressure roller loading the tangential belt and a rotor brake which can be jointly actuated by means of a common actuating mechanism. In addition, an actuating possibility is provided by means of which the pressure roller, for increasing the pressure force, can be increasingly pressed against the tangential belt during the run-up.

The invention relates to a tangential-belt drive for an open-end spinning machine of the type having a tangential belt driving the spinning rotor shafts of several spinning units arranged next to one another. The spinning units each include a pressure roller which presses the tangential belt by means of an elastic pressure force against the respective spinning rotor shaft. A rotor brake is provided at each spinning unit which can be actuated by means of an actuating mechanism in such a manner that the pressure roller is lifted off the tangential belt during braking.
A tangential-belt drive of the initially mentioned type is known, for example, from the German Patent Document DE-A 36 13 843. As known also from the German Patent Document DE-A 28 03 052, the actuating mechanism is operated by a piecing carriage which can be moved along the machine and can be applied to the individual spinning units. By way of the piecing carriage, the actuating mechanism is operated such that the spinning rotor shaft is braked before the piecing operation so that then the piecing will take place while the spinning rotor is accelerated again to its rotational operating speed by means of the tangential belt which continues to move at an unreduced speed. In this case, the pressure force of the pressure roller provides that the run-up time from the stoppage to the rotational operating speed will not be too long also in the case of extremely high rotational speeds of the rotor which nowadays may clearly be above 100,000 min.sup.-1 (100,000 revolution per minute).
On the basis of the German Patent Document DE-A 34 01 315, a belt drive for spinning rotors is also known in which the slip is reduced during the piecing operation so that the time period can be reduced which the spinning rotor requires for the run-up from stoppage to its rotational operating speed.
It is an object of the invention to develop a tangential-belt drive of the initially mentioned type such that the consumption of energy may be reduced.
This object is achieved in that the actuating mechanism comprises an actuating lever which is connected with the pressure roller in such a manner that, if it is operated when the brake is released, the pressure roller can be pressed against the tangential belt by means of a supplementary force which increases the pressure force.
In this case, the invention is based on the recognition that nowadays the elastic pressure force is frequently higher than is actually necessary. For the normal spinning operation, a relatively low pressure force is sufficient in order to ensure a secure driving of the spinning rotors at which the given rotational speed is maintained. However, in order to exclude a higher slip during the piecing and during the run-up phase utilized in this case, a much higher pressure force must be provided. This higher driving force which is not required during the normal operation, however, has the effect that deformations of the tangential belt may be caused in the area of the spinning rotor shafts which are connected with an increased power consumption. By means of the invention, it is now possible to make the required higher pressure force available only during the piecing while, in the normal operation, the lower pressure force is sufficient which will then cause a smaller deformation o the tangential belt so that the power consumption can be reduced.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method and apparatus for driving an open-end spinning machine with a tangential belt during piecing


Exemplary embodiments include an electronic frequency-divider circuit comprising a multi-phase generator circuit configured to: receive an oscillating input signal having a frequency f; determine an integer divide ratio Q based on a first control signal input; and based on the oscillating input signal, generate an N-phase output signal having a frequency f-divided-by-M, wherein M is an integer and adjacent phases of the N-phase output signal are separated by 360-divided-by-(M-times-Q) degrees. The divider circuit can also include a control circuit configured to receive a control input and, based on the control input: provide the first control signal to the multi-phase generator circuit; and select a particular phase of the N-phase output signal. Exemplary embodiments also include a phase-locked loop circuits, transceiver circuits, radio stations, and methods of frequency-dividing an oscillating signal.

As radio circuits become more complex and also are designed to work at still higher frequencies, the elements tend to consume more power. Frequency dividers are important elements of radio circuits, and are for example used for synthesizing signals of desired frequency and phase. For example, multi-band radio circuits rely on the ability to generate signals at different controllable frequencies. Another example is application of beamforming where a plurality of antennas is fed by signals with a controlled phase such that the arrangement of the plurality of antennas provides a desired directional characteristic.
It is foreseen that cellular systems may use millimeter waves. The frequencies may in such cases range from about 15 to 60 GHz. In order to use the system outdoors, a longer cyclic prefix may be used compared with 60 GHz indoor systems. For this, a closer sub-carrier spacing in the OFDM modulation may be advantageous, however posing stringent phase noise requirements. At the same time beamforming is advantageously supported to increase the range and capacity of the system. A large number of antenna elements are then used. The signal at each element will have an individual phase shift which controls the beam direction. One key implementation alternative is to impose phase shifts in the local oscillator signal. The local oscillator frequency is in such cases preferably made programmable to be able to operate on different channels and in different bands.
An implementation of the local oscillator generation circuitry beneficially strives towards achieving low phase noise, individually programmable phase, programmable frequency, and/or distributing the signals to all transceivers in a beamforming system, all without consuming excessive power.
It is therefore a desire to provide an approach for an electronic circuit providing one or more of the above mentioned desired features at a moderate power consumption.

Electronic circuit, phase-locked loop, transceiver circuit, radio station and method of frequency dividing


A piezoelectric speaker comprises a drive unit having an auxiliary diaphragm bonded with a piezoelectric transducer element for producing sound thereby and a horn member having a resonance device including a reflection cover defining a plurality of first cusps and a mid plate defining a plurality of second cusps laterally offset with respect of the plurality of first cusps for promoting the sound output in decibel of the speaker.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the design and construction of a piezoelectric speaker, particularly to the design and construction of a piezoelectric speaker with its piezoelectric transducer unit having an auxiliary diphragm for producing smooth sound and the horn member having a resonance device for increasing volume of sound output.
2. Prior art
A piezoelectric speaker is driven by a piezoelectric transducer which has an element being powered by a small disc of special piezo materials such as crystals, ceramics, towrmaline, Rochelle salt and so on, that changes its diameter when an electrical signal is applied across its surfaces. To convert this change in diameter to a sound output, the disc is bonded to a thin metal disc which acts as a restraining spring force on one surface of the former disc. An electrical signal of increasing amplitude causes the diameter of the former disc to change which causes the element to bend from a flat shape into a convex shape. When the polarity of the electrical signal reverses, the element will bend in the reverse direction into concave shape. If the applied electrical signal has a frequency of 2K Hz, then the metal disc will vibrate and produce sound at a frequency of 2K Hz.
A known piezoelectric speaker, as shown in FIG. 1, mainly comprises a tubular outer shell 10 provided with a tapered peripheral upper edge, a first cover 11 functioning as a horn and having a base 111 and an integrally formed circular side wall 112 provided with a peripheral edge which is divided into an inner flat edge 110 extending inwardly and an outer tapered edge engaged with the tapered upper edge of the shell 10. The first cover 11 is further provided with a plurality of air ports 12 in the angle portion and a hole 13 in the central portion of the base 111. A piezoelectric transducer element 20 comprises a copper disc 210 with an outer periphery corresponding to the inner side wall of the tubular shell 10 and a ceramic disc 211 of smaller diameter bonded to a central bottom side wall of the copper disc 210. A second cover 22 having a base and an integrally formed circular side wall is upwardly inserted into the cylindrical space of the shell 10 by means of a press fit so as to retain the transducer element 20 in a position between the first and the second covers 11, 22 by means of a peripheral edge thereof coacting with the flat edge 110 of the first cover 11.
The known piezoelectric speaker so constructed is found disadvantageous that, referring to FIG. 5, the output sound waves are tipped in a frequency range from 1.5K Hz to 4.0K Hz as said output sound waves are directly produced by vibration of the copper disc 210. The sound output is low in decibel as the sound waves lack the effect of resonance.
Another known piezoelectric speaker, as shown in FIG. 2, mainly comprises a pot-shaped shell 30 defining a chamber 301 having a stepped wall which provides a diaphragm seat 302 and a diaphragm 31 functioning as a supporter which includes a tapering outwardly extending circular side portion 311 having a first circular flat rim 312 angled inwardly and a circular crimped area 313 which terminates in a second flat rim 314 rested on and further secured to the diaphragm seat 302 with a ring 310 fastened to the diaphragm seat 302 by means of a press fit. A piezoelectric transducer element 32 comprises a copper disc 320 with a peripheral edge fastened to the first flat rim 312 by means of a heat seal or an adhesive and thus supported, and a ceramic disc 211 of smaller diameter bonded to a central portion of a bottom side wall of the copper disc.
It is found disadvantageous that the acoustic property and the volume in decibel are unsatisfactory as the sound waves are still directly produced by vibration of the copper disc and lack the effect of resonance.