The invention relates to an MR method with reduced motion artefacts in which the displacement of a pulsating object, or of a part thereof, which is present in an examination zone is continuously measured relative to a reference position, and in which the reconstruction of an MR image utilizes exclusively MR signals acquired from the examination zone while the displacement from the reference position reaches or falls below a threshold value. This gating is enhanced in accordance with the invention in that prior to the acquisition of the MR signals there are generated phase encoding gradients k.sub.y) which act on the examination zone with different time integrals and that the threshold value (v.sub.s) can be varied in dependence on the respective phase encoding gradient (k.sub.y).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an MR METHOD WITH FIELD GRADIENTS SELECTED ACCORDING TO THE DISPLACEMENTS OF AN OBJECT in which the displacement of a pulsating object, or a part thereof, present in an examination zone is continuously measured with respect to a reference position and in which the reconstruction of an MR image utilizes exclusively MR signals acquired from the examination zone while the displacement from the reference position reaches or falls below a threshold value. The invention also relates to an arrangement for carrying out such a method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A method and arrangement of this kind are known from a publication by Sachs et al. in the magazine MRM 33, pp. 639-645 (1994). In the case of prolonged MR (magnetic resonance) examinations, motion artefacts occur notably due to respiratory movements of the patient to be examined. Parts of the body of the patient then perform a reciprocating (pulsating) movement which causes motion artefacts in an MR image reconstructed by means of the MR signals acquired during such examinations.
In the known method the respiratory movement is continuously measured by means of so-called navigator pulses. The reconstruction of an MR image utilizes the MR signals generated in the examination zone while the respiration-induced displacement of the object to be examined (or a part thereof) from a reference position does not exceed a threshold value. According to the known method the examination is performed by means of so-called spiral-MRI, but it can also be carried out in conjunction with other MR sequences.
FIG. 1 shows how MR signals are acquired with different phase encoding according to the known method. Therein, it is assumed that the phase encoding is produced by a magnetic gradient field having a gradient acting in the y-direction and that the MR signals, or the nuclear magnetization in the examination zone, are acquired with a given temporal sequence of the phase encoding or of the time integral over the phase coding gradient (this integral is customarily denoted by the reference k.sub.y). Thus, the ordinate represents the relevant k.sub.y value whereas the abscissa represents the time or the number of excitations of the nuclear magnetization in the examination zone, it being assumed that these excitations are repeated after a given period of time (for example, 15 ms). Moreover, below the coordinate there is shown the displacement of the object, or a part thereof, as a function of time. Even though MR signals are generated by continuous excitation according to the known method, not all signals are stored or used for the reconstruction of an MR image. Only when the displacement v drops below a predeterminable threshold value the MR signals generated in the examination zone are acquired and stored while the absolute value of the phase encoding increases. This is represented by small squares in FIG. 1; each square represents a given phase encoding or an MR signal acquired and stored with this phase encoding.
When the displacement exceeds the threshold value, the MR signals occurring are no longer acquired because their processing would cause motion artefacts in the MR image. It is only after a further respiratory period that a state is reached again in which the MR signals, with a different phase coding, can be acquired and stored again. This is repeated for each respiratory period until an MR signal has been acquired and stored for each of the, for example, 128 different k.sub.y values.
Assuming that the body of the patient is for only 25% of each respiratory period in a movement phase w which does not, or not significantly, cause motion artefacts in the MR image, the 128 MR signals required for the reconstruction of an MR image with reduced motion artefacts will have been acquired and stored only after more than 500 excitations of the nuclear magnetization zone. Therefore, in order to reduce the examination time it is known (Wood et al. in the magazine Med. Phys. 13 (6), pp. 794 ff. (1986)) to limit this "gating" either to the high spatial frequencies or to the low spatial frequencies, the best results being offered by the limitation to the gating of the high spatial frequencies.
The "gating" of the MR signals thus prolongs the period of time required for the acquisition of all MR signals. The smaller the displacement from the reference position that is tolerated for the acquisition of the MR signals, the more the movement artefacts will be reduced, but also the longer the examination time will be. Therefore, in this method a compromise must be made between image quality and examination time.


A brush and cleaning tool for removing hair accumulating in and between the bristles of the brush in a way that is non-strenuous for the user and non-damaging to the brush.

Typically, when using a hairbrush, some amount of human hair will detach from the user's scalp and deposit into the bristles of the brush. After extensive use of the brush, these hair deposits can become matted about the roots of the brush bristles and begin layering. Eventually, these hair deposits will affect the performance of the brush by reducing the length of bristle that remains exposed to penetrate hair that is to be styled. So, cleaning the bristles needs to be done periodically.
Often, combs, forks or other elongate, prong-like implements are used, improvisationally, to remove such deposited hair. However, since such devices were not made for the purpose of removing hair from brushes, they are often not dimensioned to neatly insert between the rows of brush bristles, where hair most deposits, and are often not constructed to be subjected to forces experienced in raking matted hair from brushes, they may tend to break or otherwise deform under the stresses of brush cleaning activity. Furthermore, since they were intended to accompany a hairbrush as a cleaning tool, a suitably configured improvisational device may not readily available for use at a given moment in which a user wants to clean his or her brush.
Consequently, the present inventor recognizes an outstanding need to provide a brush cleaning tool that is constructed to withstand the rigors of brush cleaning activity and, in fact, embody a design that make the brush cleaning exercise less strenuous than it typically has been previously. He further recognizes a need to provide such a cleaning tool and a brush that is made to conveniently house the tool within when the tool is not in use. The present invention substantially fulfills these needs.


A spacer includes a base, at least a supporting column, and at least a clamp. The base includes at least a bridge-shaped portion and at least a flat portion. The bridge-shaped portion includes a bridge top surface, and two curving sidewalls respectively extend from two ends of the bridge top surface and connect with the flat portion. The supporting column is disposed on the bridge top surface of the base. The clamp is disposed on the flat portion of the base. A backlight module using the same spacers is also provided. The backlight module has a reflective plate having a plurality of projections parallel to linear light sources. The spacers are coupled to the projections and support a diffusing plate. Curving sidewalls of the spacers and the adjacent curving surface of the projections facing the corresponding light sources would give the present spacer and backlight module have good optical uniformity.

In a liquid crystal display device, liquid crystal is a substance that does not itself illuminate light. Instead, the liquid crystal relies on reflecting light from a light source, thereby displaying images and data. In the case of a typical liquid crystal display device, a backlight module powered by electricity supplies the needed light.
Typically, there are two types of backlight systems: an edge lighting type and a bottom-lighting type. The edge-lighting type of backlight system is widely used in small and medium size liquid crystal display for merits on its small weight, thin body and low energy cost. Large size liquid crystal display seldom uses the edge-lighting backlight system because the results based on the merits mentioned above is poor. Furthermore, the large size edge-lighting type backlight system seldom satisfies the requirement of light brightness and optical uniformity. Nowadays, the market demand for larger size liquid crystal display has increased progressively. Therefore, the bottom-lighting type of backlight system needs to be developed to satisfy the market demand.
Referring to FIG. 1, a typical bottom-lighting backlight module 10 is shown. The backlight module 10 includes a frame 11, a reflective plate 12, a diffusing plate 13, and a plurality of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 15. The frame 11 includes a flat substrate 112 and a number of circumferential sidewalls 114 extend from the substrate 112 to define an opening 116. The reflective plate 12 is disposed on the substrate 112 of the frame 11. The diffusing plate 13 is disposed on the opening 116 of the frame 11. The cold cathode fluorescent lamps 15 are positioned in the frame 11 under the diffusing plate 13. The diffusing plate 13 is used for uniformly diffusing the light emitted from the plurality of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 15.
However, in large sized backlight module, lengths of the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 15 are significantly long. Longer cold cathode fluorescent lamps 15 will distort at a higher range than its maximum flexibility causing it to break when subjected to vibrations from the liquid crystal display device. In addition, the sidewalls 114 of the frame 11 usually does not lend enough support to prevent the diffusing plate 13 from collapsing due to gravity, thus, the backlight module 10 may further includes a plurality of spacers disposed between the substrate 112 of the frame 11 and the diffusing plate 13, supporting the diffusing plate 13 and simultaneously clamping the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 15 to the reflective plate 12.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, another typical bottom-lighting backlight module 30 is shown. The backlight module 30 includes a frame 31, a reflective plate 32, a diffusing plate 33, a plurality of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 35, and a plurality of spacers 20. The backlight module 30 is the same as the backlight module 10, except that the backlight module 30 further includes a predetermined amount of spacers 20 disposed between a substrate (not labeled) of the frame 31 and the diffusing plate 33. Each spacer 20 includes a flat base 22, a supporting column 24, two clamps 26, and two fasteners 28. The supporting column 24 is disposed on a middle portion of an upper surface of the flat base 22 for supporting the diffusing plate 33. The two clamps 26 are respectively disposed on two ends of the upper surface of the flat base 22 for fixing the two adjacent cold cathode fluorescent lamps 35. The fasteners 28 are disposed on two ends of the bottom surface of the flat base 22. The frame 31 and the reflective plate 32 respectively define a plurality of holes (not labeled) therein for receiving the fasteners 28. The spacers 20 are secured in the reflective plate 32 and in the substrate of the frame 31 by securing the fasteners 28 into the corresponding holes (not labeled) thereof.
However, the spacers 20 can be only used in backlight modules employing flat reflective plates, and such backlight modules has a lower optical uniformity.
What is needed, therefore, is a spacer, and backlight module using the same that overcome the above mentioned disadvantage.

Spacer and backlight module using the same


The present invention provides a server load balancing apparatus using MPLS session labels. The server load balancing apparatus includes a packet analyzing unit, a load balancing processing unit, a session label switching unit, a session managing unit, and a session label managing unit. The packet analyzing unit inspects whether a session label has been attached to a received packet, analyzes header information of the received packet to learn session information, and attaches a session label to a header of the received packet. The load balancing processing unit assigns a server to a session of the received packet without the session label attached. The session label switching unit hardware-switches the received packet with the session label attached using only the session label information. The session managing unit manages and maintains relevant information and states of sessions. The session label managing unit manages the session label.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a load balancing apparatus and method, and more particularly to a server load balancing apparatus and method using multi-protocol label switching session labels, which, when packets are transmitted from a plurality of clients to a plurality of servers through the Internet, distributes loads among the servers by attaching the multi-protocol label switching session labels to the headers of the packets in front of the servers and determining a server for connection using session label information.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As various Internet-based multimedia services and e-commerce have been popularized, a plurality of web servers constitutes a server farm having a cluster form, and a server load balancing apparatus is generally located in front of the server farm.
The server load balancing apparatus located in front of the servers to balance service or content requests from clients analyzes the information of packets received from the clients and distributes the requests among the servers using various load balancing algorithms. In this case, the continuation of a session should be maintained.
For this purpose, a conventional load balancing apparatus analyzes session information, such as Internet Protocol (IP) address information, transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port numbers, hyper text transfer protocol (http) information and cookie information, by analyzing the information of all packets ranging from a second layer to a seventh layer. If a new session is created, the server load balancing apparatus assigns a server to the new session using a server load balancing algorithm, and stores the information in a session management table. That is, all the packets undergo a process of determining which server the packet is transmitted to through a session information analysis or a session management table search.
However, the conventional load balancing apparatus requires additional complicated software processes of comparing and analyzing the header information of all packets ranging from a second layer to a seventh layer, thus reducing the performance of the loading balancing apparatus.
Another important function of the conventional load balancing apparatus is the function of converting the IP addresses of the servers into a virtual IP address. That is, when the clients connect with the servers, the clients use information about the virtual IP address of the server load balancing apparatus rather than the actual IP addresses of the servers, so that the server load balancing apparatus performs the function of converting the IP addresses of the actual servers into the virtual IP address of the server load balancing apparatus while all packets are exchanged between the clients and the servers. As a result, this is advantageous in that the IP addresses of the actual servers are not disclosed to the public, so that the servers are protected from hacking and changes in the construction information of the actual server farm do not affect the clients.
However, the conventional load balancing apparatus is problematic in that it should perform additional processes of intercepting all the packets and changing destination or source IP addresses information from the IP addresses of the actual servers to the virtual IP address of the server load balancing apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,587,866 B1 entitled "Method for distributing packets to server nodes using network client affinity and packet distribution table" discloses a method of distributing packets among servers in a server farm. U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,084 B1 entitled "Dynamic load balancer for multiple network servers" provides a method and system for monitoring the loads of servers and distributing packets to a server having the lowest load when a load balancing system located in front of a server farm consisting of a plurality of servers distributes packets among the servers. However, the preceding patents still have the problems of the prior art, and do not reduce processing overhead caused while analyzing the header information of all the packets for the load balancing.

Server load balancing apparatus and method using MPLS session

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A combination includes a dispenser package having a sheet of material with an opening for dispensing at least one item therefrom and a cap assembly attached to the sheet of material and surrounding the opening, the cap assembly including a flange. The combination also includes a holder including a front wall having an interior face, an exterior face and an aperture extending between the interior and exterior faces. The dispenser package is insertable into the holder so that a portion of the cap assembly passes through the aperture of the front wall with the sheet of material opposing the interior face of the holder and the flange opposing the exterior face of the holder, wherein the flange includes a portion that extends beyond the aperture of the front wall for preventing the flange from passing through the aperture when the dispenser package is inserted into the holder.

The present invention is generally directed to dispenser packages that hold sheets, towels, towelettes, tissues, napkins or wipes and is particularly directed to a holder used to secure such dispenser packages.
Items such as sheets, towels, towelettes, tissues, napkins and wipes are frequently used by individuals for personal hygiene. There have been many efforts directed to providing convenient packages and/or dispensers for such items. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,278,011; 2,564,997; 5,065,970 and 5,332,138 all disclose tissue containers that may be secured to a sun visor of an automobile. U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,318 discloses a tissue holder that is attachable to the edge of a table, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,407 discloses a tissue dispenser that is attachable to an individual's wrist.
In many instances, an individual may desire to use a moist tissue or towelette for personal hygiene, cosmetic purposes, household cleaning applications and the like. In response to this demand, a wide variety of moisture-impermeable packages have been developed for storing moisture-impregnated items. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,908; 3,836,044; and 3,841,466 disclose such packages. However, the packages disclosed in the above-mentioned patents provide for bulk packaging of moisture-impregnated towels. As a result, these packages cannot be easily attached to another object, such as a sun visor or the edge of a table.
In view of the above problems, there have been many efforts directed to providing user-friendly dispenser packages. For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,156,493 and 4,185,754, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, teach hermetically sealed packages that have reclosable covers. In certain preferred embodiments, the cover may be opened for removing one or more moisture-impregnated towels, and then reclosed to keep the remaining towels moist. The packages are typically made of one or more sheets of a flexible material such as vinyl or foil. As a result, the packages tend to collapse as the towels are removed.
In many instances, the packages disclosed in the '493 and '754 patents are secured in holders. When these packages are placed in a holder, the holder may exert forces on the flexible material portion of the package, thereby making it difficult to remove moist towels. In addition, as towels are emptied from the package, the package may fall out of the holder and/or move away from the dispensing opening in the holder, thereby making it extremely difficult to access the towels remaining in the package.
Thus, there is a need for a holder for a dispenser package that both reliably secures the package and enables the towels packaged therein to be easily dispensed from the package. There is also a need for a holder that maintains the dispenser package in place relative to the holder as the towels are depleted from the package. There is also a need for a holder having a design that facilitates replacing a depleted dispenser package with a refill package.


A body spin detection device for a projectile, the device including a perturbing element and a detection element electrically connected to detection circuitry in the projectile. The detection circuitry configured to receive, via the detection element, a first and second input signals and determine that the first input signal is different from the second input signal based on signal characteristics for the first and second input signals. The detection circuitry is further configured to determine a spin rate for at least one of the despun control portion and the chassis by determining a time period between receiving the first input signal and the second input signal.

In various instances, non-boosted barrel-fired projectiles, such as bullets, shells, or other projectiles, are spin-stabilized to improve their accuracy via improved in-flight projectile stability. Generally, these projectiles are fired from a rifled barrel where rifled grooves grip the projectile and force it to spin at a high rate about a central projectile axis as it is pushed down the bore of the barrel by propellant gasses. This process imparts a spin to the projectile as it passes through the bore and, as such, the projectile is stabilized for flight.
Spin stabilized guided projectiles fired from rifled barrels typically have a main body portion and a flight control portion rotatable with respect to the main body. The rifling in the barrel rotates the projectile in a first direction by way of engagement with the main body portion or sabots containing the projectile. Upon firing, the main body portion is spun in a first rotational direction at a spin rate based on rifling and muzzle velocity. In some cases, the spin rate may exceed 10 kHz. The flight control portion of the projectile has aerodynamic surfaces, such as fins, to despin the flight control portion using oncoming airflow after the projectile is fired. The differential in spinning between the flight control portion and the main body portion may provide power for operating systems in the projectile. In some instances, the spin rate of the flight control portion may be generally slowed or braked to 0 Hz, with respect to earth, by a braking system, and have an aerodynamic surface that may be appropriately positioned, that is, positioned in a desired rotational area, for changing the direction of the projectile.
Further improvements are always welcome for enhancing accuracy, allowing miniaturization, increasing range, providing cost savings and improved reliability of guided ammunition.


A propulsion system consisting of a handle, trigger, receiver, hammer assembly, spring, fastener and plunger used for propelling small portions of semi-solid biodegradable objects such as a potato or apple. The combination of these parts provides a compact yet easy to use system for loading and shooting a small piece (otherwise known as the Slug) of the semi-solid biodegradable object. It also is a platform to generate, store and release in a controlled manor potential energy with the end result being to compress a separate, self resetting compression chamber filled with air and propel the small portions of the semi-solid biodegradable object from the device.

In the 1950's a toy was mass-produced that was designed to core and shoot a portion of a potato (a slug) or any other semi-solid biodegradable object. Primarily known as the "Spud Gun", this all-metal toy was very popular in its time with kids of all ages. Its basic principle was to core a small slug of the potato using the hollow round tip of the shooter. Then using a two-part plunger system it would compress ordinary air behind the slug and therefore propel the slug out of the gun in the direction aimed. This toy enjoyed wide popularity along with other shooting toys from that generation such as Rubber Band Guns, Sling Shots and BB Guns. In recent years, the "Spud Gun" has enjoyed a re-birth as the same basic toy only now manufactured in plastic and marketed as a "retro" toy in order to capture the memories of those who had them as kids and hopefully to be shared with a new generation of kids. This new generation of "Spud Gun" can easily be purchased at most novelty stores or through many Internet sites.
In general, the "Spud Gun" was effective in shooting the slug of the semi-solid biodegradable object. Unfortunately, the reality of the matter was that it did not perform very well because of a few inherent design flaws. There are three main flaws in the original design that needed to be addressed in order to make the "Spud Gun" a more effective shooter. The use of the Human hand to generate the necessary power to propel the slug is the first. This is followed by the inaccuracy of the shooter when trying to hit a target because the human hand is used to generate the needed energy to propel the slug and the method by which the shooter was loaded in order to seal enough air inside to propel the slug.
The primary source of power in the original design in order to compress the air pocket and propel the slug was the human hand. While the hand is a great source for power and readily available it is not a great tool when required to generate the needed energy to propel the slug with the design of the vintage "Spud Gun". You just could not get very much power to propel the slug very far. The "Spud Gun" used the human hand in a squeezing motion to generate the power. This motion is used to compress an air pocket that has been sealed behind the slug inside the compression chamber. When enough pressure was generated the slug would pop out of the tip of the toy and be propelled in the desired direction. Unfortunately, you can only get so much force out of the hand with this motion. This group of muscle in the hand is not as strong or fast as other potential sources of energy.
Since the original shooter was made from two primary parts and since these parts were designed to be squeezed together it was very easy to reduce the size of the compression chamber while trying loading the projectile. Loading was accomplished by jamming the hollow tip of the shooter into the semi-solid biodegradable object and breaking of the core that was cut and wedged into the hollow tip of the shooter. The motion of jamming the tip into the semi-solid biodegradable object frequently results in the compression chamber inside the unit being reduced in size as the two main pieces of the shooter were pressed together in order to penetrate the skin of the semi-solid biodegradable object. Once the chamber had been compressed and the hollow tip of the shooter sealed by the cored semi-solid biodegradable projectile the gun was even harder to use because you no longer had as much air in the compression chamber to compress and therefore propel the slug. Because of this the gun had to be unloaded and extra effort had to be made while loading the shooter in order to keep the two halves from compressing while the slug was loaded. This was especially difficult for younger users of the toy as well as it hindered the efficiency of the toy.
The Last flaw was again related to the use of the Human hand for propulsion. The inherent "jerking" motion required to squeeze the human hand in a fast strong motion did not allow the hand to maintain a steady position and therefore an accurate aim. This jerking motion generally moved the tip of the shooter and changes the trajectory in which the projectile was intended to go. In order to maintain a steady aim while shooting you had to somehow maintain a smooth squeezing motion when trying to generate the most power from you hand. That was the only way to maximize the distance at which the projectile was launched while maintaining some sort of accurate aim. This inherently reduced the power generating by the hand and once again reduced the efficiency of the shooter.
All of these factors were compounded when the person using the toy was a child, as children generally do not have large strong hands that allow the user to compensate for these design flaws. Generally speaking, the best that these shooters could propel the semi-solid biodegradable slug is not much more then 15 feet.

Semi-solid biodegradable slug propulsion device


This invention is related to an apparatus and method for swimming by use of a swimming aid comprising an anchoring article and handlebars that are rotated side-to-side by the user. The side-to-side rotation of the handlebars causes a vertical tail fin to move laterally through the water, displacing water, and propelling the user in a forward direction. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, foldable swim fins are attached to the handlebars. These swim fins can rotate about a horizontal axis such that they displace water when the handlebars are rotated in one direction and rotate horizontally 90 degrees to minimize resistance when the handlebars are rotated in the opposite direction.

Over the years, a variety of designs have been developed that aim to assist a swimmer in aquatic propulsion. However, in comparison to these previous designs, the invention described herein achieves aquatic propulsion generated by the user's upper body motions which power a tail fin. While other systems use energy generated by a user's lower body in order to swing a tail fin to achieve forward propulsion, this invention uses handlebars which, when rotated, swing connecting members from side-to-side, propelling the swimmer forward. In an embodiment of the invention, the handlebars also feature collapsible fins on each handle, wherein when one side of the handlebar is moving forward, the fin on that side folds into a horizontal position to minimize resistance, while the collapsible fin on the other side folds up or down and abuts the handlebar to move water as the handlebar rotates and increase the thrust generated by the apparatus.
Other inventions have also recognized the benefit of using a tail fin to aid in swimming. However, those inventions are easily distinguishable from the present invention.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,781,637 ("the '637 patent") discloses a hydrofoil fin that attaches to a user's feet and propels the swimmer forward using a repetitive up and down undulation with his or her legs. The '637 patent is controlled and powered by a user's lower body muscles and movement, as opposed to the present invention, which is powered by the upper body motions of the user.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,530 ("the '530 patent") discloses an apparatus designed to flap a tail fin in a vertical manner, similar to a dolphin's tail fin. The apparatus in the '530 patent achieves this motion through the movement of the user's hips in reference to an attached anchoring article. In contrast, in the present invention, the use of a side-to-side moving fin allows the swimmer to move through the water using his upper body by rotating handlebars.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,531 ("the '531 patent") discloses a dolphin-tail style swim fin that can be powered by holding a separate fin in each hand and moving the fins independently. Unlike the invention of the '531 patent, the present invention uses a fin shaped like the caudal fin of a shark.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,503 ("the '503 patent") discloses a paddle with two blades that the user operates to propel themselves forward, as well as a vertical blade attached to both feet to provide propulsion in cooperation with the arm strokes. The present invention is distinguishable from the '503 patent due to the propulsion being provided solely from movements of the user's upper body. Additionally, in the present invention, the motion of the fin is a side-to-side horizontal motion.


Methods for the prediction of the frequency of high order resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) diagnostic modes are used to limit the band width of diagnostic testing at high order mode frequencies. Testing of parts at low order frequency modes is used to calculate part dimensions, and then these calculated part dimensions are used to predict high order diagnostic mode frequencies. Lower order mode frequencies are used to predict high order diagnostic mode frequencies.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of nondestructive testing by use of a resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS). RUS is to be distinguished from ultrasonic testing in that it subjects an object to ultrasonic vibrations and which detects ultrasonic vibrations emitted at a natural frequency of the object.
The term RUS (resonant ultrasound spectroscopy) is defined as: an application of a continuous sweep of frequencies as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,148 or in steps as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,880, and the measurement is observation of the response of the object to the frequency which is applied.
2. Prior Art
The art of resonant ultrasound spectroscopy has been developed as previously disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,976,148; 5,408,880: 5,355,731; 5,062,296; and 5,425,272. Each of these patents is incorporated herein by reference.
In addition, the Assignee of this application has filed a U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/075,159 filed Jun. 10, 1993 entitled "Method for Resonant Measurement", now U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,763 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/409,218 filed Mar. 23, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,423 entitled "Method for Resonant Measurement" which cover further improvements in the RUS technology. These pending applications are also incorporated herein by reference.
Resonant Inspection using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS) uses higher order modes (high frequencies) to detect small defects. RI does this by transmitting CW energy to the object. The frequency is swept across the frequency range of interest. The part vibrates when the drive matches the frequency of one of its characteristic modes. Each mode is measured independently and RI uses sensitive receivers, to accurately measure hundreds of modes. As a result, RI can measure very small defects (or small changes in dimensions).
There are major differences among other prior art techniques in how the energy is used to detect defects. Prior art systems include ultrasonic time of flight, ultrasonic imaging, and use of impulse vibrations. Each of these are discussed below.
Ultrasonic Time of Flight is essentially an acoustical radar (more properly, a sonar). A pulse of acoustical energy is transmitted into the object being tested. The pulse travels through the object until it reaches a discontinuity, such as the other side of the object or a flaw within the object. The discontinuity reflects the pulse and the return (echo) is sensed. The time between the transmission of the pulse and its return, is proportional to the distance to the discontinuity. Application of this technique to a wall as the transmitter/receiver moves along the wall, can be effective for sensing the thickness of the wall, and can present a profile of the wall thickness. The technique is referred to by those in the art as ultrasonic because the pulse widths must be short compared to the propagation time, which corresponds to frequencies beyond human hearing (>20 kHz).
Ultrasonic Imaging is where the receiver is placed on the other side of the object from the transmitter, that is opposite the transmitter. If the setup is such that the reflections off the surfaces can be ignored, and the transmitter and receiver are scanned in step, across the surface, then the signal obtained by receiver is an outline (image) of the discontinuity. Again practical considerations require that ultrasonic frequencies be used.
Impulse Vibrations applies a pulse of acoustical energy, usually by striking a sharp blow to an object. This approximates a mathematical impulse function, so the response is the transfer function of the object. In response, the object vibrates in the form of a damped sinusoid which contains all of the frequencies in the transfer function, that is all of the object's vibrational modes. If a defect is present the modes should be effected. It is difficult to obtain any useful information about defects directly from the damped sinusoid. Usually, this time domain wave form is transformed to the frequency domain using a Fourier Transform. However, the amplitude of the sinusoid is dominated by the amplitude of the first resonant mode and the process is inherently noisy, so only the first few modes can be accurately computed. This is sometimes enough to detect large defects, but not small defects.

Detection of defects using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy at predicted high order modes


Freshening compositions comprising a malodor binding polymer and an aqueous carrier, wherein the composition is essentially free of any material that would soil or stain fabric; and methods thereof are provided. In some embodiments, the malodor binding polymer comprises a homopolymeric polyethylenimine having a molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 2,000,000. In some embodiments, the freshening composition includes a buffering agent providing a pH of about 6 to about 8. Such freshening compositions may be used to reduce malodor and/or microbes on inanimate surfaces or in the air.

Freshening products for reducing or masking malodors on fabrics and in air are currently available and are described in the patent literature. The Procter & Gamble Company sells fabric and air freshening products under the FEBREZE® brand name. These products typically contain perfume, solubilizer, cyclodextrin, and an aqueous carrier. S. C. Johnson sells products such as Glade® Fabric and Air Odor Eliminator and Oust® Surface Disinfectant and Air Sanitizer. Reckitt-Benckiser sells products such as Lysol® Disinfectant Spray.
Certain freshening compositions do not effectively neutralize a broad range of malodors on fabrics and in the air. Further, certain freshening compositions may cause fabrics to turn yellow or brown under natural light and/or make fabric susceptible to soiling, particularly products that contain certain types or amounts of aldehydes and/or surfactants.
There remains a need for improved freshening compositions that neutralize a broad range of malodors, including malodors caused by microbes, and that provide a hedonic benefit, while avoiding soiling and staining of fabrics that may be contacted by the freshening composition.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Freshening compositions comprising malodor binding polymers


Provided is a method for focusing a camera lens assembly, the focusing method including assembling a lens and a camera device; measuring an actual distance between the lens and the camera device in an assembled position; inputting a difference of the actual distance from a focal length of the lens; and when power is applied to the camera lens assembly, adjusting a distance between the lens and the camera device according to the offset value, such that the distance between the lens and the camera device becomes equal to the focal length of the lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a camera lens assembly, and more particularly to a camera lens assembly mounted to a portable personal device, such as a cellular phone or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and an autofocusing method therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, it has been possible to reduce the size and weight of a camera, which is a device that photographs a subject, by using a camera device, such as a Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) or a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) to capture an image of a subject. Accordingly, a camera lens assembly is mounted to a portable personal device, such as a cellular phone or a PDA, and enables a user of the portable personal device to conveniently photograph a subject. With the growth of technology for such a camera device, a portable personal device has encroached on the digital camera market.
Due to difficulties in reducing the size and weight of a lens assembly, there have been limitations in incorporating an optical zoom function into a compact and lightweight camera lens assembly. However, as the size of a lens is reduced and the precision of a lens driving apparatus is improved, the optical zoom function, an autofocusing function, and other camera functions are being incorporated into camera lens assemblies mounted to portable personal devices. Among others, the autofocusing function has gradually become an essential function for a camera lens assembly mounted to a portable personal device. The autofocusing function automatically adjusts the distance between a lens and a camera device according to a distance between the camera device and a subject, thereby allowing an image of the subject to be clearly projected onto an image plane.
In manufacturing a camera lens assembly, setting the distance between a lens and a camera device is a main factor determining the quality of the camera lens assembly. In other words, independent of the autofocusing function, a camera lens assembly including a camera device and a lens must be designed such that the distance between the lens and the camera device corresponds to the focal length of the lens when the assembly is initially driven.
Technology related to such initial focusing is disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 773,405, filed on Nov. 22, 2006 (hereinafter, '405). According to the '405 patent, an operator fixes the initial position of a lens through an initial focusing, in which the manufacture of a camera module is finished. Then, the finished camera module passes through a pre-delivery quality inspection for determining whether the initial focusing of the camera module was accurately performed, and then the camera module is delivered from the factory. With regard to this initial focusing and inspection, equipment, such as an index table, an adjustment unit, and a rotating unit driven by a cylinder, is required for the initial focusing, and particularly a module holder for facilitating the initial focusing is described in the above patent.
However, since the above-described conventional camera lens assembly process requires separate machinery (e.g. the module holder) for the initial focusing in the assembled state, the conventional camera lens assembly process has a disadvantage in that it requires a complex structure and expensive manufacturing equipment, such as an index table, an adjustment unit, and a rotating unit. Moreover, when the standard external dimension of a camera lens assembly is changed, a separate jig or holder must be manufactured accordingly, which increases costs. Furthermore, since an operator must manually perform focusing for each camera lens assembly, there is a disadvantage in that a large amount of time and labor are required for the manufacture of a camera lens assembly.

Camera lens assembly and autofocusing method therefor


A ferroelectric memory device includes a top electrode, a bottom electrode, a ferroelectric film which is sandwiched between the top and bottom electrodes, includes a first portion having a side surface flushed with a side surface of the top electrode and a second portion having a side surface flushed with a side surface of the bottom electrode, and has a step formed by making the side surface of the second portion project outward from the side surface of the first portion, a top mask which is provided on the top electrode, and a side mask which is provided on part of a side surface of the top mask, the side surfaces of the top electrode and the first portion of the ferroelectric film and has a top at a lower level than a top of the top mask and at a higher level than a top of the top electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ferroelectric memory device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fine cell formation is required along with a recent increase in degree of integration of ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) devices. It is therefore essential to form ferroelectric capacitors by a batch process using one-mask (1PEP). However, in capacitors formed by a one-mask process, etching progresses also in the horizontal direction. Hence, variations in characteristics caused by damage and variations in dimensions pose a problem.
In, e.g., FIG. 2 of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-36026, the above-described damage and variations in dimensions are improved. However, in the structure disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-36026, the cell size is not sufficiently reduced in the horizontal direction (FIG. 9).

Ferroelectric memory device and method of manufacturing the same


The present invention contemplates a novel method and device that employs a coordinate scanner to monitor an identifiable surface and communicate to a computer the exact location of the placement of a pointer on any identified surface and perform a variety of preprogrammed responses. This surface is identified to a computer by identifying indicia such as a bar code or other means such as user input. The computer will perform preprogrammed electronic responses to identified points on the surface by matching the identified point on the surface with an electronic version of the surface in memory. The designated surface may be flat or it may consist of a contoured surface in a wide variety of sizes and materials. The designated surface may be a test enabling answers by point designation or an advertisement enabling ordering by designating products on the surface or other types of indicia on a surface.

Computer systems that receive and process input data are well known in the art. Typically such systems include a central processing unit (CPU), persistent read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), at least one bus interconnecting the CPU, the memory, and at least one input port to which a device is coupled for input data and commands, and output ports to which a monitor and speakers are connected to display results. Traditional techniques for inputting data have included use of a keyboard, mouse, joystick, remote control device, electronic pen, touch panel, pad or display screen, switches and knobs, and more recently handwriting recognition and voice recognition devices. However, such input devices are ill designed to work in combination with indicia and surfaces which users may be using and on which they may require additional information.
Computer systems and computer type systems have recently found their way into a new generation of electronic devices including interactive TV, toys for both education and entertainment, books, magazines, electronic cash registers, synthetic music generators, handheld portable devices including personal digital assistants (PDA), and wireless telephones. Consequently, conventional input methods and devices are not always appropriate or convenient when used with such systems.
This invention offers the unique capability, without a physical keyboard or mouse, of allowing the user to be able to point with an implement, or in some cases a finger, to any point on an identified surface and have the coordinate designator, which in this application is more generally called a scanner, transfer the coordinates designated into the computer to be matched with a virtual copy of the surface and thereafter generate an action by the computer based on the indica the computer determines is located at the designated coordinate. While the term scanner is used throughout this application to describe a means to electronically determine the point of designation on the surface by the user and match that point of designation with a point in a memory resident surface. Such devices could include sonic devices which determine a designated coordinate using sound from one or a plurality of sources, laser scanners, CCD (Charge Couple Devices), camera-based readers to optically digitize the selected surface, digitizer pads which use an energized grid to determine pointer location, and a host of other devices that could be used to both scan the surface for the designated point of by the pointer and read the surface identifier to determine the matching memorized surface to the surface being used.
The designated coordinate by the user on an identified surface is matched to the designated coordinate in a memory resident preprogrammed substantially similar virtual surface which identifies the indicia located at the coordinate chosen by the user. Software then activates a preprogrammed action or a function associated or programmed for response to the designation of the point or surface area on the identified surface. This action can be an execution of any computer program, looking up information on the identified indica in memory or on the internet, playing video, initiating speakers to pronounce the word or indica identified, or availing an infinite number of other informational media for the user.
Identification of the designated surface being used is made by placing means for surface identification such as identification indicia on the surface in front of the scanner such as an identification bar code or letter code or other means to identify the surface viewed by the scanner to the computing device operatively communicating with the scanner. At startup, the scanner, or a component thereon adapted to read the means for identification of the surface, locates the identification indica, transfers that information to the computer which then matches the identification indicia to a memory resident preprogrammed designated surface programmed in the computer. The memory resident surface identifies to the computer and software therein each point on the identified surface and the indicia which resides at that given point. Consequently, the user, by placing a finger or other pointer at any point on the identified surface, causes the computer and software to identify the indica located at that point on the surface and to take some action in relation to the identified indica for the user. Or, the user could be given numbers or letters or codes to input the surface identification.


A computer-implemented method, carried out by one or more processors, for managing replication configurations. In an embodiment, the method comprises receiving, by one or more processors, a replication configuration for replicating data, wherein the replication configuration defines at least a target table in a target database based on a source table in a source database; initializing, by one or more processors, a federated view, wherein the federated view is based on at least the source table in the source database as defined in the replication configuration; utilizing, by one or more processors, the federated view to satisfy requesting applications, where requesting applications obtain data from the federated view; responsive to determining the replication of data is in spec, utilizing, by one or more processors, the target table in the target database to satisfy requesting applications.

A typical replication process involves replicating data from a source database to a target database, where often there can be a transformation process. A replication configuration defines a set of data that should be available in the target database based on a set of data available in the source database. There can be situations that impact the availability of the set of data in the target database. For example, when the replication configuration is altered, there often will be new data that is available in the source database that is not available in the target database. A new replication configuration is created to define the new data in addition to the data previously defined in the original replication configuration.
The data as previously defined by the original replication configuration is not available until the new replication configuration is fulfilled. The data from the original replication configuration not being available can also be referenced to as data outage. Currently, an administrative user that created the original replication configuration has to determine when to introduce the new replication configuration, such that the data outage does not interfere with applications which can idle while waiting to access the data in the target database. The other issues with new replication configurations are possible replication latencies in the data being replicated into the target database, as well as possible replication errors that can occur.

Managing replication configuration availability

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention relates to a holder for a mobile radio terminal and an antenna coupler for a mobile radio terminal. The holder is provided with an interface for connection of an external antenna, in particular of a motor vehicle antenna, and with a coupling structure for electromagnetic coupling of RF signals between the holder and the antenna of a mobile radio terminal which is located in the holder. The coupling structure is arranged in the holder in such a way that, when the mobile radio terminal is inserted, the coupling structure is positioned in the vicinity of the mobile radio terminal. The coupling structure is in the form of a two-layer or multilayer coupling structure with two or more coupling structure elements arranged one above the other.

Nowadays, a very wide range of variations and embodiments of mobile radio terminals are available. Some of these mobile radio terminals are not equipped with an antenna socket for connection of an external antenna.
In order to make it possible to operate these mobile radio terminals with an external antenna despite this, antenna couplers are known which allow electromagnetic coupling of RF signals between the antenna coupler and the antenna of the mobile radio terminal.
By way of example, DE 10 037 241 A1 describes a holder for a cellular telephone for installation in a passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, which holder is equipped with a coupling antenna. This coupling antenna allows capacitive coupling of the RF signal between the antenna of the mobile radio terminal and the holder for the cellular telephone when the mobile radio terminal is inserted. A connecting line connects the coupling antenna to an external antenna. The holder for a cellular telephone has an attachment element, for example a magnet, which holds the mobile radio terminal in the holder for a cellular telephone.
In this case, the coupling antenna comprises a dipole structure with an electrical length of λ/4, which is composed of metal or of an electrically highly conductive plastic and is angled. In this case, at least part of the coupling antenna runs in a holding element on the upper face of the holder for a cellular telephone, so that not only are those RF signals which are emitted laterally from the mobile radio antenna injected, but also the RF signals which are emitted upwards. This improves the transmission quality of the RF signals.
DE 19 953 648 A1 describes a modular dual-band planar coupler for coupling an external antenna to a mobile radio terminal. This antenna coupler comprises a conductive plate or foil with a conductive structure which is in the form of a slot, which are composed of one or more conductive waveguide segments in the form of slots, with the inner conductor and the outer conductor of a coaxial waveguide each being conductively connected to the conductive plate or foil on the opposite edges of the slotted conductor. The axis of the inner conductor is in this case guided orthogonally with respect to the normal to the surface of the conductive plate or foil, and at right angles to the axis of the slotted conductor. The structured conductive plate or foil is arranged without making any conductive contact and parallel to the surface of the system-integrated object antenna element and above the antenna element apparatus of the object antenna element.
Furthermore, antenna couplers in the form of coils or metal eyes are known, which are fitted to the antenna of a mobile telephone.
The invention is now based on the object of connecting a mobile radio terminal which is not equipped with an antenna socket to an external antenna, and of keeping the coupling loss as small as possible in the process.

Antenna coupler and mount for mobile radio terminals

Audioton Kebelwerk GmbH Zweigniederlassung Scheinfeld


An electrostatic spraying device includes: a high-voltage generation device for applying a voltage between a spray electrode and a reference electrode; and a controller that controls an output power of the high-voltage generation device based on operation environment information indicating at least one of (i) a surrounding environment of the device and (ii) an operation state of a power supply that supplies power to the device, independently of a current value and a voltage value at the spray electrode and the reference electrode.

Conventionally, a spraying device for spraying a liquid in a container from a nozzle has been applied to a wide range of fields. An electrostatic spraying device that atomizes a liquid by electro hydrodynamics (EHD) and sprays it is known as this type of spraying device. This electrostatic spraying device generates an electric field in the vicinity of the tip of the nozzle and uses the electric field to atomize and spray the liquid at the tip of the nozzle. As a document disclosing such an electrostatic spraying device, Patent Document 1 is known.
The electrostatic spraying device of Patent Document 1 includes a current feedback circuit, and the current feedback circuit measures the current value of the reference electrode. Since in the electrostatic spraying device of Patent Document 1 the charge is balanced, this current value is measured and referenced so that the current at the spray electrode can be accurately identified. In the electrostatic spraying device of Patent Document 1, the stability of spraying is enhanced by using feedback control for keeping the current value at the spray electrode at a constant value.


A force-feedback supply apparatus and an image correcting method are provided in which sites to which a force-feedback is supplied can be properly displayed in accordance with a virtual reality image by correcting the virtual reality image in consideration of a thickness of a force-feedback supply section. In the force-feedback supply apparatus and an image correcting method, joint angles of a force-feedback supply means when a user's hand and fingers are at a reference posture and at a real grasp position are detected by means of encoders arranged in joint sections, positions of the user's fingertips at each posture are calculated on the basis of the detection data, the joint angles at a virtual grasp position are calculated, quantity of deviation in the joint angles between the real grasp position and the virtual grasp position is calculated, and a conversion rule for correcting the virtual reality image is determined on the basis of the quantity of deviation.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a force-feedback supply apparatus and an image correcting method in the force-feedback supply apparatus, and more specifically to a force-feedback supply apparatus and an image correcting method in the force-feedback supply apparatus used for a virtual reality system.
2. Description of the Related Art
As conventional force-feedback supply apparatuses, a force-feedback supply apparatus using actuators such as motors and clutches (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-246674), a force-feedback supply apparatus using fluids such as air or liquid (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-99240), a force-feedback supply apparatus using wires and electric motors reeling the wires (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-324622), and so on are disclosed. Each of these express interactions between an operator and a target object using elasticity and viscosity.
However, in a case where force-feedback supply sections are mounted to cover sites (for example, fingertips, etc.) to which the force-feedback is supplied as in the conventional force-feedback supply apparatus described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-99240 or Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-324622, when positions of the sites are detected to fetch the sites in a virtual reality image, there is a problem that in consideration of volumes or thicknesses thereof, the sites should be displayed in a virtual reality space.
That is, in the conventional force-feedback supply apparatus, since the virtual reality image is generated and displayed without consideration of the thickness or the like of the force-feedback supply section, when it is intended that a target object thinner than the thickness of the force-feedback supply section in the virtual reality space, for example, a paper, etc. is gripped (grabbed), there are disadvantages that the virtual reality image cannot be properly displayed by using the positional information of the fingertips actually detected (that is, it cannot be displayed to grasp the paper with the fingertips), and the interactions between the sites and the target objects cannot be supplied (that is, since it cannot be judged that the sites interfere with the target object, a force-feedback suitable for the target object cannot be supplied).
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a feedback supply apparatus and an image correcting method, in which a site to which a force-feedback is supplied can be properly displayed in accordance with a virtual reality image by correcting a virtual reality image in consideration of a thickness of the site to which the force-feedback is supplied in a virtual reality space.

Force-feedback supply apparatus and image correcting method


A non-radio-isotopic radiological source using a dense plasma focus (DPF) to produce an intense z-pinch plasma from a gas, such as helium, and which accelerates charged particles, such as generated from the gas or injected from an external source, into a target positioned along an acceleration axis and of a type known to emit ionizing radiation when impinged by the type of accelerated charged particles. In a preferred embodiment, helium gas is used to produce a DPF-accelerated He2+ ion beam to a beryllium target, to produce neutron emission having a similar energy spectrum as a radio-isotopic AmBe neutron source. Furthermore, multiple DPFs may be stacked to provide staged acceleration of charged particles for enhancing energy, tunability, and control of the source.

Radio-isotopic radiological sources produce relatively constant fluxes of desired radiation (i.e. ionizing radiation) such as alpha, beta, gamma rays, and even neutron emission, through radioactive decay of specific radioactive isotopes in the source. These radio-isotopes are typically created from the irradiation of stable elements in nuclear reactors or accelerators beamlines, or are by-products of fission reactions in reactors. By mating such radio-isotopes with targets, radio-isotopic neutron sources can be created. For example, AmBe neutron sources consist of radioactive americium-241 (241Am) isotope material mixed with a beryllium-9 (9Be) target material. 241Am produces ˜5 MeV alpha particles as part of its decay process, or He2+ ions, which impinge on the beryllium nuclei and produces isotropic ˜1 to 5 MeV neutrons through the 9Be(α, n)12C nuclear reaction. AmBe sources typically produce 106 n/s or greater using ˜Ci level or higher of 241Am, and are commonly used in the well logging industry for characterizing and assessing (via neutron activation analysis) the geology surrounding exploratory boreholes in oil drilling and mining operations. Other alpha emitters, such as 210Po have also been used with beryllium targets for neutron production. And some other examples of radio-isotopic radiological sources include 137Cs, 60Co, 192Ir (in the ˜kCi or higher range) which are MeV level gamma ray emitters (through radioactive decay) which can be use for example for radiotherapy and cancer treatment, or for sterilization of foodstuffs and equipment. Generally, while such radio-isotopic radiological sources have the advantage of a long useful life, they cannot be turned off, and as such require the source be contained in bulky shielding. For example 241Am has a half-life of 458 years, and Californium-252 (252Cf), another typical neutron source, has a half-life of about 2.6 years. In addition, radio-isotopic neutron sources in general cannot be pulsed, and the energy spectrum of the emitted neutrons is broad and peaks at energies below the threshold for some important reactions. Radio-isotopic radiological sources also raise concerns regarding the potential dispersal of spent-and-discarded or stolen radio-isotopic neutron sources by terrorist activity.
One common type of non-radio-isotopic neutron source solution, known as "neutron generators," are small neutron source devices which fuse isotopes of hydrogen together using a compact linear accelerator. The fusion reactions take place in these devices by accelerating deuterium, tritium, or mixture thereof into a metal hydride target which also contains deuterium, tritium or mixture. Fusion of deuterium atoms (D-D reaction) results in the formation of a He-3 (3He) ion and a neutron with a kinetic energy of approximately 2.5 MeV. Fusion of a deuterium and a tritium atom (D-T reaction) results in the formation of a He-4 (4He) ion and a neutron with a kinetic energy of approximately 14.1 MeV. Typically, a low gas pressure cold cathode ion source utilizing crossed electric and magnetic fields, known as a Penning ion source, is used to generate the deuterium, tritium, or mixture in these LINAC-based neutron generators. Ions generated by the Penning ion source are accelerated by the potential difference between an exit cathode and an accelerating electrode into the tritium or deuterium target to emit neutrons. The target is typically a thin film of a metal such as titanium, scandium, or zirconium which, when combined with hydrogen or its isotopes, forms stable metal hydrides having two hydrogen (D or T) atoms per metal atom and allows the target to have extremely high densities of hydrogen. While this approach is known to produce high levels of neutrons (e.g. 109 n/s), the neutron energy spectrum is much harder and substantially different than the AmBe spectrum (˜1-5 MeV range), and therefore produces different responses from materials when compared to interrogation using AmBe neutrons, which would effectively render inapplicable the extensive industry knowledge base of subsurface strata gained from AmBe sources.
Another known type of non-radio-isotopic neutron source solution is also based on the D-D or D-T fusion reaction, but uses a dense plasma focus (DPF) in a deuterium or deuterium-tritium gas medium to faun D-D or D-T fusion neutrons by electromagnetic acceleration and compression of intense z-pinch plasma, i.e. a column of hot, compressed plasma formed at an anode tip and along a z-axis of the DPF. FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-section view of a typical DPF-based D-D neutron source known in the art, generally indicated at reference character 10, and having a typical Mather-type DPF configuration comprised of an open-ended coaxial head or gun having a center/inner anode 11 and a coaxial outer cathode 12 separated by a coaxial insulator 13. DPF dimensions may be, for example, approximately 1-10 cm long and 1-10 cm diameter. A deuterium fill gas at the Ton level is normally used. And a moderate to high-power pulse foaming network (PFN) made of fast capacitors with energy ranges in the ˜100 J to 1 Mj range, generally represented by the simple circuit 14, drives the plasma and the pinch effect at the anode tip.
During DPF operation, plasma current sheets in a coaxial configuration are first formed from flashover breakdown along insulator surfaces on the center/inner anode 11 and accelerated forward towards the open end through J×B forces. At the open end of the coaxial gun, the sheets expand and collide to form a ˜cm long high density (ne˜1019-1020/cc, Te˜1-10 keV) z-pinch plasma on the tip of the center/inner anode. In this region, the z-pinch is typically confined for ˜100 ns and intense x-rays, ion, and electron beams are generated through a complex combination of non-linear instabilities and other mechanisms that result in effective acceleration gradients of ˜100 MV/m. In particular, ion and electron beams are axially emitted in opposite directions during the pinch.
FIG. 1 illustrates the sequence of plasma sheath dynamics, labeled from (I) to (IV) leading to z-pinch formation and D-D neutron formation and acceleration. In particular, an initial plasma sheath (I) forms from a flashover of the coaxial insulator 13, then plasma sheaths (II) and (III) accelerate forward along the central anode toward the anode tip during the rundown phase, and when it reaches the tip end of the anode the sheath axisymetrically collapses at (IV) during the runover phase to form the centimeter-scale fast z-pinch on axis, shown as circle 15, at the tip of the center anode 11. D-D neutron output is shown at arrow 16 originating from the z-pinch, and axially emitted along the z-axis due to the acceleration gradient. D-D neutron outputs up to ˜1012 in a ˜100 ns long pulse have been demonstrated, giving high peak neutron rates of ˜1019 n/s with average rates up to ˜1012 n/s using a 1 Hz repetition rate. However, and similar to neutron generators, DPF based D-D neutrons produce different responses from materials when compared to interrogation using AmBe neutrons, which would again effectively render inapplicable the extensive industry knowledge base of subsurface strata gained from AmBe sources. Moreover, they are not tuned for acceleration, use only D-D or D-T for neutrons, and do not provide multi-staging of z-pinch focusing.
It would be advantageous to provide a non-radio-isotopic radiological source, such as a neutron source, that is based on pulsed DPF acceleration of charged particles to strike an ionizing-radiation producible target, e.g. alpha particles (He2+) into a beryllium target for neutron emission having energy spectra similar to an americium-beryllium (AmBe) neutron source. Moreover, it would be advantageous to provide a DPF-accelerated non-radio-isotopic radiological source capable of multi-staging dense plasma z-pinch focusing to enhance acceleration energies, tuning, and control.

Dense plasma focus (DPF) accelerated non radio isotopic radiological source

Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC


We disclose acousto-optic modulators that include: (a) an optical element configured to receive an input optical beam that propagates along a first direction; and (b) a transducer extending along the first direction and positioned on one or more surfaces of the optical element, the transducer having a transducer material positioned between two electrodes configured to apply a potential difference across the transducer to cause the transducer to generate an acoustic waveform propagating in a second direction in the optical element, and the input optical beam undergoing diffraction in a region of the optical element that includes the acoustic waveform. The transducer extends along a third direction orthogonal to the first and second directions, and at least one of the transducer material and the electrodes has a maximum length L along the third direction and is shaped so that the acoustic waveform has a reduced phase variation within a central region of length L of the waveform in the third direction, relative to a phase variation within a central region of length L in the third direction of an acoustic waveform generated by a rectangular transducer.

Acousto-optic devices and systems that incorporate them can be used to modulate optical beams. For example, acousto-optic modulators can be used to diffract an optical beam, thereby modulating the spatial intensity distribution and/or phase of the optical beam. Acousto-optic devices can also be combined with additional elements in order to produce further changes in one or more properties of the optical beam, such as changes in the frequency and/or polarization state of the optical beam. For example, acousto-optic devices can be used to produce, from an input beam, two linearly and orthogonally polarized output beams having frequencies that differ from a frequency of the input beam. Methods for generating linearly and orthogonally polarized optical beams from an input beam using an acousto-optic device are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,660 entitled "APPARATUS FOR GENERATING LINEARLY-ORTHOGONALLY POLARIZED LIGHT BEAMS" by Henry A. Hill, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,507 entitled "APPARATUS TO TRANSFORM TWO NONPARALLEL PROPAGATING OPTICAL BEAM COMPONENTS INTO TWO ORTHOGONALLY POLARIZED BEAM COMPONENTS" by Henry A. Hill and Peter de Groot, the entire contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Acousto-optic devices can be incorporated into larger measurement systems. For example, an acousto-optic device configured to produce two linearly and orthogonally polarized output beams from an input beam can be incorporated into a displacement or dispersion measuring interferometry system. In such interferometry systems, the acousto-optic device can be used, for example, to generate measurement and reference beams to perform measurement functions. Displacement measuring interferometry systems that incorporate acousto-optic devices can be used, for example, to measure angular and linear displacements of objects such as a mask stage or a wafer stage in a lithography scanner or stepper system. Dispersion measuring interferometers that incorporate acousto-optic devices can be used, for example, to determine intrinsic properties of gases.
Displacement measuring interferometers monitor changes in the position of a measurement object relative to a reference object based on an optical interference signal. The interferometer generates the optical interference signal by overlapping and interfering a measurement beam reflected from the measurement object with a reference beam reflected from the reference object.
In many interferometry applications, the measurement and reference beams have orthogonal polarizations and different frequencies. The orthogonal polarizations allow a polarizing beam-splitter to direct the measurement and reference beams to the measurement and reference objects, respectively, and to combine the reflected measurement and reference beams to form overlapping exit measurement and reference beams. The overlapping exit beams form an output beam that subsequently passes through a polarizer. The polarizer mixes polarizations of the exit measurement and reference beams to form a mixed beam. Components of the exit measurement and reference beams in the mixed beam interfere with one another so that the intensity of the mixed beam varies with the relative phase of the exit measurement and reference beams. A detector can be configured to measure a time-dependent intensity of the mixed beam and to generate an electrical interference signal proportional to that intensity. Because the measurement and reference beams have different frequencies, the electrical interference signal includes a "heterodyne" signal having a beat frequency equal to the difference between the frequencies of the exit measurement and reference beams. If the lengths of the measurement and reference paths are changing relative to one another, e.g., by translating a stage that includes the measurement object, the measured beat frequency includes a Doppler shift equal to 2vnp/λ, where v is the relative speed of the measurement and reference objects, λ is a nominal wavelength of the measurement and reference beams, n is the refractive index of the medium through which the light beams travel, e.g., air or vacuum, and p is the number of passes to the reference and measurement objects. Changes in the relative position of the measurement object correspond to changes in the phase of the measured interference signal, with a 2π phase change corresponding to a distance change L of λ/(np), where L is a round-trip distance change, e.g., the change in distance to and from a stage that includes the measurement object.
In dispersion measuring applications, optical path length measurements are made at multiple wavelengths, e.g., 532 nm and 1064 nm, and are used to measure dispersion of a gas in the measurement path of a distance measuring interferometer. The dispersion measurement can be used to convert the optical path length measured by the distance measuring interferometer into a physical length. Such a conversion can be important since changes in the measured optical path length can be caused by gas turbulence and/or by a change in the average density of the gas in the measurement arm of the interferometer, even though the physical distance to the measurement object is unchanged. In addition to the extrinsic dispersion measurement, the conversion of the optical path length to a physical length requires knowledge of an intrinsic value of the gas. The factor Γ is a suitable intrinsic value and is the reciprocal dispersive power of the gas for the wavelengths used in dispersion interferometry. The factor Γ can be measured separately or can be based on literature values.
Unfortunately, imperfections in the interferometry system can degrade the accuracy of such interferometric measurements. For example, many interferometers include non-linearities such as what are known as "cyclic errors." The cyclic errors can be expressed as contributions to the phase and/or the intensity of the measured interference signal and have a sinusoidal dependence on phase changes associated with changes in optical path length pnL and/or on phase changes associated with other parameters. In particular, there is first harmonic cyclic error in phase that has a sinusoidal dependence on (2πpnL)/λ and there is second harmonic cyclic error in phase that has a sinusoidal dependence on 2 (2πpnL)/λ. Higher harmonic cyclic errors may also be present.
Other types of errors in interferometry systems include wavefront errors, which can arise, for example, from imperfections in relay optics used to transport an optical beam from a source to an interferometer, and from imperfections in interferometer and detector optics. Wavefront errors can also lead to errors in phase measurements in interferometry systems. Methods for reducing wavefront errors in interferometry systems are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,727,992 B2 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS TO REDUCE EFFECTS OF SHEARED WAVEFRONTS ON INTERFEROMETRIC PHASE MEASUREMENTS" by Henry A. Hill, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
In interferometry systems that incorporate acousto-optic devices, wavefront errors can also arise from diffraction effects within the acousto-optic device. In general, acousto-optic devices can be configured to modulate an optical beam by directing the optical beam to interact with an acoustic wave in an acoustic cell. For example, an optical beam can undergo diffraction in a region of the acousto-optic cell that includes the acoustic wave. The wavefront figures of both undiffracted (i.e., zero-order) and diffracted beams can be modulated in the acousto-optic device, and the amplitude and/or phase of the modulation can be different at different transverse spatial positions within the cross-sectional profile of the optical beams.
The effect of wavefront errors will depend upon procedures used to mix components of the output beam with respect to component polarization states and to detect the mixed output beam to generate an electrical interference signal. The mixed output beam can for example be detected by a detector without any focusing of the mixed beam onto the detector, by detecting the mixed output beam as a beam focused onto a detector, or by launching the mixed output beam into a single mode or multi-mode optical fiber and detecting a portion of the mixed output beam that is transmitted by the optical fiber. The effect of wavefront errors will also depend on properties of a beam stop should a beam stop be used in the procedure to detect the mixed output beam. Generally, the errors in the interferometric signal are compounded when an optical fiber is used to transmit the mixed output beam to the detector.

Apparatus for reducing wavefront errors in output beams of acousto-optic devices


A quill connector for a fuel system in an engine includes an elongate quill body defining a fuel conduit having a proximal accumulator segment, and a flow limiter subassembly, for limiting oversupplying of a pressurized fuel, positioned at least partially within the accumulator segment. The subassembly includes a seat component attached to the elongate quill body and supporting a guide component wherein a hydraulically actuated valve and a biaser are disposed. The valve is movable to a closed position during supplying pressurized fuel to a fuel injector, to interrupt a flow of the pressurized fuel thereto.

Many modern internal combustion engine systems exploit the desirable combustion and emission properties attendant to high fuel injection pressures. It is well known that such high pressure fuel injection, often on the order of 200 megapascals (MPa) or more, promotes atomization and vaporization of injected fuel, having various desirable results. One strategy developed decades ago to enable the supplying of highly pressurized fuel to multiple fuel injectors in a multi-cylinder engine is known as a common rail. A common rail is essentially a long tube which serves to store a volume of highly pressurized fuel received from a fuel pump, and configured to feed the highly pressurized fuel simultaneously to a group of fuel injectors on the engine as needed. While common rail designs have worked very well over the years, and are still in widespread use, they present certain manufacturing, packaging, and pressure containment and sealing challenges. Some of these issues have been exacerbated by the drive towards ever higher fuel pressures.
Strategies have been proposed where a dedicated pressure accumulator is provided in direct connection with each fuel injector in an engine system. The dedicated pressure accumulators store a volume of fuel sufficient to enable stable provision of the fuel at design pressures for injection by the fuel injectors, and can in at least certain instances be easier to package and less expensive to manufacture and maintain than certain common rail designs. United States Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0315117 A1 to Gerstner et al. is directed to one such dedicated accumulator strategy. In Gerstner et al., a plurality of pressure accumulators are provided, each connected with one fuel injector, and a plurality of flow limiters are positioned fluidly between the pressure accumulators and the corresponding fuel injectors, apparently to limit fuel leakage during catastrophic failure and/or to dampen pressure oscillations caused by operation of the fuel injectors. While Gerstner et al. provides a viable strategy, there is always room for improvement.

Quill connector for fuel system and method


A method for transmitting a plurality of control information through a PUCCH or a PUSCH is disclosed. The method includes transmitting first control information, and transmitting second control information. The transmission of the first control information and the transmission of the second control information are performed in units of one subframe and are performed once per predetermined period, respectively. In a subframe in which the transmission of the second control information is to be simultaneously performed with the transmission of the first control information, the second control information is excluded for transmission or the first and the second information are simultaneously transmitted, according to the configuration of a closed-loop system or an open-loop system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wideband wireless mobile communication system using a plurality of antennas, and more particularly, to a method of processing control information on a physical channel.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In next generation mobile communication and wireless transmission systems, an improved transmission rate and system capacity in a multi-cell environment have been demanded. To meet such a demand, studies on a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, which transmits data using multiple antennas, have been conducted. To improve the transmission rate of data in a multi-cell environment, a closed-loop MIMO system improves transmission capabilities using channel information.
In a MIMO system using a frequency division duplex (FDD) scheme, a user equipment (UE) can recognize information as to a reception channel using received data, whereas an eNode B (eNB) cannot know the channel information without feedback of specific channel information. Since the eNB can greatly improve system capabilities through adaptive channel transmission using the channel information of a downlink, the channel information needs to be fed back so that the eNB can recognize the channel information. When uplink/downlink in time division duplex (TDD) use the same frequency band, since frequency channel characteristics of uplink/downlink of the eNB and the UE are the same, the eNB cannot estimate the reception channel information of the UE in the case where a time-varying characteristic of a channel is not substantial.
In a closed-loop system using a MIMO scheme, general channel feedback information includes a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix index (PMI), and rank information (RI).
Time and frequency resources, that can be used by a UE to report the CQI, PMI, and RI, may be controlled by an eNB. The above control information may be reported periodically or aperiodically. For spatial multiplexing, the UE may determine RI corresponding to the number of available transmission layers.
The UE may transmit CQI, PMI, and RI reporting on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in subframes in which a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is not allocated. The UE may transmit CQI, PMI, and RI reporting on the PUSCH in subframes with PUSCH allocation.
Meanwhile, data and control sequences transmitted from a media access control (MAC) layer to a physical layer are encoded and then provide transport and control services through a radio transmission link. A channel coding scheme is comprised of a combination of processes of error detection, error correction, rate matching, interleaving, and mapping of transport channel information or control information to a physical channel. The control information includes the CQI, PMI, and RI.
Control information, and data information from a transport channel may be multiplexed to generate a multiplexed sequence. The control information may be classified into one or more types according to properties thereof and various multiplexing schemes may be considered according to the number of classified types. If only one type of control information is present, when data information and control information are multiplexed, the control information may or may not overwrite the data information. If two types of control information are present, the control information is divided into a first type of control information and a second type of control information. If the second type of control information is more important than the first type of control information, data information and control information may be multiplexed in a manner that the first type of control information overwrites or does not overwrite the data information. Next, the second type of control information may or may not overwrite the multiplexed data information and/or the first type of control information.

Rank feedback method for multiple-input multiple-output transmission


A sprinkler assembly includes a sprinkler body having a base and a frame extending from the base. The base has a passage extending therethrough defining an inlet and an outlet. A deflector is mounted to the frame and spaced from the outlet, which is configured to deflect fluid flowing from the outlet in a radial pattern. A trigger assembly extends between the frame and the base and is adapted to support a pip cap assembly in the outlet and release the plug when a temperature associated with a fire condition is detected. The pip cap assembly includes a copper shell and a stainless steel insert received in the copper shell and extending outward therefrom.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Automatic sprinklers have long been used to disperse a fluid to control a fire. Typically, the fluid utilized in such systems is water; although systems have also been developed to disburse foam and other materials. Historically, sprinkler assemblies include a solid metal base connected to a pressurized supply of water and a deflector that is used to disperse the water flow. The deflector is typically spaced from the outlet of the base by a frame. A trigger assembly is mounted between the base and a plug, which is positioned over the orifice of the base, to hold the plug in place over the orifice to thereby seal the orifice. When the temperature surrounding the sprinkler assembly is elevated to a temperature associated with a fire condition, the trigger assembly releases the plug and water is allowed to flow from the orifice of the sprinkler assembly.
For proper seating and release, the plug needs to be rigid, corrosion resistant and adapted to engage the trigger assembly in the assembled condition. Typical plugs, commonly referred to as pip caps, have been made from metal such as copper or brass. However, the costs of these materials are rapidly increasing and therefore, a less expensive alternative which is easier to manufacture is desirable. Furthermore, typical plugs have been formed from stampings or, alternatively, they are machined. The cost of a machined pip cap can be generally on the order of ten times greater than a stamped pip cap.

Pip cap assembly for a fire protection sprinkler