A smooth elastic stretch fabric which is plain woven with weft and/or warp yarns that include combination yarns which comprise a partially oriented synthetic crystalline polymer yarn combined with an elastomeric core wherein the smooth fabric (i.e., a non-crepe effect) is the result of a tight weave characterized by the reciprocal of the warp apparent fractional cover (i.e., 1/WaAFC) being in the range between about 1.13 and about 2.06. The fabric is stretched, heat set and finished under particular conditions to provide the resultant fabric with an elastic stretch of more than about 10% and dimensions about equal to the as-woven dimensions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for making an elastic stretch woven plain, satin or sateen fabric and more specifically a smooth fabric surfaced product made thereby. In particular, the herein claimed specific embodiment of the invention involves a plain weave fabric being woven with a combination yarn that comprises an elastomeric yarn and a companion yarn of partially oriented non-elastomeric polymer wherein a smooth fabric (i.e., a non-crepe effect) is the results of a tight weave characterized by the reciprocal of the warp apparent fractional cover (i.e., 1/WaAFC) being in the range between about 1.13 and about 2.06.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Processes are known for making stretch-woven fabrics. For example, LYCRA.RTM. Spandex Fiber Bulletin L-94, "Producing stretch-woven fabrics from core-spun yarns containing Lycra.RTM. spandex," E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. (April 1980) describes the fabric design and construction, weaving, heat-setting and dyeing and finishing of filling-stretch, warp-stretch and two-way stretch woven fabrics. A core-spun yarn is a combination yarn that is produced by spinning a sheath of "hard" fibers (i.e., conventionally drawn, oriented non-elastomeric fibers, filaments or strands) around a core of elastomeric strand while the elastomeric strand (e.g., spandex) is under tension and elongated to several times its relaxed length. Subsequent release of the tension and contraction of the elastomeric core strand yields a stretchable combination yarn. Other processes for making stretchable combination yarns are known wherein elastomeric strand is combined with hard fibers, for example, by covering, air-jet entangling, plaiting and the like. However, woven stretch fabrics made with such combination yarns, typically have much smaller dimensions than the length and width of the loom on which the fabrics were woven.
Greenwald et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,076, discloses processes in which woven stretch fabrics are made with another kind of elastic combination yarn. The combination yarn of Greenwald et al is produced by wrapping undrawn synthetic filamentary material around a non-extended, non-heat set, elastomeric core strand. The woven fabric is stretched to draw the undrawn filamentary wrapping of the combination yarn. Then, the stretched fabric is at least partially relaxed and heat set in the partially relaxed state. Stretch fabrics made by the process of Greenwald et al are stated to exhibit a variety of surface effects and a stretch in the range of 10% to 215%.
The one example of Greenwald et al describes a fabric woven to a 45-inch (114-cm) width, stretched at 220.degree. F. (104.degree. C.) and subsequently treated in three different ways, as follows. In part (1) of the Example, the woven fabric, after having been stretched to a 55-inch (140-cm) width, was relaxed to a 43-inch (109-cm) width and then heat set at 380.degree. F. (193.degree. C.) in the relaxed condition. The resultant fabric was described as a terry-face fabric having a potential stretch of 40%. In part (2) of the Example, the fabric after having been stretched to a 110-inch (279-cm) width, was relaxed to a 48-inch (122-cm) width and then heat set at 380.degree. F. (193.degree. C.) in the relaxed condition to yield a terry-face fabric having a 215% potential stretch. In part (3) of the Example, after having been stretched to a 110-inch (279-cm) width, the woven fabric was not relaxed but was heat set at 380.degree. F. (193.degree. C.) while fully stretched at the 110-inch (279-cm) width to yield a fabric having a knit-deknit appearance and a potential stretch of less than 10%.
On of the present inventors found that the fabrics of Greenwald et al have certain short-comings. When fabrics such as those produced in parts (1) and (2) of the Greenwald et al Example were further treated under typical finishing conditions of hot-wet dyeing and scouring at or near a temperature of 100.degree. C., the fabrics shrank considerably and lost most of their potential stretch. With regard to part (3) of the Greenwald et al Example, hot-wet finishing of the heat-set fabric did not improve the inadequate potential stretch of the fabric. In addition, the properties of undrawn fibers, which are required for the filamentary wrapping of the elastic combination yarn of the Greenwald et al process, change significantly when stored for different lengths of time. Such changes in the undrawn fibers often make it very difficult to produce yarns and fabrics with consistent properties and lead to inferior woven fabrics.
In view of the above-noted shortcomings of the known processes for making stretch woven fabrics, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved process and a stretch woven fabric therefrom that will overcome or ameliorate at least some of the shortcomings.


Particular embodiments generally relate to automatically controlling an item. For example, items may include electronic devices, such as televisions, lights, etc, and/or virtual devices, such as applications, etc. In one embodiment, items may be configured using metatags. When a device is connected for operation, one or more metatags for the device are received. A metatag be used to classify the device. For example, the metatag may indicate uses, locations, connections, etc. The use of device (e.g., pathway, reading, etc.) classifies the item in way it can be used. For example, a user may use a pathway light in different ways, such as the user may turn on all lights with the pathway metatag at night. The location indicates the location of the item, such as in the living room, bedroom, etc. The connections indications a type of item, such as a bedroom light, lamp, TV, etc.

Particular embodiments generally relate to automatic control of devices.
Many different devices or other items may be controlled automatically. For example, a television, DVD player, lights, and other electronic devices may be controlled in a household. In one example, lights may be programmed to turn on at a certain time or a thermostat configured to change a regulated temperature at a certain time. However, such control systems can quickly grow complicated as the number of controlled devices increases and the conditions or factors to which a control system must react also increase. Initial configuration can also be difficult as, for example, each item may have a different configuration process. Further, when new devices replace existing devices, the new devices and the control system may need to be reconfigured in order to be compatible.

Automatic configuration and control of devices using metadata


A refractory lining in the transition section of a gasifier to the waste heat boiler with claws/brackets for supporting refractory shaped bricks. Each claw is suspended on hooks in a pipe branch and is protected from overheating by cooling tubes. The refractory lining is supported in the tube bundle by brackets, which are arranged one on top of another and are welded to webs tube-web-tube welding of the tube bundle. The lower bracket at the cooling tube bundle and the horizontal tube wall are protected against clogging with slag by a refractory mass with a drip nose. Expansion joints are provided between the shaped brick segments under the brackets, whereas ring-shaped fiberboard segments are inserted above the claw.

Hot synthesis gas flows through the transition from the gasifier to the waste heat boiler, and this transition is also exposed to hot slag. The temperatures in this transition section are above 1,400.degree. C.
An unprotected material consisting of steel is not resistant at these high temperatures and to the additional gas/solids flows. This area is therefore lined with a refractory material. It is possible to select between tamping clays, refractory shaped bricks, or a combination of these two materials, but the shaped blocks offer a better quality of material.
The transition between the reaction vessel and the synthesis gas cooler is lined with a refractory lining consisting of shaped bricks in a reaction vessel with a downstream waste heat boiler of a synthesis gas cooler, which was delivered by the applicant for the Ruhr synthesis gas plant (SAR) of Ruhrchemie in Oberhausen-Holten.
The upper shaped bricks are placed in an annular pattern on cast brackets, which are fastened one on top of another at the pipe end of the gasifier and at the pipe end of the synthesis gas cooler. The shaped bricks in the area of the cooling tube bundle are placed on circumferential tube noses at the transition from the vertical cooling tubes into the horizontal cooling tube wall.
Due to the refractory shaped bricks being supported by or lying on the circumferential noses of the cooling tube bundle, as well as due to a fixed point at the end of the gasifier pipe branch without additional expansion joints and elastic intermediate materials, the thermal stresses caused by high temperatures and the resulting movements of the refractory material are directly transmitted to the waterside high-pressure parts, e.g., the tubes of the cooling tube bundle; the entire own weight of the bricks also loads the supports. Furthermore, the upper fixed points (brackets) at the transition between the two vessels are not cooled and are exposed to increasing overheating as the wear of the refractory material progresses.

Refractory lining in the transition of a gasifier to the waste heat boiler


A substrate processing system for treating a substrate includes a manifold and a plurality of injector assemblies located in a processing chamber. Each of the plurality of injector assemblies is in fluid communication with the manifold and includes a valve including an inlet and an outlet. A dose controller is configured to communicate with the valve in each of the plurality of injector assemblies and adjust a pulse width supplied to the valve in each of the plurality of injector assemblies based on at least one of manufacturing differences between the valves in each of the plurality of injector assemblies and non-uniformities of the valves in each of the plurality of injector assemblies to cause a desired dose to be supplied from the valve in each of the plurality of injector assemblies.

The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Substrate processing systems may be used to treat substrates such as semiconductor wafers. Examples of substrate treatments include etching, deposition, photoresist removal, etc. During processing, the substrate is arranged on a substrate support such as an electrostatic chuck and one or more process gases may be introduced into the processing chamber.
The one or more processing gases may be delivered by a gas delivery system to the processing chamber. In some systems, the gas delivery system includes a manifold connected by one or more conduits to a showerhead that is located in the processing chamber. Most gas delivery systems deliver gases during periods that are longer than 5 or 10 seconds. Latency caused by mixing in the manifold, delivery through the conduits, and flow resistance of the showerhead makes it difficult to change gas mixtures quickly or to vary gas doses spatially or temporally. Furthermore, gas mixtures may react during travel through the gas delivery system. Some processes such as atomic layer etching (ALE), atomic layer deposition (ALD), etc. require different gas mixtures to be delivered to the processing chamber during very short intervals that are typically less than a second or a few seconds.

Systems and methods for pulse width modulated dose control


Systems and methods for monitoring printer status in a networked environment are provided. For each of a plurality of printers, a respective server port device is connected to a communication port of a corresponding printer. Each server port device is adapted to receive real-time printer status information from the corresponding printer. A status monitor is provided for receiving the printer status information from one or more of the server port devices. The printer status information is wirelessly broadcast from the respective server port devices to an IP address of the status monitor. The server port device may comprise a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) status processor for converting the printer status information received from the printer in a first format into a second format for broadcast using a UDP protocol.

The present invention relates to the field of networked printing systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to printing systems and methods for use in a casino gaming environment which provide improved functionality, including the ability to quickly and easily create and print custom coupons and vouchers at a gaming machine printer and to obtain in real-time printer status of multiple printers on the network.
In a casino gaming environment, it is known to provide data to gaming machines (e.g., slot machines and other types of gaming machines) from a central system server over a network. The Assignee of the present invention, TransAct Technologies Incorporated (TransAct), has developed a dual port printer for a gaming machine capable of receiving print instructions from a local controller resident in the gaming machine via a first port, and receiving print instructions from a remotely located central system server via a second port. For example, proprietary data, such as voucher (cash) information can be received over the first port from the local machine controller and printed, while non-proprietary data (coupon data) can be received over the second port from the central system server and printed. Such a dual port printer is described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,924,903 and its related family of patents and pending applications, which are incorporated herein and made a part hereof by reference.
In such systems, the data provided to the gaming machine printer by the central system server or by the gaming machine itself is in a predetermined print layout or format loaded onto the server or resident in the gaming machine. Thus, casinos are unable to easily modify the print layout or format or to provide custom coupons targeted to particular players. Typically, software updates are required to change the print layout or format, which are time consuming and costly.
It would thus be advantageous to provide casinos with the ability to layout and customize coupons and vouchers in a quick and easy manner. It would also be advantageous to enable the casino to quickly send such custom coupons and vouchers (or templates for custom coupons and vouchers) to the gaming machines. It would be advantageous if individual gaming machines, or select groups of gaming machines, could be targeted with different custom coupons or vouchers. It would also be advantageous to enable a Casino Host to quickly identify a particular player and provide that player with a custom coupon or voucher via the gaming machine printer. In addition, it would be advantageous to easily obtain printer status of all or a group of printers on the Casino network in real-time or near real-time, without significantly affecting network overhead and data throughput.
The apparatus and methods of the present invention provide the foregoing and other advantages.

Status monitor for casino print system and corresponding methods for status monitoring


An approach to workflow-based data processing is described, wherein as part of the workflow a multiplicity of display pages is executed interactively by means of workflow control commands. A suitable computer system comprises at least one user terminal with a user interface for page display (802) and for input of user data and workflow control commands, one or more basic systems with associated basic databases, containing basic data, at least one cache database in which the user data and a selected extract from the basic data are cached (806), one or more service systems with services (810) for performing data processing steps on the basis of data sourced from the cache database and a mechanism (804) for generating a request directed at the invocation of at least one service (810) as a response to a workflow control command. The service (810) is invoked asynchronously in respect of the display of a new display page if the setup of the new display page is independent of the result of the service (810) invoked by means of the request.

A workflow is understood quite generally as a processing operation composed of several operating steps, undertaken by one or more people responsible for the processing. The operating steps usually have to be executed in a previously defined order. Execution of a new operating step normally assumes that one or more preceding operating steps have been fully executed. This necessity arises from the fact that the result of the preceding operating steps is used in the new operating step and therefore influences it.
An example of one processing operation composed of a multiplicity of operating steps is the processing of a credit application illustrated in FIG. 12. FIG. 12 gives a rough summary of the individual operating steps and the roles of the people involved in processing the granting of credit. In total three different processing roles are involved in the processing. The people responsible for the care of customer relations are called advisers. Advisers work at the "front", in "advice" and in "marketing". Credit decisions—if they cannot be decided immediately by advisers—are ultimately made by credit officers (COs). Credit officers are often also designated as decision-makers. Finally, ultimate handling—drawing up the contract, payments, etc.—is undertaken by specialists in the credit services (CS) organisation.
In the advisory interview held by the adviser with the customer (the opposite party), among other things the customer's credit needs are determined. The adviser registers the credit applications determined in the advisory interview. If there are changes, with hardly any or no risk attached, to existing credit commitments, to minimise the amount of work a full risk assessment of the customer's position (full decision) is dispensed with. Low-risk changes of this kind are identified by performing a prior assessment (triage). The prior assessment is done for each application. If it is possible to dispense with a full decision for all the applications of an opposite party combined in a submission, they can be directly supplemented by the information relevant to the handling and released for handling. New transactions, on the other hand, always require a full decision. Financing potential (with commercial customers) or affordability (with private customers) applies here as a measure of the credit standing of a customer.
For the decision as to whether and under what conditions the desired credit can be granted to a customer, the credit application (possibly consisting of several individual applications)—together with the, in some circumstances, already existing credit commitment—is balanced against the creditworthiness and the securities, in other words the credit standing of the customer. To assess the customer's applications and in particular his creditworthiness, value is attached to an overall customer profile. Logically the credit commitment of the later contracting partner does not effect the assessment in isolation. Rather, the legal bodies legally or commercially associated with the customer and, if available, their applications are also involved in the assessment. All the customers who need to be involved in the creditworthiness analysis constitute the "opposite party to be submitted". Simultaneously running applications of an opposite party form a submission. Only one open (undecided) submission per opposite party is permitted at a time. Applications with no prospect are excluded from the further credit granting process from the start by means of a checklist.
The adviser is supported in his decision by a decision plan defined in advance. The registered figures and responses have an effect on this and they end in a categorisation of the submission (in white, grey or black), In a "white" decision, with sufficient authority the adviser can approve the submission at once. The responsibility for the decision is in this case entirely that of the adviser. Once the adviser has approved the submission, handling of the credit granting process is continued immediately. If there is a grey or black system decision or if there is too little authority a CO decision is necessary. If the adviser endorses the submission he forwards it immediately to a CO with his reasons.
The CO analyses the submission using the information registered by the adviser, his assessments and any enclosures. The extent of the registration and the documents to be supplied with it are configured so that the CO can decide on the submission as far as possible without referring questions back to the adviser.
The CO can approve the submission unchanged, approve it with changes, approve it with conditions, refuse or reject it. If the adviser's assessment is incomplete or if it obviously does not represent the current view of the customer or his securities, the CO rejects the submission. If a submission comprises both uncritical applications, which the CO can simply approve, and applications, the approval of which he wishes to link to conditions, he can also make his decision per application instead of for the entire submission. Moreover, the CO can also set measures and deadlines which the adviser must put into practice. The CO then returns the entire submission to the adviser.
In a next processing step the adviser then has to put into practice or accept the CO decision. This step depends on the CO's decision. If he has approved the submission (or individual applications) unchanged, the decision is concluded and the adviser continues to complete the handling. If the CO has approved the submission with changes, the adviser must confirm the CO's changes before "completion of handling" or can put in an application for reconsideration. If the CO has approved the submission with conditions, the adviser puts the conditions into practice in consultation with the customer. If the adviser or the customer does not agree with the conditions, the adviser can put in an application for reconsideration. If the CO has refused the submission and the adviser does not agree with the CO's refusal, in this case too he puts in an application for reconsideration. Otherwise the adviser confirms the CO's refusal decision. If the CO has rejected the submission, the adviser can draw up a new submission. The applications and latest adaptations to the customer profile drawn up as part of the rejected submission are adopted into the new submission.
If the adviser has put into practice all the CO's conditions or if he puts in an application for reconsideration for the entire submission or individual applications from it, he returns the entire submission to the CO. If some of the applications in the submission have already been approved, these can be completed for handling and put in for handling if this has been approved by the CO. If the submission or parts of it have been approved, the adviser establishes the concrete products and conditions, sets the prices and supplements additional information which is not relevant to the decision, but is relevant to the handling. In this the adviser keeps within the framework approved for the decision. The specialist in credit services finally handles the individual applications.
With the advance of electronic data processing many workflows so far executed manually are being imitated in a computer-aided environment. Within the framework of the computer-aided workflows, users navigate through a multiplicity of screen pages on which they are requested to input data or confirm data. It has emerged that with conventional electronic implementation of the workflow illustrated in FIG. 12 and similarly complex workflows the system response times are frequently unacceptable. This applies above all if many user accesses take place in the case of large banks and other large companies and an extensive already existing data pool is to be used.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide an easily scalable system and method which permit run-time-optimised processing even of complex computer-aided workflows.

System, method and computer program product for workflow-based data processing


A local resource controller (409) from among a plurality of local resource controllers, receives a service request sourced by a communication unit (411). The local resource controller (409) selects (503) any one of at least two service controllers (301, 303, 305) where the service request is to be routed. The service request is routed to the first service controller (505) via a network (307), which is coupled to the service controllers (301, 303, 305) and the plurality of local resource controllers (409).

The basic operation and structure of a land mobile radio system is well known. Land mobile radio systems typically comprise one or more radio communication units and one or more repeaters, also known as base stations, that transceive information via the RF communication resources. These communication resources may be narrow band frequency modulated channels, time division multiplex slots, frequency pairs, and so forth. Land mobile radio systems may be organized as trunked communication systems, where a plurality of communication resources is allocated amongst a group of users by assigning the repeaters on a communication-by-communication basis with an RF coverage area.
Currently, there is a desire to have larger communication systems that cover much larger geographic areas. Today, communication systems are known to be organized into a plurality of communication sites, as shown in FIG. 1, with a zone or network controller (ZC) attached to a bank of repeaters 103 at each of the sites S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, and S6 so that communication requests from a communication unit 105 within a coverage area 101 may be handled and organized amongst all of the sites that are connected to that zone controller. These repeaters may be intelligent repeaters, such as an IntelliRepeater.TM. available from Motorola, Inc., and the zone controller communicates with the intelligent repeater that is currently in control of the site. Alternatively, the repeaters may be standard repeaters with a site controller (not shown) attached to the each of the repeaters at the site, and the site controller coordinates and controls resources for the site. Although many more repeaters and sites may be present in an actual communication system, only five repeaters and six sites are shown for the sake of simplicity of the drawings. There is, however, a limit to the number of site that can be serviced by one zone controller. Consequently, a need exists for a way to cover larger areas of land while still maintaining control in a single communication system. Today, RF or wireline intersystem communication paths can be established on an as needed basis. These intersystem communication paths are established between independent communication systems, and are disconnected when no longer needed. Other systems. utilize dedicated lines that link communication systems continuously, although such an implementation is inefficient, as these dedicated lines tend to remain idle for a good part of the time.
Accordingly, there is a need for a communication system that efficiently covers a large area while maintaining centralized control for the entire area.

Service request rooting by a local resource controller


Single-use electrical leads for a nerve stimulator include a status flag element such as a fuse, which is deliberately blown after use of the leads has begun to indicate that the leads are not to be reused. The nerve stimulator has a “test mode” that determines a current value for treatment, and a “therapy mode” that administers treatment with the chosen current value. If the fuse in the electrical leads is blown, then the stimulator assumes that the leads have already been used and does not enter therapy mode. If the fuse in the electrical leads is intact, then the stimulator assumes that the leads are as yet unused, and allows the user to enter either test mode or therapy mode. The fuse is deliberately blown after a particular amount of time spent in therapy mode. After the fuse is blown, the user may still complete the therapy mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to nerve stimulators, and more particularly to electrical leads for nerve stimulators and methods of operation thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Physical therapists, chiropractors, and other medical providers have used nerve and muscle stimulation to treat a variety of ailments. These medical providers have used electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as a treatment for muscle and joint rehabilitation as well as chronic pain. Urologists and obstetrician/gynecologists have used a form of TENS for pelvic floor stimulation to treat incontinence and pelvic pain. In addition, medical providers have used a variety of implantable and percutaneous stimulators to manage pain, to create local nerve blocks, and to treat incontinence, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.
Transcutaneous stimulators, i.e., stimulators which do not physically penetrate the skin surface, are less invasive than percutaneous and implantable stimulators. However, transcutaneous stimulators often require higher current levels than percutaneous and implantable stimulators. Higher current levels can cause irritation and discomfort when used for extended periods. Also, since transcutaneous stimulators stimulate on the skin surface, their target site usually covers a large area. Thus, transcutaneous stimulators may not be highly effective for direct nerve stimulation.
More typically, providers use implantable stimulators when there is a need for direct nerve stimulation or continuous stimulation. Implantable stimulators can free a patient from the need for constant and frequent manual treatment. However, implantable stimulators can cause mild discomfort, and often cause more severe implant-site pain.
Percutaneous stimulators provide direct nerve stimulation without the invasiveness of an implant. During treatment, a conducting needle is inserted to provide electrical stimulation to a target nerve. The needle is electrically connected to a controller by a series of leads, often bound together at one end as a cable that connects to the controller.
Leads for percutaneous stimulators may be designated for single-use only, particularly if they have not been tested or validated for multiple uses. Since such leads should not be used multiple times, there exists a need for electrical leads that ensure against multiple uses and for a method of operation with these single-use leads.

Method and apparatus for stimulating a nerve of a patient


A data processing method is disclosed which involves storing on an optical disk main line data as video data and low-resolution data, the latter data corresponding to the main line data but having a lower resolution and a smaller data amount than the main line data. The main line data and low-resolution data are read and decoded individually. The decoded result of the low-resolution data is selectively output until preparations for outputting the main line data are found completed. Once the preparations for outputting the main line data are complete, the decoded result of the main line data is output selectively.

The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus, a data processing method, and a program.
Recently, recording media such as optical disks that are significantly enhanced in recording rate have come into general use. This has helped to realize long-time recording of video data with comparatively high picture quality.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 11-136631 discloses a method whereby pictures of the same content are prepared in two kinds, i.e., high-resolution and low-resolution video data, when recorded to an optical disk so that the video data with an optimum resolution may be selected depending on the purposes such as editing work.
Compared with audio data and text data, video data are huge in volume. That means the processing of video data is subject to significantly heavier loads than the processing of audio data or text data despite today's appreciable advances in the recording rate of recording media.
Video data processing apparatuses operated by users are so encumbered with the huge volume of video data that the result of video data processing is often slow to materialize. Such reduced operability of the apparatus is frustrating to the users. Illustratively, a user may operate a video data editing apparatus to start reproducing video data from a desired position on an optical disk. In that case, reproduction of video data from the desired position may take inordinately long time before getting started, which is annoying to the user.
One method for bypassing the problem above is to reduce the recording rate of video data to the optical disk. This method necessarily entails deterioration of picture quality during reproduction of video data. In particular, the method is unfit for business-use apparatuses because the apparatuses are required to record and reproduce video data at appreciably higher rates than their home-use counterparts.
In order to reduce the recording rate while decreasing picture quality deterioration, a method has been proposed by which video data are compressed by means of MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) encoding or the like. However, if video data are compressed illustratively by MPEG encoding, the decoding process often takes more time than is deemed acceptable. This can result in even less operability than before.
Specifically, common MPEG encoding involves encoding video data in a consecutive GOP (Group of Pictures) sequence. That means decoding a certain frame (field) sometimes requires decoding another GOP frame. In that case, it takes a long time to reproduce a desired frame after the user has performed the operation to reproduce that frame.
More specifically, to decode a B picture in a GOP of interest sometimes requires decoding a P picture in the preceding GOP. Furthermore, decoding that P picture in the preceding GOP may require decoding another P picture and an I picture in the same GOP. Overall, decoding the desired B picture in the GOP of interest may involve decoding many other pictures in advance. From the time that the user orders reproduction of the desired B picture in the GP of interest until the B picture is actually decoded and output, it may take an inordinately long time to decode the many other pictures.
Where a removable recording medium such as an optical disk is in use, it takes more time for the apparatus to find a desired picture on the disk than, say, on a hard disk drive. That is because a seek to a specific position on the optical disk takes longer than an access operation on the hard disk. The prolonged access time detracts from a "brisk" feel desired by the user in what is known as the cue-up operation on pictures.
Meanwhile, technology today has made nonlinear editing and nondestructive editing available. The nondestructive editing method involves setting what may be called edit points (known as in-points and out-points) with regard to material data, without editing (i.e., destroying) the material data themselves. More specifically, nondestructive editing involves preparing a list called a play list or an edit decision list made up of the edit points established during editing work on the material data of interest. The result of the editing is reproduced in accordance with the play list. That is, the material data are reproduced in keeping with the edit points described in the play list. Conventionally, where material data are to be encoded irreversibly in, say, MPEG format, the material data need to be first decoded. The decoded material data are then spliced as desired and encoded in MPEG format. By contrast, the nondestructive editing method has no need for such complicated processing involving decoding and encoding steps resulting in the deterioration of picture quality.
If a body of continuous material data ranging from one edit point (in-point) to the next edit point (out-point) derived from the above-described nondestructive editing is called a clip, then the result of nondestructive editing may be said to be reproduced on a clip by clip basis. Whereas consecutive material data are generally recorded on a physically continuous recording area on the optical disk, different clips constituting the material data are usually recorded in physically discrete recording areas on the same disk.
When the object to be reproduced shifts from, say, a first clip to a second clip on a disk apparatus reproducing the optical disk containing these clips, a track jump is effected starting from a recording area that has the first clip to another recording area that accommodates the second clip. In such a case, the track jump is followed by a rotational delay in which the beginning of the ensuing clip is being found. At the end of the rotational delay time, the next clip is reached and decoded for reproduction.
That is, the shift from one target clip to the next involves a track jump to the next clip followed by a rotational delay, a read and a decode operation, in that order, before the next clip is readied for output. At the end of the currently reproduced clip (called the current clip hereunder), it may be desired to start reproducing immediately the clip to be reproduced next (called the next clip). In that case, it is necessary to complete the preparations for outputting the next clip before reproduction of the current clip comes to an end.
It takes time to make the preparations for outputting a clip; they include a seek (made up of a track jump and a rotational delay) to the clip in question, a read, and a decode operation. Because the preparation time varies significantly depending on the performance of the disk apparatus in use, nondestructive editing allows for the differences in performance between optical disk reproducing apparatuses so that reproduction will not be interrupted upon shift from one target clip to another.
However, some removable recording media such as the optical disk are sometimes reproduced by a disk apparatus offering appreciably less performance than the disk apparatus that has effected nondestructive editing. In that case, seek and read operations on the data from the optical disk may take more time than is expected, which may leave the preparations for outputting the next clip incomplete at the end of the current clip being reproduced. As a result, the output (i.e., display) of the current clip may come to an end without being followed immediately by the output of the next clip, thereby interrupting the flow of clip reproduction.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and provides a data processing apparatus, a data processing method, and a program for improving the response of a disk reproducing apparatus in order to minimize the duration to obtain reproduction output following issuance of a reproduction order and to avert any disruption of continuous reproduction.

Data processing apparatus, data processing method, and program


An organic electroluminescent device and a method for producing the same, the organic electroluminescent device including a luminescent layer produced by a vapor-deposition method disposed between a pair of electrodes, the luminescent layer containing at least one host material and at least one metal complex including a partial structure represented by formula (I):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a luminescent device that emits light by converting electric energy to light. The luminescent device of the invention can, in particular, be suitably used as an organic electroluminescent (EL) device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic electroluminescent (EL) devices are attracting attention as promising display devices because they provide luminescence with high brightness at a low voltage. An organic electroluminescent device capable of emitting light with high brightness has been disclosed (for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2002-324679), which is produced by a wet method using a luminescent dopant having a relatively larger solubility in a solvent, because a dry method (vapor-deposition method) for the production of a thin film lamination is inferior in improvement of production efficiency due to the complexity of the production process. Further, organic electroluminescent devices that are even more improved in terms of luminescent brightness and durability are demanded.
In order to produce an organic electroluminescent device having an organic layer having a multilayer structure, it is necessary when forming a luminescent layer by the wet method that a solvent is selected that can dissolve a dopant at a sufficient concentration without also dissolving a lower layer that has already been formed. Further, when forming a luminescent layer by the wet method, such problems exist as nonuniformity occurring in a layer due to evaporation of the solvent in a drying step after coating, and there is difficulty in maintaining a constant layer thickness. There are also cases where impurities, oxygen and water contained in the solvent, the binder or the like adversely affect the luminescent layer to cause deterioration both of luminescent brightness and of the durability of the luminescent device.

Organic electroluminescent device and method for producing the same

Abstract: wherein M represents a metal atom, R1, R2 and R4 to R8 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent, and R3 represents a group represented by formula (II), an alkoxy group or an aryloxy group:

Abstract: wherein R11 to R13 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent, provided that at least two of them each independently represent an alkyl group or an aryl group.


A multi-level ramp generator comprises three ramp generators. The first ramp generator generates a first ramp signal, comprising a sawtooth voltage waveform with a first common mode voltage and a first peak to peak voltage. The second ramp generator generates a second ramp signal, comprising a sawtooth voltage waveform with a second common mode voltage and a second peak-to-peak voltage. The third ramp generator generates a third ramp signal, comprising a sawtooth voltage waveform with a third common mode voltage and the second peak-to-peak voltage. The second and third ramp signals are in phase with each other and the first ramp signal is 180° out of phase with the second and third ramp signals. In some implementations, each of the first, second, and third ramp generators comprise a respective delay locked loop and a respective voltage controlled oscillator.

In some amplifier applications, a "class-D" amplifier architecture is used. For example, a class-D amplifier may be used in battery-powered audio applications. Multi-level class-D amplifiers may be coupled to a charge pump, which increases a voltage from a power supply and may be used to deliver higher power to a load (e.g., a speaker). In a multi-level class-D amplifier, the pulse width modulated output may switch between three voltage levels. The three voltage levels may be ground, a battery voltage, and a linked voltage from the charge pump. In some such systems, two ramp generators generate triangular voltage waveforms that are compared to an input signal to be amplified. The comparison of the input signal with the two ramps results in pulse width modulated signals. These pulse width modulated signals are provided to a controller in the amplifier, and inform control of an output stage of the amplifier. Use of only two ramps may cause an amplifier to be susceptible to common mode noise and to lose information in the negative part of the input signal.

Ramp generator for multilevel class-D amplifiers


A segmented optical node exploits a configuration module having arrayed all elements to go from a 1×4 to a 4×4 configuration, save optional redundant switches. A jumper board in the 1×, 2× path configures the node for 1×4 in one orientation and for 2×4 when flipped around 180 degrees. The 4×4 configuration is achieved by rotating the configuration module 90 degrees. In this orientation power to the module is also off, since the 4× configuration is passive.

Cable Operators are continually seeking means to meet the demand placed upon them to provide consumers with more services such as video on demand, Internet access, and voice over internet services. Because the laying of fiber is one of the very high costs incumbent upon a provider, Operators strive to configure networks to satisfy the greatest number of customers through existing fiber by understanding that generally the customers have two distinct needs. First, there are needs for broadcast content such as network television contact where content sent in the forward direction is the same across a broad number of consumers. In the business, this is described as point-to-multipoint services. Generally broadcast services are both analog (extending from Channel 2 at (55 MHz) to Channel 79 (553 MHz)) and digital (extending up to, alternatively 650 MHz or 750 MHz depending upon system design parameters).
For consumers there remains a second type of service known as narrowcast services such as Internet Access, telephony, or video on demand. For these services, known in the industry as multipoint-to-multipoint and carried on spectrum above that of broadcast services generally up to 1 GHz, content is unique on each path and there is no means by which to split and amplify a single signal to reach a large number of consumers. Rather each narrowcast signal is generally a single signal that reaches each consumer distinctly and generally is not split. Return path signals are a special case of narrowcasting in that they are unique signals from the consumer back up to the network headend. Return path signals include video on demand control signals, return Internet data, return telephony data. Return path signals are carried to the headend in frequency bands from 5 MHz to 40 MHz.
Optical nodes facilitate the transmission of data in both directions by serving as the connecting device between the higher capacity fiber optic cable that extends from the headend down to the lower capacity coaxial cable that is generally used to connect individual consumers to the network and carries a signal in that part of the signal spectrum known as radio frequency or RF. In its simplest configuration a conventional optical node is said to be in 1×1 configuration when, it receives one set of downstream content from the headend and transmits just one set of upstream return path signals. (1×1 does not refer to the specific relation between numbers of RF ports used but only to the signal relationship between the node and the headend.) For example, in a broadcast forward mode, an optical signal might enter an optical node having four RF ports for output. In this example, the optical node is in 1×1 configuration meaning that the single downstream signal is split and amplified such that all four ports have the same downstream content and all upstream return signals are combined into a single upstream optical signal. If, in this example, the optical node services a community with 1000 consumer households, each RF port might, if the load was perfectly balanced, carry an RF signal sufficient to serve 250 homes.
Distinct from a 1×1 configuration, a 4×4 configuration can be advantageous. As the name indicates the 4×4 optical node receives for forward distinct optical inputs and returns four distinct optical outputs to the headend. In this example, where four RF ports are present, the optical node converts the optical signals to four distinct electrical radio frequency (RF) signals, which it outputs each to one of the four ports. In essence, the system acts as four distinct optical to RF converters and in the reverse direction as RF to optical converts such that the signals inbound have a one to one relationship with the signals outbound. Thus, using a 4×4 optical node to transmit downstream may be costly in terms of fiber needed to service the network.
Because broadcast service can be carried by fewer optical fibers to serve the same community than is required to service the same community with narrowcast service, operators have found that fully segmentable optical nodes (i.e. those that can be configured to either split or combine signals in traversing between optical and RF ports) have great utility in networks. Operators find it difficult and costly to obtain the rights to place a large number of optical nodes at ground level because, often, many other utility providers must compete for the same space. Thus segmented optical nodes are extremely attractive to operators.
Without disturbing the basic fiber complement extending between a headend and the optical node, operators can install distinct configuration modules to distinctly task both optical interfaces and RF ports and can split signals as needed between them to create distinct configurations for both downstream and upstream signal transmission through the node.
Making an optical node capable to serve several distinct segmentation schemes incorporates very distinct power and hardware requirements. A first basic segmentation scheme is known as a 2×2 requires that a second receiver and a second transmitter be installed in the optical node and a pair of two-way splitters is introduced to replace the four-way splitter between the original single receiver/transmitter and the four RF ports.
In a second basic segmentation is known as the 4×4 configuration discussed above, two receivers and two transmitters are added to the two existing receivers and two existing transmitters such that a set of four jumpers is introduced into the system to replace the previous splitter pairs. This 4×4 allows each of a receiver/transmitter pair within the optical node to be commissioned for dedicated service to each of the 4 RF output ports.
Further complications result from the fact that traditional optical nodes rely on passive splitting for the 1×4 and 2×2 configurations, usually combined onto a device often known as a configuration module. As these often passive configuration modules have different split losses, the node is designed such that an amplifier is added to supply enough gain between the receiver and RF output section (called a launch amplifier) to overcome the split loss of the 1×4 split. When configure to facilitate the 2×2 split, the optical node now provides excess gain available because exchanging the two-way splitter for the four-way splitter results a lower loss which designers typically address by introduction of a corresponding amount of fixed attenuation. Similarly the loss of splitters in a 4×4 configuration also requires addition of still further attenuation. One consequence of this process is that, as the number of receivers and transmitters increase, the node consumes proportionately more power.
Unfortunately, as can readily be comprehended, each of these distinct modules with their distinct amplification and attenuation as employed in conventional optical node platforms must be separately designed and constructed. Further, the operator electing to reconfigure an optical node must also accommodate unique traffic management configurations, such as dedicating a receiver to 1 port or splitting 2 ports and dedicating a receiver each to the remaining 2 ports. So apart from requiring separate modules for splitting and amplification must also warehouse custom traffic modules. Individuals servicing the nodes are required to warehouse and keep a complete set of distinct modules on hand in order to configure each optical node as the need arises.
What is needed in the art is a readily configurable optical node that allows configuration with a single configurable module which does not require either unnecessary amplification or power loss.


A new non-invasive detection method for glucose and other constituents of interest in a sample has been developed. The apparatus and methods of the invention provide an analog of color perception of human vision, preferably in the near infrared region, replacing spectrophotometers and narrow band sources used in other noninvasive near infrared detection methods. A plurality of detector units are used, each covering a broad and overlapping region of the detected spectrum, paralleling color perception and colorimetry. In some circumstances, a neural net is used for analysis, allowing the system to learn. A novel method for background discrimination is also described.

The present invention concerns the testing for constituents of interest using radiation, preferably near infrared radiation. More particularly, an apparatus and a method of testing for constituents such as glucose, alcohol, drugs of abuse or other materials in a non-invasive manner have been developed. These methods are particularly well adapted for use in the home glucose testing market since they do not require a finger puncture to obtain a separable blood sample but rather can be utilized without bodily invasion.
Development of non-invasive testing method has become an important topic in the last several years. The spread of acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome (AIDS), and the associated fear among public and healthcare personnel of AIDS has made many people afraid of invasive procedures. "Invasive procedures," as used herein are procedures where a sample such as blood is taken from the body by puncture or other entry into the body before analysis, while non-invasive procedures do not require bodily penetration. Not only can diseases such as AIDS be spread with invasive procedures if proper precautions are not followed, hepatitis and other similar blood diseases are more common problems in this type of testing. For example, a recent article, "Nosocomiel transmission of Hepatitis B virus associated with the use of a spring-loaded finger-stick device," New England Journal of Medicine 326 (11), 721-725 (1992), disclosed a mini-hepatitis epidemic in a hospital caused by the improper use of an instrument for taking blood samples. The nurses were unintentionally transmitting hepatitis from one patient to another with the sampling devise itself. This type of disease transfer is eliminated with non-invasive testing.
The diabetic population has also been clamoring for non-invasive test instruments. Many diabetics must test their blood glucose levels four or more times a day. The modern battery powered instruments for home use require a finger prick to obtain the sample. The extracted blood sample is then placed on a chemically treated carrier which is inserted into the instrument to obtain a glucose reading. This finger prick is painful and can be a problem when required often. In addition, although the price has dropped considerably on these instruments, the cost for the disposables and the mess and health risks associated with having open bleeding is undesirable.
Accordingly, a number of groups have recently tried to make non-invasive instruments for testing a variety of analytes, particularly glucose. A recent trend in non-invasive testing has been to explore the use of the near infrared spectral region (700-1100 nm). This region contains the third overtones for the glucose spectrum and eliminates many of the water bands and other inference bands that are potential problems for detection. However, this work has been carried out using classic spectrophotometric methods such as a set of narrow wavelength sources, or scanning spectrophotometers which scan wavelength by wavelength across a broad spectrum. The data obtained from these methods are spectra which then require substantial data processing to eliminate background; accordingly, the papers are replete with data analysis techniques utilized to glean the pertinent information. Examples of this type of testing includes the work by Clarke, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,487; and Primarily the work by Rosenthal et al., see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,787. Although the Clarke work uses reflectance spectra and the Rosenthal work uses primarily transmission spectra, both rely on obtaining near infrared spectrophotometric data.
One problem with using these types of methods is that spectrophotometers were conceived primarily for accurate determination in terms of wavelength, of the spectral structure, rather than for discriminating the presence of weak broadband features in strong broadband backgrounds. Since in non-invasive testing for glucose and other materials the primary information sought is the concentration, those using spectrophotometric methods here had to resort to using a number of unsatisfactory analysis techniques to suppress unwanted interferences and to calculate the amplitude of the signal.
The Rosenthal U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,787 (the Rosenthal '787 Patent) illustrates this type of analysis technique for glucose testing using near infrared spectrophotometric methods.
First, a scan is made of 10 gl/.sub.I vs. wavelength and the raw data is analyzed. FIG. 1 of the present application is just such a plot, taken from the Rosenthal '787 Patent. Rosenthal takes the data developed from this scan and analyzes it using first and second derivative equations in an attempt to obtain meaningful information. Additional patents and articles by Rosenthal, Cavinato, and others have used similar techniques for determinations of levels of fat, ethanol, and other constituents of interest in a variety of samples.
However, all these techniques are dependent on the discrimination of the spectrophotometric data obtained. No form of data analysis can add to the initial information gathered; it can only put the measured information in a form which deemphasizes certain items of interference arising from the background or other constituents which make analysis of the sample difficult. A better solution to the problems of interference in broadband spectra is rather to obtain different raw data by measuring different aspects of the phenomenon.
As noted, FIG. 1 is a plot of 10gl/.sub.I vs. wavelength, taken using a scanning spectrophotometer. The scanning spectrophotometer takes a series of discrete, single wavelength intensities and presents them as a function of time to obtain the spectrum. A plurality of high resolution features are necessary to obtain meaningful information. However, the spectra of analytes of present interest do not include the large high resolution structures of classical infrared spectroscopy but rather have a few low resolution features with much of the information contained in the intensity. As such, these spectra appear more like the reflection spectra of colored objects in the visible region. A detection device optimized for analysis of this type of spectra would provide better discrimination.
Human vision is a incompetent spectrophotometer but is superb at the subtlest color discrimination and identification even under greatly varying illumination. The present invention measures or obtains the raw data in the infrared in a manner more similar to the way the eye Performs in the visible, than classic spectrophotometric measurements. While visual perception is very complex and not completely understood, one approach suggested is the obtaining and processing of the raw data as closely as possible to the known aspects of color perception, utilizing a succession of steps or processing levels. Each step itself provides a useful product and succeeding steps represent products of greater capability.
The first step is the analog of colorimetry. Colorimetry is numerical color communication. This numeric approach uses three dimensions to describe the color. There presently are several such three dimensions spaces in use. One of these three dimensional spaces is the CIE 1931 (x,y)-chromaticity diagram (See FIG. 2). Luminosity, the third dimension, is not shown in FIG. 2. It is the trivariant nature of color vision that permits color to be specified in a three dimensional space.
Another three dimensional space is represented in FIG. 3. A plot is made of hue, chroma and value and is shown as a three dimensional solid. These three numerical values can be used to specify any perceived color.
It is most important to note that although it is convenient to describe color in terms of a colorimetry, this is not color perception. Color perception is much more complex. However colorimetry is useful for color matching under specific conditions. An analog of colorimetry, particularly one in the infrared region, would show similar usefulness in determining analyte concentration.
There are commercially available colorimeters in the visible for measuring tristimulus values in terms of luminosity, hue and saturation. Briefly, these colorimeters use three detectors, with each detector input being filtered with a different filter function. Each of the filter functions is chosen to be similar to the three absorption spectra of the pigments of the three color receptive cones of the human retina. However, it appears no one has used, or even considered the use, of an analog of color perception for concentration measurements or even applied the method of colorimetry to infrared measurements as described herein.
Similarly, noninvasive measurement of arterial oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important technological advances in clinical patient monitoring. Pulse oximeters measure differences in the visible and near infrared absorption spectra of fully oxygenated and reduced hemoglobin in arterial blood. Unlike clinical blood gas analyzers, which require a sample of blood from the patient and can only provide intermittent measurement of patient oxygenation, pulse oximetry provide continuous, and instantaneous measurement of blood oxygen levels.
However, current commercial oximeters, and their algorithms are inaccurate under conditions of low pulse pressure and/or low oxygen saturation. These severe conditions are observed in the normal unborn fetus. Unlike the transmission sampling of the commercial oximeters, space limitations associated with the fetus require that the spectral data be obtained by reflectance sampling. Reflectance sampling results in spectral data with a significantly lower signal-to-noise ratios than obtained with transmission sampling. It has been suggested that a new analysis technique using multivariate calibration methods can improve the precision, accuracy and reliability of quantitative spectral analysis. Even these techniques are limited by the type of input data.
Accordingly, an object to the invention is to provide an apparatus which provides an analog of colorimetric detection units so as to allow the measurements of the concentration of a constituent of interest.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of measuring constituents of interest in a sample, preferably in a non-invasive manner, which is accurate, inexpensive and quick using an analog of a colorimetric analysis.
Another method of the invention is to provide a handheld instrument for glucose or drugs of abuse measurement based on the application of colorimetric type measurements to the near infrared region.
These and other objects and features will be apparent from the description and the accompanying drawing.


Embodiments for a toner auger for use in an image forming device. The image forming device includes a channel through which toner is moved. The auger is positioned within the channel and has an axis of rotation and at least one offset section extending radially outward from the axis of rotation. The offset section forms a sweep envelope that extends outward from the axis of rotation. The auger may be positioned within the channel for the offset to contact the channel. Contact may cause a vibratory force that prevents the toner from clogging and bridging within the channel.

During the image forming process, inefficiencies from the photoconductive member to the media create waste toner. This may include toner that has been applied to a photoconductive member but not transferred to a media sheet or belt, or toner that is applied to a belt but not transferred to the media sheet. This waste toner should be removed and transported away to prevent print quality problems. The waste toner may be stored at a variety of locations. Previous devices have stored the waste toner in an area adjacent to image formation area. Other designs transport the waste toner from the image formation area to a remote area within the device.
Regardless of the location of the waste toner reservoir, the waste toner is conveyed from the location where the waste toner is removed from the photoconductive member or belt to the waste toner reservoir. The path for moving the waste toner is usually an enclosed conduit having a reduced cross-sectional size. The cross-sectional size of the path is often kept as small as possible in an attempt to keep the overall size of the image forming device to a minimum. The physical properties of the waste toner and the pathway have caused issues in the ability to move the waste toner to the waste toner reservoir. In one instance, the waste toner accumulates within the pathway and forms a bridge that blocks additional toner from being transported through the pathway. Instead of passing through the pathway, the waste toner backs up and may ultimately leak into the image formation area.

Auger for use within an image forming device


A compensation design allows for use of a generic servoamplifier for multiple types of actuator Direct Drive Valves (DDV). Cost savings can be realized by using common electronics applied to multiple actuator types. The implementation allows for design of the compensation directly from experimentally or analytically derived frequency performance curves of the generic servoamplifier resulting in the performance comparable to a custom servoamplifier for the direct drive valves.

Typical high performance actuators are controlled by specialized analog electronics tailored specifically to the actuator type, even if the commands are synthesized digitally. Vehicles such as high performance aircraft typically have unique electronic circuits for each actuator type on that aircraft.
Such custom-designed actuators have a number of drawbacks. Safety-of-flight testing required for flight critical electronics cause an expensive and time-consuming requirement to qualify hardware, including reliability testing and failure mode and effects analysis. By contrast, modifying merely a software parameter or control equation for a new application would eliminate many of the hardware qualification testing requirements. Software test requirements would not increase significantly given that a new application would likely involve new software anyway. Moreover, a system such as an aircraft has different requirements at each control surface, and thus custom-designed actuators and associated loop closure designs for each. The cost of developing unique control electronics for each actuator type can be significantly higher than an approach that utilizes a common design throughout the vehicle. This concept can be extended to the utilization of common hardware across vehicle platforms and/or non-vehicular applications to achieve economies of scale. The present approach increases the logistical tail required to maintain and support the vehicles in terms of unique part numbers, technical publications, etc.

Compensation for generic servoamplifier usage with high performance direct drive valves


A tire has a radial carcass reinforcement surmounted radially on the outside by a crown reinforcement which includes at least two working plies and two meridian reinforcement plies. The axially innermost ends of the meridian reinforcement plies are spaced axially apart. Each meridian reinforcement ply has a plurality of reinforcing elements making an angle larger than 60° with the tire's circumferential direction. The crown reinforcement also includes a circumferential reinforcement whose reinforcing elements make an angle no greater than 10° with the tire's equatorial plane. The tensile rigidity of the circumferential reinforcement in the circumferential direction in areas thereof that are radially coincident with the meridian reinforcement plies is lower than the tensile rigidity of the circumferential reinforcement in areas thereof that are not so radially coincident.

A tire for a passenger car generally comprises a radial carcass reinforcement anchored in two beads and surmounted radially by a crown reinforcement, itself surmounted radially by a tread designed to be in contact with the road during rolling. The crown reinforcement comprises at least two layers, each formed of a plurality of reinforcing elements, the reinforcing elements of one layer being crossed relative to those of the adjacent layers.
These layers can for example be made in the form of plies, each ply consisting of a plurality of filaments or cords essentially parallel to one another. In another known form, the reinforcing elements are positioned individually or in groups of several at a time during the fabrication of the tire, without going through the prior stage of producing the plies. For convenience, in the text that follows, "ply" will be used to denote any layer of the crown reinforcement, regardless of how the said layer is obtained.
In the case of a tire whose carcass has textile reinforcing elements, to increase the mechanical triangulation effect in combination with the working plies it is known to provide the crown of the tire with a single additional ply whose reinforcing elements make an angle longer than 60° relative to the equatorial plane of the tire.
By definition, the equatorial plane of a tire is the plane perpendicular to the tire's rotation axis, which divides the crown reinforcement axially into two essentially identical parts.
In another known arrangement, instead of a single ply two additional plies can be used, positioned on either side of the equatorial plane whether symmetrically or not relative thereto.
Besides, and having regard to the high rotation speeds to which passenger car tires are subjected, it is known to provide the crowns of such tires with at least one additional reinforcement whose reinforcing elements are arranged essentially parallel to the equatorial plane (i.e. making an angle smaller than 10° with that plane). The reinforcing elements of this additional reinforcement can be textile or metallic and are chosen to have appropriate resistance to the forces to which the tires are subjected in service.
In the state of the prior art, Japanese document JP06/171308 shows a tire crown comprising two working plies, an additional meridian reinforcing ply (i.e. a ply whose reinforcing elements make an angle larger than 60° with the circumferential direction) positioned radially between the carcass and a first working ply, and radially outside the working plies, two additional layers of reinforcement elements orientated in the circumferential direction. On the other hand, document JP05/069702 shows a tire that can have a meridian reinforcement ply centered on the equatorial plane, or two meridian reinforcement plies arranged symmetrically relative to the said plane; that document also specifies the presence of two circumferential reinforcements arranged at the axially outer ends of the meridian reinforcement ply.
Another document, FR 2421074, describes a tire comprising two small meridian reinforcement plies arranged symmetrically relative to the equatorial plane and under the ends of the working plies; a single circumferential reinforcement is also provided, which is positioned axially between the said two small meridian reinforcement plies.
It was found that these solutions were not entirely satisfactory during the use of tires that have to meet the performance requirements of the vehicles produced nowadays and the requirements of users in relation to wear resistance (increased useful life) of the tires in service.


A main piston bushing for a service valve portion of a brake control valve includes a cylindrical sidewall defining a central passageway extending longitudinally through the main piston bushing, the central passageway being surrounded by an internal surface of the cylindrical sidewall. The central passageway is configured to receive the main piston assembly of the service valve portion. The internal surface of the cylindrical sidewall includes a first ramp and a second ramp defined therein, the first ramp and the second ramp being configured to engage a portion of the main piston assembly of the service valve portion to restrain movement of the main piston assembly.

Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a brake apparatus for railway vehicles and, more particularly, to a main piston bushing of a service portion of a brake control valve.
Description of Related Art
China Railways have a standardized pneumatic air brake valve, called 120-1 type, which is similar in overall operation to American Association of Railroads (AAR) pneumatic air brake valves (such as the WABCO ABDX), with a pipe bracket, service valve portion, and emergency valve portion.
The service valve portion of such valves typically includes a body with a central opening that houses a main piston assembly that is housed within the central opening. A main piston bushing is positioned within the central opening of the body of the service valve portion between the central opening and the main piston assembly. The main piston assembly includes a service slide valve and a service graduating valve that is assembled on the service piston. The service slide valve, the service graduating valve, and the main bushing each includes a number of openings and passages extending therethrough that define porting patterns. The service slide valve and the service graduating valve are movable with respect to the piston passageway of the body of the service valve portion, with respect to the main bushing, and with respect to each other. Accordingly, various flow passageways are opened through the service valve portion depending upon the relative position of the service slide valve, the service graduating valve, and the main bushing with respect to each other, and the alignment of the various openings and recesses that define the porting patterns of the service slide valve, the service graduating valve, and the main bushing. The service valve portion will perform various brake valve functions, which involve the flow of pressurized air between various locations within the brake line system, depending upon the relative positioning and alignment. This type of system brake valve control is well known to those having ordinary skill in the art and is utilized in the Chinese 120-1 type valves and in the ABDX and ABDW-type brake control valves, which are manufactured by the WABTEC Corporation.
In the ABDX-type brake control valve, the main piston bushing contains a single spring ramp machined into an interior surface of the bushing. The specific purpose of the spring ramp is to provide a slight delay of the main piston assembly to provide a more aggressive preliminary quick service function. This is done by one end of the main piston assembly's wing spring, which must climb out of the spring ramp in the main bushing, before the service slide valve moves out of its release position.
However, when the main piston assembly moves the service slide valve from its release position to its service position, the only mechanism that stops the service slide valve in this position is a combination of the friction between the service slide valve face and its seat, as well as the rate at which the pressure differential between the auxiliary reservoir and the brake pipe is dissipated across the diaphragm-actuated main piston assembly. Depending upon the specific configuration of the brake valve system, it is critical that the service slide valve be stopped in its service position on a consistent basis. If it does not, the service slide valve could travel further to either its boost position or possible jump position on the initial brake application, depending upon the amount of pressure differential and friction acting upon the main piston assembly.

Service main piston bushing containing two spring ramps


Systems and methods are provided for evaluating financial information, including systems and methods with computational/evaluation capability to process data sets comprising financial data. In one of the implementations, the systems and methods may be utilized for asset accounting. A calculation module may be provided that includes an evaluation engine that operates internally on a flat, generic data structure that is independent of the particular application. The externally-defined data structure of the data set may be mapped onto the internal data structure. Further, rules-based modules may provide information related to the client-defined rules. A user interface may enable a user to receive back the evaluated financial information, for a specified time period, the financial information being responsive to an original user request entered via the user interface. As a result, the evaluation engine can be used for a variety of different applications.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data evaluation systems and methods. More particularly, the invention relates to financial systems and methods that use an encapsulated engine to perform evaluation and calculation of data sets.
2. Background Information
Financial environments have become increasingly complex. Developers of computer systems and programs for these environments need to take into consideration an array of different factors and issues. As a result, any newly developed system or program, that aims at effectively dealing with the challenges of the financial sector, is typically developed on a case-by-case basis, and is limited to the specific application for which it was developed.
In recent years, programmers have devoted considerable effort to developing programs that are somewhat adaptable to different situations, so as to reduce the need to create and reprogram source code. Accordingly, such engines, although perhaps providing significant adaptability, are still application-specific engines and would require substantial code revision to be re-used in other applications.
The specific business environments for which the financial programs are developed are as varied as the companies and industries in which they exist. The differences include, for example, country-related factors and industry-related factors.
The country-related factors include various legal environments, for example, different tax laws; or different accounting methods, for example, the "declining balance method" used in Japan and Korea or the depreciation on the group asset level used in the USA.
Industry-related factors relate to the way assets are accounted for in different industries and the available business records. Often, the usage of accounting information may be provided in an industry standard or proprietary format. Accordingly, accounting, as well as, financial programs are generally designed on a case-by-case basis to handle particular types of data and specific data structures.
In order to deal with multiple factors, ready-made financial programs are usually inadequate and companies decide to custom-design programs for particular applications so as to support, for example, externally-defined data according to client-defined rules. However, the process of developing custom code on a per application basis is expensive, disruptive to the company's business, and unreliable. Significant company resources are often devoted to educating the developers, providing test data, analysing the test results and troubleshooting the program. In addition, due to the complexity of developing custom code from basic principles, the resulting programs are prone to errors or inadequate performance and may take significant time to develop into satisfactory products.

Systems, methods and computer programs for financial data evaluation


A screen cleaning apparatus for use, for example, in connection with a discharge conduit of a sewage pumping station, may include a housing, a screen, a rake and a float. The housing may operate to contain a fluid (and/or define a container for the other components) and include a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. The screen may be positioned in the housing and define one or more apertures. The rake may also be positioned in the housing and have one or more protrusions, with each protrusion extending into a respective aperture in the screen. The float may apply a force to the rake so that the rake moves relative to the screen and in dependence upon variations of a volume of fluid received in the housing. Accordingly, the rake may rise and fall will the fluid level to remove debris from the screen.

The present invention relates to an automatic screen-cleaning apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an automatic screen cleaning apparatus for use as part of a sewage pumping station or the like.
Sewage pumping stations are conventionally underground structures that foul or surface water sewage is discharged into There are various types of sewage stations, but in smaller systems the sewage station is typically a wet well i.e. where the pumping station houses one or more submersible pumps which pump the sewage onwards to its next destination. In a larger station there may be a separate dry well, adjacent to the wet well, which houses the pumps. Alternatively, on some pumping stations the pumps may be housed above ground near the wet well.
In storm conditions or other extreme circumstances which would be sufficient to flood the pumping station with sewage in volumes which exceed the intended capacity of the sewage pumping station, many pumping stations have consent to discharge sewage in a controlled manner into a nearby river or stream. Such consent is issued by the Environmental Agency in an effort to avoid a breach of raw sewage at ground level where the pumping station is situated. In the event of such an extreme situation arising, sewage is discharged from the pumping station via an outfall' into a nearby river or stream.
The most common causes of flooding of pumping stations include heavy rainfall, electrical power failure, for example caused by power-cuts, mechanical breakdown of pumps, and downstream blockage of the sewage transit pipe system.
Most pumping stations are required to filter the sewage to prevent larger particles of sewage solids or Rag being discharged. Rag is the generic name for any non-organic material that is present in the sewage liquid and includes materials such as toilet tissue, old dish cloths and other fabric materials, and other items that may be found floating on the top of the sewage surface.
If the screen becomes blocked, less filtered sewage is discharged and thus, if more sewage is entering the pumping station that is able to be discharged through the blocked or partially blocked screen, the sewage level at the pumping station rises and eventually the sewage will breach the ground surface, rather than being safely discharged into a nearby river or stream. As some pumping stations are located in residential areas, this is both unhygienic and undesirable.
One prior art solution that attempts to address this problem involves a high pressure jet arrangement located so as to spray the residue or rag off the screen in a cleaning action, thereby keeping the screen in an unblocked state. Such systems may be automated when used in combination with a sonar device, but have expensive installation and operating costs. For most pumping stations the cost of automated screen cleaning is not economical, and so the screen is cleaned manually using a rake or a mobile pressure washer when an operator visits the site. The manual cleaning is normally triggered after a storm event, but this operation is often missed and the screen remains at least partially blocked.
There is therefore a need for a low cost way to facilitate efficient automated screen cleaning.


A method for the production of a food item having a filling includes conveying a food item to a first filling station. The filling station has a first rotating stencil with a first plurality of filling discharge ports. At least one first filling segment is formed by discharging filling, through the discharge ports, onto the food item. The food item is conveyed to a second filling station. The second filling station has a second rotating stencil with a second plurality of filling discharge ports. At least one additional filling segment is formed by discharging filling, through the second plurality discharge ports, onto the food item wherein the at least one additional filling segment is disposed on the food item adjacent to the at least one first filling segment.

Sandwich cookies and crackers can have a variety of shapes and configurations. Examples of such configurations include elongate or rectangular biscuits with filling disposed between the biscuits. It is sometimes desirable to include multiple fillings in a biscuit sandwich. Depositing multiple fillings on a biscuit can be challenging, for example, in a continuous high volume continuous production system where the biscuit is elongate and the fillings have different viscosities and large volumes of evenly distributed fillings are desired.

Process and system for depositing filling on a biscuit


A method and system for establishing connection between two wireless devices. The method and system includes establishing connection authentication between the wireless devices, and measuring and the signal strength between the two devices. Predetermined values related to signal strength and signal rate change are established, and connection is allowed if the values are met.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless devices, in particular to a method and system to discriminate connection between wireless devices avoiding needless interruption to a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Information handling systems in general have attained widespread use in business as well as personal computing environments. An information handling system, as referred to herein, may be defined as an instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities primarily designed to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle or utilize any form of information, intelligence or data for business, scientific, control or other purposes. The information handling system may be configured for a specific user application or requirement such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage and/or global communications. In general, an information handling system may include a variety of hardware and/or software components that may be configured to provide information and/or consume information. An information handling system may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and/or networking systems.
Information handling systems such as personal computers (PC) have traditionally relied on wired connections to communicate to other PCs; computers such as servers; personal digital assistants (PDA); and peripherals such as printers, scanners, and Internet cameras.
Infrared and wireless technologies have provided the ability for PCs to wirelessly connect to peripherals and to one another. This type of connection facilitates communication over limited distances with a considerable exchange of information and data. As used in the present disclosure, the term "connection" is generally defined to include point-to-point connections and network connections.
Through industry-sponsored specifications, direct wireless communication links between PCs, computers, peripherals, and other devices have evolved into structured and controlled communication. Industry specifications include the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineering (IEEE) 802.11 standards and related derivatives (e.g., 802.11(a) and 802.11(b)). Another popular and related wireless communication specification is the Bluetooth™ standard developed and supported by the Bluetooth™ consortium. Generally, these specifications rely on radio frequency communication in a specified range. Such wireless communications technologies provide for small form-factor, low-cost radio solutions that provide links between mobile PCs such as laptops; mobile or cellular phones; and other portable handheld devices such as PDAs; and allow for connectivity to the Internet and other networks.
Further, such wireless communications technologies allow for wireless personal area networks (WPAN) to be created with and between roaming wireless devices. For example, as a wireless device enters a WPAN or WLAN that is enabled with IEEE 802.11, 802.11(b) or 802.11 (a), Bluetooth™, or similar wireless technology, the wireless device may become part of the WPAN or WLAN. The wireless device is then able to communicate with other devices. Devices are advised of other devices, peripherals, and connections that are available on the particular network.
In a typical scenario with a desktop PC within a WPAN, the user of the desktop PC may be made aware of devices that are in the WPAN. As a wireless mobile device enters the WPAN, the user may desire to be made aware of the presence of the wireless mobile device entering the WPAN. Generally, wireless-technology-enabled devices, automatically advise all other devices of their presence as they enter a zone in which they are able to connect to the WPAN. With the growing use of wireless connectivity technology in portable devices such as PDAs and cellular telephones, whenever a user carrying such a device enters the connectivity zone of the user WPAN, the user is made aware of the presence of the device causing non-solicited interruptions. To lock out all passing wireless technology devices that enter the zone of the user WPAN would exclude communicating with devices that the user desires to connect to.


A method for verifying an operation of a reconfigurable processor is provided. The method includes generating a random test program using a test description and an architecture description, executing the generated random test program in the reconfigurable processor and in a simulator, and then comparing types of output values in the execution result.

1. Field
Methods consistent with the following description relate to verification of reconfigurable processors.
2. Description of the Related Art
A reconfigurable architecture refers to a spatial structure of a device that will be modified so as to be optimized for a specific operation.
Performing an operation using only a hardware configuration is not efficient and cannot properly respond to changing operations of the hardware. By contrast, in the case where an operation is performed using only a software configuration, it is possible to modify the software to match changing operations, but an operation speed would be slower than when only a hardware configuration is used.
However, a reconfigurable architecture takes the advantages of both hardware and software. In particular, the reconfigurable architecture is considered useful in digital signal processing which requires the same operation to be performed repeatedly.
There are many kinds of the reconfigurable architectures. A case in point is Coarse-Grained Array which consists of functional units connected to each other. In order to match an operation to be executed, the Coarse-Grained Array changes the way functional units are connected to each other to thereby be optimized for the operation.
A test program is utilized to verify the reconfigurable architecture. For example, Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSPs) may be used as a test program. CSPs are mathematical problems defined as a set of objects whose state must satisfy a number of constraints or limitations. CSPs represent the entities in a problem as a homogeneous collection of finite constraints over variables, which are solved by constraint satisfaction methods.
However, related art test programs, such as CSPs, require both syntactic and semantic knowledge of an instruction.
In addition, while there are a number of functional units (FUs) in a reconfigurable processor, a CSP has thousands of constraints. Thus, it may be infeasible to verify the reconfigurable processor, which has a set of distinctive instructions, using a CSP.

Method for verification of reconfigurable processor

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