An organic polymeric phosphorescent compound and an organic light-emitting device employing the organic polymeric phosphorescent compound. The phosphorescent compound is a neutral organic polymeric phosphorescent compound emitting phosphorescence and used in an organic light-emitting device, and includes a phosphorescent unit and a carrier transporting unit.

For a display apparatus such as a flat panel display or a lighting fixture such as a back light, an organic light-emitting device emitting an electro-luminescence from a thin film made from an organic compound has been noted as a device by which a bright luminescence can be obtained at a low voltage.
Research and development for an increase in surface area employing a luminescent organic polymer soluble in an organic solvent or water are performed actively with respect to a styrene-based and a fluorene-based organic polymer as a material of a film in an organic light-emitting device. As a method for forming a film of such an organic polymer, a wet process such as a spin-coating method, a printing method, and an ink-jet method have been utilized. In particular, the ink-jet method is envisaged as a realistic method for creating pixels of a display screen in a full color display and a compact full-color prototype panel has already been disclosed.
On the other hand, research for great improvement of emission efficiency with respect to low-molecular compounds of which a film is formed by a vacuum deposition method has been performed actively and an organometallic compound with platinum or iridium, utilizing phosphorescence that is an emission from a triplet excited state of an organic compound, has been reported. An external emission quantum yield for an organic light-emitting device utilizing this phosphorescent compound exceeds 5% for a conventional device utilizing fluorescence and a high efficiency of 8% was obtained recently, and even a very high efficiency of 15% has been obtained by devising a structure of a device (Appl. Phys. Lett., 77, 904 (2000)).
There is a research report for a dope-type organic polymer light-emitting device in which this low-molecular phosphorescent compound is dispersed into an organic polymer, and for such a device that an iridium complex is doped into poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK), the value of approximately 4% was obtained as an external emission quantum yield and a large improvement is appreciated (Jpn. J. Appl. Phys, 39, L28 (2000)). Also, for an organic polymer containing a ruthenium complex, an electrochemical luminescence was reported (J. Mater. Chem., 9, 2103 (1999)).
However, a conventional organic polymer light-emitting device, for which it is intended to realize an increase in surface area at low cost, has not been sufficient in respect to emission efficiency. The cause is that the theoretical external emission efficiency has an upper limit of 5% since fluorescence that is luminescence from a singlet excited state of a conventional organic polymer is utilized. Although an organic polymer light-emitting device has a major feature in that a film of an organic polymer layer can be formed from a solution in an organic solvent or water by a wet process, further improvement of emission efficiency is a problem for practice in the future.
Also, gaining great improvement of emission efficiency has been tried by dispersing a low-molecular phosphorescent compound into an organic polymer light-emitting device, but the low-molecular one dispersed into a host polymer is not stable and a display apparatus with a long service life and a reliability over a long period cannot be realized.
Therefore, taking the future realization of an organic light-emitting device into consideration, development of a novel organic polymeric luminescent material is desired, of which a film is formed from a solution in an organic solvent or water by a wet process, thereby an increase in surface area can be realized at low cost, which is stable, that is, has a long service life, and for which very highly efficient emission can be realized.

Phosphorescent compound, a phosphorescent composition and an organic light-emitting device


Compression of message headers. A message including an uncompressed header, a message including a compressed header or a request to support header compression is received. In response, a determination of the impact of header compression on performance is determined. If the determination is favorable, then header compression is supported for subsequent communications. However, if the determination is not favorable, then header compression is not supported for subsequent communications. If the impact of header compression on performance is determined to be favorable, then an identifier for a reference header is returned. The identifier is for use in a subsequent compressed header. The subsequent compressed header comprises the identifier and changes relative to the reference header. A server receives a message including a compressed header. The server determines whether it has sufficient memory or storage to support header compression. If so, the server handles the message, but if not, the server refuses to handle the message or notifies a sender of the message that it will not support header compression for subsequent messages.

The invention relates generally to digital communication, and deals more particularly with a technique for header compression within a digital communication.
Digital communication is well known today between clients and servers where the client can be a desktop or laptop computer, personal digital assistant ("PDA"), cell phone, device instrumentation, and sophisticated equipment. There are several well known communication protocols such as Simple Object Access Protocol ("SOAP"), TCP/IP, HTTP, and SMTP. Typically, the communication comprises a payload and a header. The header may include routing instructions (such as a destination address), name of an originating client, service or document, date, security instructions, security credentials, encryption methodology, etc. The payload can be a database object of an object oriented database, other file data, a request to read or write data, a request for a web page, executable commands, etc. The header and payload are contained by and constitute an "envelope". The length of each message affects the bandwidth/transmission time required for the transmission.
For certain types of communications, such as transfers of large documents from a desk top or lap top personal computer to a server computer using HTTP protocol, the header is a relatively small portion of each message, and therefore is not burdensome to transmit. However, in other types of communications, such as from a PDA, cell phone, device instrumentation to a server using SOAP, the header consumes a relatively large portion of each message and therefore, is burdensome to transmit. Multiple messages from a client to a server may include a similar header for each message, particularly if the messages occur during the same session or are otherwise related. For example, if the messages are all part of same unit of work, they will all likely have the same encryption key, routing, originating device, date, etc. As another example, different messages from a PDA or cell phone to a server occurring during the same session are considered related and may include a similar header. As another example, the transfer of a large file using SOAP may be accomplished using multiple, related messages with similar headers. The headers may differ only in a sequence number for the message, time stamp and document originator. There are known techniques to compress a message header.
Published US Patent Applications 2002/0129167 A1 and 2002/0129168 A1 disclose a header compression technique. Headers are named, and cached at both the client and server. When a message is sent with a new header, its name/ID is sent instead of the full header along with a list of differences from the named header. The differences are based on a byte-by-byte comparison of the new header versus the named header. With the reference header name and list of differences, the server can reconstruct the full header.
Published US Patent Application 2003/0013431 A1 discloses another header compression technique. A header is sent from a client to a server, and cached at both the client and the server. Subsequently, the client prepares another message with a header where the fields that differ from the previously sent header are left blank; the changed fields are included in the header. Upon receipt at the server, the server fills in the blank fields from the previously cached header.
While the foregoing header compression techniques are viable and efficient in some situations, they may not be viable and efficient in others.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a header compression and analysis technique which considers the viability and efficiency of header compression.

International Business Machines Corporation


Various neural-network based surrogate model construction methods are disclosed herein, along with various applications of such models. Designed for use when only a sparse amount of data is available (a “sparse data condition”), some embodiments of the disclosed systems and methods: create a pool of neural networks trained on a first portion of a sparse data set; generate for each of various multi-objective functions a set of neural network ensembles that minimize the multi-objective function; select a local ensemble from each set of ensembles based on data not included in said first portion of said sparse data set; and combine a subset of the local ensembles to form a global ensemble. This approach enables usage of larger candidate pools, multi-stage validation, and a comprehensive performance measure that provides more robust predictions in the voids of parameter space.

The following references are helpful to understand the present disclosure and are hereby incorporated herein by reference:                [1] Y. S. Ong, P. B. Nair, and A. J. Keane, "Evolutionary optimization of computationally expensive problems via surrogate modeling," AIAA Journal, vol. 41, No. 4, 2003, pp. 687-696.        [2] K. Hamza and K. Saitou, "Vehicle crashworthiness design via a surrogate model ensemble and a co-evolutionary genetic algorithm," Proc. of ASME International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, Long Beach, Calif., September 2005.        [3] S. Obayashi, D. Sasaki, Y. Takeguchi, and N. Hirose, "Multiobjective evolutionary computation for supersonic wing-shape optimization," IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, vol. 4, No. 2, 2000, pp. 182-187.        [4] Z. Zhou, Y. S. Ong, M. H. Nguyen, D. Lim, "A study on polynomial regression and Gaussian process global surrogate model in hierarchical surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm," Proc. of IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, September 2005.        [5] S. Dutta, D. Misra, R. Ganguli, B. Samanta and S. Bandopadhyay, "A hybrid ensemble model of Kriging and neural networks for ore grade estimation," International Journal of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Environment, vol. 20, no. 1, 2006, pp. 33-45.        [6] J. M. Twomey and A. E. Smith, "Committee networks by resampling," in Intelligent Engineering Systems through Artificial Neural Networks, C. H. Dagli, M. Akay, C. L. P. Chen, B. R. Fernandez and J. Ghosh, Eds. ASME Press, 1995, vol. 5, pp. 153-158.        [7] A. Krogh, J. Vedelsby, "Neural network ensembles, cross validation, and active learning," in Advances in Neural Information Processing System 7, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1995, pp. 231-238.        [8] G. Brown, J. Wyatt, R. Harris and X. Yao, "Diversity creation methods: A survey and categorization," Journal of Information Fusion, vol. 6, no. 1, January 2005, pp. 5-20.        [9] Y. Liu, X. Yao, "Ensemble learning via negative correlation," Neural Networks, vol. 12, pp. 1399-1404.        [10] M. Islam, X. Yao, "A constructive algorithm for training cooperative neural network ensembles," vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 820-834.        [11] G. P. Coelho and F. J. Von Zuben, "The influence of the pool of candidates on the performance of selection and combination techniques in ensembles," in Proc. of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2006, pp. 10588-10595.        [12] J. Torres-Sospedra, M. Femandez-Redondo, and C. Hernandez-Espinosa, "A research on combination methods for ensembles of multilayer feedforward," Proc. of International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, 2005, pp. 1125-1130        [13] D. Chen, J. A. Quirein, H. D. Smith, S. Hamid, J. Grable, "Neural network ensemble selection using a multi-objective genetic algorithm in processing pulsed neutron data," Society of Petrophysicists Well Log Analysts (SPLWA)45th Annual Logging Symposium, Jun. 6-9, 2004, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.        [14] D. Chen, J. A. Quirein, H. Smith, S. Hamid, J. Grable, and S. Reed, "Variable input neural network ensembles in generating synthetic well logs," Proc. of International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 2006, pp. 2273-2280.        [15] Y. Jin, T. Okabe, and B. Sendhoff, "Neural network regularization and ensembling using multi-objective evolutionary algorithms," in Proc. Congress on Evolutionary Computation, Portland, Oreg., 2004, pp. 1-8.        [16] H. A. Abbass, "Pareto neuro-evolution: Constructing ensemble of neural networks using multi-objective optimization," in Proc. Congress on Evolutionary Computation, Can berra, Australia, 2003, pp. 2074-2080.        [17] A. Chandra and X. Yao, "DIVACE: Diverse and accurate ensemble learning algorithm," in The Fifth International Conference on Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning, Exeter, UK, 2004, pp. 619-625.        [18] P. Castillo, M. Arenas, J. Merelo, V. Rivas, and G. Romero, "Multiobjective optimization of ensembles of multilayer perceptrons for pattern classification," in Parallel Problem Solving from Nature IX, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2006, pp. 453-462.        [19] Y. Jin, M. Olhofer, and B. Sendhoff, "A framework for evolutionary optimization with approximate fitness functions," IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, vol. 6, no. 5, 2002, pp. 481-494.        [20] B. S. Yang, Y. Yeun, and W. Ruy, "Managing approximation models in multiobjective optimization," in Structure and Multidisciplinary Optimization, vol. 24, no. 2, 2002, pp. 141-156.        [21] R. Maclin, J. W. Shavlik, "Combining the predictions of multiple classifiers: using competitive learning to initialize neural networks," in Proc. of the 14th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Montreal, Canada, 1995, pp. 524-530.        [22] P. Sollich and A. Krogh, "Learning with ensembles: how over-fitting can be useful," in Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 8, D. S. Touretzky, M. C. Mozer, and M. E. Hasselmo, Eds. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1996, pp. 190-196        [23] R. S. Renner, "Combining constructive neural networks for ensemble classification," in Proc. Of the International Joint Conference on Intelligent System, Atlantic City, N.J., 2000, pp. 887-891.
Usage of high-fidelity simulation tools such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), for example, has become standard practice in engineering today. However, the expensive computational cost associated with running such simulation tools is often prohibitive, preventing engineers from conducting enough simulations to discern an optimal design. To address this issue and facilitate product optimization, engineers have in some cases developed surrogate models that are computationally efficient, robust, and can be used for preliminary analysis before unleashing the high-fidelity simulation tools on selected designs. The surrogate models can be incorporated into a search engine to locate potentially feasible designs and to identify design problem areas [1-3].
Several surrogate modeling techniques (neural networks, polynomial regression, Gaussian process, etc.) are available today. The most suitable surrogate model technique will vary based on the specific problem and the engineer's experience [4-5], and the performance of the various techniques can be expected to vary significantly when only a limited amount of design data is available from which to develop the surrogate model. In neural network modeling, for example, an over-trained neural network developed under sparse data conditions will memorize the training data and fail to generalize well on the unseen new data. However, an under-trained neural network whose development is terminated by conventional early-stopping will perform poorly even on the given training examples. Traditionally, the prediction error of a neural network generated from sparse data has been estimated using resampling based cross-validation (leave-one-out) and bootstrap methods [6]. When only a single neural network is employed, the estimated prediction error is usually quite high.
Compared to single neural networks, neural network ensembles offer a more robust surrogate model by combining multiple predictions from diverse member networks. Many studies in this area are related to incorporative training (ambiguity decomposition [7-8], negative correlation learning [9-10]) and selection/combination methods [11-12], but less attention has been paid to surrogate model development from sparse data.
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Neural-network based surrogate model construction methods and applications thereof


An integrated circuit structure including multiple thin film resistors having different sheet resistances and TCRs includes a first oxide layer (2) formed on a semiconductor substrate (1), a first thin film resistor (3) disposed on the first oxide layer (2), and a second oxide layer (14) disposed over the first oxide layer (2) and first thin film resistor (3). A second thin film resistor (15) is formed on the second oxide layer (14) and a third oxide layer (16) is formed over the second thin film resistor (15) and the second oxide layer (14). Interconnect metallization elements (12A,B & 22A,B) disposed on at least one of the second (14) and third (16) oxide layers electrically contact the circuit element (4), terminals of the first thin film resistor (3), and terminals of the second thin film resistor (15), respectively, through corresponding contact openings through at least one of the second (14) and third (16) oxide layers.

The present invention relates generally to practical thin film resistor structures and methods for integrating multiple thin film resistors of the same or different sheet resistances and the same or different temperature coefficients of resistance, and to providing a practical means of adjusting the temperature coefficient of integrated circuit components.
Design engineers would be able to better optimize some integrated circuit designs if it were practical and economical to integrate thin film resistors having various sheet resistances and TCRs (temperature coefficients of resistance) into a single integrated circuit structure. However, there has been no practical, economical way to accomplish this because temperature processing cycles associated with forming subsequent thin film resistor layers subsequent to formation of a first thin film resistor layer would cause a variety of difficult integrated circuit processing problems. For example, controlling the effect of various thermal cycles on the sheet resistances and TCRs of the multiple thin film resistors formed on successive oxide layers may be very difficult. Also, the presence of metallization layers in integrated structures including thin film resistors on multiple layers may make it very difficult to design subsequent thermal cycles of the kind needed to be compatible with the thin film resistor properties. Design engineers frequently find it desirable to use a resistor having a large positive TCR to offset a negative TCR of a another circuit element. However, there has been no practical way of providing high-precision thin film resistors having positive TCRs in typical integrated circuit structures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,168 entitled "Bilayer of Thin Film Resistor and Method for Manufacture", issued Apr. 19, 1977 to Franklyn M. Collins, describes an integrated circuit structure including a layer of tantalum on a layer of nichrome for the purpose of stabilizing the sheet resistance of the nichrome. However, the foregoing patent is not directed to issues regarding the TCR of thin film resistors.
It is conventional to adjust the thickness or sheet resistance of a resistive thin film layer by using suitable thermal anneal cycles to achieve a target sheet resistance and a target TCR for a deposited SiCr layer. Empirical curves have been developed that represent the relationships between the TCR and sheet resistance of various resistive thin film materials as functions of various integrated circuit processing parameters, such as the type of resistive material, thermal cycle temperatures and durations, etc. Once the sheet resistance of a thin film layer is known, the amount of annealing needed to increase its TCR by a desired amount can be determined from the curves. However, the technique of using thermal cycles to obtain a TCR target value that is precisely equal to zero or other value is not practical for some materials and for some sheet resistances, especially for SiCr, and especially for making very low resistance thin film resistors which are very wide and very short and therefore are of substantially reduced accuracy.
There is an unmet need for a practical method and integrated circuit structure for providing various combinations of the same or different high or low sheet resistances and the n same or different TCRs for two or more thin film resistors, each on a different player.
There also is an unmet need for a practical technique for providing a thin film resistor structure that can be used to offset the TCR of integrated circuit elements in which the TCR is not easily adjustable during integrated circuit manufacture.
There also is an unmet need for a way of manufacturing more stable thin film resistors in an integrated circuit process.
There also is an unmet need for an integration technique for providing two accurate SiCr thin film resistors having different sheet resistances and zero-value TCRs.
There also is an unmet need for an integration technique for providing two accurate SiCr thin film resistors, at least one of which has a precisely determined TCR, in an integrated circuit structure.

Integration of thin film resistors having different TCRs into single die


Methods, computer-readable mediums, apparatuses, and systems are provided. For example, a method is disclosed which includes identifying at least one security system function, in a plurality of security system functions, for blocked user access when a keypad is away from a predetermined location; and storing the plurality of security system functions on a processor. In another embodiment a security keypad is disclosed which includes an LCD having a static portion and a dynamic portion; a multiplexing LCD controller coupled to the dynamic portion; a static LCD controller coupled to the static portion; DC/DC converter coupled to the multiplexing LCD controller; a keypad processing unit coupled to the multiplexing LCD controller, the static LCD controller, and the DC/DC converter; and a power supply coupled to the DC/DC converter, the keypad processing unit, and the static LCD controller.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to security systems and more particularly, to methods, computer-readable mediums, apparatuses, and systems for a security keypad display, increasing the battery life of wireless keypads, and preventing access to some features when the wireless keypad is not at a specified location(s) or within range of the specified location(s).
2. Description of the Related Art
Security systems for protecting of property (e.g., in homes) have become quite common as well as the monitoring of such systems by a central monitoring service. Initially, these security systems were hard wired systems where the various sensors and data entry keypads were hard-wired to a control panel.
Some entry keypads are wireless. However, when using wireless keypads features are sometime accessed and the wireless keypad is later misplaced. For example, a user can use the wireless keypad to activate the security system and later forget where the wireless keypad is located; and may not be able to locate the keypad in time to disarm the security system when entering the protected area, and consequently create an alarm condition. Upon reentry into the now armed structure the user is given a limited time (e.g., 30 seconds) to locate and deactivate the security system. If the user does not remember where the wireless keypad is located, a false alarm will occur if the time expires before the user can deactive the alarm system.
In addition, because of the type of information that is typically displayed on a wireless keypad the current drain on batteries in the wireless keypad reduces the life of the batteries.
A radio frequency identification ("RFID") system typically employs at least two components, a "transponder" (also known as a "tag"), which is attached to the physical item to be identified, and a "reader," which sends an electromagnetic signal to the transponder and then detects a response. Typically, the reader emits an RF signal, which is received by the transponder, after the transponder comes within an appropriate range. In response, the transponder sends its information via a modulated RF signal back to the reader. The reader detects this modulated signal, and can identify the transponder by decoding the modulated signal. After identifying the transponder, the reader can either store the decoded information or transmit the decoded signal to a computer.
Therefore, there is a great need in the art for an improved battery life in a security keypad and minimizing false alarms in a security system that avoids the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art systems and methodologies.

UTC Fire & Security Americas Corporation, Inc.


The present invention is a system and method for removal of buried objects. According to one embodiment of the invention, a crane with a vibrator casing driver is used to lift and suspend a large diameter steel casing over the buried object. Then the casing is driven into the ground by the vibratory driver until the casing surrounds the buried object. Then the open bottom of the casing is sealed shut by injecting grout into the ground within the casing near its bottom. When the seal has cured and hardened, the top of the casing is lifted to retrieve the casing, with the buried object inside, from the ground.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to removal of buried objects from the ground. More specifically, this invention relates to surrounding buried waste of a given diameter with a larger diameter casing, sealing the bottom of the casing with grout, and pulling the sealed casing out of the ground with the grout plug intact to retrieve the buried waste.
2. Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,446 (Loomis et al.) discloses a method for injecting grout underground to form solid columns. A series of the columns may be overlapped to surround and isolate, for example, a buried waste pit.
Prior to enactment of current environmental regulations, waste was buried that must now be retrieved and then sent to an appropriate treatment, storage, or disposal facility (TSD). Some of these wastes, because of high worker safety risks or significant potential for contamination spread, will be difficult to retrieve using normal excavation techniques. For instance, from 1954 to 1967, Hanford 300 Area transuranic and other wastes were disposed of in the 618-10 and 618-11 Burial Grounds. Much of these wastes were disposed of in what was referred to as a vertical pipe unit (VPU). VPUs were constructed by welding 5 open-ended 55-gal drums end to end. Constructed VPUs were positioned in trenches to form vertical shafts, and wastes were deposited in the shafts. When full, VPUs were backfilled, capped with concrete, and buried under four to six feet of clean soil. The waste in these VPUs is potentially highly radioactive and in a form such that traditional excavation using a loader or backhoe may cause undue risk to workers or the environment.

System and method for removal of buried objects

Worth Wind, Inc. (Assignee of the interest of Grams, Crass, and Riess)


Method for setting up virtual connections in packet switching networks. In response to a call request with which the set up a virtual connection is requested and that is supplied to an originating switching center (for example, Verm1) of a first packet switching network (PVN1), the appertaining call request is modified when a suitable transmission path within the first packet switching network is not present. The modified call request is then transmitted via a network interface location (UE1) to a second packet switching network (PVN2) in order to set up an alternate route upon involvement of a further network interface location (UE2), to the destination switching equipment (Verm1) of the first packet switching network (PVN1) that participates in the virtual connection that was just requested.

The present invention is directed to a method for setting up virtual connections between calling and called subscriber equipment connected to different switching equipment.
In telecommunication switching networks connected to one another by network interfaces, there is usually the possibility of, first, producing internal connections between subscriber equipment of one and the same telecommunications switching network and, second, of producing external connections between subscriber equipment of different telecommunications switching networks by using the network interfaces. The respective type of connection is defined by transmitting from the respective calling subscriber equipment appropriate signalization information, for example in the form of selection digits. In the case of packet switching networks, that are connected to one another by network interfaces, the request for an internal or external virtual connection can be provided from calling subscriber equipment in that an address information specifying a respective type of connection in an address field of a call request packet, serving the purpose of initiating a call set up, is transmitted to the switching equipment that is connected to the appertaining calling subscriber equipment.


Techniques leveraging CPU flow affinity to increase throughput of a layer 2 (L2) extension network are disclosed. In one embodiment, an L2 concentrator appliance, which bridges a local area network (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN) in a stretched network, is configured such that multiple Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) tunnels are pinned to respective CPUs or cores, which each process traffic flows for one of the IPsec tunnels. Such parallelism can increase the throughput of the stretched network. Further, an L2 concentrator appliance that receives FOU packets is configured to distribute the received FOU packets across receive queues based a deeper inspection of inner headers of such packets.

Cloud architectures are used in cloud computing and cloud storage systems for offering infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud services. Examples of cloud architectures include the VMware vCloud™ Director cloud architecture software, Amazon EC2™ web service, and OpenStack™ open source cloud computing service. IaaS cloud service is a type of cloud service that provides access to physical and/or virtual resources in a cloud environment. These services provide a tenant application programming interface (API) that supports operations for manipulating IaaS constructs such as virtual machines (VMs) and logical networks. However, the use of such public cloud services is typically kept separate from the use of existing computing resources in data centers managed by an enterprise.
With an increasing trend in migrating data centers to cloud platforms, a hybrid model has been developed that combines public cloud services and traditional on-premise data center computing resources. Such hybrid cloud computing systems permit workloads, such as VMs, to be rapidly moved from the data center to the cloud, among other things.

High throughput layer 2 extension leveraging CPU flow affinity


A roadway paving apparatus applies successive layers of paving material to a roadway surface so as to form a desired thickness of pavement thereon. Preferably, the apparatus comprises a hopper for hauling aggregate material (e.g., gravel, sand, and/or crushed stone) and for dispensing a curtain of falling aggregate material therefrom. An initial group of spray nozzles aimed generally at the surface of the roadway applies a base layer of adhesive material (e.g., liquid asphalt) to the surface of the roadway. One or more groups of subsequent spray nozzles aimed generally at the curtain of falling aggregate material coats the curtain of falling aggregate material with adhesive material such that an intermediate layer of adhesive coated aggregate material is deposited on top of the underlying base layer of adhesive material. A final group of spray nozzles aimed at the surface of the roadway applies an overspray layer of adhesive material on top of the intermediate layer of adhesive coated aggregate material. A corresponding method of paving a roadway surface by applying successive layers of paving material the surface is also provided.

In order to provide a more durable surface for vehicular traffic, modern roadways are usually paved. In the construction of new roadways, pavement is typically applied to an unpaved base after it has been graded and compacted (i.e., the new roadway is surfaced). In the repair of existing roadways, however, pavement is typically applied to the surface of the existing roadway (i.e., the existing roadway is resurfaced).
Over time, existing roadways inevitably become worn and in need of repair. For example, cracks may develop in the surface and/or the surface may become overly smooth. In either event, the existing roadway surface becomes dangerous to drive on and, thus, presents a public safety concern. If cracks develop, the surface will no longer be water resistant, and the roadway will deteriorate at an accelerated pace. If, on the other hand, the surface becomes overly smooth, the skid resistance of the roadway will be adversely effected. As such, existing roadways should be periodically resurfaced (or repaved) in the course of proper maintenance.
Depending on the application of the roadway, pavements may either be of flexible or rigid construction. Rigid pavements are typically formed of concrete, or the like, while flexible pavements typically comprise a combination of aggregate material (e.g., gravel, sand, crushed stone, etc.) and adhesive material (e.g., liquid asphalt, emulsified asphalt, molten bituminous material, binder material, etc.).
A common process for paving a roadway with flexible pavement is known as "chipsealing". In chipsealing, loose aggregate material is dropped into a previously applied layer of adhesive material which binds the aggregate material to a surface (e.g., the unpaved base of a new roadway or the surface of an existing roadway). In practice, chipsealing utilizes an asphalt distributor and a chipspreader. The asphalt distributor is used to apply an initial layer of adhesive material to the surface, and, once the adhesive material is in place, the chipspreader is then used to distribute aggregate material on top of the initial layer of adhesive material. Thus, in practice, chipsealing is performed by two separate machines making two separate passes over the same portion of the roadway in order to apply a single layer of pavement to that portion.
By and large, chipsealing is a relatively fast and inexpensive technique for surfacing or resurfacing a roadway. However, presently-employed chipsealing processes have several noted deficiencies. First, two separate machines are required (i.e., an asphalt distributor and a chipspreader). Second, two separate passes over the same portion of roadway is needed to complete each layer of the paving operation (i.e., an initial pass by the asphalt distributor and a subsequent pass by the chipspreader). Third, since the loose aggregate material must submerse into the previously applied layer of adhesive material in order to properly bond therewith, the maximum thickness of each pavement layer is limited to the size of the largest individual piece of aggregate material (e.g., the largest stone). As a result, only relatively thin layers of pavement may be formed, and, if a greater thickness is desired, additional layers of pavement must thereafter be applied.
In addition to the shortcomings noted above, it is also found that presently-employed chipsealing processes often leave loose particles of aggregate material on the freshly paved roadway surface. More particularly, it has been found that many particles of aggregate material do not sufficiently submerse into the underlying adhesive material or bond therewith. This is particularly true for top level particles. In addition, other particles weakly bond with the adhesive material, and as a result, are often dislodged when vehicles drive over the roadway. Loose aggregate material also gives the freshly paved roadway surface a peculiar non-black appearance.


The present invention enhances user friendliness of a system which is controlled by use of on-screen display by disabling the operation of these devices if it not permitted. According to the invention, when a recording of a received program is attempted, the program is checked for copy protection. If the program is found copy protected, a warning thereof is displayed and control of a recording/reproducing device concerned is disabled. This warning display allows the user to determine whether or not a program being received is copy protected beforehand, thereby preventing the video signal containing a copy protection control signal from being recorded on the recording/reproducing device. In addition, according to the invention, when a record button is pressed, it becomes a record stop button, being put in the selected state. This further enhances the user friendliness.

The present invention relates generally to a receiving system, a receiving apparatus, and a receiving system control method for receiving digital satellite broadcast.
A system composed of a satellite tuner, a video recording/reproducing unit, and a television receiver allows a user to perform various operations while looking at a display screen. For example, the display screen shows information about a currently received channel and its genre, various setting states of the satellite broadcast tuner, and information about devices connected to this system. Looking at these items of information shown in the display screen, the user can check and change the current setting states.
Attaching an infrared ray generating device called an AV mouse to the satellite broadcast tuner allows the user to integrally operate the system components on-screen. This allows the user to make reserved video recording for example on-screen.
To be more specific, to make settings for reserved video recording, setting information and operation buttons, and so on are displayed on the display screen of the television receiver. In satellite broadcasting, program information is sent by EPG (Electronics Program Guide). Therefore, for making reserved video recording, an EPG screen is displayed. Looking at this screen, the user inputs the settings necessary for reserved video recording by use of a remote controller.
When the user has thus inputted the settings for reserved video recording, the satellite broadcast tuner starts receiving a specified program at the preset video recording start time. At the same time, the AV mouse outputs an infrared command signal to the video recording/reproducing unit to set the same to the video recording state. Upon receiving this infrared command signal, the video recording/reproducing unit is set to the video recording state. Then, the satellite broadcast tuner sends the video and audio signals of the reserved program to the video recording/reproducing unit, on which these signals are recorded.
Sometimes, recording of a program currently being viewed is wanted on the spot. To satisfy this need, it is desirable for the above-mentioned system in which the AV mouse is used for an integrated operation of the system components, namely the television receiver, the satellite broadcast tuner, and the video recording/reproducing unit, to display a record button for recording a currently viewed program and, when this button is pressed, record the program by user's operating the remote controller of the satellite broadcast tuner while looking at the screen display.
However, some of the programs transmitted through digital satellite broadcasting are copy-protected and therefore cannot be recorded. The copy-protected programs have a copy-protect signal (for example, Macrovision (trademark)) included in their video signals to prevent copy-protected programs from being replicated by the video recording/reproducing unit. Therefore, if the system is controlled so that the video recording/reproducing unit is set to the recording state upon pressing of the record button, the video signal having the copy-protect signal is taped by the video recording/reproducing unit. The user knows that such a tape cannot be reproduced only after attempting the reproduction of the tape, thereby making the above-mentioned related-art system inconvenient for use.

Copy control method and apparatus for a receiving system


The present invention is directed to an enclosure for protecting a cable connection. The enclosure includes a sealing member contained within an inner shell. The sealing member is secured around the cable connection by slideably engaging a rigid outer shell over the inner shell. The inner shell has an external topography defining an inner shell profile and wherein the outer shell has an internal topography defining an outer shell profile such that the outer shell profile is similar to the inner shell profile.

Telecommunication cables are ubiquitous and used for distributing all manner of data across vast networks. As telecommunication cables are routed across data networks, it is necessary to periodically connect the cable to other cables or equipment.
At each point where a cable connection is made, it may be necessary to provide protection for the cable connection and to protect the cable interfaces from environmental contaminants. This can be accomplished by wrapping the cable connection in a tape or mastic and/or placing the cable connection in a protective enclosure. Commonly, the enclosure has one or more ports through which cables can enter and/or exit the enclosure. Once the cables are routed into the enclosure, the cable connections can be made.
Typical enclosures for the telecommunications market provide mechanical and/or environmental protection for cable connections. The cable can, for example, be a telecommunications cable, a power cable, an optical fiber cable, coaxial cable, or any other type of cable. The cable connection can be made via a conventional splice or a connector and may require protection from the effects of the environment in which it is located and, more particularly, benefits from protection against mechanical impact and the entry of moisture, dirt, salt, acid rain, or other environmental contaminants.
Many different types of enclosures providing different levels of protection for cable splices are commercially available, including so-called re-enterable enclosures that can be re-opened to permit access to the splice whenever required. These conventional telecommunication enclosures are often employed to protect a plurality of twisted pair copper splices and/or fiber optic connections in the outside plant telecommunications market. These closures can be relatively large and bulky and are not well suited to applications requiring a single closure to protect a single connection point between two or more communication cables, between a cable and a housing (e.g. a cabinet, a bulkhead, a larger enclosure or housing for a piece of equipment) or between a cable and a piece of equipment, especially when the cable connections are densely placed or ganged connections such as one might find in cell tower installations. Thus, a need exists for a smaller, more craft friendly enclosure which will fit in tight spaces and which has improved workability in the field.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Hologram recording devices and techniques can be employed to produce wide-field-of-view holograms. In one embodiment, a specialized lens is used to couple an object beam into a holographic recording material without substantially changing the angle of incidence of the object beam. When displayed, images from holograms recorded using technique can have a field-of-view greater than that of the object beam. In another embodiment, one or more aspheric reflective surfaces are used to couple an object beam into a holographic recording material at relatively steep angles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of hologram production and, more particularly, to wide field-of-view hologram production.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous devices and techniques have been disclosed for producing and displaying various types of holograms including one-step techniques, updateable techniques, techniques relying on fringe pattern calculation, and traditional object/reference beam interference techniques. Moreover, the subject matter of the scenes displayed in such holograms varies from simple demonstration scenes, to artistic renderings, to portraits, to scenes of complex devices or spaces, and beyond.
For many applications of holography, it is desirable that the hologram be able to display as large a field-of-view as possible. For example, a hologram that is designed to display an image of terrain can be placed on a horizontal surface (e.g., a table top) for viewing by multiple individuals. Ideally, the hologram would produce an image with a 180° field-of-view. Thus, a viewer would still be able to see the hologram when they are looking at the edge of the horizontal surface.
Current reflection and transmission holograms produced by state-of-the-art pulsed laser and CW laser devices and techniques typically have a field-of-view limited in part by the complexity of the Fourier transform optics employed by the hologram recorders. For example, many devices developed by Zebra Imaging, Inc. (the assignee of the present application) produce holograms with an approximately 97° field-of-view. Although this is a fairly wide field-of-view in comparison with most holographic displays, it is still not optimal for many display applications, particularly disk format holograms where the reference beam is normal to the hologram surface and the hologram is designed to be viewed on a horizontal surface (e.g., a table top).
Accordingly, it is desirable to have improved systems and methods for producing and displaying wide field-of-view holograms to overcome the above-identified deficiencies in the prior art.

Systems and methods for producing wide field-of-view holographic displays


A self contained gas spring comprising a cylindrical housing having a closed end, an open end and a cylindrical bore. A cylindrical sleeve extends into the bore of the housing. The sleeve has at least a portion thereof forming an internal cylindrical surface. A piston rod extends through an opening in the sleeve and has a piston contacting the cylindrical surface. A portion of the sleeve defines a first space between the sleeve and the bore of the housing. The first space communicates with a second space between the piston end of the piston rod and the closed end of the housing. A charging valve is provided in the closed end of said housing for charging the space at the piston end of said piston rod and the space between the sleeve and the housing with gas under pressure. A third axial space is provided between the cylindrical surface on the sleeve and the piston rod above the piston and is isolated from the first space and second space. When the gas escapes past seals into the third space a pressure limiting one-way valve comprising an annular groove, circumferentially spaced passages and an annular elastic seal which normally seals the groove relieves pressure in the third space when it exceeds the pressure in the first space, the annular seal is tensioned such that at least a portion thereof is flexed out of engagement with the diverging surfaces to vent the third space into the first space.

In presses and dies, it has been common to utilize die cylinders which communicate with a manifold and function as die springs. It has also been suggested that self contained gas springs be provided as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,742,997 and 4,741,518.
A major consideration in connection with the design of the self contained gas springs is that when charged with gas, such as nitrogen, at high pressures on the order of 1000 p.s.i., the normal stroke of the piston therein substantially increases the pressure. Accordingly, the construction of the self contained die cylinder must be constructed to withstand such high pressures. This results in the need to increase the geometric spaces in which the die cylinders are used. It has thus been customary to compromise the design.
Another consideration in connection with self contained gas springs is that in time gas may pass past seals. It has been heretofore suggested that one-way valves be provided to vent the gas from a space into which the gas has passed. Typical constructions that have been suggested comprise a spring loaded ball valve as shown in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/783,206, filed Oct. 28, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,892 incorporated herein by reference.
Such a construction is difficult to make and assemble as well as calibrate for desired venting.
Among the objectives of the present invention are to provide a self contained gas spring which is functional and operates at relatively high pressures; which incorporates a pressure relief construction for venting a space into which gas has passed within the cylinder that is dependable, reliable and can be more readily manufactured; which does not increase the pressure substantially during the movement of the piston within the cylinder; which is compact; and which requires a minimum of maintenance.
In accordance with the invention, a self contained gas spring, comprises a cylindrical housing having a closed end, an open end and a cylindrical bore. A cylindrical sleeve extends into the bore of the housing. The sleeve has at least a portion thereof forming an internal cylindrical surface. A piston rod extends through an opening in the sleeve and has a piston engaging the cylindrical surface. A portion of the sleeve defines a first space between the sleeve and the bore of the housing. The first space communicates with a second space between the piston end of the piston rod and the closed end of the housing. A charging valve is provided in the closed end of said housing for charging the space at the piston end of said piston rod and the space between the sleeve and the housing with gas under pressure. A third axial space is provided between the cylindrical surface on the sleeve and the piston rod above the piston. An annular groove is provided on the outer surface of the sleeve and circumferentially spaced passages extend from the groove to the first space. The groove has sides that converge inwardly toward the passages. An annular elastic seal sealingly engages the converging surfaces of the groove such that when the pressure in the third space exceeds the pressure in the first space, the annular seal is tensioned such that at least a portion thereof is flexed out of engagement with the diverging surfaces to vent the third space into the first space.
In a modified form, the annular groove and annular seal are provided on the piston rod and functions to vent the third space into said first space.
This invention is also applicable to die cylinders having an open end that communicates with a gas manifold.

Self contained gas spring and die cylinder


A protection method for preventing battery cells from over-discharging and being overcharged, a control circuit, and a battery unit are provided. In the protection method, when a set signal xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d is supplied to a set terminal, a flip-flop outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. The gate of a discharge control FET then becomes xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d, so that the discharge control FET is OFF regardless of a discharge control signal supplied from a voltage monitor circuit. When a reset signal xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d is supplied to a reset terminal, the flip-flop outputs +0xe2x80x9d. The discharge control FET is then switched on and off in accordance with the output of a discharge control circuit of the voltage monitor circuit. In this manner, battery cells connected to an electronic device do not over-discharge, even when they are left unused for a long period of time. Thus, the battery unit can be prevented from deteriorating and shortening the life thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a protection method, a control circuit, and a battery unit. More particularly, the present invention relates to a protection method for preventing batteries from over-discharging and being overcharged, and a control circuit and a battery unit both employed in said protection method.
In recent years, lithium ion (Li+) batteries have been replacing nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries and nickel-metal-hydrogen (NiMH) batteries in portable electronic devices such as notebook-type personal computers. Compared with the NiCd batteries and NiMH batteries, the Li+ batteries are lighter but have a larger capacity per unit volume. For this reason, the Li+ batteries are suitable for a device which is preferably light and required to endure continuous use for a long time.
In an over-discharged state, however, the Li+ batteries deteriorate rapidly. Therefore, the Li+ batteries need to be prevented from over-discharging.
2. Description of the Related Art
A battery unit used in a portable electronic device has a plurality of battery cells connected in series. The maximum number of battery cells connected in series in one battery unit is determined by the relationship between the output voltage of the battery unit and a power source voltage supplied from outside at the time of charging. For instance, the output voltage of one NiCd battery cell or one NiMH battery cell is 1.2 V, and the power source voltage supplied at the time of charging is approximately 1.7 V. Since a 16-V output voltage of a battery unit is the most suitable for a general purpose electronic device, the maximum number of NiCd or NiMH battery cells connected in series in the battery unit is 9. On the other hand, the highest possible output voltage of one Li+ battery cell is approximately 4.2 V. Accordingly, the maximum number of Li+ battery cells connected in series in one battery unit is 3.
Unlike a NiCd battery unit and a NiMH battery unit, the Li+ battery unit has a function to protect against short-circuiting inside and outside the Li+ battery unit. This prevents the Li+ battery unit from deteriorating and shortening its life. For instance, if short-circuiting occurs inside or outside the Li+ battery unit, a fuse cuts off an over-discharging current or overcharging current when the discharging current or charging current becomes larger than a predetermined current value. Thus, the LI+ battery unit is prevented from deteriorating and shortening its life.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example battery unit of the prior art, and FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a voltage monitor circuit of the example battery unit of the prior art.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a battery unit 100 comprises battery cells E1, E2, and E3 connected as shown in the figures, a voltage monitor circuit 101, a fuse 102, p-channel FETs 103 and 104, and power supply terminals 105 and 106.
The battery cells E1, E2, and E3 are connected in series. The FET 103 is a charge control FET which functions as a charge control switch. The FET 104 is a discharge control FET which functions as a discharge control switch. The voltage monitor circuit 101 monitors the voltages of the battery cells E1, E2, and E3. In accordance with the respective voltages of the battery cells E1, E2, and E3, the voltage monitor circuit 101 switches on and off the FETs 103 and 104.
As shown in FIG. 2, the voltage monitor circuit 101 comprises an overcharge monitor circuit 101a and an over-discharge monitor circuit 101b. The overcharge monitor circuit 101a monitors whether the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 are in an overcharged state, and switches off the FET 103 when the battery cells are in an overcharged state. The over-discharge monitor circuit 101b monitors whether the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 are in an over-discharged state, and switches off the FET 104 when the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 are in an over-discharged state.
The overcharge monitor circuit 101a comprises comparators 121, 122, and 123, reference power sources e1a, e1b, and e1c, and an OR gate 124.
The comparator 121 compares the voltage of the battery cell E1 with a reference voltage Vref1 generated by the reference power source ela. If the voltage of the battery cell E1 is higher than the reference voltage Vref1, the comparator 121 outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. If the voltage of the battery cell E1 is lower than the reference voltage Vref1, the comparator 121 outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. Here, xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d indicates that the output of a comparator is at the high logic level, and xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d indicates that the output of a comparator is at the low logic level. The comparator 122 compares the voltage of the battery cell E2 with a reference voltage Vref1 generated by the reference power source elb. If the voltage of the battery cell E2 is higher than the reference voltage Vref1, the comparator 122 outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. If the voltage of the battery cell E2 is lower than the reference voltage Vref1, the comparator 122 outputs xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d. The comparator 123 compares the voltage of the battery cell E3 with a reference voltage Vref1 generated by the reference power source e1c. If the voltage of the battery cell E3 is higher than the reference voltage Vref1, the comparator 123 outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. If the voltage of the battery cell E3 is lower than the reference voltage Vref1, the comparator outputs xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d.
The outputs of the comparators 121, 122, and 123 are supplied to the OR gate 124. The OR gate 124 performs an OR operation on the outputs of the comparators 121, 122, and 123, and supplies a result of the OR operation to the gate of the FET 103. If any of the outputs of the comparators 121, 122, and 123 is xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d, i.e., if any of the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 is in an overcharged state and the signal supplied from the OR gate 124 to the gate of the FET 103 is xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d, the FET 103 is switched off so as to prevent overcharge.
The over-discharge monitor circuit 101b comprises comparators 111, 112, and 113, reference power sources e2a, e2b, and e2c, and an OR gate 114.
The comparator 111 compares the voltage of the battery cell E1 with a reference voltage Vref2 generated by the reference power source e2a. If the voltage of the battery cell E1 is higher than the reference voltage Vref2, the comparator 111 outputs xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d. If the voltage of the battery cell E1 is lower than the reference voltage Vref2, the comparator 111 outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. The comparator 112 compares the voltage of the battery cell E2 with a reference voltage Vref2 generated by the reference power source e2b. If the voltage of the battery cell E2 is higher than the reference voltage Vref2, the comparator 112 outputs xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d. If the voltage of the battery cell E2 is lower than the reference voltage Vref2, the comparator 112 outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d. The comparator 113 compares the voltage of the battery cell E3 with a reference voltage Vref2 generated by the reference power source e2c. If the voltage of the battery cell E3 is higher than the reference voltage Vref2, the comparator 113 outputs xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d. If the voltage of the battery cell E3 is lower than the reference voltage Vref2, the comparator 113 outputs xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d.
The outputs of the comparators 111, 112, and 113 are supplied to the OR gate 114. The OR gate 114 performs an OR operation on the outputs of the comparators 111, 112, and 113, and supplies a result of the OR operation to the gate of the FET 104. If any of the outputs of the comparators 111, 112, and 113 is xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d, i.e., if any of the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 is in an over-discharged state and the signal supplied from the OR gate 114 to the gate of the FET 104 is xe2x80x9c1xe2x80x9d, the FET 104 is switched off so as to prevent over-discharge.
When a current larger than a certain current value flows, the fuse 102 fuses and cuts off the current. By doing so, the fuse 102 serves as a part of a double protection circuit in a case where the voltage monitor circuit 100 does not properly cut off the large current or the FETs 103 and 104 do not properly function to cut off the large current due to some trouble such as short-circuiting.
The power supply terminals 105 and 106 are connected to an electronic device 130, as shown in FIG. 1. The electronic device 130 comprises a power source circuit 131 and a device main body 132. The power source circuit 131 converts a d.c. voltage supplied from the battery unit 100 to a d.c. voltage to be used in the device main body 132.
At the time of shipping, the battery unit 100 is connected to the electronic device 130. The battery unit 100 may be fixed to the electronic device 130 with screws. If the battery unit 100 and the electronic device 130 are packed separately in such a case, the package becomes large, and a large amount of cushioning material is required. Moreover, after unpacking, the user has to take the trouble to screw the battery unit 100 to the electronic device 130.
In a case of an electronic device having built-in dry batteries, an insulating sheet is inserted between the dry batteries and the electrodes of the electronic device. The user normally removes the insulating sheet when he/she starts using the electronic device. By removing the insulating sheet, the dry batteries and the electronic device are connected, and electric power is supplied from the dry batteries to the electronic device. Compared with the dry batteries, however, the battery unit 100 has more connection pins for connection with the electronic device 130. Also, the connection connector of the battery unit 100 has a more complicated structure. For these reasons, an insulating sheet cannot be inserted between the battery unit 100 and the electronic device 130, and, at the time of shipping, the battery unit 100 is already mounted on the electronic device 130, as shown in FIG. 1.
The battery unit 100 shown in FIG. 1 remains connected to the power source circuit 131 even when the power switch of the electronic device 130 is turned off. The power source circuit 131 is formed by a DC-DC converter, and consumes electric current even when the output is cut off. The voltage monitor circuit 101 of the battery unit 100 also constantly consumes a small amount of electric current. Because of this, after the shipping of the electronic device 130, the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 of the battery unit 100 are consumed. If the battery unit 100 is in an over-discharged state due to the consumption of the battery cells E1, E2, and E3, the FET 104 is switched off, and the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 are disconnected from the electronic device 130. If the electronic device 130 is left unpacked for an even longer period of time, the battery cells E1, E2, and E3 might over-discharge due to current consumed by the voltage monitor circuit 101.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a protection method, a control circuit, and a battery unit, in which the above disadvantages are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a protection method in which built-in battery cells never over-discharge even if connected to an electronic device for a long period of time, thereby preventing the battery unit from deteriorating and shortening the life thereof.
The above objects of the present inventions are achieved by a protection method of protecting battery cells from over-discharging. This method comprises the steps of: monitoring the voltage of each of the battery cells; controlling a discharge control switch connected between a load and the battery cells in accordance with the voltage of each of the battery cells; and maintaining the discharge control switch in a forced OFF state in accordance with a forced off signal supplied from outside. In this method, the discharge control switch is released from the forced OFF state in accordance with a release signal supplied from outside. The discharge control switch is also released from the forced OFF state when the battery cells are being charged. The discharge control switch is also released from the forced OFF state when any of the battery cells is in an overcharged state. The discharge control switch is also released from the forced OFF state when the voltage of any of the battery cells reaches a predetermined voltage value.
With the above constitution, by maintaining the switch in the forced OFF state in accordance with the forced OFF signal supplied from outside, the battery cells can be prevented from over-discharging even when the battery cells go uncharged over a long period of time. Thus, the battery cells can be prevented from deterioration.
In the case where the discharge control switch is released from the forced OFF state in accordance with a release signal supplied from outside, a normal charge and discharge control operation can be performed.
In the case where the discharge control switch is released from the forced OFF state when the battery cells are charged, the forced OFF state can be automatically cancelled when the user starts using the electronic device.
In the case where the discharge control switch is released from the forced OFF state when the battery cells are in an overcharged state, the discharge control switch does not restrict discharging in an overcharged state, thereby protecting the battery cells.
In the case where the discharge control switch is also released from the forced OFF state when the voltage of any of the battery cells reaches a predetermined voltage value, the forced OFF state can be automatically cancelled before the battery cells are overcharged.
The above and other objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Protection method, control circuit, and battery unit


A sensing element for sensing the concentration of an analyte in a medium is disclosed. The sensing element comprises a matrix material having at least one indicator component covalently bonded thereto. The indicator component is capable of providing a signal dependent on the concentration of a analyte in a medium. The indicator component is derived from at least one indicator compound having an aromatic ring to which is directly bonded a group including a functional portion which is conjugated relative to this aromatic ring.

The present invention relates to sensing or determining the concentration of an analyte in a medium. More particularly, the invention relates to a sensor and to a method for making a sensor and using a sensor for sensing the concentration of an analyte, for example, a gaseous component of interest, such as oxygen, in a medium, for example, blood.
It is sometimes necessary or desirable for a physician to determine the concentration of certain gases, e.g., oxygen and carbon dioxide, in blood. This can be accomplished utilizing an optical sensor which contains an optical indicator responsive to the component of interest. The optical sensor is exposed to the blood, and excitation light is provided to the sensor so that the optical indicator can provide an optical signal indicative of a characteristic of the analyte or component of interest. For example, the optical indicator may fluoresce and provide a fluorescent optical signal as described in Lubbers et al U.S. Pat. No. RE31,897 or it may function on the principals of light absorbance as described, for example, in Fostick U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,932.
The indicator material is often physically combined with a highly gas permeable matrix material, such as a polymeric matrix material, which is used to support the indicator material as it is exposed to the analyte. By "highly analyte permeable" is meant a material which is permeable to the analyte, in particular the gas of interest, and reaches equilibrium with the surrounding environment, which is at ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure, with respect to the analyte in a period of time measured in minutes or shorter time intervals rather than hours or longer time intervals.
One problem which has presented itself in the use of such sensors is the loss of indicator material. Thus, after a period of time in use, the amount of indicator material physically combined with the matrix material is reduced and may be leached into the medium. It would be advantageous to provide a gas sensor in which the indicator had a reduced tendency to escape from the matrix material.
Another problem which is often evident is the relatively low solubility of the indicator material in the matrix material. This feature limits the amount of indicator material that can be physically combined with the matrix material. In turn, the signal produced from the indicator/matrix material combination has a reduced intensity because of the relatively reduced amount of indicator material present. Clearly it would be advantageous to include increased amounts of indicator in the matrix material.
Yafuso et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,738 discloses chemically attaching ionic component sensitive dye to attachment sites on a water insoluble ionic permeable hydrophilic polymer. This allows the ionic component, e.g., pH, sensor to be constructed in the size domain of an optical fiber. Gas sensors are not disclosed.

Sensing elements and methods for making and using same


A shorter spatial wavelength static correction method for exploration seismic data using first arrivals according to the invention includes the steps of: based on a quadratic curve fitting to the first arrivals, which are picked up from seismic wave records of receiver gathers after the field statics, obtaining the difference xcex94i,j between the observed first arrival time tij of the receiver point j with respect to the shot point i and the corresponding time value of the fitted quadratic curve; and forming the original matrix xcex94 having mxc3x97n elements xcex94i,j, where n is the total number of shot points and m is the total number of receiver points of the line; substituting the elements of each row by the difference between the value of each element and the row average; and substituting the elements of each column by the difference between the value of each element and the column average; repeating the iteration until less than a predetermined error; the sum of the averages of the ith row for all iterations and the sum of the averages of the ith column for all iterations are the static correction value at the ith shot point and the static at the jth receiver point respectively. Said method is applicable to 3-D seismic survey by mean of using a formula of rij={square root over (xcex94xij2+xcex94yij2)} to transform 3-D seismic data into 2-D data, so that the 3-D seismic data processing is as simple as that of 2-D data.

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Chinese Patent Application No. 01107066.8, filed Jan. 21, 2001, the entire contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a static correction method for exploration seismic data using the first arrivals of seismic waves recorded by receiver gathers on the earth surface. More particularly, the present invention relates to a shorter spatial wavelength static correction method for smoothing the time values of the first arrivals such as refracted seismic waves which are picked up from seismic gather records after the field static correction, to obtain shorter spatial wavelength static correction.
Seismic exploration method is the most widely used and effective geophysical technique in oil and gas exploration for locating the drilling sites. The seismic waves generated by artificial sources travel into the earth and return to the surface after reflection from interfaces between formations having acoustic impedance contrasts. The reflection and/or refraction of the seismic waves generated on the earth surface by respective shot points, which are arranged and moved in a predetermined regular manner, are recorded by receivers for detecting the generated seismic waves, which are laid along the ground at distances from the shot points in a predetermined manner. Variations in the reflection times from place to place indicate structural features in the strata underground. The seismic structure figures those come from seismic data processing and interpretation are the most important information to locate the drilling sites. Therefore, the detected arrival times and waveforms of the reflection generated by the interfaces between the geology formations on the seismic waves are processed and analyzed, and the status and location of the geology formations can be acquired and determined.
Due to the differences between various geology formations underground in composition, density, and uniformity of distribution etc., propagation velocities of the seismic waves generated by the shot points are correspondingly different therein, and the respective arrival times and waveforms of the reflection and/or refraction waves, which are generated by the interfaces between the formations having velocity and acoustic impedance contrasts and return to the surface of the earth, detected by the receivers are different from each other. Among these data, the first arrivals such as refracted waves, which are earliest detected and most significant and valuable for static corrections during processing, are the returned seismic waves after refracted by the lower boundary of the weathered low velocity layer (LVL) covering the land surface, such as desert and loess plateau, and mountainous area.
Usually the land surface is covered with a weathered layer of low velocity. The topography is never flat, the lower boundary of LVL is never planar. Variation in thickness and velocity of the upper layer can cause travel time delay or priority for waves to the surface. The reflections are diverged from the normal rolexe2x80x94the hyperbola relationship between the arrival times and offsets(receiverxe2x80x94shot distances). It can cause a dramatic deterioration in the quality of seismic data. The reflection energy can not be focused in horizontal stack and the images of reflectors in seismic section become ambiguous. So static corrections for eliminating the divergence of wave arrivals are very important and become a key step of seismic data processing in exploration regions with complex LVL.
Investigations show that the particular geology formations of certain LVL have same influence on the divergence of the arrival time of the reflection waves from deeper strata as that for the first arrival waves refracted from the LVLs. By performing seismic static correction to the time values of the first arrivals detected by the respective receivers iteratively and in various manners, to eliminate the divergence of the arrival time of the first arrival waves refracted in the LVLs, as a result, the divergence of the reflected waves from the formations of deeper strata can be also eliminated, so that the formation of the deeper strata can be focused in the seismic data and the image thereof can be more clear.
So far, the most powerful techniques for receiver and shot point static corrections are refraction statics. They are used after field static correction and before residual static correction. The waves refracted by the interfaces between the LVL and consolidated rocks below are transmitted back to surface before the direct arrival and reflection arrivals, they are known as the headwaves and become conventional first arrivals in seismic records.
The conventional method of static corrections for receiver and shot point includes steps of: performing coarse field static correction to the original exploration seismic data recorded by each receiver using height and surface measurement; performing refraction static correction to the first arrivals, i.e., obtaining the LVL thickness and velocity by means of inversion of the structure of the LVL, then performing static correction by calculating the time difference; and performing residual static correction as well as other processes to the seismic data. However, because of the complexity of LVL model design and the non-uniqueness of inversion, the accuracy of the conventional refraction static usually is rather low for shorter spatial wavelength statics and they can not be satisfied in complex LVL regions in practice.
On the other hand, there are two modes in current seismic exploration: 2-D seismic survey and 3-D seismic survey. In 2-D seismic survey usually the shot points and receivers are laid along an exploration line, and the shot points are moved along the exploration line after each shot to get the exploration data, until the detection of one line is completed. After acquiring the data of one exploration line, data for other exploration lines can be acquired in the same manner. For 3-D seismic survey, the receivers of a shot are laid in several lines (for example, q) covered a region, and the shot points are also distributed in several lines (for example, p). Usually shot lines and receiver lines are in the same direction but not in same places, so that a two dimensional pxc3x97q exploration array is formed. During the data acquiring process of 3-D seismic survey, after each of the shot points in an array is activated once respectively to record the exploration waves, the whole exploration array is moved forward to activate all the shot points once again, until the detection of the whole area is completed.
Furthermore, the static correction for 3-D seismic exploration, especially the shorter spatial wavelength static correction using the first arrivals is much more complex than that for 2-D seismic exploration, and there is no effective method to convert 3-D seismic exploration data into 2-D seismic exploration data in static processing. Therefore, the shorter wave static correction for exploration seismic data using the first arrivals of refraction waves are mainly used in 2-D seismic data processing. It is difficult and thus rarely to apply shorter spatial wavelength static correction to 3-D seismic data processing.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel shorter spatial wave static correction method for exploration seismic data using the first arrivals, which is simple in operation, and has better correction results. With the method of this invention, the static correction value can be obtained directly, and the curves of first arrivals can be smoothed, so that the reflection waves can be better focused and have more clear images.
Another object of the invention is to provide a shorter spatial wave static correction method, which is applicable to 2-D ad 3-D exploration seismic data both, especially applicable to the static correction of 3-D seismic data using first arrivals, and can also obtain satisfied correction results.
To achieve the objects of the invention, the present invention provides a shorter spatial wavelength static correction method for exploration seismic data using first arrivals, comprising the steps of:
a)performing fitting on the first arrival times picked up from the seismic records of receiver gathers after field static correction, to obtain a fitted curve of the first arrival time values with respect to distances between respective receiver points and shot points;
b) obtaining the time difference xcex94i,j between the first arrival time tij detected by each of the receiver points j with respect to each of the shot points i and the respective time values on the fitted curve; and forming the original matrix xcex94 having mxc3x97n elements xcex94i,j as follows:   Δ  =      [                                        Δ                          1              ,              1                                                            Δ                          1              ,              2                                                …                                      Δ                          1              ,              j                                                …                                      Δ                          1              ,              m                                                                        Δ                          2              ,              1                                                            Δ                                          2                ,                2                                                          xe2x80x83                                                              …                                      Δ                          2              ,              j                                                …                                      Δ                          2              ,              m                                                            ⋮                                      xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                            Δ                          i              ,              1                                                            Δ                          i              ,              2                                                …                                      Δ                          i              ,              j                                                …                                      Δ                          i              ,              m                                                            ⋮                                      xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                xe2x80x83                                                            Δ                          n              ,              1                                                            Δ                          n              ,              2                                                …                                      Δ                          n              ,              j                                                …                                      Δ                          n              ,              m                                            ]
where i is the number of shot point and j is the number of receiver point, the size of matrix xcex94 is nxc3x97m, where n is the total number of shot points and m is the total number of receiver points of the line, i.e., xcex94i,j indicates the difference between observed first arrival and the time value of the fitted curve for the jth receiver point of the ith shot point.
c) taking average of the values for the elements of each row in the matrix xcex94, and obtaining the difference xcex94xe2x80x2i,j between the value xcex94i,j and the row average as follows:
where m1 is the total number of elements with value which is not zero in the ith       Δ          i      ,      j        xe2x80x2    =            Δ              i        ,        j              -                            ∑                      i            =            1                                m            1                                            Δ                      i            ,            j                                      m        1
row of the matrix xcex94;
d) substituting xcex94xe2x80x2i,j for xcex94i,j in the matrix xcex94, and form the matrix xcex94xe2x80x2:             Δ      xe2x80x2        =          [                                                                  Δ                xe2x80x2                                            1                ,                1                                                                        Δ                              1                ,                2                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              1                ,                j                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              1                ,                m                            xe2x80x2                                                                                Δ                xe2x80x2                                            2                ,                                  1                  xe2x80x2                                                                                Δ                                                2                  ,                  2                                                                  xe2x80x83                                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              2                ,                j                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              2                ,                m                            xe2x80x2                                                            ⋮                                              xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                          Δ                              i                ,                1                            xe2x80x2                                                          Δ                              i                ,                2                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              i                ,                j                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              i                ,                m                            xe2x80x2                                                            ⋮                                              xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                          Δ                              n                ,                1                            xe2x80x2                                                          Δ                              n                ,                2                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              n                ,                j                            xe2x80x2                                            …                                              Δ                              n                ,                m                            xe2x80x2                                          ]        ;
e) taking average of the values for the elements of each column in the matrix xcex94xe2x80x2, and calculates the differences:       Δ          i      ,      j        xe2x80x2xe2x80x2    =            Δ              i        ,        j            xe2x80x2        -                            ∑                      j            =            1                                n            1                                            Δ                      i            ,            j                    xe2x80x2                            n        1
where n1 is the total number of elements with value which is not zero in the jth column of the matrix xcex94xe2x80x2;
f) substituting xcex94xe2x80x3i,j for xcex94xe2x80x2i,j in the matrix xcex94xe2x80x2 and forming the matrix xcex94xe2x80x3:             Δ      xe2x80x3        =          [                                                                  Δ                xe2x80x3                                            1                ,                1                                                                        Δ                              1                ,                2                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              1                ,                j                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              1                ,                m                            xe2x80x3                                                                                Δ                xe2x80x3                                            2                ,                1                                                                        Δ                                                2                  ,                  2                                                                  xe2x80x83                                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              2                ,                j                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              2                ,                m                            xe2x80x3                                                            ⋮                                              xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                          Δ                              i                ,                1                            xe2x80x3                                                          Δ                              i                ,                2                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              i                ,                j                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              i                ,                m                            xe2x80x3                                                            ⋮                                              xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          xe2x80x83                                                                          Δ                              n                ,                1                            xe2x80x3                                                          Δ                              n                ,                2                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              n                ,                j                            xe2x80x3                                            …                                              Δ                              n                ,                m                            xe2x80x3                                          ]        ;
g) repeat the above steps c) to f) to perform iterations, until the value of |xcex94i,j| become less than a given small value, which means the iteration process is converged;
h) finding sum of the averages of the elements in ith row for all iterations as the static correction value at the ith shot point, and finding sum of the averages of the elements in the jth column for all iterations as the static correction value at the jth receiver point; and
i) perform static correction to the exploration seismic data using said static correction values for the respective ith shot points and jth receiver points, to obtain corrected seismic data.
For 3-D seismic surveys, the shorter spatial wavelength static correction method according to the invention further comprises a step of using formula of rij={square root over (xcex94xij2+xcex94yij2)}, before the step a), to transform 3-D seismic data into 2-D data in the case of 3-D seismic surveys, where xcex94xij is the abscissa difference between ith shot point and jth receiver, xcex94yij is the ordinate difference between ith shot point and jth receiver, and rij is the distance difference between ith shot point and jth receiver, so that the 3-D seismic data processing is as simple as that of 2-D data.

Static correction method for exploration seismic data using first arrivals of seismic waves

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