A method and apparatus for improving network router line rate performance by an improved system for error correction is described. In an embodiment of the present invention, error correction is performed by a hardware-based system within the processing engine of a router's network processor.

The present invention relates to network processors. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for providing improved network data flow rates, while providing error checking at individual network routers.
FIG. 1 provides a typical configuration of a computer network. In this example, a plurality of computer systems 102 are connected to and are able to communicate with each other, as well as the Internet 104. The computer systems are linked to each other and, in this example, the Internet by a device such as a router 106. The computer systems 102 communicate with each other using any of various communication protocols, such as Ethernet, IEEE 802.3 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.3 Working Group, 2002), token ring, and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM; Multiprotocol Over ATM, Version 1.0, Jul. 1998). Routers 106, among other things, insure sets of data go to their correct destinations. Routers 106 utilize network processors (not shown), which perform various functions in the transmission of network data, including data encryption, error detection, and the like.
As flow rates improve for network devices, it is necessary to eliminate bottlenecks adversely affecting overall network flow. Data error checking is calculation-intensive and thus, can greatly affect a router's performance with regard to flow rate. It is therefore desirable to have an improved system for network processor error checking that increases a router's potential bandwidth.

Method and apparatus for improving network router line rate performance by an improved system for error checking


A control lever (10) is provided with a grip (12), which in a joint (14) having two degrees of freedom is supported in a housing (11) and can be switched from an initial position in various directions for activating shift elements (18, 19), whereby spring elements (41, 42) are provided for returning the grip (12) to its initial position, and with a functional device for overcoming a pressure point during the activation and/or for retaining a desired shift position. In order to provide functional devices in greater numbers in a gearshift lever of this type without requiring substantially more installation space or substantially higher costs, provision is made that the functional device is constituted by an electrically controllable hydraulic arrangement (35), which connects to diametrically opposing shift elements (18, 19), which can be activated by the grip (12) in two opposing directions of motion.

The present invention relates to a gearshift lever such as are used in construction vehicles.
Controls such as gearshift levers are known that have a universal joint and a spring mechanism for returning the grip to the central position. Arranged about said universal joint, generally speaking, are four pin-shaped shift elements which are pressed by a pressure spring against a limit stop and which extend to the pivot point of said universal joint. The limit stop has a shoulder on the pin-shaped shift element which presses against the housing. Mounted on the grip is a plate that extends to the pin-shaped shift elements. If the grip is shifted, the plate presses against a shift element, and a return force is exerted. In order to make additional functions in the controlled device perceptible to the user in a gearshift lever of this type, additional functional devices are realized for sudden changes in the return force (overcoming the pressure point) and/or retaining (locking) the shift element in a predetermined position. In the case of familiar, purely mechanical gearshift levers, functional devices of this type are realized by additional spring-activated pins or by ball thrust bearings.
The disadvantage herein is that realizing a pressure point or a locking function purely mechanically is often not possible in unlimited numbers because each additional mechanical element requires installation space and generates higher costs. Furthermore, the service life is limited by the wear and tear on these mechanical elements. Variable engagement of components is hardly possible.


The present invention provides an audio information transforming device, an audio information transforming method, and an audio information transforming program, which are capable changing a listening point freely only by one audio stream and also achieving multiple channels only by the 1-channel audio information. In the provided method, a virtual listening point 105 is decided, and then an allocation ratio of the audio to a plurality of loudspeakers is changed based on a ratio of a distance between the virtual listening point 105 and an object 103 and a distance between the object 103 and a basic listening point 102. Accordingly, a large number of audio environments can be produced by changing information of the virtual listening point 105 based on one audio information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio information transforming device, an audio information transforming method, and an audio information transforming program, which are employed in a video/audio format like MPEG (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group) 4 having video information and audio information every object, or a video/audio format like DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) having video information and audio information every scene.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the video streaming based on the DVD or the broadband is being prosperously carried out, and thus a chance to handle the video/audio format in the home is increased. In particular, since the DVD is spread and the audio apparatuses such as the AV amplifier, etc. become inexpensive, the persons who enjoy the audio in the multiple channels are increased. In the DVD, MPEG 2 is used as the video recording system and Dolby digital (AC-3), DTS (Digital Theater System), linear PCM (Pulse Code Modulation), MPEG audio, or the like is used as the audio recording system. Eight audio streams can be installed into the DVD disk. Thus, if a different sound is loaded on each audio stream respectively, various applications such as dubbing of plural languages, high sound quality playing, commentary, sound track, etc. can be implemented.
Meanwhile, there is MPEG 4 as one of the next generation video/audio formats. In the MPEG 4, the object having video/audio information constituting the scenes that are reproduced on the screen is observed with interest, and the motion picture compression can be effectively attained by coding the motion picture every object.
However, in the multi-channel (e.g., 5.1-channel, etc.) audio system for playing the DVD in the prior art, it is impossible to change the listening point obtained by one audio stream. Therefore, the listener can get the hearing feeling only at the listening point at which the listener himself or herself listens to the audio.
Also, the audio information of each object are converted into the multi-channel audio, a quantity of data is increased. Therefore, a video/audio recording time is shortened correspondingly.

Audio information transforming method, audio information transforming program, and audio information transforming device

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method of sealing a halogen lamp including: providing a lamp envelop having an envelop body, an open end portion and a closed end portion: inserting a mount including a filament into the lamp envelop through the open end portion thereof; heating the closed end portion of the lamp envelop to soften and shrink thereby sealingly embedding one end of the mount in the closed end portion of the lamp envelop, while providing a reduced pressure in the lamp envelop; filling the lamp envelop with a required gas; and heating the open end portion of the lamp envelop to soften and shrink thereby sealingly embedding the other end of the mount in the closed end portion of the lamp envelop.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of sealing halogen lamp without using a tip tube.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 23 shows a conventional halogen lamp (B') having a typical configuration wherein sealing foils (10') are respectively embedded in seal portions (13') of a lamp envelop (1'), and the inner end of each sealing foil (10') is welded to a lead portion of a filament, while the outer end thereof is welded to a corresponding outer lead pin (11') extending to project outwardly from the seal portion (13').
It has been a conventional practice to seal this type of halogen lamps in the following manner. As shown in FIG. 22, an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon is supplied through a gas supply tube (20') connected to a tip tube (29') into the lamp envelop (1') and discharged from the opposite ends of the lamp envelop (1') to keep the inside of the envelop (1') in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. In this state, the opposite ends of the lamp envelop (1') are simultaneously or successively heated so as to be softened, and the end portions thus softened are pinch-sealed. Then, the gas within the lamp envelop (1') is sucked out through the tip tube (29') connected to the lamp envelop (1') to provide a high vacuum in the lamp envelop (1'). In turn, a required gas is filled into the lamp envelop (1'), and finally the tip tube (29') is cut-sealed at the base portion thereof by heating.
In this method, the inert gas is supplied into the lamp envelop (1') to retain the sealing foils (10') as well as the lamp envelop (1') in the non-oxidizing atmosphere so that the pinch-sealing can be achieved without oxidization of the surfaces of the sealing foils (10'). However, air sometimes enters the lamp envelop (1') instantaneously from the open ends thereof depending on the position of a burner or the intensity of flame, thereby causing the surface of the sealing foils (10') to be slightly oxidized. This results in poor adhesion between the lamp envelop (1') and the sealing foil (10') in the seal portions (13'), which leads to a high possibility of leak accidents of the product. Where a large amount of air enters the lamp envelop (1'), the surfaces of the sealing foil (10') are intensely oxidized and may be broken into fragments during the pinch-sealing. Further, where the outer lead pin (11') has a relatively small diameter, it may be burned out.
Further, even if the sealing foils (10') are not in an oxidized condition, the sealing foils (10') may be broken when applied with an increased pinching force greater than the breaking force in an attempt to enhance the adhesion between the seal portions (13') and the sealing foils (10'). Therefore, the relationship between the softening of the lamp envelop (1') and the pinching force is very delicate.
Furthermore, when the inert gas is supplied into the lamp envelop (1'), the gas flow causes the sealing foils (10') to flutter, hence, the position thereof to vary. Therefore, it is very difficult to pinch the lamp envelop (1') with the sealing foils (10') kept in predetermined positions within the seal portions (13'). Thus, a separate device is required for keeping the sealing foils (10') stationary.
Still further, the use of tip tube (29') results in a cut-sealed trace (30') of the tip tube (29') formed on a side surface of the lamp envelop, which not only renders the appearance of the lamp poor but also causes an internal strain to be left in peripheral portions thereof, decreasing the pressure resistance of the lamp envelop (1'). Repeating on/off operations of the lamp i.e., repeating heating and cooling of the lamp may eventually causes the lamp envelop to be broken from the cut-sealed trace (30').
Recently, halogen lamps adaptable for commercial voltages of less power consumption in many countries have been demanded. In response thereto, the volume of a lamp envelop can not help being decreased. However, if a tip tube is used in such a lamp envelop of a decreased volume, the lamp envelop can not be sufficiently cooled when it is immersed in liquid nitrogen for cutting the tip tube after a required gas is filled therein, because liquid nitrogen vaporizes due to the heat of a tip-off burner. As a result, the amount of the filling gas becomes insufficient and, hence, sufficient pressurizing of the lamp envelop can not be achieved. Thus, in spite of the recent tendency to increase the pressure of the gas to be filled in the lamp envelop so as to enhance the performance of the lamp such as a brightness and lifetime, the use of a tip tube makes it impossible to increase the filling gas pressure for such a small volume lamp envelop because of the reasons stated above. Further, the presence of the cut-sealed trace of the tip tube causes an internal strain to be left adjacent the trace and, hence, the lamp envelop can not endure such a high filling gas pressure. Consequently, it has been difficult to significantly enhance the performance of a small-sized halogen lamp of the type using a tip tube.
There exists another problem that the cut-sealed trace of the tip tube causes the scattering of light passing through the trace and the peripheral portion thereof, which leads to a decreased light-converging ability. Such a lamp is not suitable for use as a light source of high-precision apparatus such as a microscope or a measuring instrument.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novel method of sealing a halogen lamp, with which: the sealing foils are unlikely to be oxidized or broken; the outer lead pins are unlikely to burn out; a conventionally required tip tube can be dispensed with thereby providing a lamp envelop free of the cut-sealed trace; and the filling gas pressure can be increased.


In NC machining in which machining control is performed through An NC program, machining conditions at the time of actual machining are reflected in the NC program. At this time, there are two types of modes comprising an analytic storage mode in which actual machining conditions are reflected in the NC program as they are and an optimization mode in which optimization processing applies to the actual machining conditions and the result is reflected in the NC machining program, and either of them is selected according to conditions.

The present invention relates to an optimization method and device of an NC program in NC machining, and more particularly to an optimization method and device of an NC program which extract various machining information or machining conditions from the NC program used for actual machining in the NC machining which performs various machining control using numerical control information, and, if this machining information or machining conditions are not optimum, to those which optimize an NC program based on the already-stored machining information or machining conditions, extract the machining information or machining conditions of this optimized actual machining program and can store this machining information in the numerically-controlled machine tool as general-purpose information or in other numerically-controlled machine tools as widely usable information.
Usually, unique information such as a tool indexing command, a spindle speed of revolution command, a feedrate command, a move/interpolation command and a miscellaneous function command and machining histories are built in as numerical control information such as NC programs, and the numerical control information which is a target of machining control and is suitable for a machine tool is created as an NC program each time.
The conventional numerical control information was created as a desired NC program using CAD (computer-aided design)/CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) or an automatic programming tool by assigning base material data and the final component shape. This program was eventually used in the machining control of a machine tool as an actual machining NC program by making adjustments (modification and editing) of the NC program in the field and repeating a simulation or test cut in a practical machine tool.
Thus, in a conventional NC machining system, the work at the time when numerical control information was corrected and edited was not used repeatedly, fed back or stored and made usable as know-how (technical knowledge).
To resolve this problem, such art as PCT/JP96/03264 has been researched into and developed. This art analyzes numerical control information, in particularly, an actual machining NC program whose modification and editing had been completed, and inversely extracts various machining conditions of field know-how and other various machining conditions, that is, the optimum machining information or machining conditions for specific work from the actual machining NC program which is finally used for quantity production machining in the field, and can use these machining information or machining conditions as databases. Consequently, an optimum field machining program can instantaneously be programmed automatically from these fed back databases.
Thus, in the prior art described above, the various machining information or machining conditions of an analyzed actual machining NC program can be put on the database as know-how. However, some actual machining NC programs include even an actual machining NC program whose modification and editing are completed but which is not optimum with the change of the times, an actual machining NC program in which even the same tool whose cutting conditions are not optimum due to improvements of a tool and a chip or an actual machining NC program in which whether its modification and editing are completed is unknown. Accordingly, if these actual machining NC programs are analyzed and their machining information or machining conditions are added to databases as they are, there was a problem that the databases are not optimized.
The present invention is directed toward such an issue, and an object of the present invention is to optimize an actual machining NC program even if the machining information or machining conditions of the actual machining NC program are not optimum, and to enable the machining information or machining conditions of this optimized actual machining NC program to be used as databases.
The present invention, in NC machining in which machining control is performed through an NC program, comprises a machining method analyzer which analyses the NC program and extracts machining information or machining conditions, a storage device which stores the machining information or machining conditions so as to be able to be rewritten and an NC program optimization device which optimizes the NC program based on the existing machining conditions stored in the storage device.
Further, the present invention comprises a mode switching device by which the NC program optimization device switches an optimization mode which optimizes the NC program based on the existing machining conditions stored in the storage device and an analytic storage mode which stores the machining conditions extracted by the machining method analyzer, in the storage device.
Furthermore, the present invention enables the NC program optimization device to optimize the NC program to a plurality of patterns based on the existing machining conditions stored in the storage device.
Moreover, the present invention enables the NC program optimization device to select an optimizing condition from a plurality of patterns based on the existing machining conditions stored in the storage device before the NC program is optimized.
Further, the present invention, in NC machining in which machining control is performed through an NC program, comprises a machining method analyzing step which analyzes the NC program and extracts machining information or machining conditions, a storage step which stores the machining conditions so that they can be rewritten and an NC program optimization step which optimizes the NC program based on the existing machining conditions stored according to the storage step.
Furthermore, the present invention comprises a mode switching step at which the NC program optimization step switches an optimization mode which optimizes the NC program based on the existing machining conditions stored according to the storage step and an analytic storage mode which stores the machining conditions extracted according to the machining method analyzing step.
Moreover, the present invention enables the NC program optimization step to optimize the NC program to a plurality of patterns based on the existing machining conditions stored according to the storage step.
Further, the present invention enables the NC program optimization step to select an optimizing condition from a plurality of patterns based on the existing machining conditions stored according to the storage step before the NC program is optimized.
As described above, according to an NC machining system related to the present invention, if the machining conditions of an actual machining NC program are not optimum, the machining method of the actual machining NC program is analyzed and the actual machining NC program can be optimized based on the existing data of a database. Then, because the machining conditions of this optimized actual machining NC program are extracted and can be put on the database, the machining conditions which are put on the database are only optimum data, and the machining conditions of the database can always be maintained in an optimized condition.

Optimization method and device of NC program in NC machining


A cable set-top box system with integrated cable tuners and MoCA may implemented on a single integrated circuit, supporting communication over a shared coaxial cable line. The system may include a memory interface shared by DOCSIS and video/audio subsystems. The system may further include an embedded processor in the MoCA subsystem, enabling autonomous operation of the MoCA subsystem and secure flash memory that is not directly accessible by the DOCSIS subsystem.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cable set top box systems and specifically to a high definition cable set top box system with an integrated cable tuner and MoCA subsystem.
2. Background Art
Cable set top boxes are commonly used to receive and decode digital television broadcasts and to interface with the internet through the user's television.
Previous cable set-top box implementations do not have integrated tuners. For home-networking, prior cable set-top box implementations use Ethernet or an external MoCA system.
What is needed is a cable set top box system with an integrated cable tuner and a MoCA subsystem.
Features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like reference characters identify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Cable set-top box with integrated cable tuner and MOCA support


A method and system of accelerating monitoring of network traffic. The method may include receiving, at a network chip of a network device, a network traffic data unit; capturing, by the network chip, the network traffic data unit based on a traffic sampling rate; adding, by the network chip, a sampling header to the network traffic data unit to obtain a sampled network traffic data unit; sending the sampled network traffic data unit from the network chip to a sampling engine; receiving, from the sampling engine, a flow datagram that includes a network traffic data unit portion and a flow datagram header; generating a flow network data traffic unit that includes the flow datagram; and transmitting the flow network data traffic unit towards a collector.

Networks of interconnected devices (e.g., computer networks) are often monitored to, for example, ascertain characteristics of network traffic flow of the network. Such monitoring may be implemented via sampling some portion of the network traffic (e.g., packets, frames, etc.) transmitted into, out of, or within the network to ascertain various items of information related to the network traffic. However, such processing may require that one or more processors of a network device in the network perform at least a portion of the activities required for sampling functionality. Such activities may place a workload burden on the processors, which may affect network device performance.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Accelerated network traffic sampling using an accelerated line card


Discriminative pretraining technique embodiments are presented that pretrain the hidden layers of a Deep Neural Network (DNN). In general, a one-hidden-layer neural network is trained first using labels discriminatively with error back-propagation (BP). Then, after discarding an output layer in the previous one-hidden-layer neural network, another randomly initialized hidden layer is added on top of the previously trained hidden layer along with a new output layer that represents the targets for classification or recognition. The resulting multiple-hidden-layer DNN is then discriminatively trained using the same strategy, and so on until the desired number of hidden layers is reached. This produces a pretrained DNN. The discriminative pretraining technique embodiments have the advantage of bringing the DNN layer weights close to a good local optimum, while still leaving them in a range with a high gradient so that they can be fine-tuned effectively.

A deep neural network (DNN) is known to be a powerful discriminative modeling tool, and can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, a DNN can be combined with a hidden Markov model (HMM) to characterize context-dependent (CD) phones as the pronunciation units of speech. The resulting hybrid CD-DNN-HMM takes advantage of the temporally localized discriminative modeling power of a DNN and the sequential modeling power of an HMM. A CD-DNN-HMM can be used in speech recognition systems, handwriting recognition systems, and human activity recognition/detection systems including gesture recognition systems, among many others.
One of the key procedures in building such CD-DNN-HMMs is the training of the DNN. This training is typically conducted by first initializing the weights and is known as a "pretraining" procedure.

Discriminative pretraining of deep neural networks


A programmable PLL including a receiver, a phase frequency detector, a charge pump, and a VCO. The receiver includes a programmable capacitor voltage divider that shifts voltage of an input clock to provide a level-shifted clock. The AC interface includes a state detection and correction circuit that ensures proper state of the level-shifted clock. The PLL includes a pulse delay modulator for generating delayed clock control signals. The VCO includes a programmable phase control circuit that dynamically adjusts phase using the delayed clock control signals. The VCO circuit includes a ring oscillator circuit with one or more phase control nodes. The programmable phase control circuit selectively couples devices to the phase control node using the clock control signals to adjust phase. The devices may be capacitors or transistors, each switched using switches controlled by the delayed clock control signals. The capacitors may be metal capacitors or semiconductor transistor capacitors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to electronic devices and specifically to a fully programmable phase locked loop.
2. Description of the Related Art
Phase locked loops (PLLs) are utilized by electronic devices to generate clock signals from a reference signal. The generated clock signal maybe at the same frequency as the reference clock signal or at a fractional or multiple frequency of the reference clock signal. The generated clock signal typically has a predetermined phase relationship with the reference clock signal.
A typical PLL includes a phase frequency detector (PFD), a charge pump, and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), among other supporting circuitry. The PFD compares an input or system clock with an output clock and provides clock control signals to the charge pump. The charge pump adds or subtracts charge to a filter capacitor based on the clock control signals and generates a control voltage that controls the frequency of the VCO. Another block may be provided to buffer and divide or multiply the output clock, which is fed back to the PFD for comparison with the system clock.
The conventional PLL architecture is not ideal for newer process technologies, does not scale well from one process technology to the next, and must be redesigned for use in various electronic devices in different markets. The drive to reduce the size of electronic devices has increased the difficulty of implementing capacitors in a semiconductor device. In particular, reducing the thickness of gate oxides increases the gate leakage currents of semiconductor capacitor devices. Also, reducing the size of semiconductor devices means that a proportionally larger area of the device must be allocated to obtain the same capacitance, unless the thickness of the insulator is reduced. Reducing the thickness of the insulator, however, increases the leakage currents of the semiconductor capacitor devices.
The transistors implemented using advanced CMOS processes, such as 90-nm (nanometer) CMOS, are exhibiting non-ideal behavioral traits for implementation of critical analog functions, such as current and voltage sources or references, VCO's, charge pumps, etc. Some of these non-ideal transistor traits include increased gate tunneling current, increased drain-source leakage, reduced voltage headroom due to VDD scaling, and increased noise susceptibility due to decreased threshold voltages. Furthermore, with respect to PLL design, the very high gain VCOs are causing increased cycle-to-cycle jitter, coupled with increased phase drift due to the ever increasing discrepancy between the internal speed of the processor and the interface reference clock speeds. Modern processors, for example, typically operate in the gigahertz (GHz) range whereas the interface reference clock speeds typically operate in the 16–166 megahertz (MHz) range. Fully digital PLLs can alleviate some of the issues but do not scale very well. Furthermore, the need to integrate more PLLs on chip for System-On-Chip (SOC) applications forces more unique PLL implementations which cause design overhead and risk.
A receiver or level shifter is used at the front end of the PLL to interface with clocks that may be generated at different voltage levels. The clocks oscillate at different voltage levels and with different slopes on the rising and falling edges, and thus are difficult to match for de-skew control. Older process technologies were designed for higher voltages, such as 1.5 Volts (V), 18.V, 2.5V, 3.3V, etc., whereas newer technologies are designed for use with lower voltage levels, such as on the order of 1–1.2V. Dual-Gate Oxide (DGO) or "thick-gate" transistors are used to withstand the higher voltage levels, but do not operate well at the lower voltage levels. Single-Gate Oxide (SGO) or "thin-gate" transistors are smaller and faster and optimized for low voltage operation, but are unable to handle the higher voltage levels. In other configurations, the faster path using thin-gate devices was interfaced to higher voltage devices for delay matching with the higher voltage reference or system clock, effectively slowing down the front end interface. Also, such interface to higher voltage devices was a less than optimal solution that complicated skew control and that was difficult to optimize when the PLL was required to operate over a wide range of supply voltage.
It is desired to provide a single programmable PLL that is scalable across design technologies, that addresses multiple market needs, that provides multi-bandwidth and phase control, and that provides complete control of the damping coefficient and natural frequency of the PLL. For example, it is desired to provide a programmable PLL front end to interface a reference clock at any of a variety of voltage levels without slowing down either clock. More particularly, it is desired to match the levels of and to provide de-skew control between the reference and feedback clocks without slowing down either path. Furthermore, it is desired to provide a VCO with dynamically adjusted phase control that does not use traditional resistor or current source devices and that does not rely on the accurate resistor, capacitor or transistor absolute values.


The present invention relates to antigens, more particularly antigens of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) (S. agalactiae) which may be useful to prevent, diagnose and/or treat streptococcal infections.

Streptococcus are gram (+) bacteria that are differentiated by group specific carbohydrate antigens A through O found on their cell surface. Streptococcus groups are further distinguished by type-specific capsular polysaccharide antigens. Several serotypes have been identified for the GBS: Ia, Ib, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII. GBS also contains antigenic proteins known as "C-proteins" (alpha, beta, gamma and delta), some of which have been cloned.
Although GBS is a common component of the normal human vaginal and colonic flora this pathogen has long been recognized as a major cause of infections in neonates, expectant mothers, some non-pregnant adults as well as mastitis in dairy herds. Expectant mothers exposed to GBS are at risk of postpartum infection and may transfer the infection to their baby as the child passes through the birth canal.
GBS infections in infants are restricted to very early infancy. Approximately 80% of infant infections occur in the first days of life, so-called early-onset disease. Late-onset infections occur in infants between 1 week and 2 to 3 months of age. Clinical syndromes of GBS disease in newborns include sepsis, meningitis, pneumonia, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endocarditis and epiglottis. In addition to acute illness due to GBS, which is itself costly, GBS infections in newborns can result in death, disability, and, in rare instances, recurrence of infection. Although the organism is sensitive to antibiotics, the high attack rate and rapid onset of sepsis in neonates and meningitis in infants results in high morbidity and mortality.
Among pregnant women, GBS causes clinical illness ranging from mild urinary tract infection to life-threatening sepsis and meningitis, including also osteomyelitis, endocarditis, amniotis, endometritis, wound infections (postcesarean and postepisiotomy), cellulitis, fasciitis.
Among non-pregnant adults, the clinical presentations of invasive GBS disease most often take the form of primary bacteremia but also skin or soft tissue infection, pneumonia, urosepsis, endocarditis, peritonitis, meningitis, empyema. Skin or soft tissue infections include cellulitis, infected peripheral ulcers, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis and decubiti or wound infections. Among people at risk, there are debilitated hosts such as people with a chronic disease such as diabetes mellitus and cancer, or elderly people.
GBS infections can also occur in animals and cause mastitis in dairy herds.
Type-specific polysaccharides have proven to be poorly immunogenic in hosts and are restricted to the particular serotype from which the polysaccharide originates. Further, capsular polysaccharide elicit a T cell independent response i.e. no IgG production. Consequently capsular polysaccharide antigens are unsuitable as a vaccine component for protection against GBS infection.
Others have focused on the C-protein beta antigen which demonstrated immunogenic properties in mice and rabbit models. This protein was found to be unsuitable as a human vaccine because of its undesirable property of interacting with high affinity and in a non-immunogenic manner with the Fc region of human IgA. The C-protein alpha antigen is rare in type III serotypes of GBS which is the serotype responsible for most GBS mediated conditions and is therefore of little use as a vaccine component.
There remains an unmet need for GBS polypeptides which may be used to prevent, diagnose and/or treat GBS infection.


A carpet in the form of a substrate formed with a beveled leading edge and including means to form the beveled edge at the point of use and to securely lock adjacent pieces together along an adjacent side edge in a manner which permits the accommodation of different sized and configured areas and assembling and disassembling of the carpet pad to be readily accomplished.

Trade shows typically are conducted in large areas such as conference centers, with a plurality of businesses exhibiting products, services and the like. Within the trade show exhibit area, individual booths can be set up by the exhibitors with each exhibitor having or renting their own set of equipment for a booth, station, etc. In some instances, the floor of the trade show exhibit area will have carpet, cushioned tiles and the like already in place before the trade show exhibitors arrive. In other instances, a base floor, e.g. a concrete floor is present and the trade show exhibitors themselves are responsible for placing any secondary flooring on top of the concrete if so desired. In any event, the use of carpet on top of a base floor in a trade show exhibit area is known to those skilled in the art, the carpet being laid down either from rolls of material or as a plurality of tiles. However, at the location where the base floor meets the carpet, an elevated edge resulting from the leading edge of the carpet can be present, with the edge requiring a transition such that a tripping hazard is not present. Heretofore edge transitions have been in the form of tape to attempt to bridge the elevated edge with the floor underneath. However, the use of tape can be messy and in fact can become a tripping hazard in high traffic areas in itself if not applied properly or if it becomes loose. Therefore, an improved mat or tile that transitions the elevated edge to the floor underneath using a beveled edge as part of the tile would be desirable.


Illustrative embodiments include a method, system, and computer program product for accelerating functional verification in simulation testing of an integrated circuit (IC). Using a processor and a memory, a serial operation is replaced with a direct register access operation, wherein the serial operation is configured to perform bit shifting operation using a register in a simulation of the IC. The serial operation is blocked from manipulating the register in the simulation of the IC. Using the register in the simulation of the IC, the direct register access operation is performed in place of the serial operation.

Certain computer chip development programs, such as programs for developing processor ICs, use a combination of design methodologies. MPGZ is a semi-custom methodology used for this purpose. Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) is another methodology used in chip design, and is based on libraries of standard cells to be used in the IC design.
The functionality of the designed IC has to be tested or verified to ensure that the design performs as specified. This process of testing the functionality of the IC design is called functional verification. Typically, the functional verification process uses a simulation of the designed IC, and subjects the simulation to a battery of test cases. A test case includes instructions that cause the simulated IC to perform certain functions. For example, an instruction in a test case to write a test data pattern into a register of the simulated IC causes a write operation to be transmitted to the simulated IC, with the expected result that the test data pattern will be stored in the designated register.

Accelerating functional verification of an integrated circuit

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Systems and methods are provided for speech recognition. For example, audio characteristics are extracted from acquired voice signals; a syllable confusion network is identified based on at least information associated with the audio characteristics; a word lattice is generated based on at least information associated with the syllable confusion network and a predetermined phonetic dictionary; and an optimal character sequence is calculated in the word lattice as a speech recognition result.

Speech recognition technology converts voice signals to corresponding character sequences and is widely used in different areas, such as human-machine interaction and audio/video search.
Conventional speech recognition technology often uses a word or a sentence as a basic identification unit. Audio characteristics are extracted from the voice signals. An optimal character sequence of the audio characteristics is calculated in a predetermined decoding search network through a Viterbi decoding. The optimal character sequence is provided as the speech identification result. Specifically, the predetermined decoding search network normally includes an acoustic model, a dictionary and a language model. The acoustic model is normally a hidden markov model (HMM) based on one phoneme or three phonemes. The dictionary includes a correspondence between words and phonemes. The language model includes a probability relationship among words in a character sequence. After the audio characteristics are input into the decoding search network, a phoneme sequence corresponding to the audio characteristics is identified using the acoustic model. A plurality of candidate words are found in the dictionary using the phoneme sequence. A sequence of candidate words with a highest probability is selected as an optimal text sequence through the probability relationship in the language model.
The above-noted conventional approach has some problems. For example, the decoding search network is established based on words. Any change in the dictionary (e.g., a collection of distinguishable words) often leads to restructuring a decoding search space, which causes inflexibility.
Hence it is highly desirable to improve the techniques for speech recognition.

Systems and methods for speech recognition

Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited


A connector mounting structure having a case mounted on the automatic transmission unit 20 for containing one or a multiplicity of connectors is disclosed, in which at least one vibration-absorbing elastic member is interposed in contact between the case and the automatic transmission unit. The elastic member is made of a resin spring integrally formed with the resin case. The vibrations exerted on the connectors from the automatic transmission unit can thus be reduced and the adverse effect of the vibrations on the connectors is minimized.

The present invention relates to a structure for mounting a connector for connecting an electrical part (such as a solenoid valve) of an automatic transmission unit of an automobile, for example, and a wire harness to the automatic transmission unit.
The automatic transmission unit of the automotive vehicle is normally equipped with a solenoid valve for controlling the oil pressure. The solenoid valve is conventionally connected to the wire harness of the vehicle body, for example, by a connector mounted on the automatic transmission unit.
The automatic transmission unit, however, is a source of vibrations which are transmitted to and are liable to adversely affect the connector.


A pen retention device including a pen, a tether, a retracting reel in operable communication with the tether, and a bracket releasably securing the retracting reel therein is disclosed. The pen retention bracket includes four surfaces that define a rectangular cavity having four sides and a top and bottom opening. A first protrusion and a second protrusion are disposed upon a first surface and extend from the first surface toward a second surface, a distance between the first protrusion and the second protrusion greater than a height of the pen tether retracting reel. The first surface is responsive to an application of force to the pen tether retracting reel to elastically deform and increase a depth between the second surface and at least one of the first protrusion and the second protrusion, thereby releasing the pen tether retracting reel via either of the top opening and the bottom opening.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pen retention devices, and particularly to of point of sale signature pen retention devices.
2. Description of Background
Point of sale devices may provide pens, such as electronic signature pens for example, for a shopper to authorize a sale transaction. It is important to retain and secure the pen in a location that is convenient for use and such that it cannot easily be taken by the shopper. Typical pen retention arrangements include a tether attached to the pen and a retracting reel, such that the tether is drawn into the retracting reel when the pen is not in use. The pen is intended to be disposed within an accompanying recess such that the pen does not obstruct a flow of purchased products. To discourage any pilferage of the pen, tether, and retracting reel, the retracting reel is often disposed beneath a surface of the point of sale device, such that it is inaccessible to the shopper.
Disposal of the retracting reel beneath the surface of the point of sale device may result in application of force to the pen, via the tether, in a direction that increases a difficulty of use of the pen. Further, failure by the shopper to ensure proper return of the pen to the accompanying recess may result in the pen becoming entangled with the flow of purchased products and lead to tether failure. Repair of such tether failure requires a service technician to disassemble the point of sale device and replace the retracting reel, tether, and pen. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a pen retention arrangement that overcomes these drawbacks.

International Business Machines Corporation


This invention relates to a honeycomb having cells of paper, comprising by weight 3 to 30 parts by weight aliphatic polyamide binder, and 70 to 97 parts of a poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) fiber having a modulus of 600 grams per denier (550 grams per dtex) or greater, based on the aliphatic polyamide binder and PPD-T fiber in the paper. In another embodiment, the honeycomb is made from paper comprising by weight 30 to 50 parts aliphatic polyamide binder, and 50 to 70 parts of a poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) fiber having a modulus of 600 grams per denier (550 grams per dtex) or greater, based on the aliphatic polyamide binder and PPD-T fiber in the paper. Both papers have an average specific tensile index of 60 (lbs/in)/opsy (310 Nm/g) or greater. Articles made from the honeycombs include a panel or an aerodynamic structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved high performance honeycomb made from a paper containing poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) fiber and aliphatic polyamide binder and articles made from the honeycomb.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,768 to Lin; U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,059 to Nomoto; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,622 to Nomoto disclose honeycombs made from sheets of high modulus para-aramid materials. These honeycombs are highly prized for structural applications due to their high stiffness and high strength-to-weight ratio. Generally these honeycombs are made from papers comprising para-aramid floc, pulp, and/or other fibrous materials plus a binder. The modulus of the final honeycomb is directly related to the proportion of para-aramid fiber in the paper composition. At the same time, the proportion of para-aramid fiber in the paper is limited to a certain degree because a binder must also be present to provide the paper with adequate strength to process the paper into honeycomb. Specifically, it is believed that adhesion of the binder to the fiber in the paper is critically important in manufacture of superior honeycomb. If the selected binder for the paper does not adhere well with the fiber, the resulting paper will not have adequate strength to survive the manufacture of the honeycomb, or the resulting honeycomb will not function as a unified structure. Simply increasing the quantity of a poor binder in the paper will not adequately compensate for this lack of adhesion.
What is needed therefore is a binder that has superior adhesion to the fiber and provides a paper having adequate strength for processing. Such a binder also provides more flexibility in designing a honeycomb in that it can provide a route to minimize the total amount of binder in the paper composition and therefore increase the amount of para-aramid fiber in the paper composition and honeycomb; or if excess binder is used, reduces or eliminates the need for a thermoset matrix resin in the honeycomb.

Honeycomb containing poly(paraphenylene terephthalamide) paper with aliphatic polyamide binder and articles made therefrom


A process for preparing an N-oxide of pyridine or a halopyridine, said process comprising reacting a reaction mixture of said pyridine, or said halopyridine, and hydrogen peroxide in a reaction conducted at an elevated temperature in the presence of a catalytically effective amount of a heterogeneous catalyst, said heterogeneous catalyst being insoluble in said reactants, to form said 2-halopyridine-N-oxide or pyridine-N-oxide.

Certain processes for producing 2-chloropyridine-N-oxide from 2-chloropyridine are well known. Illustrative prior art processes relate to the oxidation of 2-chloropyridine with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of homogeneous catalysts(s), such as tungstates, molybdates, and the like. As another illustration, U.S. Pat. No. 3,047,579 discloses soluble peroxy carboxylic acid catalysts for use in the preparation of N-oxides of tertiary organic bases, including halo-pyridine N-oxides.
The use of homogeneous catalysts for the oxidation of 2-chloropyridine, and other pyridine compounds, has the attendant disadvantage that the catalyst must be removed from the product stream and then recovered in reusable form. To achieve this recovery and reusability requires a number of steps, such as precipitation of the catalyst, filtration to separate the precipitated catalyst from the filtrate, and then reconversion of the precipitate back to its original catalytic form. These steps add considerably to the cost of producing the desired 2-chloropyridine-N-oxide product.
There are other costs and additional process complexities that make the use of soluble catalysts in homogeneous systems even more disadvantageous. For example, in such systems, the reaction is typically stopped using a quenching agent. The reaction between the soluble catalyst(s) and the quenching agent typically results in the formation of an insoluble product which is then typically removed by filtration using a filter aid.
Unfortunately, the use of the quenching agent and/or the filter aid increase the likelihood of introducing undesirable impurities into the desired 2-chloropyridine-N-oxide product. Accordingly, new processes for producing 2-chloropyridine-N-oxide that do not use a homogeneous catalyst system, do not employ a quenching agent, do not employ filter aid(s), and employ fewer process steps than prior art processes employing soluble catalysts, would be highly desired by, for example, the biocides intermediates manufacturing community. The present invention provides one such process.


A composition is prepared by melt blending specific amounts of components including a poly(phenylene ether), a first hydrogenated block copolymer (HBC1) that includes a polystyrene-poly(ethylene-butylene)-polystyrene triblock copolymer having a polystyrene content of 50 to 75 weight percent, and a second hydrogenated block copolymer. The second hydrogenated block copolymer can selected from five different hydrogenated block copolymer types and their combinations. The composition exhibits high light transmittance, low haze, and high impact strength at low temperature, which make it useful for molding objects such as containers for storage in refrigerators and freezers.

Plastic articles used for refrigerated storage require low temperature impact strength to reduce fractures during impact events. Impact strength of plastics generally decreases with decreasing temperature. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2012/0308753 A1 of Balfour et al. describes poly(phenylene ether) compositions exhibiting a desirable combination of optical clarity and impact strength at ambient temperature, but their impact strength is sometimes inadequate for use in low temperature environments. There remains a need for poly(phenylene ether) compositions exhibiting optical clarity and improved low temperature impact strength. In particular, there is a need for poly(phenylene ether) compositions exhibiting a transmittance of at least 60 percent, a correlated haze less than or equal to 20 percent, and a −20° C. multiaxial impact energy to failure of at least 20 joules.

Poly(phenylene ether) composition and article


An actuator device includes a drive motor, a reduction mechanism, which includes gears, an output shaft coupled to the reduction mechanism, and a connector assembly. The connector assembly includes a sensor accommodating portion for accommodating a sensor, which detects the rotation angle of the output shaft, and a connector portion, which includes connector pins connected to an external connector, and a power supply portion, which includes power supply terminals connected to the drive motor. The sensor accommodating portion, the connector portion, and the power supply portion are integrally formed. The power supply terminals and the connector pins are formed of a single conductive plate. The connector assembly is molded using resin to integrally incorporate the conductive plate. As a result, the actuator device that is easily assembled is obtained.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-219957 discloses an actuator device equipped with a drive motor, a reduction mechanism including gears, and an output shaft. Rotation of the drive motor is transmitted to the output shaft via the reduction mechanism, thereby driving a driven device coupled to the output shaft. The actuator device also includes a power supply terminal connected to the drive motor, a sensor for detecting the rotational angle position of the output shaft, and connector pins connected to an external connector. Drive current is supplied to the drive motor from the outside and rotational angle signals obtained by the sensor are sent to the outside through the external connector.
The connector pins are held between an upper case and a lower case, which form a connector housing. The power supply terminal is located on a first conductive plate and the connector pins are located on a second conductive plate. After the second conductive plate is crimped to the first conductive plate, spot welding is performed so that the first and second conductive plates are coupled to each other. A patterned substrate forming part of the sensor is adhered to one of gears forming the reduction mechanism. A brush connected to the first conductive plate slides against the patterned substrate.
The actuator device has the following drawbacks. That is, since the connector pins are held between the upper case and the lower case, which form the connector housing, it takes time to accurately arrange the connector pins at a predetermined position in the connector housing. Also, since the first conductive plate, which has the power supply terminal, needs to be coupled to the second conductive plate, which has the connector pins, maintenance and assembly of the two conductive plates are complicated and troublesome. Furthermore, it is difficult to check the contact state between the patterned substrate adhered to the gear and the brush. As a result, it takes a lot of trouble to assemble the actuator device of the above publication.
Like the above publication, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 9-308188 discloses an actuator device equipped with a drive motor, a reduction mechanism including gears, and an output shaft. According to the actuator device of the publication No. 9-308188, one of the gears (except a worm attached to a rotary shaft of the drive motor) forming the reduction mechanism is pressed in the axial direction by a spring washer. The pressure on the gear applies force on the rotary shaft of the drive motor along a direction that intersects the axial direction of the rotary shaft. As a result, backlash of the rotary shaft is suppressed.
In the above publication, a special spring washer is provided to press one of the gears in the axial direction. Therefore, manufacture and an assembling process of the spring washer are required, which increases the manufacturing cost of the actuator device.


Optical quality transparent conductors such as bodies, films and coatings formed from substituted and unsubstituted polyanilines in nonconductive substrates such as polymers or polymer plus solvents with protonic acid are disclosed as are methods of forming such conductors from fluid forms of the polyaniline/substrate/acid mixtures.

There is an established need for transparent conducting materials for use as transparent electrodes, coatings and films. Such transparent materials are required in a variety of device applications, including for example the electrodes for liquid crystal displays and transparent conductive coatings for antistatic applications. Other applications include, for example, use as electrodes on polymer (or composite) objects to enable electroplating and as conductive transparent films for packaging and electrically shielding electronic goods.
Only a few materials exhibit the combination of relatively high electrical conductivity and optical transparency. The most widely used examples are mixed inorganic oxide materials, for example indium/tin oxide (ITO) and other related oxides.
Although ITO has adequate properties for many uses in technology, ITO also has many disadvantages, including the following:
(i) High vacuum technology (for example sputtering) is required for application of transparent conducting ITO or related mixed oxides onto a substrate. This vacuum technology is expensive, since it requires major capital investment for the equipment needed for application. Furthermore, application, for example by sputtering, onto curved or complex surfaces is difficult. PA1 (ii) The precise chemical stoichiometry and morphology required for transparent conducting ITO or related mixed oxides is difficult to achieve and difficult to control. As a result, the preparation of transparent conducting ITO or related mixed oxide films is often treated as a trade secret. Thus, the routine manufacture of transparent conducting ITO or related mixed oxide films for transparent electrode applications requires precise and detailed process control. PA1 (iii) Transparent conducting ITO or related mixed oxide films are brittle. Thus, when applied onto flexible substrates (for example onto free standing polymer films as substrates), the coated substrate is delicate and the transparent electrode is easily shattered. PA1 (iv) Patterning of the transparent conducting ITO or related mixed oxides requires etching the insoluble ITO or related mixed oxide material. Although possible, relatively highly corrosive etching solutions are required. PA1 (i) Oxidation either electrochemically (by means of an electrochemical charge transfer reaction) or chemically (by means of chemical reaction with an appropriate oxidizing agent such as FeCl.sub.3); PA1 (ii) Protonation through acid-base chemistry by exposure to protonic acids (for example, in aqueous environment with pH less than 2-3). (1) `Polyaniline`: Protonic Acid Doping of the Emeraldine Form to the Metallic Regime by J.-C. Chiang and Alan G. MacDiarmid, Synthetic Metals 13 193 (1986). (2) A Two-Dimensional-Surface `State` Diagram for Polyaniline by W. R. Salaneck, I. Lundstrom, W.-S Huang and A. G. MacDiarmid, Synthetic Metals 13, 297 (1986). PA1 (i) Because the transparent conducting body, coating or film is a stable soluble polymer blend, the conducting transparent film can be applied by casting from solution (for example, spin-casting, drop-casting, etc). This can be carried out in ambient atmosphere with no need for vacuum technology. PA1 (ii) Since the transparent conductor is cast onto the substrate directly from solution, said material can be cast onto complex, curved surfaces. PA1 (iii) The precise chemical stoichiometry is pre-determined by the concentrations of the conducting polyaniline complex and the PMMA in the solution used for casting the electrode film. Thus, the manufacture of transparent conducting films for electrode applications and the like is routine. PA1 (iii) Transparent conducting materials fabricated from the conducting polyaniline complex/PMMA polyblends are flexible and mechanically robust. Thus, when applied onto flexible support surfaces (for example onto free standing polymer films) the coated surfaces are robust. PA1 (iv) Since transparent conducting films fabricated from the conducting polyaniline complex/polymer polyblends are re-soluble in common organic solvents, transparent electrodes and other conductor forms can be patterned using photo-lithographic techniques; said techniques being, for example, routinely used in the semiconductor industry.
Thus, there is a need for materials which are both electrically conducting and optically transparent, and which can be applied or fabricated directly from fluid phases at easy-to-obtain conditions. There is also a need for conductive devices and films which are mechanically robust and have specific and easily controlled compositions.
There exists prior art in the area of transparent conducting coatings made from conductive polymers:
(1) Shacklette et al (U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,206, Oct. 16, 1990) applied a conductive polyaniline film onto Aclar by exposing the Aclar film to a mixture of aniline tosylate and ammonium persulfate in an aqueous solution of tosic acid. Thus the conductive polyaniline film was polymerized in situ onto the substrate. PA0 (2) Fukunishi et al (JP application no. 63145326, Jun. 17, 1988) used similar techniques to prepare polymer composites by in situ polymerization of pyrrole and aniline. PA0 (3) Takahashi et al (JP application no. 63268733) prepared thin semitransparent films by electrolytic polymerization. PA0 (4) Sakai et al (JP application no. 63215772, Sep. 8, 1988) manufactured conductive polymer compositions by polymerizing monomers capable of forming anionic polymer electrolytes in the presence of polymers of .pi.-conjugated structure. Transparent thin films were deposited electrolytically.
There is no known prior art in which optical quality transparent conducting polymer films have been Acast directly from a fluid phase (melt or solution) in the conductive form (without need for subsequent doping) as the pure conductive polymer or as polyblends containing the conductive polymer.
The present invention employs polyanilines as conductive polymers. The following is a general summary of art concerning these materials.
Kobayashi Tetsuhiko et al., J. Electroanal Chem., "Electrochemical Reactions Concerned With electrochromism of Polyaniline Film-Coated Electrodes," 177 (1984) 281-291, describes various experiments in which spectroelectro-chemical measurement of a polyaniline film coated electrode were made. French Patent No. 1,519,729, French Patent of Addition 94,536; U.K. Patent No. 1,216,549; "Direct Current Conductivity of Polyaniline Sulfate," M. Donomedoff, F. Kautier-Cristojini, R. ReSur-vail, M. Jozefowicz, L. T. Yu, and R. Buvet, J. Chim. Phys. Physicohim. Brol., 68, 1055 (1971); "Continuous Current Conductivity of Macromolecular Materials," L. T. Yu, M. Jozefowicz, and R. Buvet, Chim. Macromol., 1,469 (1970); "Polyaniline Based Filmogenic Organic Conductive Polymers," D. LaBarre and M. Jozefowicz, C.R. Read. Sci., Ser. C, 269, 964 (1969); "Recently Discovered Properties of Semiconducting Polymers," M. Jozefowicz, L. T. Yu, J. Perichon, and R. Buvet, J. Polym. Sci., Part C, 22, 1187 (1967); "Electrochemical Properties of Polyaniline Sulfates," F. Cristojini, R. De Surville, and M. Jozefowicz, Cr. Read. Sci., Ser. C, 268, 1346 (1979); "Electrochemical Cells Using Protolytic Organic Semiconductors," R. De Surville, M. Jozefowicz, L. T. Yu, J. Perichon, R. Buvet, Electrochem. Ditn. 13, 1451 (1968); "Oligomers and Polymers Produced by Oxidation of Aromatic Amines," R. De Surville, M. Jozefowicz, and R. Buvet, Ann. Chem. (Paris), 2, 5 (1967) "Experimental Study of the Direct Current Conductivity of Macromolecular Compound," L. T. Yu, M. Borredon, M. Jozefowicz, G. Belorgey, and R. Buvet, J. Polym. Sci. Polym. Symp., 16, 2931 (1967); "Conductivity and Chemical Properties of Oligomeric Polyaniline," M. Jozefowicz, L. T. Yu, G. Belorgey, and R. Buvet, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Symp., 16, 2934 (1967); "Products of the Catalytic Oxidation of Aromatic Amines," R. De Surville, M. Jozefowicz, and R. Buvet, Ann. Chem. (Paris), 2, 149 (1967); "Conductivity and Chemical Composition of Macromolecular Semiconductors," Rev. Gen. Electr., 75 1014 (1966); "Relation Between the Chemical and Electrochemical Properties of Macromolecular Semiconductors," M. Jozefowicz and L. T. Yu, Rev. Gen. Electr., 75, 1008 (1966); "Preparation, Chemical Properties, and Electrical Conductivity of Poly-N-Alkyl Anilines in the Solid State," D. Muller and M. Jozefowicz, Bull. Soc. Chem. Fr., 4087 (1972).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,963,498 and 4,025,463 describe oligomeric polyanilines and substituted polyanilines having not more than 8 aniline repeat units which are described as being soluble in certain organic solvents and which are described as being useful in the formation of semiconductors compositions. European Patent No. 0017717 is an apparent improvement in the compositions of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,963,498 and 4,025,463 and states that the polyaniline can be formed into a latex composite through use of the oligomers of polyaniline and a suitable binder polymer.
High molecular weight polyaniline has emerged as one of the more promising conducting polymers, because of its excellent chemical stability combined with respectable levels of electrical conductivity of the doped or protonated material. Processing of polyaniline high polymers into useful objects and devices, however, has been problematic. Melt processing is not possible, since the polymer decomposes at temperatures below a softening or melting point. In addition, major difficulties have been encountered in attempts to dissolve the high molecular weight polymer.
Recently, it was demonstrated that polyaniline, in either the conducting emeraldine salt form or the insulating emeraldine base form, can be processed from solution in certain strong acids to form useful articles (such as oriented fibers, tapes and the like). By solution processing from these strong acids, it is possible to form composites, or polyblends of polyaniline with other polymers (for example polyamides, aromatic polyamides (aramids), etc.) which are soluble in certain strong acids and thereby to make useful articles. "Electrically Conductive Fibers of Polyaniline Spun from Solutions in Concentrated Sulfuric Acid," A. Andreatta, Y. Cao, J. C. Chiang, A. J. Heeger and P. Smith, Synth. Met., 26, 383 (1988); "X-Ray Diffraction of Polyaniline," Y. Moon, Y. Cao, P. Smith and A. J. Heeger, Polymer Communications, 30, 196 (1989); "Influence of the Chemical Polymerization Conditions on the Properties of Polyaniline," Y. Cao, A. Andreatta, A. J. Heeger and P. Smith, Polymer, 30, 2305 (1990); "Magnetic Susceptibility of Crystalline Polyaniline," C. Fite, Y. Cao and A. J. Heeger, Sol. State Commun., 70, 245 (1989); "Spectroscopy and Transient Photoconductivity of Partially Crystalline Polyaniline," S. D. Phillips, G. Yu, Y. Cao, and A. J. Heeger, Phys. Rev. B 39, 10702 (1989); "Spectroscopic Studies of Polyaniline in Solution and in the Solid State," Y. Cao and A. J. Heeger, Synth. Met. 32, 263, (1989); "Magnetic Susceptibility of One-Dimensional Chains in Solution," C. Fite, Y. Cao and A. J. Heeger, Solid State Commun., 73, 607 (1990); "Electrically Conductive Polyblend Fibers of Polyaniline and Poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide)," A. Andreatta, A. J. Heeger and P. Smith, Polymer Communications, 31, 275 (1990); "Polyaniline Processed From Sulfuric Acid and in Solution in Sulfuric Acid: Electrical, Optical and Magnetic Properties," Y. Cao, P. Smith and A. J. Heeger in Conjugated Polymeric Materials: Opportunities in Electronics, Opto-electronics, and Molecular Electronics, ed. J. L. Bredas and R. R. Chance (Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, 1990).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,322 describes solutions and plasticized compositions of electrically conductive substituted and unsubstituted polyanilines and methods of forming such solutions or compositions and use of same to form conductive articles. The polyaniline materials were made soluble by the addition of an oxidizing agent such as FeCl.sub.3. Since the resulting compounds are charge transfer salts, highly polar solvents were required; specifically solvents were needed with dielectric constants equal to or greater than 25 and with dipole moments equal to or greater than 3.25.
Starting with the insulating emeraldine base form, polyaniline can be rendered conducting through two independent doping routes:
These two different routes lead to distinctly different final states. In (i), the oxidation causes a change in the total number of .pi.-electrons on the conjugated chain and thereby renders it conductive. In (ii), there is no change in the number of electrons; the material is rendered electrically conductive by protonation of the imine nitrogen sites.
A need exists for techniques and materials to facilitate the fabrication of shaped transparent conductive polyaniline articles, especially articles made from bulk material (conductive polyanilines and/or composites, or polyblends of conductive polyaniline with other polymers) and films, fibers and coatings.


A device for operating a windshield wiper with an automatic wiper control. The wiping operation is optimally adapted to the wetting conditions of a windshield as soon as the automatic wiper control is turned on. This is achieved by a control stage which, during the switching on, triggers at least one initial wiping action when responding to an activation signal emitted by an input stage. Following the initial wiping action, the wiping operation takes place on the basis of the wetting conditions detected by the sensor unit.

The present invention relates to a device for operating a windshield wiper with an automatic wiper control, comprising an input stage that detects the activation of the wiper control, a sensor unit that detects the degree of wetting of a windshield, an evaluation unit that amplifies and evaluates a sensor signal, as well as an actuation unit for a wiper motor.
A device of this type is shown in DE 41 12 847 A1, which has an automatic wiper control with a sensor unit and an evaluation unit for amplifying and evaluating the sensor signal, which unit transmits a control signal to an actuation unit that actuates a wiper motor. The amplification of the sensor signal is adjusted by means of an automatic control to a quiescent level, and a wiping operation is triggered if, starting with this quiescent level, a wetting event on the windshield is detected via the sensor unit, which results in falling short of a predetermined threshold.
The adjusted quiescent level here takes into account the manufacturing tolerances of individual components of the sensor unit, as well as tolerances for mounting the sensor unit. If the automatic wiper control is not turned on, it is not always certain that, when the control is turned on, the device will function at optimum sensitivity, so that it is possible that the wiper will not react optimally when the windshield is first wetted.
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a device for operating a windshield wiper of the aforementioned type, makes sure that when the wiper is turned on, it will respond optimally to activate the automatic wiper control as a result of a wetting event.


An attachment system for an offshore structure includes a porch configured to be affixed to the offshore structure, an adaptor configured to engage with one or more plates of the porch, and a latch to retain the adaptor into engagement with the one or more plates, in which the adaptor is configured to support an equipment device. A method of attaching equipment device to a structure includes affixing a porch of an attachment system to the structure, engaging an adaptor with one or more plates of the porch, and attaching an equipment device to the adaptor.

Field of the Disclosure
Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to an attachment system. More specifically, embodiments disclosed herein relate to an attachment system for use in oilfield operations capable of attaching additional support and/or equipment.
Description of Related Art
In oilfield operations, offshore vessels, such as semi-submersibles ("semis") and platforms, are commonly used for various tasks, including, but not limited to, hydrocarbon exploration, hydrocarbon drilling and production, safety platforms, and heavy lift cranes. Before, during, and after operations, additional support and/or the use of additional equipment may be beneficial to the success of an operation. Historically, additional equipment and/or support may have been welded or bolted to a pre-existing structure. While traditional methods served their purpose, they were challenging, time consuming, and resource intensive. Additionally, when operational needs dictate expansion, retrofitting a pre-existing structure, such as a semi or a platform, with additional support may have required the used of many skilled workers, supporting devices, and many hours in order to attach (commonly done by welding), often underwater, such a support to the pre-existing structure.
Accordingly, it may be advantageous to both onshore and offshore oilfield operations to employ an attachment system capable of providing additional support when necessary that is easily installed on a pre-existing structure and is capable of connecting one or more devices, structures, and/or equipment to a structure or to one another.

Multipurpose attachment system and methods for attachment


The golf swing training device of the present invention includes a base positioned on the floor or ground in front of a golfer. A leg extends pivotably upward from the base. An arm is pivotally attached to the leg and extends forwardly toward the golfer. A frame is provided on the arm, with an extension member extending pivotally forwardly from the frame. The leg, frame, and extension member are each adjustable to accommodate various heights and postures of different golfers. The device can also be used with both right-handed and left-handed golfers. In use, the golfer views the golf ball through the frame and swings the golf club through a proper swing plane with hands passing beneath the extension member without contact.

The present invention relates to golf swing training aids and golf swing training methods.
Important to a fundamentally sound and repeating golf swing is the ability to consistently deliver the clubhead at impact on the proper path and with the club face square to the target line. Golf instructors often refer to delivering the clubhead to the ball "on plane". The plane is defined by two lines—one drawn through the club shaft at address and the other along the target line. At address, the club shaft will lie on the plane, and ideally the golfer will want to return the club shaft on the same plane at impact.
Golfers who slice the golf ball tend to cut across the ball on a swing path in which the club travels from outside the target line to inside the target line on the downswing. This is often referred to as "coming over the top" on the downswing and is the cause of much inconsistency and poor ball striking. An "over the top" swing will usually result in the shaft of the club extending from the ball at impact at a more upright angle than at address. That is, the golfer's hands will be in a higher position at impact with the club shaft lying in a more upright plane as compared with the plane established by the club shaft at address.
Delivering the clubhead to the ball from too far inside the target lines is also problematic, often resulting in poor ball contact with the golfer pushing and hooking shots. Again, the golfer is unable to return the clubhead to the ball on plane.
A need therefore exists in the art to help golfers minimize the difference between the shaft angle or swing plane at address and the shaft angle or swing plane at impact.
There is also a need in the art for a golf training aid or device that will give the user feedback as to whether the user's club is in the proper position at impact.
There is also a need in the art for a golf training aid or device that can be easily adjusted to account for differences in size and posture from one golfer to another.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved golf swing training device.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training device which quickly and easily teaches a golfer the proper swing plane.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training device which teaches a golfer to duplicate the swing plane at address and at impact.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training device which generates muscle memory for a golfer using the device.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training device which is adjustable to accommodate all golfers, regardless of size and swing posture.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training device which can be used by both right-handed and left-handed golfers.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training method which accurately positions the golfer's hands for a proper swing.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training method which provides instant feedback to the golfer.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a golf swing training method which teaches the golfer the proper swing plane.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.


A write once disc, a disc drive therefor, and a method of managing disc defects on the write once disc using the disc drive in consideration of the compatibility of the write once disc with a rewritable disc drive, the write once disc includes a single record layer disc in which a lead-in area, a data area, and a lead-out area are sequentially formed and a first spare area and a second spare area are sequentially formed in the data area. The write once disc includes a defect management area (DMA) formed in at least one of the lead-in area and the lead-out area; a first temporary defect management area (TDMA) formed in at least one of the lead-in area and the lead-out area; and a second TDMA formed between the first spare area and a user data area or between the user data area and the second spare area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to disc defect management for a write once disc, and more particularly, to a write once disc, a disc drive therefor, and a method of performing disc defect management in consideration of the compatibility with a rewritable disc drive.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disc defect management is the process of rewriting data stored in a user data area of a disc in which a defect exists to a new portion of the disc's data area, thereby compensating for data loss caused by the defect. In general, disc defect management is performed using linear replacement or slipping replacement methods. In the linear replacement method, a user data area in which a defect exists is replaced with a spare data area having no defects. In the slipping replacement method, a user data area with the defect is slipped and the next user data area having no defects is used.
Both linear replacement and slipping replacement methods are, however, applicable only to discs such as a DVD-RAM/RW, on which data can be repeatedly recorded and recording can be performed using a random access method. In other words, the conventional linear replacement and slipping replacement methods cannot be applied to write once discs on which recording is allowed only once. In general, the presence of defects in a disc is detected by recording data on the disc and confirming whether or not data has been recorded correctly on the disc. However, once the data is recorded on a write once disc, it is impossible to overwrite new data and manage defects therein.
After the development of a CD-R and a DVD-R, a high-density write once disc with a recording capacity of several dozen GBs has been introduced. This type of disc can be used as a backup disc since it is not expensive and allows random access that enables fast reading operations. However, disc defect management is not available for write once discs. Therefore, a backup operation may be discontinued when a defective area, i.e., an area where a defect exists, is detected during the backup operation. In general, the backup operation is performed when a system is not frequently used, e.g., at night when a system manager does not operate the system. In this case, it is more likely that the backup operation will be discontinued because a defective area of a write once disc is detected.
Meanwhile, when additional data will not be recorded on a recordable disc, i.e., when only data reproduction will be allowed, write protect information is recorded on the disc to prevent the data recorded on the disc from being mistakenly erased. However, once the write protect information is recorded, recording is not further allowed, and, thus, possible disc defects cannot be managed. Because recording is not allowed in a data area of the disc after recording of the write protect information, disc defect management cannot be performed.
Conventionally, location information regarding disc areas for disc defect management has been specified in the specifications and a disc drive designer designs a disc drive based on the specifications. Accordingly, if a new disc area is further added to the existing disc areas, a conventional disc drive cannot recognize the presence of the new disc area and satisfactorily perform disc defect management.

Write once disc, disc drive therefor, and method of managing disc defect considering compatibility with rewritable disc drive


The present disclosure disclose a video surveillance method performed at a sever. After sending first video information of a target video to a first client, the server receives reported information indicating a playback state of the target video from the first client. The reported information is obtained when the first client plays a video source file of the target video according to original address information and updates a first-frame playback time stored on a first location in a multi-dimensional table according to a first first-frame playback time in the reported information. The server then obtains, according to the first-frame playback time, a timeout waiting time in second video information and sends the second video information to a second client. When the second client does not play the target video in the timeout waiting time, the playback state of the target video is determined as unsuccessful playback.

Currently, a server periodically initiates a request to a video content provider (CP) to which all aggregate videos belong, captures the request, reads Hypertext Markup Language (HTML for short) data of a video detail page of the CP, analyzes returned packet data requested from a content delivery network (CDN for short) of the CP, and determines whether a video is invalidated.
However, when numerous videos need to be detected, the foregoing solution has a time validity problem. Because numerous videos need to be detected, a relatively long time is required to complete a round of detection on each video. When a video is invalidated between two rounds of detection, detection efficiency is relatively low (it is found through a test that when such a solution is used to detect ten thousands of videos, approximately 20 minutes are required, that is, sensitivity of the solution is 20 minutes). As a result, video surveillance efficiency is low.
Additionally, because a quantity of servers that may be used for capturing is limited and most of the servers are centrally deployed, successful playback or unsuccessful playback at a place cannot represent the same playback result at another place. A server excessively frequently initiates a request to a video detail page of the CP. Consequently, the CP performs frequent control to cause a large-range detection error. As a result, video surveillance efficiency is low.
For the foregoing problem of low video surveillance efficiency, no effective solution has been proposed currently.

Video monitoring method and device, storage medium, and electronic device

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


Semiconductor devices and methods of manufacture thereof are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, a semiconductor device includes a workpiece and a trench formed within the workpiece. The trench has an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion having a first width and the lower portion having a second width, the second width being greater than the first width. A first material is disposed in the lower portion of the trench at least partially in regions where the second width of the lower portion is greater than the first width of the upper portion. A second material is disposed in the upper portion of the trench and at least in the lower portion of the trench beneath the upper portion.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment, as examples. Semiconductor devices are typically fabricated by sequentially depositing insulating or dielectric layers, conductive layers and semiconductive layers of material over a semiconductor substrate or workpiece, and patterning the various layers using lithography to form circuit components and elements thereon.
Isolation regions are used in semiconductor devices to electrically isolate active areas and electrical components from other active areas and components. Isolation regions are typically formed by forming holes or trenches in a semiconductor workpiece, and filling the holes with an insulating material.
In some semiconductor devices, trenches for isolation regions may form in a retrograde shape, being wider at lower portions than at upper portions of the trenches. When these retrograde trenches are filled with an insulating material, air gaps or voids tend to form in the larger, lower portion of the trenches, which results in a degradation of the isolation properties of the isolation regions in some semiconductor applications.
Thus, what are needed in the art are improved methods of filling retrograde isolation regions and structures thereof.


A method of fabricating a heat exchanger includes brush electroplating plated layers for a brazing alloy onto a stainless steel tube in thin layers, over a nickel strike having a 1.3 μm thickness. The resultant Au-18 In composition may be applied as a first layer of indium, 1.47 μm thick, and a second layer of gold, 2.54 μm thick. The order of plating helps control brazing erosion. Excessive amounts of brazing material are avoided by controlling the electroplating process. The reticulated copper foam rings are interference fit to the stainless steel tube, and in contact with the plated layers. The copper foam rings, the plated layers for brazing alloy, and the stainless steel tube are heated and cooled in a vacuum furnace at controlled rates, forming a bond of the copper foam rings to the stainless steel tube that improves heat transfer between the tube and the copper foam.

The present invention generally relates to fabrication of heat exchangers and, more particularly, to a method for brazing open cell reticulated foam pieces to stainless steel tubing.
A thermal cycling absorption process (TCAP) is currently used to separate and purify hydrogen isotopes from hydrogen gas. The TCAP process uses differences in absorption properties in palladium to separate the low mass and high mass isotopes. The TCAP unit uses heat exchangers in part of the process to derive product (high mass isotopes) and raffinate (low mass isotopes). It is possible to purify hydrogen isotopes to the tens of parts per million (ppm) range using the TCAP technology. Although the TCAP process has been used successfully for a number of years, there is a possibility for significant improvement in cycle time and thermal efficiency by changing the heating and cooling medium from gaseous nitrogen to a thermal fluid. This change in thermal media requires significant changes in equipment design.
The improved TCAP heat exchanger uses a tube-in-tube (TnT) configuration in which an inner tube is surrounded by an outer tube with an annular space between the tubes. The thermal fluid is contained within the inner tube and the hydrogen gas, which is to be heated and cooled, is circulated in the annular space between the tubes. A vacuum jacket may surround the outer tube. The palladium used for adsorption/desorption fills the annular space. The palladium may be in the form of particles or pellets of palladium coated kieselguhr, as known in the art. The TCAP process cycles between approximate −25 and 125° C. Decreasing the duration of the cycle will increase the throughput of impure gas and increase the productivity of the system. The desire for a rapid change in temperature of the system and an improvement in overall heat transfer may be achieved by adding high thermal conductivity metal to the tube-in-tube TCAP annular space and will improve the efficiency, however, it is also desirable to keep the overall thermal mass as low as possible to maximize the heating and cooling of the product gases, rather then the process hardware.
The addition of copper foam into the annular space could improve the thermal properties of the heat exchanger. The copper foam could be friction fit onto the inner tube or metallurgically bonded to the inner tube for improved heat transfer to the palladium coated kieselguhr particles. Bonding to both inner and outer tubes does not appear feasible, however, due to potential thermal fatigue problems from thermal expansion and contraction differences in which the foam would likely fracture.
The open cell structure of one particular type of copper foam results in a relative density of the foam versus solid copper of about 6.5-9.5%, i.e., less than one-tenth the density of solid copper. Prior art techniques used for bonding solid copper to stainless steel have generally not proved successful for metallurgically bonding copper foam to stainless steel tubing. Typical prior art braze alloy placement techniques may introduce problems such as excessive braze material (with foil), introduction of organic binder materials (with paste) or additional required heating cycles (with other precoats). The excessive braze material produced by prior art brazing techniques may be unsuitable due to problems with braze pooling, braze wrinkling, braze blistering, and brazing erosion, i.e., alloying of the braze with the copper to produce a low melting point alloy that melts the filament resulting in a loss of contract during brazing. This significantly reduces the heat transfer between the inner tube and copper foam, and therefore reduces the heat transfer between the thermal fluid and palladium particles in the TnT application. This may also result in inadequate total bond strength.
For high temperature brazes, (for example, at temperatures above about 800° C.) additional problems are encountered. For example, the outer portion of the copper foam may be crushed inside the outer tube due to thermal coefficient of expansion mismatch as the cooper foam in the annular space expands much more when heated than does the surrounding outer stainless steel tube. Under the high temperature, the copper foam may also be subject to creep deformation, causing the copper foam to separate from the inner surface and lose contact with the tube. Partial melting of the copper foam may occur at brazing temperatures in the range of 980° C. if the copper foam becomes contaminated with other materials (melting point of pure copper is 1085° C.). To be successful, a brazing technique should produce a wetted surface on the tube or structure to which the copper foam is to be bonded, the ligaments of the copper foam should be bonded without brazing erosion of the copper foam, and the braze joints should be stronger than the filaments, i.e., the filaments themselves should break before the braze joints under destructive axial load testing.
As can be seen, there is a need to metallurgically bond copper foam to other metals, such as stainless steel, that produces a strong bond without braze erosion or the other problems described above. There is a need for a low temperature (<700° C.) brazing technique to avoid damage from creep deformation and thermal expansion mismatch between the foam and the stainless steel.

Brazing open cell reticulated copper foam to stainless steel tubing with vacuum furnace brazed gold/indium alloy plating

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy