An apparatus and method for combining NIR spectography with an implement including a combine or a chopper for measuring major constituents of harvested products in real time includes a monochromator or other sensor having no moving optical parts. The monochromator includes a fixed diffraction grating and a photodiode collector comprised of a plurality of photodiodes. A radiation source irradiates a product sample and the reflected radiation is transmitted to the diffraction grating. By analyzing the intensities and wavelengths of the reflected radiation at the photodiode collector, the presence and amount of major constituents of the harvested product can be determined. The present invention may be used on or with a research combine or chopper along with the conventional instrumentation which measures the weight, moisture, and volume of products harvested in a test plot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to instruments for measuring constituents of harvested agricultural products. More particularly, though not exclusively, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus using near infrared spectrometers in combination with an agricultural implement such as a combine or chopper for real time product analysis.
2. Problems in the Art
In the field of agriculture, it is important to analyze agricultural products such as grain or forage to determine the amount of major constituents in the products. This is particularly important in breeding programs.
One prior art method of analyzing grain and other agricultural products, is using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR). NIR is a well established technique for detecting both chemical and physical properties of various materials. NIR provides an accurate and inexpensive method to analyze agricultural materials such as grain or forage. Major constituents that can be detected by using NIR include moisture, protein, oil, starch, amino acids, extractable starch, density, test weight, digestibility, cell wall content, and any other constituents or properties that are of commercial value.
There are various types of devices used for NIR. In general, these devices include light sensors in conjunction with light sources which are used with any number of measuring devices. In optical spectrometers, the incident light from a light source is passed through a monochromator, which can be a filter or set of filters, a diffraction grating, or a prism whose angular displacement relative to the incoming light can be closely correlated with the single wavelength, or narrow band of wavelengths (which it sends on to the light sensor). The light sensor is selected so that its spectral responses match the wavelength of interest. The angular motion of the prism or diffraction grating can be mechanized so that a given spectrum is scanned at a known rate over a known time interval. Such a device is referred to as a scanning spectrometer. The wavelength of an observed peak can them be determined from the time counted from the start of a scan. Spectrometers may also be referred to as spectrophotometers when their spectral range extends between ultraviolet to infrared.
The constituent content of a grain sample, for example, is measured most accurately by prior art systems by drying and grinding the sample of the grain to particulate form. The ground sample is then irradiated with near infrared light. The reflected radiation is detected at narrow band wavelengths in the NIR spectrum to obtain raw reflectance data of the sample. The data can be used to provide accurate measurements of the content of constituents of the grain samples. In many prior art systems, it is difficult to obtain accurate measurements of the grain constituents without first drying and grinding the grain into particulate form.
Other prior art systems use scanning or oscillating spectrophotometric instruments. In such an instrument, a photo detector detects light energy which is scanned through a spectrum at a rapid rate. Such an instrument employs an optical grating which receives light through an entrance slit and disperses the light into a spectrum directed toward an exit slit. The optical grating is oscillated in order to rapidly scan the light transmitted through the exist slit through the spectrum dispersed by the grating. Another prior art instrument uses filters which are tilted as they pass through a light beam to scan the transmitted light through a spectrum. Either type of instrument, the oscillating optical grating or the tilt filter type can be operated over a spectrum covering near infrared to analyze agricultural products such as grain. Using an oscillating grating or tilting filter type of instrument, the user can measure the reflectivity of the sample at narrow wavelength increments to determine the constituent contents of a grain sample. To use an oscillating grating or tilting filter instrument, the narrow bandwidth light is transmitted through the exit slit used to illuminate the grain sample. The light reflected from the sample is detected by photo detectors and the resulting photo detector signal is used to determine the constituent contents of the sample. As the grating oscillates, the center frequency of the light that irradiates the sample is swept through the NIR spectrum. Light from the diffraction grating that is reflected by the sample is detected by the photo detector. As an alternative to detecting the energy reflected from the sample, the energy may be transmitted through the sample and detected after being transmitted through the sample. In addition, instead of irradiating the sample with the output from the spectrophotometer, the sample can be irradiated with constant wideband light and a reflected light being applied to the spectrophotometer.
If a grain sample is not ground, the light absorbency and reflectance varies considerably from sample to sample. This variation is caused by light scatter from the whole grain kernels and by the nonlinear surface reflectance effects. This variation makes it difficult to obtain accurate measurements from whole grain samples. Similar problems are encountered with forage samples, especially corn forage but even more pronounced.
The spectrometers discussed require frequent calibration in order to generate accurate results. The calibrations must be performed frequently due to various dynamic factors including the change in light from a light source due to temperature sources. A typical method of calibrating (to correct for instrument response variation by baseline correction) a spectrometer is to replace the sample with a standard sample, for example, a white ceramic tile having high reflectance. The spectrometer scans the standard sample to provide standard values which are used to calibrate the spectrometer. While this calibration method works fine in a lab environment, it could be impossible, or at least impractical in the environment of an agricultural implement such as a combine or a chopper.
The spectrometers discussed above have several disadvantages. The spectrometers discussed are only suitable for use in a laboratory. Prior art methods of grain analysis have a major disadvantage resulting from the large amount of sample handling. The samples must be harvested, collected, bagged, labeled, dried, and finally sent to the NIR lab, ground and analyzed for constituent analysis. This excessive sample handling adds both cost and time to the analysis. A need can therefore be seen for an NIR instrument combined with an implement such as a combine or chopper to automate the process of collecting an analyzing grain and forage samples. Such a system would reduce the cost and time of the analysis. Such a system could provide plant breeders and grain farmers with real time information and also enhance product development through high plot screening numbers which would help develop products more rapidly.
The main problem with an NIR instrument combined with a machine such as a combine or chopper is that prior art grain or forage analysis instrumentation is very sensitive to mechanical vibrations. Scanning and oscillating spectrometers require very precise mechanical movements in order to obtain accurate results. The extreme vibrations found in the environment of a combine or chopper would result in damaged and inaccurate instrumentation equipment. In addition to the vibration, the combine or chopper environment is very dirty. The amount of dust and plant debris would severely effect the effectiveness of a conventional spectrometer.
Another problem with combining NIR instrumentation with an implement is that current NIR equipment requires a long time period for analysis. In the field of crop breeding programs, a large number of test plots are used to test products. A typical test plot of hybrid corn, for example, is comprised of two rows of corn with a length of 17 ft. A research combine used to harvest the test plots goes through each test plot in approximately 15 seconds. A typical spectrometer used in a lab to analyze grain requires more time than 10-20 seconds to analyze the grain or forage sample. Therefore, even if convention NIR instrumentation is installed on an implement, the speed of harvesting test plots would be slowed down considerably by the slow speed of the NIR instrumentation.
A need can therefore be seen for NIR equipment in combination with an implement such as a combine or chopper which could operate effectively in the environment of a combine which also is capable of analyzing product samples in a short period of time.

Near infrared spectrometer used in combination with an agricultural implement for real time grain and forage analysis


A data server for use in networks in which media signals are transmitted as digital signals in packet form comprises at least one shelf having at least one card whose purposes are to provide a shelf controller function and a media processor function, together with a plurality of backplane buses. The data server accesses media signals in packet form. Distributed software is distributed in the cards on the shelf, and consists of a modular software architecture having a transport layer, a media processing layer, a session control layer, and a management plane which spans across the other layers. A plurality of digital signal processors has a plurality of dynamically changeable discrete software objects so as to process packets of media data. The management plane provisions and monitors the operations of said data server, and gives alarms in keeping with predetermined criteria. There is at least one connection interface to a packet network from which media signals in media form are received. The distributed software architecture media processing layer includes a software manager for initializing, coordinating, and controlling the plurality of discrete software objects embedded in the plurality of digital signal processors

Data servers generally find themselves in many circumstances for many purposes. However, the present invention is particularly directed to the use of data servers in media networks where the media data are transmitted in packet form. Such uses may specifically be in the purposes of media gateways and media servers for media networks such as telephony networks.
Indeed, it is in the environment of telephony networks where the present invention finds particular utility. Telephony networks carry voice data, in particular, which has been coded into digital format. However, while the human ear may be forgiving to a certain extent, it will not tolerate significant interruptions or delay in the passage of spoken messages. In other words, unlike data networks in which delays or interruptions in the delivery of packetized data may be tolerated, at least to some extent, the transmission and processing of voice messages, and also video messages and the like, must take place essentially in real time. Thus, data servers such as gateways and media servers must be constituted in such a manner that they are capable of functioning with high throughput and accuracy of data management and processing.
The following discussion is particularly directed to data servers, and how a data server may be included in a network. Particular discussion follows as to the configuration of data servers when used as media servers; but it will be understood that the discussion is applicable as well to gateways and other configurations of data servers, as will be clear to those who are skilled in the art.
Data servers which are configured as media servers, as they are employed in telephony networks, perform a variety of basic and enhanced services which include conferencing, interactive voice response, transcoding, announcement, and other advanced speech services. They may also be employed in networks which provide video conferencing services, as well as typical data exchange services of the sort which occurs over the Internet, over virtual private networks, within wide area networks and local area networks, and the like. In each instance, the data of any sort, whether it be voice, video, numerical or text data, or a multimedia stream comprising any combination of these data, is packetized—that is, the data are sent in packets.
Media servers are connected directly to a packet network, and may therefore be found in use in many service provider locations including those who provide wireless, cable modem, xDSL, fibre, and copper access technologies; provided, however, that the core network within which the immediate server may be found is one which is based on packet technologies such as IP, ATM, Frame Relay, and variations of such technologies as they are used for mobile telephony.
Media servers perform real time processing of media streams which may originate from such devices as personal computers, IP phones, mobile phones, and traditional phones, via an appropriate media gateway. Typical functions that may be performed by media servers include decoding and collecting DTMF tones, or coded messages indicating the presence of DTMF tones. They may also play complex audio announcements stored on a data server or on an external file server, they may bridge multiple audio signals, they may transcode between different codec types and bit rates, they may level shift the level of audio signals for manual or automatic gain control, and they may convert text to speech or speech to text. Media servers may also recognize voice commands, bridge video signals, detect which party in a conference is speaking—or speaking the loudest—and decode/encode fax streams.
Typically, media servers are part of an enhanced services infrastructure in packet networks which use a decomposed architecture, such as softswitch architecture, PacketCable™ architecture, 3GPP/UTMS/EuroCable architecture, etc. The media servers will act as slaves to service logic which is resident in an application server, or will respond to similar control agents in the
switching plane of a control network, and they will provide state-of-the-art hardware which may be upgraded and which exhibits almost unlimited scaleability, without regard to the service logic which may be employed in an application server or softswitch, and without regard to whether or not there is the presence of a media gateway such as that which is required for other than pure VoIP/VoATM telephony.
Two other co-pending applications, Ser. Nos. 10/153,666, and 09/636,633, filed simultaneously herewith, describe other features and particularities of data servers, and particularly media servers of the sort generally contemplated herein. The present invention is particularly directed to the architecture of distributed software which is found on a data server in keeping with the present invention.
Of course, it will be kept in mind that data servers in keeping with the present invention may be dynamically upgraded, and are scaleable, so that the distributed software per se found in a data server in keeping with the present invention, as it may be discussed hereafter, is exemplary only because such software—and particularly the discrete software objects—may be continually upgraded, improved, and added to as new services are proposed.
It will also be understood that the kind of services that are provided by data servers, and particularly by media servers, in keeping with the present invention, are such that they provide added value to the basic media processing services which may be provided to customers of any service provider.
The present discussion provides a system level view of the data server functionality, and teaches a processing engine for data servers that will undertake advanced services where the packetized media data of any customer of any service provider must be processed in real time or near real time.
Any data server in keeping with the packet present invention functions particularly as a device which may be directed to an internet protocol operating network, such as an IP network that is intended to carry VoIP/VoATM packet telephony signals. As such, such a data server as is taught by the present invention may be deployed at the edge of an IP, ATM, or other packet network so as to be located in a favourable geographic location, or so as to be located near the head end of a cable TV organization or a cable telecommunications service provider, or at the central office of an xDSL telecommunications service provider.
Implementation and support of multi-processing are provided by the distributed software architecture in keeping with the present invention, as described hereafter.


To provide a signal processing device which enable the user to rapidly repeat an operation of changing to a different resolution with a fingertip touch in the line of sight to a displayed graph. A display unit 31 that displays a graph, a touch panel 32 that is provided so as to correspond to a display screen 31a and includes a touch sensor for outputting positional information associated with a touch operation, and a parameter data table 44 that stores a plurality of processing parameters corresponding to each positional information item. A control unit 50 includes a processing parameter output unit 54 that reads the processing parameter corresponding to the positional information from the parameter data table 44 and outputs the processing parameter to the processing parameter setting unit 21, if the positional information is input.

For example, a spectrum analyzer disclosed in Patent Document 1 has been known as a signal analysis device for analyzing signals.
The spectrum analyzer disclosed in Patent Document 1 divides the entire measurable frequency band into a plurality of bands, determines a frequency resolution determination IF filter passband width (RBW) which is not affected by a 0-Hz signal and obtains an appropriate sweep speed for each band, stores the frequency resolution determination IF filter passband width in a region of a storage unit, and reads sets of the divided bands and the RBW one by one. Then, the spectrum analyzer sets the read set of the divided band and the RBW to a span setting unit and an RBW setting part to sweep and receive an input frequency, stores the maximum level of the detected output and the frequency thereof in a region, searches for the maximum level LM among the maximum levels obtained from all of the divided bands and the frequency FM thereof, and observes observation frequency span having the frequency FM as a center frequency and the maximum level LM as a reference level. According to this structure, the spectrum analyzer is less likely to be affected by a 0-Hz signal in an unknown frequency signal mode, as compared to the related art, and can detect an input signal with a low frequency.

Signal processing device and signal processing method


A multi-source computed tomography system has a first x-ray source and a second x-ray source that are respectively optimized for different imaging procedures and can be used simultaneously in the multi-source CT system. The first x-ray source can be optimized for higher power short-term operation and the second x-ray source can be optimized for lower power, longer term operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a multi-source CT system for the generation of X-ray images of an object under examination of the type having at least one first and one second X-ray radiation source mounted in a rotatable manner about a rotational axis, each emitting a radiation beam and at least one X-ray radiation detector that is struck by the radiation beams.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A significant future requirement of computer tomography (CT) scanners is ever greater rotational frequencies of gantries. A faster rotation of the gantry around the patient shortens the recording (data acquisition) time, which in turn results in higher temporal resolution of the recordings. This is of great importance in cardiology in particular, as here a high temporal resolution at the beating heart also influences spatial resolution and thus the possibility of detecting arteriosclerosis at an early stage. In the case of higher rotational frequencies, however, the mAs requirement must also be met in order to reach a certain image quality. Ever greater radiation power must be delivered, so that these X-ray tubes must be specially designed for the requisite short-term load of typically 1 s.
An increase in the rotational frequency, however, also increases the strain on the components of the gantry as a result of greater centrifugal force, so that the rotational frequency is currently limited to 3 to 4 Hz. In order nonetheless to increase the number of projections achieved per unit of time, the use of dual- or multi-tube CT systems is known, in which two or more X-ray emitter-detector units are arranged, offset at an angle in a gantry housing. Furthermore, a known method for better differentiation of a variety of tissue types is to scan the area under investigation simultaneously with X-ray radiation of different spectral distribution, that is to say with different maximum X-ray energy or a different spectral centroid.
A dual-source CT system for examination of a patient is known from DE 10 2007 024 158 A1, having a gantry housing, in which two X-ray tubes are arranged offset an at angle with oppositely arranged detector systems, which rotate about a system axis for scanning of the patient, while the patient is conveyed along the system axis through the measuring area of the CT system by means of the controllable patient couch. During a dual-energy CT examination, the two similar X-ray tubes are operated with different acceleration voltages, so that the two X-ray spectra used differ greatly and also deliver different absorption values in the assigned detectors upon irradiation of the patient.
In addition to short-duration scans with a maximum of a few seconds duration, CT systems are also used for whole-body scans and perfusion measurements. In such cases the X-ray emitter must be designed for recording times of up to one minute. The X-ray emitter that has been designed so as to be able to be used in short-term scans is subjected to extreme stresses in such longer term operation, which in particular impacts its useful life.


An apparatus comprising an audio/video decoder and a storage device. The audio/video decoder may be configured to receive (i) one or more uncompressed audio signals and (ii) one or more compressed audio/video signals. The uncompressed audio signals may be tagged to the compressed audio/video signals and (ii) any of the one or more uncompressed audio signals and the one or more tagged compressed audio/video signals may be stored in the storage device and available for a playback relative to the tags.

Some conventional set top box (STB) systems include digital video recorders (DVR) and/or dual tuners. For example, the Microsoft Ultimate TV Digital Video Recorder has dual tuners and Picture-in-Picture (PIP) functions (e.g., pause, replay, etc. in one window while live action is viewed in another window). Programming for the PIP sources can be from over the air broadcasts, cable, satellite, the Internet, etc.
Such conventional approaches are constrained to playback, pause/record or record. In particular, conventional approaches do not have capabilities such as integration with other home appliances (e.g., intercom, doorbell, etc.).
It would be desirable to implement a system that provided convenient user functions that may be implemented on a variety of input sources.


A display panel includes an array substrate, a protective cover, a fingerprint identification circuit, and an optical structure. The array substrate and the protective cover are disposed oppositely, where the protective cover is located at a light exiting side of the array substrate. The fingerprint identification circuit is located at a side of the array substrate facing away or toward the protective cover and is configured to receive detection light and perform a fingerprint detection according to the detection light. The optical structure is located at a side of the protective cover facing away from the array substrate and is configured to increase a reflection amount of the detection light received by the fingerprint identification circuit.

A fingerprint identification technology is a technology that classifies and compares the fingerprints of identified objects for identification. The fingerprint identification technology has been applied in various fields as one of biometric identification technologies. Before a user uses a device having a fingerprint identification function, the user only needs to touch a fingerprint identification area of a display device with fingers for authorization verification. The fingerprint identification technology simplifies an authorization verification process.
The existing display panel having the fingerprint identification function, especially, by integrating a fingerprint identification chip in the display panel of a front display area, has low fingerprint identification accuracy. That is, the user uses the fingers that have been recorded for the authorization verification, but the fingerprint identification chip of the display device cannot successfully authenticate the fingerprint accurately at once. The user needs to repeat multiple verifications to successfully pass the authorization verification. The low fingerprint identification accuracy has a negative impact on user experience.

Xiamen Tianma Micro-Electronics Co., Ltd.


Interference in an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system is reduced by transmitting warning pulse at a predetermined time following the EAS marker exciter pulse. The predetermined time and duration of the warning pulse are chosen so that the warning pulse acts upon a noise interference avoidance process in a second non-cooperative EAS unit. More particularly, the warning electromagnetic pulse causes a timing change in a second synchronized electromagnetic exciter pulse produced by the second EAS unit when the second synchronized electromagnetic exciter pulse is concurrent with the first receive interval. This timing change causes the second EAS unit to no longer interfere with the first EAS unit.

1. Statement of the Technical Field
The inventive arrangements relate to electronic article surveillance systems, and more particularly to synchronization of two or more electronic article surveillance systems which have the potential to interfere with one another.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pulsed magnetic EAS systems operate by generating a short burst of magnetic flux in the vicinity of a transmitter antenna. This pulsed field stimulates a particular type of magnetic label or marker, whose characteristics are such that it is resonant at the operating frequency of the system. The marker absorbs energy from the field and begins to vibrate at the transmitter frequency. This is known as the marker's forced response. When the transmitter stops abruptly, the marker continues to ring down at a frequency which is at, or very near the system's operating frequency. This ring down frequency is known as the marker's natural frequency. The vicinity of the transmitter antenna in which the response can be forced is the interrogation zone of the EAS system.
The magnetic marker is constructed such that when the marker rings down, the marker produces a weak magnetic field, alternating at the marker's natural frequency. The EAS system's receiver antenna, which may be located either within its own enclosure or within the same enclosure as the transmitter antenna, receives the marker's ring down signal. The EAS system processes the marker's unique signature to distinguish the marker from other electromagnetic sources and/or noise which may also be present in the interrogation zone. A validation process must therefore be initiated and completed before an alarm sequence can be reliably generated to indicate the marker's presence within the interrogation zone.
The validation process is time-critical. The transmitter and receiver gating must occur in sequence and at predictable times. Typically, the gating sequence starts with the transmitter burst starting with a synchronizing source, such as the local power line's zero crossing. The receiver window opens at some predetermined time after the same zero crossing.
In a three phase power system, power lines within a building can have individual zero crossings at 0°, 120° or 240° with respect to each other. Accordingly, different EAS units plugged into different electrical outlets may detect a zero crossing at either the 0°, 120° or 240° point in the line frequency's period. In this way, a first EAS system, referred to as system A, can have a different zero crossing reference time as compared to a nearby EAS system, referred to as system B.
In order to compare received signals to background noise, separate noise averages are continuously sampled, computed and stored as part of a signal processing algorithm. This is commonly done by operating the EAS systems at 1.5 times the power line frequency, 90 Hz for a 60 Hz line frequency or 75 Hz for a 50 Hz line frequency, and alternating the interpretation of each successive phase. More particularly, if phase A is a transmit phase (the receiver window is preceded by a transmitter burst), phase B will be a noise check phase (the receiver window was not preceded by a transmitter burst), phase C will be a transmit phase, phase A will be a noise check phase, and so on.
EAS systems operating in proximity to each other must be synchronized in some way to prevent them from causing interference with one another. Previous implementations of pulsed magnetic EAS systems have utilized various approaches to ensure synchronization. Some systems are manually synchronized by a technician, and rely on a power line frequency zero crossing as a reference time. Another approach is more automated but requires a wired connection between respective system processor boards of the multiple EAS systems. Other systems utilize wireless synchronization methods. These wireless systems can involve wireless communications among two or more EAS systems that are designed to accommodate such wireless synchronization methods. For example, one such wireless system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,469 to Balch, et al.
A plurality of EAS systems operating in proximity to one another can be synchronized by the various methods described above, provided that (1) a technician has authorized access to all of the EAS systems which are to be synchronized and/or (2) each of the EAS system is specifically designed to participate in a particular automated synchronization method (wired or wireless) which is being used. But there are some instances where one or more of the EAS systems in a proximate area are not designed to utilize a particular automated synchronization method or are not under the control of a technician who is attempting to manually synchronize operation of two or more EAS systems. For example, this can occur when a plurality of EAS system are made by different manufacturers who utilize different automatic synchronization schemes. Alternatively, this can also occur when EAS units are operated or maintained by a different entities and one of the EAS units has been improperly synchronized by a technician with inadequate training or indifference to the interference problem. EAS systems of this kind can be thought of as non-cooperative EAS systems.


A matching circuit structure for effectively suppressing the low-frequency clutter of a power amplifier of a mobile phone, falling within the technical field of radio frequency Pas is provided. The circuit structure includes an input end, a blocking capacitor, a power amplifier (PA), an output matching network and an output end connected in series; and the matching circuit structure further includes a negative feedback network connected in parallel to a transmission end of the PA; the negative feedback network includes a resonant capacitor, a resonant inductor and a matching inductor; the resonant capacitor and the resonant inductor are connected in parallel to form a frequency selecting network, and the frequency selecting network is connected in series with the matching inductor and to the ground. The matching circuit structure above can be used to effectively suppress the low-frequency clutter of a power amplifier.

With the development of communication systems, mobile phones are used more and more frequently in our life. Radio frequency power amplifier (PA), as an important component of a mobile phone system, is mainly used for signal amplification and transmission. The radio frequency power amplifier amplifies a modulated radio frequency signal to a certain power value and then transmits it through an antenna. To ensure that the PA has high enough transmission power, it is often necessary to make the signal transmission Gain of the PA high enough to meet the requirement of high power transmission. However, the increase in PA Gain will cause the amplification of clutter signals outside a working frequency band, which will lead to the problem of excessive PA spurs, thus seriously affecting the communication quality.

Matching circuit structure for effectively suppressing low-frequency clutter of power amplifier of mobile phone, and method using same


A point of service (POS) terminal having an integral field replaceable printer for printing a customer receipt and a method for replacing the integral printer. The POS terminal comprises a single, unitary housing which houses the various components typically associated with a POS terminal, but which is also configured to accommodate an integral printer within the terminal housing. The integral print module may be easily accessed, removed and replaced by a merchant without the use of tools or special training and instruction. A moveable access panel associated with the terminal housing provides access to the removable, replaceable printer cartridge and allows the printer cartridge to be removed from the POS terminal and replaced without having to disassemble the POS terminal.

Point of Service (POS) terminals are used extensively throughout the United States by merchants of services and merchandise to facilitate the authorization and consummation of sales transactions with consumers using charge cards, credit cards, debit cards and the like. As the feature set of POS terminals and associated peripheral devices expands, the use of POS terminals is expected to largely supplant or even replace the use of cash and checks in many contexts.
Presently known POS terminals generally include at least a minimum set of features and capabilities. For example, a typical POS terminal is suitably capable of constructing an authorization message, and dialing up a predetermined destination over a conventional telephone line to communicate with a central computer to thereby authorize a particular sales transaction. Once the transaction is consummated, the POS terminal transmits another message to the host computer whereupon the information relating to the transaction is stored in the host computer. At the end of a business cycle, typically at the end of a business day, the POS terminal again dials up the host computer and reconciles the day's transactions so that the records maintained by the merchant correspond with the records maintained at the host computer.
In many contexts, it is preferable to configure the POS terminal to print a transaction record, for example a receipt, which is typically printed on at least two copies: a first copy for the consumer, which functions as the consumer's receipt, and a second copy maintained by the merchant for his accounting records.
Presently known POS terminals are often equipped with one or more peripheral devices, for example a printer module for printing the aforementioned receipt, a keypad module for permitting a consumer to discretely enter his secret personal identification number (PIN) out of the merchant's view, and the like. In view of the highly cost competitive environment in which POS terminals are currently distributed, enhanced feature sets and low cost are important purchase considerations.
Presently known POS terminals which employ a separate, typically dedicated printer module are disadvantageous in several respects. In the first instance, a printer module requires a separate housing, processor, power connection, and the like, thereby increasing the cost of the POS/printer combination. Moreover, even though a separate, remote printer module may be quickly detached from the POS terminal and replaced if the printer module breaks down, this requires the merchant to either keep a separate printer module on hand, or to manually write out receipts until another module can be obtained. Due to the relatively high cost of stand alone printer modules, keeping additional print modules on hand can be prohibitively expensive, particularly for small businesses.
A POS terminal and printer system is thus needed which overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.

POS terminal with a replaceable printer cartridge


An integrated circuit for a portable electronic device able to operate in an active mode or in an inactive mode and including a functional module implementing control functions of the device in the active mode and the inactive mode, controlling switching of the device to the active mode and including its own power supply unit, independent of power supply arrangements of the circuit in which it is integrated, which includes one or more devices for electrically isolating the module and its own power supply unit from the remainder of the integrated circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable electronic instruments and devices having an active or normal operating mode and an inactive, waiting or standby state or mode in which only basic functions are operational; it relates more particularly to radio communication devices, in particular cellular radio communication devices.
The invention provides an integrated circuit for use in a device of the type previously cited having a standby mode characterized by very low power consumption and a portable or mobile radio communication device including that kind of integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An essential parameter and constant concern for designers and manufacturers of portable instruments or devices incorporating their own electrical power supply is reducing their electrical power consumption and thereby improving their autonomy (the duration of operation before replacing or recharging the battery).
Given that constraint, manufacturers of such devices soon defined, in addition to ON and OFF states, a "standby" mode of operation corresponding to a reduced mode of operation in the ON state in which power consumption is low and only a few essential basic functions are active (internal clocks, active registers, etc.).
This applies to devices including telecommunication devices, and in particular to mobile or cellular telephones.
For example, a digital baseband dedicated circuit basic function (the 32 kHz module) is always active in a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System), also known as a third generation terminal, which is in the ON state.
The 32 kHz module mainly consists of an oscillator, registers and counters, and remains on and active in the ON/standby (low power consumption) state or mode of operation. It maintains the GSM time locally when the main oscillator of the voltage-controlled device is off and no radio link is set up. It also "wakes up" the terminal, i.e. commands its return to the active mode after each period on standby.
The 32 kHz module is at present integrated into the baseband dedicated circuit and it is therefore necessary for that circuit to be on even during periods in which the terminal is in the standby mode.
Although it represents a penalty, this powering of a complete circuit of which only one particular function is effectively active can at present be accepted since the static leakage per transistor is of the order of picoamperes/micron.
The baseband dedicated circuit generally integrates less than 10 million transistors and the overall static leakage current for the whole of the integrated circuit is therefore less than 100 microamperes. These values correspond to CMOS transistors of up to 0.25 micron, or possibly up to 0.18 micron with special arrangements.
However, new generation CMOS integrated circuits, with etching or track widths of the order of 0.10 micron, have a static leakage of approximately 20 nanoamperes/micron (see in particular "International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors", 1999, SEMATECH). The resulting overall static leakage for the whole of the GSM baseband circuit could achieve values of the order of 100 milliampere, which would be greater than the power consumption in the active mode and during a call.
To attempt to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, it has been proposed, in particular in the document EP-A-0 939 495, to remove the 32 kHz module from the digital baseband dedicated circuit and implement it as a separate component distinct from the aforementioned dedicated circuit or to integrate it into another dedicated circuit of smaller size, such as the power supply management circuit.
This separates off the "GSM time" function and partially implements it in two separate circuits, namely the power supply management circuit and the digital baseband circuit, and therefore leads to a new design of the architecture of the two circuits.
This necessarily results in exchanges of information between the two circuits, in particular to update or resynchronize the GSM time; these exchanges of information are relatively difficult to manage.
One object of the present invention is to propose a solution that significantly reduces the power consumption during periods in which the terminal is in the inactive or standby mode but avoids the drawbacks of the solution previously cited.

Integrated circuit able to operate in active and inactive modes and a device including it


A coaxial cable connector including an annular post defining an axial bore therein, a cylindrical collar movably coupled to the post and a nut rotatably coupled to the post. The post has a shoulder portion defined by an outer surface and a tubular extension extending axially rearwardly from the shoulder portion and the collar has a forward end movably coupled to the outer surface of the post shoulder portion. The collar may also be movably coupled to a rearward interior surface of the rotatable nut in a first position and movable forward to a second position, wherein the collar is coupled to the outer surface of the annular post.

It has long been known to use connectors to terminate coaxial cable so as to connect a cable to various electronic devices such as televisions, radios and the like.
Conventional coaxial cables typically include a center conductor surrounded by an insulator. A conductive foil is disposed over the insulator and a braided conductive shield surrounds the foil covered insulator. An outer insulative jacket surrounds the shield. In order to prepare the coaxial cable for termination, the outer jacket is stripped back exposing an extent of the braided conductive shield which is folded back over the jacket. A portion of the insulator covered by the conductive foil extends outwardly from the jacket and an extent of the center conductor extends outwardly from within the insulator. Such a prepared cable may be terminated in a conventional coaxial connector.
Prior art coaxial connectors generally include a connector body having an annular collar for accommodating a coaxial cable, an annular nut rotatably coupled to the collar for providing mechanical attachment of the connector to an external device and an annular post interposed between the collar and the nut. Upon assembly to a coaxial cable, the annular post is inserted between the foil covered insulator and the conductive shield of the cable. A resilient sealing O-ring may also be positioned between the collar and the nut at the rotatable juncture thereof to provide a water resistant seal thereat. The collar includes a cable receiving end for insertably receiving an inserted coaxial cable and, at the opposite end of the connector body, the nut includes an internally threaded end extent permitting screw threaded attachment of the body to an external device.
This type of coaxial connector further includes a locking sleeve to secure the cable within the body of the coaxial connector. The locking sleeve, which is typically formed of a resilient plastic, is securable to the connector body to secure the coaxial connector thereto. Thus, the prior art coaxial cable connector included four distinct components: a rotatable nut; a connector body; an annular post; and a locking sleeve. A coaxial cable connector of this type is shown and described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,807.
Such coaxial connectors are generally manufactured in large quantities at relatively low costs. One cost factor in manufacturing these connectors is the number of connector components that are required for assembly. Thus, eliminating just one component of the connector could significantly reduce the connector's manufacturing cost. Furthermore, fewer components could also simplify the cable installation process.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a coaxial connector having fewer components. In particular, it would be desirable to provide a coaxial connector that eliminates the need for a locking sleeve altogether. As a result, the number of components of the connector would be reduced, along with the connector's associated manufacturing costs, and the cable installation process would be simplified.


A 2D barcode scanner (1) comprises a housing (2) having a reading window (3) and a digital camera (4) arranged in the housing (2) for detecting the area of the reading window (3) either directly or via a deflecting mirror arrangement (8, 9). At least one external light source (5) is provided for illuminating an area in front of the reading window (3) in the housing (2), at the side of the reading window (3) that is facing away from the digital camera (4). At least one external light source (5) is provided with an optical adapter (7) by which the light therefrom is distributed, such that the reflection paths are not illuminated at the inside of the reading window (3) back into the camera (4), or are illuminated with a very low intensity. This avoids or significantly reduces the intensity of the light reflections that arise on the inside of the reading window (3) and are superimposed on the barcode that is to be read as very bright spots in the image of the digital camera (4).

The present invention relates to a 2D barcode scanner comprising a housing having a reading window and a digital camera arranged in the housing for detecting the area of the reading window either directly or via one or more deflecting mirrors.
2D barcode scanners capture a one-dimensional or linear barcode, a QR code or other two-dimensional codes, all of which are hereinafter designated as "barcodes," by using a digital camera and electronic evaluation logic, coupled to the digital camera, which processes the image captured with the camera and determines the barcode number digitally. Using a 2D barcode scanner of this type, information arranged in a two-dimensional area can be read and evaluated advantageously in one step.
According to the prior art, 2D barcode scanners comprise a housing with a reading window for viewing the barcode that is placed in front of it. Arranged at the side of the reading window that faces away from the barcode to be read is a digital camera, which captures images that cover the reading window directly or via a deflecting mirror arrangement. Providing deflecting mirrors achieves a compact design since the distance between the camera lens and the reading window required for capturing the entire reading window is realized via the deflecting mirror.
As a rule, cameras integrated in 2D barcode scanners have integrated illumination in the form of one or more internal LEDs in order to illuminate the barcode area and thus to ensure an error-free image capture. However, the illumination achievable thereby is in practical applications not sufficient to capture the entire area of the reading window or to capture special barcode designs. This is the case, for example, when using barcode colors that have special properties in a defined range outside the visible light spectrum. These can be captured only by sufficient illumination in this defined range outside the visible light spectrum. In addition, the arrangement of the integrated illumination near the camera lens easily causes reflections at the reading window, which makes the evaluation of the data difficult or impossible.
For these reasons, it is known in the art to provide external light sources, e.g., LEDs, which can illuminate with sufficient brightness and homogeneity a barcode that is to be read and that is arranged on the side of the reading window facing away from the digital camera.
Light reflections arise here as well on the inside of the reading window even with anti-reflective glass. As a result the digital camera disadvantageously also captures a mirror image of the illumination that is superimposed on the barcode to be read. As rule, very bright spots, so-called hotspots, appear in the image of the digital camera, which can result in over-controlling the camera, making error-free barcode evaluation no longer possible.
Distributing the illumination to multiple light sources would decrease the intensity of the brightness of the individual hotspots but would disadvantageously increase the number of hotspots. Furthermore, improving and optimizing the anti-reflective coating on the inner side of the 2D barcode scanner's reading window would work only for a narrow wavelength range and would disadvantageously require illumination in a narrow bandwidth; that is, illumination in a very narrow frequency band, which would prevent reading of barcodes across the full color spectrum or even of spectra outside the visible wavelength range.
Another possibility of avoiding hotspots involves illuminating the reading window at an angle to the optical axis of the digital camera from the side, which leads to homogeneous illumination in the plane of the reading window. This also reduces the interfering hotspots or shifts them outside the image area, respectively. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the illumination and reading of the barcode are optimal only in one plane. Due to the very poor achievable homogeneity of the illumination across the depth, the result is unsuitable for illuminating areas further away from the reading window.


A system and method for data transmission using a multichannel medium access control (MAC) protocol to send small messages on the reservation channel directly without any RTS/CTS handshake or channel switching delays. The message is assigned a special type so that it can be distinguished from the RTS/CTS message. The message can also include information about congestion, activity, device type, mobility level, and so forth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method to increase channel utilization in a wireless communication network using a multichannel medium access control (MAC) protocol. The messages are sent directly on the reservation channel without any request-to-send/clear-to-send (RTS/CTS) handshake. Each message can further be assigned a special type indicator allowing it to be easily distinguished from the RTS/CTS message.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wireless communications networks, such as mobile wireless telephone networks, have become increasingly prevalent over the past decade. These wireless communications networks are commonly referred to as "cellular networks", because the network infrastructure is arranged to divide the service area into a plurality of regions called "cells". A terrestrial cellular network includes a plurality of interconnected base stations, or base nodes, that are distributed geographically at designated locations throughout the service area. Each base node includes one or more transceivers that are capable of transmitting and receiving electromagnetic signals, such as radio frequency (RF) communications signals, to and from mobile user nodes, such as wireless telephones, located within the coverage area. The communication signals may include, for example, voice data that has been modulated according to a desired modulation technique and transmitted as data packets. As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, network nodes transmit and receive data packet communications in a multiplexed format, such as time-division multiple access (TDMA) format, code-division multiple access (CDMA) format, or frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) format, which enables a single transceiver at the base node to communicate simultaneously with several mobile nodes within its coverage area.
In recent years, a type of mobile communications network known as an "ad-hoc" network has been developed for use by the military. In this type of network, each mobile node is capable of operating as a base station or router for the other mobile nodes, thus eliminating the need for a fixed infrastructure of base stations. Details of an ad-hoc network are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,322 to Mayor, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
More sophisticated ad-hoc networks are also being developed which, in addition to enabling mobile nodes to communicate with each other as in conventional ad-hoc networks, further enable mobile nodes to access a fixed network and thus communicate with other mobile nodes, such as those on the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and on other networks such as the Internet. Details of these advanced types of ad-hoc networks are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,072,650 entitled "Ad Hoc Peer-to-Peer Mobile Radio Access System Interfaced to the PSTN and Cellular Networks", granted on Jul. 4, 2006, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,807,165 entitled "Time Division Protocol for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer Radio Network Having Coordinating Channel Access to Shared Parallel Data Channels with Separate Reservation Channel", granted on Oct. 19, 2004, and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,839 entitled "Prioritized-Routing for an Ad-Hoc, Peer-to-Peer, Mobile Radio Access System", granted on Mar. 29, 2005, the entire content of each being incorporated herein by reference.
Communication between nodes in such networks, however, is often subject to collisions. One collision avoidance technique is carrier sense multiple access protocol (CSMA). In this technique, all nodes are forced to wait for a random number of timeslots and then sense the activity of the medium before starting a transmission. If the medium is sensed to be busy, the node freezes its timer until the medium becomes free again, thereby reducing the possibility of two nodes starting to send messages simultaneously. Therefore, as known to those skilled in the art, the range of the random delay, or the contention window, is set to vary with the load, and ARQ is used to finish the successful transmission process. After sending a packet, the sender waits for the "acknowledgement" (ACK) from the receiver. If ACK is not received within the specified time, the sender assumes that a collision has happened, and a retransmission is needed. In the case of a collision, the random delay range is increased progressively until a successful transmission occurs and the delay range is reset to the minimal value. In this case, the CSMA protocol handles ARQ by repeating the whole request to send/clear to send channel access sequence. Large delays are thus incurred due to retransmissions.
One problem associated with CSMA is that "carrier sense" only can detect the interference around the sender. However, of greater concern is interference at the receiver. In order to solve this problem, Phil Karn presented the Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (MACA) protocol as described in the article entitled "MACA-A New Channel Access Method For Packet Radio", the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. In MACA, a node requiring to transmit data to a receiver first sends a request-to-send (RTS) packet to the receiver to clear the sender's area. Upon receiving RTS successfully, the receiver responds with a clear-to-send (CTS) packet to clear the receiver's area. The RTS/CTS carries the information, which includes source/destination addresses, transmission duration, and so forth, for the intended transmission. Therefore, all nodes overhearing the RTS/CTS will hold their transmission long enough to avoid collision.
MACA protocol introduced RTS-CTS-DATA process to overcome the problem in CSMA. In order to accelerate the confirmation of the correct message transmission, the link layer ACK is introduced in MACAW proposed in "MACAW: A Media Access Protocol for Wireless LAN's" by V. Bharghavan et al., the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference. One data transmission in MACAW includes RTS-CTS-DATA-ACK exchanges between the sender and the receiver. A variant of MACAW is used in IEEE 802.11 and is known as CSMA/CA. The multichannel MAC design is an extension of MACA/MACAW/CSMA/CA protocols. One channel is reserved for the transmission of control packets such as RTS, CTS, and other channels are used for data packet transmission. The typical process is described below.
In such a process, all nodes in the network keep listening to the reservation channel. Before data packet transmission, RTS/CTS are exchanged between the source and destination via the reservation channel. In RTS/CTS, besides the source/destination addresses and transmission duration information, the information of selected data channel is also carried. Once the exchange of RTS/CTS is successful, both sender and receiver tune to the selected data channel to transmit the data packet and ACK. Upon receiving the ACK, both sender and receiver retune back to the reservation channel to prepare for the future transmission. If a collision happens, the backoff process similar to which is in CSMA will be performed to resolve the collision.
In the multichannel MACA/MACAW and CSMA/CA protocols, the control packet overhead and the tuning delays between reservation channel and data channels are very high which reduces the channel utilization. This problem is more serious when the data packet size is very small. However, in order to coordinate nodes in Ad-Hoc networks, it is very important to distribute node information among neighbor nodes in the form of short Neighbor Advertisement (NA) or short "Hello" message. Accordingly, a need exists for minimizing the transmission overhead for small size packet in the multichannel MACA/MACAW or CSMA/CA protocol.

System and method to maximize channel utilization in a multi-channel wireless communication network


An integrated thermoelectric generator includes a semiconductor. A set of thermocouples are electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel. The set of thermocouples include parallel semiconductor regions. Each semiconductor region has one type of conductivity from among two opposite types of conductivity. The semiconductor regions are electrically connected in series so as to form a chain of regions having, alternatingly, one and the other of the two types of conductivity.

Thermoelectric generators conventionally comprise a support and a set of thermocouples electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel. Thermocouples thermally connected in parallel are understood as being thermocouples intended to all be subjected to the same temperature gradient, for example, when a heat source is disposed at one of the ends of the thermocouples and when a cold source is disposed at the other end.
A potential difference which is due to the Seebeck effect is then created between the two terminals of the set of thermocouples electrically connected in series.
Thermoelectric generators have been the subject of numerous publications. Examples of these publications include:    Vullers et al., "Micropower energy harvesting", Solid-State Electronics 53 (2009) 684-693,    Yang et al., "Design and verification of a thermoelectric energy harvester with stacked polysilicon thermocouples by CMOS process", Sensors and actuators A157 (2010) 258-266,    Pin-Hsu Kao et al., "Fabrication and Characterization of CMOS-MEMS Thermoelectric Micro Generators", Sensors 2010, 10, 1315-1325,    Joao Paulo Carmo et al., "A planar thermoelectric power generator for integration in wearable microsystems", Sensors and Actuators A161 (2010), 199-204,    S. M. Yang et al., "Development of a thermoelectric energy harvester with thermal isolation cavity by standard CMOS process", Sensors and Actuators A153 (2009), 244-250,    Ziyang Wang et al., "Realization of a wearable miniaturized thermoelectric generator for human body applications", Sensors and Actuators A156 (2009), 95-102,    Hélène Lhermet et al., "Efficient Power Management Circuit: From Thermal Energy Harvesting to Above-IC Microbattery Energy Storage", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 43, n° 1, January 2008,    Till Huesgen et al., "Design and fabrication of MEMS thermoelectric generators with high temperature efficiency", Sensors and Actuators A145-146 (2008), 423-429,    David Koester et al., "Embedded thermoelectric coolers for semiconductor hot spot cooling", 2006 IEEE,    Hiromichi Ohta et al., "Critical thickness for giant thermoelectric Seebeck coefficient of 2DEG confined in SrTiO3/SrTi0.8Nb0.2O3 superlattices", Thin Solid Films 516 (2008), 5916-5920.
All of these articles describe either the general principles of thermoelectric generators based on the Seebeck effect, using ceramic supports for example, or they describe generators using materials that are not compatible with CMOS technologies, such as piezoelectric materials, or generators based on technological methods of the MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) type having cavities in the substrate under the thermocouples.


An image recording apparatus includes an unwinder, a recorder, a take-up part, a first supporter, a surface modifying part, and a second supporter. The unwinder unwinds a base material from a roll. The recorder records an image onto a surface of the base material. The take-up part takes up the base material on which an image has been recorded by the recorder. The first supporter supports the base material that is being conveyed in a direction away from the recorder after having been unwound from the unwinder. The surface modifying part modifies a surface of the base material by energizing the surface of the base material that has passed through the first supporter. The second supporter supports the base material that is being conveyed in a direction toward the recorder after having passed through the surface modifying part. The second supporter is more distant from the unwinder than the first supporter is. The unwinder is disposed on at least one of a virtual line segment that connects the surface modifying part and the recorder and a normal to the line segment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image onto a surface of a sheet-like base material, and a base material supply apparatus for supplying a base material to a recorder that records an image onto a surface of a sheet-like base material.
2. Description of the Background Art
Image recording apparatuses are known, which unwind a sheet-like base material from a cylindrical roll and write an image on a surface of the base material by inkjet printing or the like.
With these image recording apparatuses, the quality (image quality) of an image to be written on the surface of the base material will improve if, for example, ink landing on the base material is easy to spread over the surface of the base material during inkjet printing. Thus, there are cases where pre-processing for improving ink wettability is performed on the base material before printing. One example of a technique for performing pre-processing is a technique using a corona discharge treatment apparatus to impart required wettability to a sheet (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2001-131314 and 2012-81608, for example). There is also a constant demand for compact image recording apparatuses from the viewpoint of securing installation locations.
However, with the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 2001-131314 and 2012-81608 in which the corona discharge treatment apparatus uses a relatively high voltage for discharge, if the corona discharge treatment apparatus is disposed in the vicinity of a recorder for recording an image or the like, noise caused by the discharge may be superimposed on various types of signals, causing various problems such as disturbances in images to be printed. Such a problem arises not only from apparatuses that perform pre-processing on a base material by a corona discharge, but are also common to apparatuses in general that perform other pre-processing such as the application of plasma to a base material to modify the surface of the base material at a relatively high voltage.

Image recording apparatus and base material supply apparatus


The invention relates to measuring devices used in the measuring of acceleration and, more specifically, to capacitive acceleration sensors. The capacitive acceleration sensor according to the present invention contains a movable electrode (5) supported at an axis of rotation (7). The capacitance change in the pair of electrodes of the acceleration sensor, according to the present invention, is enhanced. The acceleration sensor structure, according to the present invention, enables improving the capacitance sensitivity of the pair of electrodes based on rotational motion and measuring acceleration with good performance in capacitive acceleration sensor designs.

Measuring based on a capacitive acceleration sensor has proved to have a simple principle and to provide a reliable method in the measuring of acceleration. The capacitive measuring is based on a change in the gap between two surfaces of a pair of electrodes of the sensor. The capacitance between the surfaces, i.e. the capacity for storing electric charge, depends on the area of the surfaces and on the distance between the surfaces. Capacitive measuring can be used already at rather low measuring ranges of acceleration.
The prior art is described below with exemplifying reference to the accompanying figures, of which:
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the structure of a pair of electrodes of an acceleration sensor according to prior art, and
FIG. 2 shows a side view of the functional structure of a translatory motion based pair of electrodes of the acceleration sensor according to prior art.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the structure of a pair of electrodes of an acceleration sensor according to prior art. The pair of electrodes of the acceleration sensor according to prior art comprises a movable electrode 1, which moves according to the acceleration, and a stationary electrode 2. The movable electrode 1 is that part 1 of the acceleration sensor, which is responsive to the acceleration, and which part, in consequence of the acceleration, moves in relation to the stationary electrode 2. The movable electrode 1 and the stationary electrode 2 constitute a pair of electrodes converting acceleration into a quantity that can be measured electrically, i.e. capacitance. In the Figure, the movable electrode 1 of the acceleration sensor is supported at points 3 and 4. Generally, on the opposite side of the movable electrode 1, the acceleration sensor of prior art also comprises a second pair of electrodes, which, for clarity reasons, is not shown in the Figure.
The acceleration sensor can be implemented based on either a translatory motion or a rotational motion of the movable electrode of the pair of electrodes.
FIG. 2 shows a side view of the functional structure of a translatory motion based pair of electrodes of the acceleration sensor, according to prior art. The pair of electrodes of the acceleration sensor, according to prior art, comprises a movable electrode 1 and a stationary plate portion 2.
The support point of the movable electrode 1 of the acceleration sensor is indicated by point 4. As the movable electrode 1 of the acceleration sensor is in an upper position, a capacitance is formed between the bottom surface of the movable electrode 1 and the top surface of the plate portion 2. The magnitude of the capacitance depends on the area of the surfaces 1, 2 and the distance between the surfaces 1, 2. When the movable electrode 1 of the acceleration sensor moves to a lower position, the capacitance between the surfaces 1, 2 increases considerably, as the distance between the surfaces 1, 2 decreases.
The implementation of the acceleration sensor according to the present invention using several pairs of electrodes is described in more detail in the Applicant's co-pending international patent application.


A magnetic recording medium comprising a nonmagnetic support and at least two magnetic layers on the support, each magnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic powder and a binder, wherein the lower magnetic layer comprises at least one layer containing a branched fatty acid-modified silicone, but not carbon black, and the upper magnetic layer comprises at least one layer containing a branched fatty acid-modified silicone and carbon black having a DBP absorption oil amount of 100 to 250 ml/100 g. The magnetic recording medium has improved lubricating characteristics.

Heretofore, in order to improve running properties of a magnetic recording medium, prior techniques included addition of carbon black to a magnetic layer or addition of a lubricant to the surface or the interior of the magnetic layer.
These techniques can be applied to a magnetic recording medium of the type involving a plurality of superposed magnetic layers. For instance, JP-B-U-63-19941 (the term "JP-B-U" as used herein means an "examined Japanese utility model publication") discloses a magnetic recording medium in which carbon black is added in an upper magnetic layer. However, this magnetic recording medium is low in running durability and lubricating characteristics because it does not contain a lubricant.
JP-A-54-21304 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") discloses by way of an example in the specification a magnetic recording medium which contains carbon black having an average particle diameter of 40 m.mu. in the upper magnetic layer and lecithin as a lubricant. However, lecithin is low in lubricating performance, and the carbon black is a commonly used one. In this magnetic recording medium, a rise in tension is experienced after running of about 400 passes. The reason for this is believed that the carbon black used is the type having the usual DBP oil absorption amount (less than 100 ml/100g) and is low in the ability to retain the lubricant. Therefore, it cannot hold the lubricating performance for an extended period of long time.
A magnetic recording medium which contains a lubricant in the upper magnetic layer and carbon black only in the lower magnetic layer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,740. This magnetic recording medium, however, cannot hold its lubricating ability for a long period of time. Furthermore, since the upper magnetic layer does not contain carbon black, it cannot provide a suitable surface roughness.
From this viewpoint, a magnetic recording medium has been proposed in which carbon black is incorporated in both the upper and lower magnetic layers in JP-A-64-13225. This magnetic recording medium, however, has several problems in that plasticization arises in the lower magnetic layer, no sufficient durability can be obtained, and the lubricating action of the lubricant added to the magnetic layer unit is not sufficiently exhibited.

Magnetic recording medium comprising two magnetic layers each layer comprising ferromagnetic powder, binder, a branched and unbranched silicone, with carbon black in the upper layer


A cutting tool in which a cutting insert is retained by a retaining screw. The cutting insert comprises a rear surface and a lower surface, both of which are generally V-shaped.

In cutting tools for grooving, turning or parting-off, and in cutting tools for rotary slot cutting, a cutting insert is often retained in an insert pocket between two generally opposing jaws. In these tools, chips flowing from the cutting insert's cutting edge along its rake surface during a cutting operation may engage the jaw adjacent the rake surface and subject it to considerable abrasive wear. This disadvantageous effect will in time reduce the jaw's ability to retain the cutting insert within the insert pocket.
One solution which significantly overcomes this disadvantageous effect is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,648. A tool holder includes a holder blade having an upper jaw and base jaw wherein the upper jaw is fitted with an exchangeable hard material shield insert for protecting it against wear. However, this introduces additional maintenance of the tool.

Cutting tool and cutting insert therefor


A power driven wrench comprises a head having an opening which carries a toothed or threaded rotary member substantially completely within the head. A shaft is present having a toothed or threaded inner end which engages the toothed rotary member, extending through an aperture in the head, to cause the rotary member to rotate as the shaft rotates. The shaft also has an outer end that can engage a power source to rotate the shaft. The rotary member defines an aperture capable of firmly holding within the head a driver member having a polygonal opening for receiving heads of objects to be rotated by the wrench. The driver member is replaceable by another driver member having a different polygonal opening without any disassembly of the head. A short wrench embodiment is disclosed.

Power driven wrenches find particularly desirable use in close spaces where the handle of a conventional wrench cannot turn far. A typical power driven wrench has a head with a rotatable, driven member inside, with the driving power coming from the opposite end of the wrench handle, as particularly illustrated in Tillman U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,072 and Frenkel U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,136.
Such wrenches are very useful, particularly in tight, constrained situations, or where a nut or bolt is very tightly retained, but power driven wrenches are obviously more expensive than simple, manual crescent wrenches or the like.
Accordingly, as indicated in the prior art, power driven wrenches may have a replaceable nut or bolt driver, so that the one power driven wrench may be used with a variety of nuts and bolts of different sizes. However, in the prior art, the nut driver unit is replaceable only with the removal of other parts of the power wrench head, followed by replacement of the nut driver, and reinstallation of the other parts of the wrench into their positions of use.
By this invention, as shown in my prior patent publication U.S. 2004-0118252A1, a powered wrench having a quick release nut or bolt driver is provided. Furthermore, the wrench of this invention is of narrower width than some of the prior art powered wrenches, which makes them useful in spaces which would be too narrow for some of the wrenches of the prior art.
Furthermore, it may be desirable to fit a powered wrench into a space which is even narrower, and thus not accessible to the powered wrenches of the above patent publication because of the length of the wrenches. Also, a shortened, powered wrench exhibits other advantages. It may be more easily carried, even in a pocket, and more easily stored in boxes and the like, with the wrench being operable by connection with a standard, stock-item rotary extension piece or shaft which is readily available in tool shops and hardware stores.


Some embodiments of the inventive subject matter provide methods of operating an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) configured to provide power to a load from first and second power sources, e.g., from a utility source and a battery or other backup source. The methods include operating the UPS to momentarily provide an altered voltage waveform in coordination with a transition of the load between first and second power sources. For example, the altered voltage waveform may provide a momentarily increased voltage rate of change to compensate for a transient current demand presented by the load.

The inventive subject matter relates to power supply apparatus and methods and, more particularly, to AC power supply apparatus and methods.
UPS systems are commonly used in installations such as data centers, medical centers and industrial facilities. UPS systems may be used in such installations to provide backup power to maintain operation in event of failure of the primary utility supply. UPS systems commonly use an inverter that generates an AC output from a DC power source, such as a battery. In an "off-line" or "standby" UPS, for example, a load may be switched from an AC utility source to an inverter powered by a battery when the utility source fails. This may result in a momentary outage to the load.
A load served by such UPS may have characteristics that place relatively large initial current demands on the UPS when transferring between normal and backup modes in responsive to an outage. For example, computers and similar electronic equipment may include power supplies with power factor correction (PFC) circuitry. When using an off-line UPS to serve such a load, a loss in a utility source may cause an outage on the order of 4-5 milliseconds before the inverter is activated to provide power to the load from a battery. When the inverter of the UPS activated to serve the load, PFC circuitry in the load's power supply may momentarily significantly increase current demand in relation to the device's normal steady-state demand as storage capacitors in the PFC circuitry are recharged. This high current demand may last one or more cycles of the AC voltage.
In a three-phase off-line UPS, this current demand may cause one or more of the phases to exhibit a diminished voltage for an extended period due current limiting by the inverter, which may cause under-voltage related disruptions and/or malfunctions. Conventional approaches for dealing with such issues include derating the UPS so that that lead under these types of transient conditions does not exceed the peak current capability of the UPS.

AC power supply apparatus and methods providing variable voltage waveforms for load transient conditions


An electrical appliance such as an ultrasonic energy applicator used in conjunction with magnetic resonance apparatus is controlled so that the appliance is active only while the magnetic resonance signals from the subject are not being received. Alternatively, magnetic resonance signals received while the appliance is operating can be rejected and the magnetic resonance cycles used to acquire such signals can be repeated. RF noise from the appliance does not affect the signals which are accepted and used to form an image.

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods employing magnetic resonance apparatus in conjunction with other electrical appliances.
Copending, commonly assigned PCT International Publication WO98/52465, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, describes an apparatus that incorporates magnetic resonance imaging capability in a relatively small device. Apparatus according to preferred embodiments disclosed in the ""465 publication includes a movable static field magnet adapted to apply a static magnetic field in a magnetic resonance volume at a predetermined disposition relative to the static field magnet, and may also include an energy applicator such as a high intensity focused ultrasound or xe2x80x9cHIFUxe2x80x9d device. The preferred apparatus, according to the ""465 publication, also includes positioning means for moving the static field magnet and the energy applicator to position the magnet and the applicator so that the magnetic resonance volume at least partially encompasses a region of the subject to be treated and so that the energy applicator is focused within the magnetic resonance volume. For example, the apparatus may include a chassis carrying both the static field magnet and the energy applicator, and the positioning means is arranged to move the chassis relative to the subject. The apparatus may further include ancillary equipment such as gradient coils mounted to the chassis or otherwise secured in position relative to the static field magnet for applying a magnetic field gradient within the magnetic resonance volume. Other ancillary equipment includes radio frequency equipment for applying radio frequency signals to the subject and receiving the resulting emitted radio frequency signals, hereafter referred to as magnetic resonance signals. Apparatus of this type may be used to acquire images of a region within the patient""s body, and may also be used to perform therapeutic procedures such as thermal ablation of tumors or other undesired tissues. The therapeutic procedures can be monitored using the magnetic resonance apparatus. Combined magnetic resonance imaging and hyperthermia procedures can also be performed using conventional magnetic resonance imaging apparatus having a large, fixed static field magnet defining a patient-receiving space. In this case, the patient is disposed inside the patient-receiving space of the magnet, and the HIFU unit is positioned in or near this space.
In magnetic resonance imaging procedures, the region of the subject to be imaged is subjected to a strong magnetic field using the static field magnet. Radio frequency signals are applied to the tissues of the subject within the imaging volume. Under these conditions, atomic nuclei are excited by the applied radio frequency signals and emit faint radio frequency signals, referred to herein as magnetic resonance signals. By applying appropriate gradients in the magnetic field during the procedure, the magnetic resonance signals can be obtained selectively from a limited region such as a two-dimensional slice of the subject""s tissue. The frequency and phase of the signals from different portions of the slice can be made to vary with position in the slice. By applying known techniques, it is possible to deconvolute the signals arising from different portions of the slice and to deduce certain properties of the tissues at each point within the slice from the signals. In some magnetic resonance procedures, these properties are determined for tissues at numerous closely-spaced locations so as to form an image of the subject, whereas in other magnetic resonance procedures, signals are acquired from one or more discrete locations within the subject, without developing an image of the subject.
A problem arises in procedures which employ an energy applicator such as a HIFU unit or other electrical apparatus in conjunction with the magnetic resonance procedures. Depending on its specific configuration, the electrical apparatus may emit unwanted radio waves, referred to herein as xe2x80x9cRF noisexe2x80x9d. For example, a HIFU unit, as disclosed in the copending application, may emit RF noise when it generates its bursts of high intensity focused ultrasound. The RF noise can interfere with the magnetic resonance signal received by the radio frequency equipment.
One aspect of the present invention provides methods of performing magnetic resonance procedures while also using an electrical appliance. As used in this disclosure, the term xe2x80x9celectrical appliancexe2x80x9d should be understood as referring to any device which is supplied with electrical energy or which emits RF noise, but does not include a part of the magnet and RF transmitter and receiver used to create the magnetic resonance image. Thus, the term xe2x80x9celectrical appliancexe2x80x9d includes, without limitation, devices such as energy applicators including HIFU units and other ultrasonic emitters, electronic instruments such as cathode ray tubes, television equipment such as the television cameras incorporated in certain endoscopes, and the like. According to this aspect of the invention, the electrical appliance is activated only when the RF receiver of the magnetic resonance apparatus is not actively receiving a magnetic resonance signal. Stated another way, the electrical appliance is activated only while the RF receiver is inactive.
As further described below, magnetic resonance procedures include cycles of timed steps, commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cpulse sequencesxe2x80x9d. One of these steps includes receiving the magnetic resonance signals emitted by the subject. The signals typically are received only during predetermined periods, referred to herein as xe2x80x9creceive intervalsxe2x80x9d. This aspect of the invention incorporates the realization that the receive intervals occupy only a fraction of the total cycle time, and that RF noise emitted during other parts of the cycle time will not adversely affect the magnetic resonance examination procedure to the same degree as RF noise emitted during the receive intervals. Preferred methods according to this aspect of the invention incorporate the further realization that many electrical appliances used in medical procedures can be operated intermittently with little loss of performance. In particular, operation of appliances such as HIFU units and other devices which are used to heat tissues can be interrupted during the receive intervals and still can provide satisfactory performance. Thus, in methods according to this aspect of the invention, an electrical appliance separate from the magnetic resonance system is deactivated during the receive intervals and is activated only during intervals when the RF receiver is not collecting magnetic resonance signals.
Methods according to a further aspect of the invention incorporate the realization that the RF noise emitted by an intermittently-operated electrical appliance can be tolerated if the data collected during particular pulse sequences adversely affected by such RF noise is discarded. Typically, the pulse sequence is repeated cyclically, and the magnitude of one or more of the gradients is changed in each cycle. The magnetic resonance data collected during the whole procedure is a composite of the information collected during the various cycles. For example, where the data is used to generate an image, the image is calculated from the data collected during all of the various cycles. In preferred methods according to this aspect of the invention, operation of the appliance is coordinated with the pulse sequence cycles so that cycles of the pulse sequence which are affected by such operation can be identified. For example, the appliance may be actuated at predetermined times, and the cycles of the pulse sequence may also be applied at predetermined times. Alternatively, the appliance may be actuated at times which have no preset relation to the times of particular pulse sequence, and actuation of the appliance may be detected so that the time of such actuation can be compared to the times of particular pulse sequence cycles to determine which cycles overlap with the appliance actuation. The RF receiver and/or data collection apparatus may be disabled during these cycles, so that no data is collected during these cycles and the magnetic resonance signals elicited in these cycles is discarded. Alternatively or additionally, magnetic resonance data associated with those cycles is discarded. Preferably, those cycles are repeated at a time when the appliance is inactive.
A further aspect of the invention provides apparatus which incorporates a magnetic resonance system having an RF receiver and an electrical appliance which is not part of the magnetic resonance system. The apparatus desirably includes means for disabling the electrical appliance while the RF receiver is active. As further discussed below, where the magnetic resonance system is controlled by a computer, the disabling means can include the control computer of the magnetic resonance system. Alternatively, the apparatus may include means for coordinating operation of the appliance with the times of pulse sequences so that pulse sequence cycles affected by operation of the appliance can be identified. In this case, the apparatus desirably also includes means for disabling the RF receiver or means for discarding data collected during the affected cycles. The apparatus may also include means for actuating the magnetic resonance system to repeat the affected cycles.

Interleaved operation of MRI and electronic equipment


Disclosed herein are polymer-coated iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles and methods of their manufacture and use. The nanoparticles are coated with a copolymer of poly(maleic anhydride alt-H2C═CH—R1)-polyethylene glycol (PMAR-PEG), wherein R1 is a hydrophobic moiety. The molecular weights of the PMAR and PEG portions of the copolymer, as well as the core diameter of the nanoparticles are selected in order to produce optimal performance for specific applications. Representative applications of the nanoparticles include magnetic particle imaging, magnetic sentinel lymph node biopsy, and magnetic fluid hyperthermia. The disclosed nanoparticles are tools for these methods that provide previously unachieved levels of stability (e.g., via reduced agglomeration) and customizability (e.g., tuned blood circulation half-life in vivo).

The present disclosure relates to magnetic nanoparticles and related devices and methods. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to compositions and methods of making magnetic nanoparticles having a narrow size distribution for use in diagnostics and therapeutics.
Magnetic nanoparticles (also referred to as MNPs) are attractive agents for biomedicine due to strong intrinsic magnetism that, through interaction with a magnetic field, enables their detection or influence from deep within a living subject. Rightly, magnetic nanoparticles have been studied extensively as potential contrast agents or nanoparticle materials in molecular imaging applications based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as carriers for magnetically assisted drug delivery and hyperthermia. Recently, a new imaging modality called magnetic particle imaging (MPI) was introduced as a technique for visualizing magnetic nanoparticles in humans and animals. MPI is fast, quantitative, sensitive, and features good spatial resolution, a combination that is difficult to realize in MR imaging of magnetic nanoparticles, because MPI directly probes the large magnetic nanoparticle moment rather than its indirect effect on proton relaxation, as does MR imaging. Noteworthy recent MPI studies include in vivo, real-time imaging of magnetic nanoparticles passing through a beating mouse heart and compact, single-sided scanners that can image a patient without first inserting them into a costly and potentially claustrophobic magnetic device.
Despite much exciting progress in MPI scanner design and related image processing, relatively little effort has been spent developing magnetic nanoparticles that optimize imaging sensitivity. In fact, for MPI to successfully move beyond proof-of-principle experiments into the clinic or preclinical research laboratory, it will be important to engineer magnetic nanoparticles that are optimized for MPI. Most recent studies have used commercially available magnetic nanoparticle agents, including Resovist® (Bayer Schering Pharma, Berlin) and Feridex I.V.® (AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Lexington, Mass.; trade name Endorem™ in Europe); these are far from being magnetically optimized for MPI and thus inhibit MPI from reaching its full potential in terms of both spatial resolution and mass sensitivity. For example, in Resovist®, which to date has been the most popular material for MPI studies, it has been shown that only 3% of the total sample mass contributes noticeably to the MPI signal. More efficient nanoparticles are desired for molecular imaging applications that depend on active targeting, where for the highest sensitivity, each unit of nanoparticle is desired to generate the maximum achievable MPI signal voltage. Furthermore, for quantitative imaging, the signal intensity, and therefore magnetic nanoparticle properties, are desired to be uniform and reproducible.
In addition, magnetic nanoparticles are an attractive option for site-specific cancer therapies because they can be remotely targeted by the application of external magnetic field gradients or other active and passive targeting methods. Once localized, Magnetic Fluid Hyperthermia (MFH), a therapeutic modality that utilizes alternating magnetic fields (AMF) to dissipate heat from the resulting relaxation losses in magnetic nanoparticles, can be used to induce localized heating. Heating cancer cells (typically to ˜42-43° C.) is known to disrupt cellular metabolism making adjuvant therapy by conventional established methods more efficient. A wide range of ferromagnetic nanoparticles can be synthesized for MFH. Due to their modest magnetic characteristics, however, magnetic nanoparticles need to be optimized in terms of their morphological (size, size distribution, shape), crystallographic (phase purity) and magnetic (relaxation) characteristics for effective application in MFH.
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) composed of magnetite (Fe3O4), maghemite (Fe2O3) or a mixture of magnetite and maghemite, have been used in the clinic to enhance the T2/T2*(negative) MRI contrast [Feridex I.V.® and Combidex®—produced by AMAG pharmaceuticals, Resovist®, produced by Bayer Schering Corporation], and more recently for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients [Feraheme®—produced by AMAG pharmaceuticals]. Experimentally, SPIONs of various compositions have been used for biomedical applications such as cell labeling and separation, drug delivery, magnetic gene transfection (magnetofection), tissue repair and hyperthermia [Gupta et al, Biomaterials 2005; 26:3995-4021, Krishnan, IEEE Trans. Mag. 46, 2523-2558 (2010)].
The unique nonlinear magnetic response of SPIONs can be exploited in alternating magnetic fields to induce a detectable signal that is proportional to the ac-susceptibility (m′(H)). Applications such as MPI [Gleich and Weizenecker, Nature 2005; 435:1214-7], magnetic sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) [M. Douek et al, Ann. Surg. Oncol., 21, 1237 (2013)] and MFH [R. K. Gilchrist et al, Ann. Surgery 146, 596 (1957); U. Gneveckow et al, Med. Phys. 31, 1444 (2004)], employ alternating magnetic fields in the radiofrequency range (1 1,000 kHz) applied to SPIONs. Maximum signal, especially in MPI, is generated when SPIONs with core sizes near the superparamagnetic-to-ferrimagnetic transition and uniform size distribution are used.
With clinical end-use in perspective, the first generation of SPIONs designed for either in vivo MPI or MFH therapy must be biocompatible and demonstrate appropriate circulation times to enable vascular imaging or site-specific heating, respectively. For performing first-pass and subsequent blood pool imaging, a circulation time of approximately 1 hour should provide clinicians sufficient time; for instance, Ablavar® (Lantheus Medical Imaging)—a gadolinium-based MRI blood pool agent remains in circulation for up to 1 hour [www.ablavar.com]. However, given the real-time imaging capability of MPI, even shorter circulation times may be sufficient. Ultimately, practical considerations such as the preferred administration route (intravenous injection or cardiac catheterization; the latter is preferred if in situ interventional procedures are deemed necessary) and the actual time it takes to ready patients for MPI scans will determine the optimum circulation time of SPIONs. On the other hand, studies indicate that cancer targeting—measured by targeting efficiency and not imaging speed—requires several hours (>1 hour) of circulation time [Fang et al, Eur J Pharm Sci 2006; 27:27-36, Cole et al, Biomaterials 2011; 32:2183-93]; typically, longer the circulation time, greater the probability of reaching the disease site [Albanese et al, Annu Rev Biomed Eng 2012; 14:1-16]. Thus, it would be advantageous to have a surface coating platform that can be readily modified to tune the blood half-life and/or other characteristics of SPIONs for desired applications. It is also important that the biodistribution and clearance is via well-defined pathways; for example, for patients with Chronic Kidney disease it is important that in vivo tracers administered for MPI are clear not by the Kidney but by the liver and spleen.

University of Washington through its Center for Commercialization