A keyboard palm rest assembly comprises a frame having an opening therethrough, the opening located corresponding to a position of a palm of a user when the user is utilizing a keyboard located adjacent the opening. The keyboard palm rest assembly also comprises a panel coupled to the frame and disposed across the opening, the panel enabling an airflow therethrough from a side opposite the user's palm to a side corresponding to the user's palm.

Keyboards in the form of alphanumeric keypads, gaming keyboards and/or controllers, etc., are used to input data to various types of computing devices (e.g., computers, gaming consoles, etc.). In operation, a users hands tend to rest on or near the keyboard. However, such computing devices and/or the keyboards themselves can generate and/or conduct heat, which may lead to discomfort during the use of such keyboards.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A one-piece baffle/metering insert is utilized to block or partially restrict the flow of fluid through an aperture formed in a gasket. The insert is constructed of a single piece of stainless steel and is provided with two pair of flange portions about its outer periphery which enables the entire periphery of the insert to be sealingly secured within the gasket aperture. The present invention also includes a unique method of securing the insert within an associated gasket aperture.

The present invention relates generally to gasket assemblies and, more particularly, to an insert for mounting in an aperture of a standard size gasket. The insert can either function as a baffle to completely block the gasket aperture, or as a metering device which provides a predetermined size aperture for precisely controlling fluid flow therethrough.
Heretofore, gasket manufacturers have produced standardized gasket designs and have modified these gaskets by use of gasket attachments or inserts in order that a single gasket design can be used in several different applications. Gasket attachments typically are used to either fully or partially block openings in a standard size gasket, or to create additional sealing surfaces which extend therefrom. By utilizing these gasket attachments, the associated manufacturing costs can be substantially reduced.
Examples of gasket inserts which can be used to partially reduce the opening through a gasket aperture are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,126,318 and 4,405,138. Examples of gasket inserts which can be utilized to completely block an opening in a gasket aperture are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,505,486 and 4,534,572.

One piece metering baffle insert for a gasket


The inventory processing unit reads by the barcode reader barcode labels of medium cartridges by scanning a plurality of times per one label as the carrier robot is moved in a predetermined cell array direction in the medium storage and notifies of stored medium information the high-order device. The cause of error specification processing unit extracts the error data from the scanning data obtained at the completion of the inventory process to determine the presence or absence of a barcode label and if it is determined that a barcode label exists, the predetermined retry process is executed, otherwise, notifies of the determination result the high-order device without executing the retry process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a library apparatus to automatically read barcode labels of recording medium such as magnetic tape cartridges stored in cells using a line scanning type reader installed in a medium carrier robot, a program and units. Especially, a method for controlling a library apparatus to efficiently handle the error caused by scanning the recording medium which is not affixed the barcode label, a program and units.
2. Description of the Related Arts
In conventional library apparatus, medium cartridges such as magnetic tape cartridges affixed the barcode labels are stored by cell in a plurality of storage cells provided in the housing. The medium cartridges are picked up by the carrier robot from the storage cells designated as the origin according to the move command from the host, conveyed to a drive module as the destination by the move command and put into the drive module so that the medium are recorded or reproduced. The recorded or reproduced medium cartridges are picked up by the carrier robot from the drive module designated as the origin according to the move command from the host and turned back to the storage cells designated as the destination according to the move command.
The medium cartridge is affixed the barcode label which is recorded medium control information on the back surface thereof when it is put into the library apparatus. The barcode label of the medium is read by a barcode reader installed in the carrier robot. The barcode reader is provided with a LED lighting unit in which LEDs are linearly arranged and a one-dimensional CCD. The barcode label is scanned by the one-dimensional CCD while the LED lighting unit is turn on thereby the barcode label can be read.
(Patent document 1)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 11-45306
(Patent document 2)
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-260089
In the library apparatus, an inventory operation to continuously read barcode labels of a number of medium cartridges stored in the apparatus and notify the host of the location and type of the medium cartridges when the necessary number of medium cartridges are put into the library apparatus and stored in the cells to start the operation. The minimum operation unit of the inventory operation is one column as a longitudinal line of the storage cells in a storage cabinet in the apparatus. That is to say, the inventory operation is performed such that the carrier robot is moved and positioned at the top of cell location in the column targeted for processing, then the carrier robot is moved up and down at a regular speed as the barcode reader is scanning to continuously read the barcode labels.
However, the medium cartridge which is not affixed the barcode label is sometimes stored in the library apparatus due to forget to affix the label or come off it. When such medium cartridge which is not affixed the barcode label is scanned by the barcode reader in the inventory operation, it can be not determined the cause of the error whether a barcode label is not affixed, the barcode label is fouling or the barcode reader is at fault by only the scanning data obtained as the reading result.
Therefore, in the conventional library apparatuses, in case of the error data is extracted from the reading result at the time the inventory operation for one column is completed, a diagnosis process is executed to determine which of a failure of the barcode reader or a defect of the barcode label is the cause of error. If it is no problem, the barcode label accounted for the error is subjected to the retry operation.
FIG. 22 is a flowchart of the conventional inventory process, which is following procedure:    Step S1: Designate a target column which is performed the inventory operation, and move to the carrier robot to the top cell of the target column and position thereto.    Step S2: Continuously read the barcode labels of the medium cartridges stored in the column by moving up and down the carrier robot as scanning by the barcode reader (inventory operation).    Step S3: Check the presence or absence of any error in the reading result. If there is any error, advance to a step S4, otherwise, the process is completed.    Step S4: If the diagnosis condition for the barcode reader that all of the plurality of scanning data for the same medium (three scanning data for each medium)are error data is fulfilled, advance to Step S5, otherwise advance to Step S6.    Step S5: Move the carrier robot to the medium cartridge to be error and position thereto, and execute a diagnosis process for the barcode reader.    Step S6: Move the carrier robot to the medium cartridge to be error and position thereto, and execute a retry process.
In the retry process, the label range of the medium cartridge is divided into three regions such as an upper section, a middle section and a lower section, and each region is subdivided into five steps of scanning position. The barcode reader repeatedly operates so called stop-scanning to read by exposing during a predetermined period while the barcode reader is fixedly positioned for each scanning position. The method using such retry process is useful for in the case that the barcode is fouling, however if a barcode label is not affixed to the medium cartridge, unnecessary retry operations are repeated the fixed times (for example, the stop-scanning operations are repeated the prescribed times such as fifteen times as the maximum number of times for retry)so that the process time is lengthened.

Method for controlling a library apparatus, program and units


A computer implemented data processing method for recursively approximating a proper value for a target matrix includes the following steps of: determining whether the target matrix corresponds to a low complexity condition; if so, obtaining a first updated target matrix according to a first variance, relevant to a second iteration parameter, and a first iteration parameter, wherein the first and the second iteration parameters correspond to fixed values; if not, obtaining a second updated target matrix according to a second variance, relevant to a fourth iteration parameter, and a third iteration parameter, wherein the third and the fourth parameters are related to the target matrix.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates in general to a computer-implemented data processing method and data processing device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with technology changes with each passing days, varies kinds of data processing methods have been developed for enhancing seeing and hearing entertainment experience for consumers, such as three dimensional (3D) multimedia processing technologies, on which more attention and effort have been paid by the industries. Generally, how to have two dimensional (2D) image content converted into 3D stereo image and stereo matching technologies have been an urgent and prominent object of the industries.
In present skill, multiple image processing methods have been developed for stereo image/video processing application. However, image processors are usually equipped with hardware having limited computational capability. As such, how to provide an adequate scheme capable of reducing computational complexity and enhancing image processing scheme has became a prominent goal for the industries.

Data processing method and device using the same

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


In a solid-state image pickup apparatus, a preliminary pickup circuit performs, during preliminary pickup, divided photometry on a photometry signal outputted from the primary cells of photo-sensors, determines an exposure condition in which photometry data in all divided blocks do not exceed the saturation maximum value of the primary cells, and calculates the individual photometry data tints under the above exposure condition. During actual pickup, a shading corrector included in an image processing circuit divides subsidiary image data in the same manner as during the divided photometry, calculates shading correction gains in accordance with the photometry data tints and those of the subsidiary image data, and interpolates the shading correction gains in accordance with the pixel for thereby executing color shading correction on the subsidiary image data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image pickup apparatus for compensating for color shading on a picture picked up by a solid-state image sensor having photo-sensors arranged, each of which has a set of photosensitive cells different in sensitivity from each other, to produce image information over a broad dynamic range, and a method of compensating for color shading for the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is a common practice with a solid-state image pickup apparatus capable of picking up a picture over a broad dynamic range by a solid-state image sensor, which has photo-sensors arranged, each having a primary and a secondary photosensitive cell different in sensitivity from each other. The primary cell, higher in sensitivity to incident light than the secondary cell, forms an image with a well modulation. The secondary cell accurately captures image, or contrast, information even on an imaged region that would cause a white blur in a usual exposure condition or would cause the primary cell to produce a saturated signal. U.S. patent publication No. US 2003/0141564 A1 of Kondo et al, for example, proposes a solid-state image pickup device capable of picking up a picture over a broad dynamic range by processing signals outputted from the main and subsidiary photosensitive fields.
Generally, in a solid-state image pickup device, image signals outputted from a solid-state image sensor may involve shading due to, e.g. unevenness in quantity of light incident to the respective photo-sensors. For example, in the case of a digital camera including a solid-state image sensor which has microlenses formed, the quantity of incident light to the respective photo-sensors noticeably varies in dependence upon the direction of the incidence particular to the microlenses. More specifically, to a photosensitive cell located in the vicinity of the edge of the imaging frame of the image sensor, light is incident often inclined, so that the incident light is poorer in quantity than one incident to a photosensitive cell located near the center of the frame. Consequently, the luminance of the signals produced in the vicinity of the edge of the frame is poorer, thus resulting in shading.
Japanese patent laid-open publication No. 79773/1996 discloses a shading correcting device for correcting shading by multiplying image signals outputted from an image sensor by a shading correction coefficient, which is calculated by approximating by a quadric curved surface function. The shading correcting device with this configuration can accomplish a shading correction feasible for mass-production of image sensors and therefore free the image sensors from irregularity.
Further, U.S. patent publication No. US 2002/0008760 A1 of Nakamura teaches a digital camera for correcting shading on the basis a pixel-by-pixel correction value. The digital camera divides an imaging area into a preselected number of blocks and stores light amount correction data particularly assigned to the blocks beforehand. When correcting shading, the digital camera calculates the correction value of each pixel by weighting the light amount correction data in accordance with the positions of target pixels to thereby generate correction values for respective pixels.
The prior art documents described above have the following problems left unsolved. In Kondo et al, the solid-state image pickup device picks up an image over a broad dynamic range by processing signals outputted from the main and subsidiary photosensitive fields each constituting a particular pixel. However, the problem with Kondo et al is that all subsidiary fields in an imaging frame are arranged at one side with respect to the main photosensitive field without regard to the pixel position in the imaging frame, thus involving shading on a picture picked up which depends upon, e.g. the exit pupil position of a lens or an iris value of the camera.
The shading correcting device disclosed in Japanese publication No. 79773/1996 needs to pick up, during adjustment, a subject radiated with uniformly light, and, on the basis of the result from adjustment, the shading correction gain is determined. Then, in the adjustment procedure, correction data have to be obtained in accordance with, e.g. a zoom lens position or an iris value, and therefore, a long period of time is necessary for calculation. Although the shading correction of such a shading correcting device may be desirable for manufacturing solid-state image sensors, it is not feasible for adjusting or calibrating digital cameras.
Nakamura has a problem that because a memory in the digital camera stores correction data in one-to-one correspondence to various zoom lens positions and various iris values, the memory is required to have its storage capacity increased. Should the number of zoom lens positional sections and that of iris value sections be reduced in order to reduce the data amount required to be stored in the memory, the digital camera would involve image pickup conditions in which a complete correction is unable.
Apart from the problems stated above, secondary image data outputted from the secondary cell are used to reproduce high-luminance information and therefore often remain contained even in a completed picture in the form of high-luminance information. On a picture containing such high-luminance information, luminance shading, common to R (red), G (green) and B (blue) pixels, is not conspicuous. RGB or coloristic shading is dependent upon the wavelength of the colors R, G and B. Consequently, the coloristic shading is different in the degree of deviation between colors so as to be deviate much more toward the longer wavelength. This causes a picture to be viewed worse and critically degraded in image quality.

Apparatus for compensating for color shading on a picture picked up by a solid-state image sensor over a broad dynamic range


This invention provides a ceramic circuit board comprising: a ceramic base board; a metal circuit plate integrally bonded onto a surface of the ceramic base board; a terminal connecting port formed by bending a part of the metal circuit plate for connecting a terminal of a module, the terminal connecting port being formed so that the terminal connecting port is raised from a surface of the ceramic base board, and a curvature radius of the bent portion provided on the terminal connecting port is set to 0.2 mm or more. An empty communication hole such as groove or through hole may also be formed at a bonding surface between the metal circuit plate and the ceramic base board.

The present invention relates to a ceramic circuit board, more particularly to a ceramic circuit board which enables the reduction of an influence of stress caused by heat cycles during the operation of the circuit board, to increase the durability and reliability of the ceramic circuit board.
In recent years, various types of ceramic circuit boards have been widely used as a circuit board for a hi-power transistor module or a high-speed, high-power switching power source modules. The ceramic circuit board comprises a ceramic base board composed of ceramic sintered body and a metal plate such as a copper plate integrally bonded onto a surface of the ceramic base board, the metal plate having high-thermal conductivity and high-electrical conductivity.
Further, as a material for the ceramic base board, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, silicon carbonate or the like are now widely used because of their excellent electrical insulation and thermal conductivity.
The ceramic circuit board having a circuit composed of the conductive metal plate such as copper plate is generally manufactured in accordance with a DBC method (Direct Bonding Copper method) wherein the metal plates are directly bonded onto the ceramic base board, or an active metal brazing method wherein the metal plates are bonded onto the surface of the ceramic base board through a brazing material containing an active metal, such as 4A family elements and/or 5A family elements (hereinafter referred to as "active metal") listed in the periodic table. Namely, the active metal is selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb and Ta. The brazing material containing such an active metal activates the surface of the ceramic base board. In other words, the brazing material imparts wettability to the bonding surface of the ceramic base board, to thereby realize a high-bonding strength.
As a concrete method of forming the circuit, the following methods are known: i.e., the methods may include one wherein a metal plate having a predetermined circuit pattern previously formed by press working or etching treatment are bonded onto the ceramic base board; or a method wherein the circuit patterns are formed after a raw material of the metal plate is bonded onto the ceramic base board.
FIG. 27 shows a construction of the ceramic circuit board manufactured in accordance with the DBC method described above. The ceramic circuit board is manufactured by the following processes. That is, a raw copper material is punched out to form a plurality of copper circuit plates 2A, 2B and 2C each having a predetermined shape (circuit pattern). The copper circuit plates 2A, 2B and 2C are, then, arranged and contacted to both surface sides of the ceramic base board 1 composed of alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) or an aluminum nitride (AlN) sintered body or the like having a thickness of about 0.3 to 3 mm, to thereby form a board assembly. Then, the board assembly is heated up to a predetermined temperature to generate an eutectic liquid phase to thereby impart wettability to the surface of the ceramic base board 1. Subsequently, the board assembly is cooled and the eutectic liquid phase is solidified whereby the copper circuit plates 2A, 2B and 2C are directly bonded onto the ceramic base board 1.
Further, among the plurality of the copper circuit plates 2A, 2B and 2C, an edge portion of the copper circuit plate 2A is provided with a terminal connecting port 3 to which a terminal of a LSI circuit element or module to be loaded onto the ceramic base board 1 is connected.
As shown in FIG. 28, the terminal connecting port 3 is previously formed by punching out the copper circuit plate 2A by means of a press-punching machine and subsequently, bending the edge portion so as to have a U shaped section. After the copper circuit plate 2A is integrally bonded onto the surface of the ceramic base board 1 by employing the DBC method, a free edge side of the terminal connecting port 3 is retained so as to be raised from the surface of the ceramic base board 1. A terminal 4 of a module (not shown) is connected onto an upper surface of the terminal connecting port 3 through a solder 5.
In order to improve the solder wettability with respect to terminal connecting port 3 composed of copper, and to increase a bonding strength between the terminal 4 and the terminal connecting port 3, a nickel metallizing layer 6 having a thickness of about 2 to 6 .mu.m is formed on each surface of the copper circuit plates 2, 2A to 2C.
As a result, even in a case where the terminal 4 is moved and deformed vertically due to a thermal expansion or the like as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 28, the deformation or replacement of the terminal connecting port 3 is absorbed by the bending of the terminal connecting port 3 around a base portion thereof. Accordingly, the stress caused by the thermal expansion is effectively prevented from being concentrated to the ceramic base board 1.
On the other hand, FIG. 29 shows a construction of another conventional ceramic circuit board manufactured by utilizing the active metal brazing method.
The ceramic circuit board shown in FIG. 29 comprises a ceramic base board 11 and a copper circuit plate 12 integrally bonded onto one surface of the ceramic base board 11 through a bonding layer 13 mainly composed of silver (Ag), copper (Cu) and an active metal such as titanium (Ti) or the like.
A backing copper plate 14 for preventing a thermal deformation of the ceramic base board 11 is bonded onto the other surface side of the ceramic base board 11 through a similar bonding layer 13 containing the active metal.
Further, in a module as a product, a semiconductor chip 15 such as a Si chip is bonded onto the surface of the copper circuit plate 12 through a solder layer 16, and required wires are provided so as to electrically connect the semiconductor chip 15 to the copper circuit plate 12. Also a heat sink 17 is bonded onto the back surface side of the backing copper plate 14 through a solder layer 16.
The active metal brazing method is utilized as a method of bonding a ceramic base board and a metal circuit plate to each other, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a paste by mixing a binder such as an organic component or the like and a solvent into active metal powder such as Ti or the like; pattern printing the paste onto a surface of the ceramic base board 11; arranging the copper circuit plate onto a surface of the ceramic base board 11 in along with the printed pattern to form an assembled body; and heating the assembled body in an inert gas atmosphere (i.e., Ar gas or N.sub.2 gas atmosphere or the like) or vacuum to thereby thermally bond the copper circuit plate 12 onto the ceramic base board 11.
The backing copper plate 14 is also bonded onto the ceramic base board by utilizing the same method as described above.
According to the method described above, Ti reacts with nitrogen (N) or oxygen (O) to generate a TiN or TiO, at the same time, Cu and Ag react with the copper component to generate a eutectic bonding material whereby the copper circuit plate 12 and the backing copper plate 14 are firmly bonded onto the ceramic base board 11 respectively.
Any one of the ceramic circuit boards that are manufactured in accordance with the DBC method or the active metal brazing method has a simple structure, so that there can be provided advantages of enabling the miniaturization of the circuit board and the realization of high-density loading, furthermore, to simplify the mounting process, or the like.
In particular, the active metal brazing method is directly applicable to various ceramic materials, and simultaneously, has an advantage of imparting an excellent reproducibility of fine circuit pattern in comparison with that of DBC method. Therefore, the active metal brazing method will become widely used in some particular fields.
However, the conventional ceramic circuit boards shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, have a nickel plating layer formed on the copper circuit plates so as to enhance the solder wettability, so that a problem may be created in that the copper circuit plates are hardened and likely to cause breakages. In fact, the copper material is originally soft and rich in elasticity at the stage prior to being provided with the nickel plating layer. However, after forming of the nickel plating layer, the copper circuit plate will become hard due to the high-hardness of the nickel material per se. Therefore, in particular, the bent portions P.sub.1 and P.sub.2 of the terminal connecting port 3 become brittle, so that repeated bending strength of the bent portions P.sub.1 and P.sub.2 will be disadvantageously decreased.
In the conventional case described above, a radius of curvature R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 of the bent portions P.sub.1 and P.sub.2 is small, about 0.1 mm, so that bending stress is concentrated to the bent portions P.sub.1 and P.sub.2 to easily cause cracks which result in the terminal connecting port 3 being liable to be broken in a short period of time. This reduces the reliability of the ceramic circuit board.
More particular, in the ceramic circuit board having such a terminal connecting port, temperature variation caused by the ON/OFF switching operation of the power source is repeatedly applied onto the terminal connecting port. Accordingly, a problem may be created in that the crack or breakage is more liable to occur at the terminal connecting port.
On the other hand, in the case of the conventional ceramic circuit board manufactured by employing the active metal brazing method, the bonding layer 13 for bonding the ceramic base board 11 and the copper circuit plates or the like (i.e., the copper circuit plate 12 and the backing copper plate 14), or the bonding layer 14 for bonding the copper plates 12, 14 and the semiconductor chip or the like (i.e., the semiconductor chip 15 and the heat sink 17) do not always impart or realize a sufficient bonded state.
Namely, in the process where the ceramic base board 11 and the copper circuit plates 12 and 14 or the like are thermally bonded to each other, if a dewaxing operation is effected uncompletely, carbon (C) contained in the bonding material is not completely removed whereby residual carbon remains within the bonding layer 13.
The residual carbon C is liable to react with the active metal such as Ti, resulting in disadvantageously forming TiC which interrupts an essential reaction to be required between the Ti component and N or O contained in the ceramic base board 11. Therefore, various problems are created in that: non-bonded portions are formed in the bonding layer 13; or even in a case where the bonding is effected completely, the bonding strength thereof may be lowered. In some adverse cases, a proportion of the non-bonded area with respect to the an entire bonding surface will reach almost up to 30%.
In a module assembling process, when a high-temperature solder is placed onto the surfaces of the copper circuit plates 12, 14 and subsequently, the semiconductor chip 15 and the heat sink 17 are arranged onto the surface of the copper circuit plates 12 and 14, gases such as air and atmospheric gas are likely to be involved between the semiconductor chip 15 and the copper circuit plate 12, or between the heat sink 17 and the backing copper plate 14 whereby there may be posed a case where the gases remain in the solder layer 16.
When the gases remain in the solder layer 16, various problems may occur in that: a pore 18, so-called, a solder void may be formed as schematically shown in FIG. 29, to thereby reduce the bonding strength. Further, thermal resistance of the final product will increase to thereby deteriorate heat releasing capability. Additionally, the semiconductor chip 15 may easily be broken, thus reducing the reliability of the module or the like.
Furthermore, when the ceramic circuit board having the semiconductor chip 15 thereon, which is manufactured by employing the active metal brazing method, is assembled into a power-transistor module or the like, a terminal of the module is soldered to a part of the circuit of the copper circuit plate or the like so as to secure an electric continuity between the circuit and an electric power source.
In such a module described above, a temperature difference is necessarily caused in accordance with ON-OFF switching operations of the power source, and when the temperature difference is repeatedly applied onto the ceramic circuit board for a long period of time, as shown in FIG. 29, cracks 19 are liable to occur at a side of the ceramic base board 11. Particularly, in a case where the aluminum nitride base board is used as a ceramic base board, the mechanical strength of the aluminum nitride is lower by nature than that of other ceramic materials, so that the cracks 19 are more likely to occur.
Further, the terminal is moved and deformed in accordance with the ON-OFF switching operations of the power source, so that mechanical stresses are also applied to the ceramic circuit board. When the thermal stresses due to the temperature difference and the mechanical stresses are applied onto the ceramic circuit board for a much longer period of time, there may be posed various problems such that cleavage fractures disadvantageously occur from the portion of the cracks 19. Thus resulting in peeling-off the copper circuit plate 12 from the ceramic base board 11, and the thermal resistance of the module per se is increased, thus inducing malfunctions of the module or the like.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems inherent in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a ceramic circuit board which enables the increase of the durability of the ceramic base board, and secures a sufficient bonding reliability of the metal circuit plate.

Ceramic circuit board with a curved lead terminal


Lubricant compositions include: (a) one or more polyalkylene glycol base oils obtained by polymerization or copolymerization of alkylene oxides comprising from 3 to 8 carbon atoms, include at least one butylene oxide and (b) at least one detergent chosen from salicylates or phenates. The present disclosure also relates to: 1) use of a lubricant composition as engine oil, preferably as oil for the engines of petrol or diesel motor vehicles; 2) use of a group of additives for an engine lubricant comprising polyalkylene glycol bases obtained by polymerization or copolymerization of alkylene oxides comprising from 3 to 8 carbon atoms; and 3) use of at least one additive chosen from salicylates, phenates, dithiocarbamates, amine-based or phenol-based antioxidants, preferably from salicylates or phenates, for reducing the Noack volatility of the base oils of polyalkylene glycol type, obtained from alkylene oxides comprising from 3 to 8 carbon atoms.

Lubricant compositions used as a motor oil conventionally comprise from 50 to 90% of base oils, which may be of mineral, synthetic or natural origin, and additives. These additives are typically detergents, dispersants, antioxidants, polymers enhancing the viscosity index (VI) (VI improver), friction modifiers, flowpoint-lowering agents, anti-foam agents . . . . The synthetic bases are for example polyalphaolefins, gas-to-liquids (GTL) bases for example obtained by Fischer-Tropsch methods, or certain esters.
Another category of synthetic base oils is formed by polyalkylene glycols (PAGs). These latter bases are for example obtained by polymerization or copolymerization of alkylene oxides, preferentially comprising between 2 and 8 carbon atoms. Methods for producing PAG bases are for example described in applications WO2009/134716 and WO2009/134638.
The use of PAG bases in motor oils, notably for automobile engines, has a certain number of benefits, notably because of their good tribological and rheological properties, but also because they are polar bases. They are therefore capable of properly solubilizing certain additives required for formulating a motor oil on the one hand, which would make these additives efficient at lower contents, whence an economic gain. On the other hand, they are capable of also solubilizing solid contaminants which are formed during the use of the oil in the engine, whence a gain in engine cleanliness.
However, the use of these PAG bases in an engine lubricant comes up against a difficulty. Their Noack volatility, measured according to the CEG L 40-93 standard is very high which does not allow their incorporation in motor oil formulations, notably in a large amount and even less as exclusive base oils. Another difficulty comes from the low solubility of PAG bases in oily compounds, notably in the other base oils, which does not make them very suitable for use in a motor oil formulation. The PAGs are mainly known for their use as base fluids in oils for compressors in cooling systems. However, the state of the art contains a few examples of other uses of PAGs, for example in motor oils, for example automobile or marine engines.
Application WO2009/134716 thus discloses an oil for an automobile engine comprising at least one polyalkylene glycol base oil adapted to a use in automobile engines, combined with an additive package comprising derivatives of aspartic acid, and optionally anti-wear additives, anti-corrosion agents, antioxidants, friction modifiers, anti-foam agents. No mention is made of the presence of detergent additives in said compositions.
Application WO2009/134638 discloses a lubricant composition for an internal combustion engine comprising polyalkylene glycols obtained by copolymerization of ethylene oxide and of an alkylene oxide having up to 12 carbon atoms, comprising between 1 and 50 alkylene oxide units, and optionally a VI enhancer polymer. No mention is made of other additives present in the disclosed compositions.
Application FR 2817874 discloses functional fluids for automobiles, notably for automobile engines, comprising polyalkylene glycol bases and a reducing agent which may be urea. These PAGs are in particular obtained from ethylene and propylene oxide. No specific mention is made of other PAG bases, nor of other additives used in combination with the PAG bases.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,885,555 discloses a composition for the formulation of toothpastes comprising polyalkylene glycols and methyl salicylate, a so-called "wintergreen" toothpastes. The latter compound is not at all similar to the detergents of the salicylate type used in lubricant compositions, for example in motor oils, where the benzene ring of salicylic acid comprises hydrocarbon substituants with sufficiently long chains for forming the lypophilic portion of the detergent.
Application EP 1 990 400 discloses lubricant compositions for transmissions in marine applications, comprising a base oil which may be a synthetic or natural oil. The synthetic oils may be polyalphaolefins (PAO), various esters of (di)carboxylic acids and alcohols or polyols, alkyl benzene bases, polysilicons, polymer or copolymer olefins, polyphenols, alkyl diphenyl ethers, alkyl diphenyl sulfides, polyalkylene glycols, Fischer Tropsch bases. These compositions may also comprise at least one metal detergent, which may be selected from sulfonates, phenates, sulfurized phenates and salicylates. No specific combination of PAG bases with salicylates is disclosed. These compositions for marine transmissions exhibit good water emulsification properties as well as anti-wear properties.
Application JP 2007 204451 discloses a polyalkylene glycol which is a tetraether obtained by polymerization of propylene oxide, as well as a diether, for use as a base oil in lubricant compositions, notably for motor oils and in the presence of certain additives, notably detergents. The disclosed tetraethers however have quite low molecular weight and low kinematic viscosity at 100° C. Their use in formulations of motor oil therefore requires their use in combination with other base oils; now these tetraethers only include propylene oxide units, which do not give them much solubility in oils. Moreover, solubilization or keeping them suspended in tetraether bases of additives including a lipophilic portion, such as for example detergents, is likely to pose a problem.
The diether as for it consists of 3 long (C6-C14) carbon chains, delimited by two ether functions. The two oxygen atoms of the ether functions are separated from each other by 5 carbon atoms. These bases are therefore not polyalkylene glycols, where by nature, the oxygen atoms are separated by 2 carbon atoms, which corresponds to the attack of the epoxy function of the alkylene oxides during polymerization. It is foreseen that their behavior, notably in terms of polarity, will not have the same advantages as PAGs in an engine formulation. Therefore, there exists a need for lubricant compositions comprising a significant portion of PAG bases, which may comprise so-called oily or lipophilic compounds which are miscible with said PAG bases, and the Noack volatility of which is compatible with a use as motor oil.
For engine lubricants, the Noack volatility, measured according to the CEC L 40-93 standard, is typically less than 15%, preferentially less than 13%. It is typically comprised between 8 and 15%, or further between 10 and 13%. Surprisingly, the applicant noticed that the Noack volatility of certain PAG bases, moreover suitable for use in motor oil, is strongly reduced when they are combined with specific additives. Without having the intention of being bound to any theory, it seems that these additives play a role either on inhibiting the formation of volatile degradation products of the PAGs when these bases are subject to conditions for analyzing Noack volatility, or on stabilizing these degradation products in the oil matrix.
The present invention therefore relates to lubricant compositions comprising these specific combinations of PAG bases and of additives, as well as to their use as a motor oil, notably for automobile vehicles. The present invention also relates to the use of these additives or of additives package containing them in motor oil formulations comprising PAG bases. Finally the present invention also relates to the use of these additives, or of additives packages containing them, in order to reduce the Noack volatility measured according to the CEC L 40-93 standard, of PAG bases.


Systems and methods are provided for implementing and managing a music service. According to certain aspects, the systems and methods present an interface to a user that indicates an additional user of the music service and allows the user to select certain properties or attributes associated with a desired playlist. The systems and methods identify a music profile of the additional user and detect an input selection to generate the playlist. In aspects, the systems and methods identify songs based on the music profile of the additional user and optionally a music profile of the user, as well as the properties or attributes selected by the user, and provides the playlist to the user that includes the identified songs.

Consumers have various options when it comes to listening to or otherwise consuming music and other media. In particular, some consumers play music from physical media such as compact discs, records, cassette tapes, and/or the like. Other consumers listen to music from digital audio files such as MP3s, AACs, WAV files, OGG-Vorbis files, FLAC files, and/or the like. In other cases, streaming services allow some users to stream digital music data stored on remote servers. With the advent and popularity of social networking, some platforms allow users of a social network to share playlists, songs, and artist profiles with other users of the social network.
In existing platforms and services, the discovery of music new or of potential interest to users can prove difficult. For example, even though two users may be connected via a social network, the users may not have the same taste in music. Therefore, the sharing of playlists and other music media by the users via the social network is inefficiently targeted. Further, when the users are physically in the same room, at a party or gathering, or are otherwise around each other, the existing services have no way to determine the musical tastes of each of the users who are or will be present. As a result, any music that is played will likely not appeal to everyone.
Accordingly, there is an opportunity for systems and methods for generating playlists based on musical tastes of applicable users and/or other combinations of attributes. Moreover, there is an opportunity for systems and methods for providing an interface for users to effectively specify attributes for the generation of the playlists.

Systems and methods for generating a playlist in a music service


A discharge lamp lighting device includes: a power control circuit outputting DC current; an AC conversion circuit generating and outputting discharge lamp driving AC current by inverting the polarity of the DC current at a predetermined timing; a control circuit performing an AC conversion control process of controlling a polarity inversion timing of the discharge lamp driving AC current on the AC conversion circuit and performing an interval current control process of controlling a current value of the DC current every polarity inversion timing interval on the power control circuit; a detection unit detecting a discharge lamp driving voltage at the time of normal lighting; a history information storage periodically storing history information of the detected discharge lamp driving voltage, a statistics processing unit statistically processing the stored history information every predetermined period; and a statistical information storage storing information having been subjected to the statistical process as statistical information. Here, the control circuit sets and controls at least one of a frequency, a duty ratio, and a waveform of the discharge lamp driving AC current on the basis of a time-dependent tendency of the statistical information.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a discharge lamp lighting device, a control method thereof, and a projector.
2. Related Art
Discharge lamps such as high-pressure mercury lamps or metal halide lamps are used as a light source of projectors. The optimal driving conditions (a frequency, a duty ratio, and a waveform of driving current) of the discharge lamps depend on statuses of the discharge lamps. For example, just after starting the lighting and after a certain time passes since the lighting, the optimal driving conditions change. The optimal driving conditions are different in a discharge lamp having a short used time and a discharge lamp of which the lifetime almost expires. The optimal driving conditions change depending on the types of the discharge lamps.
The use of the discharge lamps under non-optimal driving conditions causes the blackening or devitrification of discharge tubes. It also causes a flicker. For example, when such discharge lamps are used in a projector, the brightness of a projected image changes in the course of using the projector.
Accordingly, a discharge lamp lighting device has been suggested which has a control circuit having plural driving conditions set in advance and which can properly select the driving conditions depending on a lighting status of a discharge lamp.
An example of such a known discharge lamp lighting device is disclosed in JP-A-2002-532866.
As described in JP-A-2002-532866, the lighting time of several hundreds hours to several thousand hours is required for detecting a continuous increasing phenomenon of a discharge lamp driving voltage. The negligence of the continuous increasing phenomenon of the discharge lamp driving voltage causes the brightness of the discharge lamp to be lowered. This is a problem particularly for an application intended to suppress the change in brightness of the discharge lamp as small as possible for a long time, such as a projector.
However, since a user usually uses the discharge lamps continuously for at most several hours, it is too short to detect the continuous increasing phenomenon of the discharge lamp driving voltage. Therefore, the controlling of the lighting conditions depending on the lighting status of the discharge lamp as in the discharge lamp lighting device described in JP-A-2002-532866 is not a satisfactory countermeasure.

Discharge lamp lighting device, control method thereof, and projector


A birdcage feeding device is provided with a seed chamber, seed cup, and method of attachment. The feeding device comprises an opening that may be opened or closed in order to displace seeds from a feeding chamber to fill a seed cup. The seed cup is designed to be shallow such that seeds do not get buried under layers of empty shells and hulls. The seed cup also has high rear and side walls to guard seeds from being scattered outside by birds. The feeding device may be closed to allow a user to remove the seed cup, without removing the device, for cleaning. A method of attachment is also described that allows the device to be on the outside of the birdcage while being secured from the inside of the cage, thus allowing for easy refilling of the device.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of birdcage attachments. More specifically, the present invention is related to birdcage feeding devices.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Current birdcage attachments that store bird seed are inefficient. One prior method of storing seed may be to place the seed in a cup that attaches to the inside of the cage bars. A problem with this method is that seed often spills while filling the cup or while placing it in the cage. Further, birds may scatter seeds outside the cage while feeding, or sit on the edge of the cup and possibly defecate into the cup, spoiling the seeds. Other existing methods utilize a seed chamber that feeds into a cup to allow birds' access to the food. However, the chamber is typically filled and the entire unit is mounted on the outside of a cage. A major disadvantage, besides those mentioned above, is that the entire unit must be removed from the cage for refilling. Also, when removing the seed chamber, if the chamber is not completely empty, seeds that are still in the chamber may fall out into the cup, cage, and outside of the cage. Furthermore, both prior methods utilize cups that tend to be deep. The deeper cups typically accumulate layers of empty seed shells and husks, thus burying seeds. Often, bird keepers discard a large amount of good seeds since it appears that the cups are filled with only empty shells.
There is, therefore, a desire for a birdcage feeding device that allows for easy refilling of a seed chamber without the possibility of spilling and a device that reduces wasting good bird feed while allowing for easy mounting and dismounting of the chamber from a cage.
Whatever the precise merits, features, and advantages of the above cited references, none of them achieves or fulfills the purposes of the present invention.


A desktop electronic device translates on a desktop from a first position to a second position through use of at least one mobility assembly. The mobility assembly(s) may be integral with the desktop electronic device, connected to the desktop electronic device, or integral with a platform that supports the desktop electronic device. The mobility assembly(s) include at least one primary revolving element and optionally includes at least one secondary revolving element in contact therewith. The primary and secondary revolving elements may be spherically or cylindrically shaped in any combination. A spherical primary revolving element allows the desktop electronic device to translate linearly or non-linearly. Brakes or disengaging mechanisms may be combined with the desktop electronic device, mobility assembly(s), or platform to resist or prevent movement of the desktop electronic device.

Desktop electronic devices, such as computers, computer monitors, keyboards, or multi-component units, have become necessary in places of employment and a convenience at home. The desktop electronic devices have made workforces around the world more efficient and productive. However, as desktop electronic devices have become an essential tool to office workers or deskworkers, premium desktop space has been sacrificed to support the desktop electronic devices.
A problem that has arisen due to the desktop electronic devices requiring desktop space is that the deskworker has difficulty finding available desktop space to perform traditional paperwork duties. To accommodate space for the desktop electronic devices and the traditional paperwork duties, businesses have had to resort to purchasing additional furniture for the deskworkers, including tables, desks, and chairs. The additional furniture is costly and, more important, requires additional office space for each deskworker.
Typically, the desktop electronic device resides directly on the desk, which is the most physically convenient location for the deskworker to use for operating the desktop electronic device. If the deskworker has a single desktop, then the deskworker has two alternatives to perform traditional paperwork duties: (i) either sit uncomfortably to perform paperwork duties around the desktop electronic device, or (ii) physically pick up or slide the desktop electronic device across the workspace to make usable space available. A deskworker who sits uncomfortably for long periods of time can expect physical ailments, and a deskworker who physically lifts or slides the desktop electronic device may eventually experience physical injury. Furthermore, sliding the desktop electronic device across the desktop on the base of the desktop electronic device can scratch or damage the desktop and/or damage the desktop electronic device.
Alternatively, businesses may purchase other mechanisms for the desktop electronic devices to be supported above the desktop. FIG. 1 shows a desktop electronic device 100 supported above a desk 110 by a swing arm 120. The swing arm 120 allows the desktop electronic device 100 to be moved out of the deskworker's way without lifting or sliding the device. The swing arm 120, however, is relatively bulky, heavy, and expensive for supporting the weight of the desktop electronic device 100. Less appealing is the requirement that the swing arm 120 be fixedly attached to the desk 10, potentially damaging or scratching the desk 110. Similar problems exist at a home of an individual who owns a desktop electronic device.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatus for providing desktop mobility for desktop electronic devices


The effective capacity of an instruction cache in a digital signal processor with a modified HARVARD architecture is enhanced by decoding a current instruction to be executed to determine whether it is a program memory data access (PMDA) instruction that requires a data transfer from the program memory when the next instruction is fetched from the program memory. If it is a PMDA instruction, the next instruction is loaded into a cache, which then provides the stored instruction each time the PMDA instruction reappears. This relieves a bottleneck resulting from a simultaneous call for both the next instruction, and datum for the current instruction, from the program memory. The cache is used only for an instruction following a PMDA instruction, and can thus have a substantially smaller capacity than previously.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to data processing apparatus and methods in which an instruction cache is used to store instructions within a central processor unit and thereby relieve the demand for instructions from an external program memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
A data processor with a conventional Von Neumann architecture is shown in FIG. 1. Both instructions and data are stored in an external memory 2 for delivery to a central processing unit (CPU) 4. Only a single instruction or datum can be supplied per cycle to the CPU 4. Instructions are directed within the CPU to an instruction latch 6 that feeds the instruction to a program sequencer 8, which in turn decodes the instruction and controls the operation of the CPU. Data that is read from the external memory 2 is directed within the CPU to a register file 10, which in turn supplies the data to computation units 12 such as adders, subtractors, multipliers and dividers. To perform an operation such as C=A+B, where A and B reside in the memory 2 and C will be stored in the register file 10, three cycles of the CPU are necessary to transfer the two data items and the one instruction. As the current instruction C=A+B is being performed, the next instruction to be performed is being read.
To speed up the operation of the processor by reducing the number of cycles required to execute an instruction, the basic Harvard architecture shown in FIG. 2 has been devised. In this arrangement two separate external memories are provided. A program memory 14, sometimes referred to as an instruction memory, stores only instructions, while a data memory 16 stores only data. The program memory 14 supplies one instruction per cycle to the instruction latch 6, while the data memory 16 supplies one datum per cycle to the register file 10. The performance of the C=A+B operation is speeded up by one cycle with this architecture, since an instruction fetch from the program memory 14 can be accomplished in the same cycle as a data fetch from data memory 16. For an arithmetic operation with only a single operand, such as C=log(A), only a single cycle is required; the single data fetch from the data memory 16 can be performed simultaneously with an instruction fetch from the program memory 14.
Because processors often consume two data per operation, it is desirable to have two separate data sources. A modified Harvard architecture that accomplishes this is shown in FIG. 3. In this design the program memory 18 stores both instructions and data. The operation C=A+B can now be performed in a single cycle if data can be read in from both the data memory 16 and the program memory 18 simultaneously. However, the instruction latch 6 still needs to receive the next instruction from the program memory 18 at the same time data for the current instruction is called for. This produces a bottleneck on the path between program memory 18 and the CPU, forcing the fetching of the next instruction and the data for the current instruction from the program memory to be performed in two separate cycles.
A known type of architecture that solves this problem by adding an instruction cache 20 internally within the CPU is shown in FIG. 4. Typical programs executed by the CPU spend most of their execution time in a few main routines or tight loops in which instructions are repeated many times. The instruction cache 20 stores each separate instruction the first time it is fetched from the program memory. Thereafter, when the same instruction is called for, it is supplied from the instruction cache 20 to the instruction latch 6 over a dedicated internal path within the CPU. This relieves the load on the external path between the CPU and the program memory. The type of architecture illustrated in FIG. 4 is used, for example, in the Analog Devices ADSP-2100, the Texas Instruments TMS320 and the Motorola MC68020 data processors.
While the instruction cache technique illustrated in FIG. 4 effectively relieves the communication line between the CPU and the external program memory and allows for faster operation, it requires storage capacity for all of the different instructions that can be anticipated, and thus must be relatively large and expensive.

Data processor apparatus and method with selective caching of instructions


A method for efficiently choosing optimal weights in a distributed manner may include optimizing weights in a predefined order while preventing or reducing the likelihood that interacting weights are concurrently optimized. In this manner, divergence and deadlock during optimization may be avoided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to efficiently optimizing multivariate functions created from large data sets and, more particularly, to systems and methods for efficiently optimizing very large logistic regression models used in a ranking function used to rank documents.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally speaking, search engines attempt to return hyperlinks to relevant web documents in which a user may be interested. Search engines may base their determination of the documents' relevancy on search terms (called a search query) entered by the user as well as additional non-query related features such as geographical location, language, etc. The goal of the search engine is to provide links to high quality, relevant results to the user based on the search query and additional information. Typically, the search engine accomplishes this by matching the terms in the search query to a corpus of pre-stored web documents. Web documents that contain the user's search terms are "hits" and are returned to the user. The search engine often ranks the documents using a ranking function based on the documents' perceived relevance to the user's search terms. Optimization techniques may be employed in determining this ranking function.
Efficiently optimizing models of large amounts of information however, such as data on the World Wide Web ("web"), is a challenging task. One requirement for such optimizations is that the resulting optimization converge rather that diverge. Unfortunately, it has been found that, for certain optimization tasks, variables to be optimized share some relationship or interaction with one or more additional variables. Accordingly, convergence of such tasks may only be guaranteed when the variables are optimized one at a time, so as to eliminate the possibility of divergence.
For very sparse problems, one can optimize non-interacting variables concurrently. However, this approach does not work well when the optimization is distributed. Additionally, naive implementations may optimize a small number of weights at once, controlled by a parameter. This approach can work for specific settings of the parameter controlling the number of rules. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to predict what value is right, and a future data may cause divergence. Additionally, because efficiency hinges on the parameter, it tends to be set as high as possible, making the system more likely to fail.


A socket, for holding a semiconductor package, comprises a housing receiving a plurality of contacts and defining a space, a plurality of actuators assembled to the housing around the space, a lid movably assembled to the housing, a plurality of push fingers and a plurality of springs urging the push fingers. When the lid moves downwardly, the actuators are actuated to open the space and let the semiconductor package locate in the space, synchronously, the push fingers are forced by the lid to slide away from the space; When the lid moves upwardly, the actuator rotates to close the space and press the semiconductor package, and then the push fingers move back toward the space to position the semiconductor package by restore forces of the springs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of electrical connector, and more specially to a socket for electrically interconnecting two electrical interfaces, such as a semiconductor package and a circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional connector comprises a housing defining a receiving space and receiving a plurality of terminals, a plurality of actuators assembled to the housing around the receiving space, and a cover movably assembled to the housing in a top-to-bottom direction. The actuator defines a close position and an open position to open/close the receiving space. When the cover moves downwardly, the actuators are brought to move from the close position to the open position, a semiconductor package is put in the receiving space from a top side, then the cover is released and moves upwardly to an initial position, the actuator returns to the close position and downwardly presses the semiconductor package to make the semiconductor package electrically contact with the terminals. However, the semiconductor package is not adjusted and positioned after being located in the receiving space, so the semiconductor package may not be accurately positioned with the terminals on the housing, which will influence the whole performance of the socket.
Accordingly, a new socket that solves the above problems is desirable.


An apparatus and method for executing a series of initialization calibration routines of a hard disk drive employing a small computer system interface, which is performed by calling and executing an initialization calibration routine having an address firstly designated among initialization calibration routines plurally divided if there is occurrence of a servo interrupt during execution of a main code, and continually executing the main code after designating next address to be called upon completion of execution of the called initialization calibration routine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an initialization routine of a hard disk drive, more particularly, to an apparatus and a process for sequentially executing initialization calibration routines divided whenever an interrupt occurs.
2. Description of the Related Art
For the past several decades, the progress of the computer technology has led the advancement of the modem communication industry as well as the rapid progress of software and VLSI technologies. According to this trend, the demand for auxiliary storage media of high speed performance and high capacity has increased, thus resulting in the advent of computer systems employing a small computer system interface (SCSI).
Generally, in a computer system one or more hard disk drives are connected to a SCSI controller. Each of hard disk drives (HDD) connected with the SCSI controller, writes data transmitted from a main controller on disks or reads data recorded on the disks and transmits it to the main controller under the control of the SCSI controller. The SCSI controller connected between the main controller and the HDDs controls the interfacing of input/output signals of the main controller and HDDs. The main controller supervises the overall operations of the host computer, and controls read/write operations of each HDD. Respective HDDs connected with the SCSI controller perform a series of initialization calibration routines whenever electric power is applied. The initialization calibration routines include the steps of driving a spindle motor to rotate the hard disk at full speeds; calibrating bias to all tracks of the disk; and measuring and calibrating a gain of each integrated circuit (such as a digital/analog converter, a voice coil motor driving IC, etc.) on the printed circuit board.
The above-described calibration routines are programmed to be executed in the initialization routine that is carried out every time power is applied to the drive in order to remove the non-linear characteristics that servo-control cannot compensate for. In a conventional hard disk drive employing a SCSI mechanism, there is problem in that it is impossible to respond a command input from an external system during execution of the calibration routines.
Particularly, in the conventional hard disk drive employing the SCSI mechanism, the initialization routine is executed upon applying electric power. A main code comprises an initialization routine embodying a series of calibration codes to be executed according to a code performance sequence. If an interrupt is attempted in response to a servo sector during the execution of the calibration code, the execution of the initialization routine of the main code (i.e. calibration code) can not be interrupted As a result, in the conventional hard disk drive employing the SCSI mechanism, there is problem in that it is impossible to respond to a command input from an external system when the calibration code is executed as one of the main code.
A method for initializing a drive and for periodically updating its calibration of an encoder and a head position servo is contemplated by U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,930 to William N. Thanos, et al., entitled Head Position Recalibration For Disk Drive; and a servo calibration method carried out during initialization is contemplated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,909 to David A. Brown, et al. entitled Data Transducer Position Control System For Rotating Disk Data Storage Equipment.

Method of executing an initialization and calibration routine of a hard disk drive


One exemplary docking station has a surface for receiving a portable computer, with a wall and a latch projecting from the receiving surface. The latch is movable towards and away from the wall, is resiliently biased towards the wall, and has an overhang that can engage a striker plate of a portable computer when the latch is moved towards the wall, so that the overhang restrains the striker plate against movement away from the receiving surface. The overhang can release the striker plate when the latch is moved away from the wall. A release actuator operable by a user engages the latch so that operation of the release actuator causes the latch to move away from the wall.

Battery powered portable computers, sometimes known as "notebook" or "laptop" computers, are usually designed to be substantially self-contained, so that they can be used wherever they and their user happen to be. However, in some instances a user may wish to attach external devices to the portable computer. For example, the portable computer may be connected to any or all of a CRT monitor, a mouse, a 104-key keyboard, a network adapter, and a power supply.
To make it easier to attach and remove these external devices, a "docking station" or "port replicator" may be provided. The external devices and the portable computer can be separately connected to and removed from the docking station. The docking station typically has one or more latches to hold the computer in position, and one or more connectors that, when the computer is latched in place, mate with a corresponding connector in the computer to provide connection paths through the docking station to the external devices.


Apparatus and method for controlling tension of one or more fiber tows preferably including a support frame having a spool holder, a motor for driving the spool holder, a dancer arm having a free end with a redirect roller mounted thereon and a fixed end pivotally mounted to coact with an angular-position sensor, a low-friction pneumatic cylinder mounted to the dancer arm and a support plate to exert a force thereon, a second redirect roller mounted to coact with a second angular-position sensor, and a controller and associated circuitry to control the tension of the fiber by controlling the motor in response to the position of the dancer arm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to the manufacture of composite structures. In particular, the present invention is related to computer-controlled fiber placement apparatus used to apply fiber tow to a laydown surface, usually about a rotating mandrel, to form a workpiece. More particularly, the present invention is especially suitable for, but not limited to, providing optimum fiber tow tension, controlling the velocity of the fiber tow, and precisely monitoring fiber travel as the fiber tow is despooled and ultimately applied to a laydown surface.
2. Background of Related Art
Fiber tow placement/winding machines typically place, or wind, a plurality of fibers, fiber tows, or filaments that have been impregnated with a thermosetting resin in a preselected pattern or weave, which is positioned upon a laydown surface mounted on a rotating mandrel. The laydown surface or workpiece may be cylindrical or, more likely than not, of an irregular shape. Regardless of the geometry the final workpiece is to have, it is generally imperative that the dimensions, contours, and overall structural quality of the workpiece meet or exceed very strict manufacturing and integrity requirements.
Most fiber tow placement/winding machines have a plurality of spools containing fibers or tows in which the fiber is de-spooled in order for it to be precisely positioned about the workpiece by a computer-controlled head located on a robotic arm. It is important that each fiber, of which there can be 32 or more individual spools of fiber, as it is being de-spooled and positioned simultaneously by the head, be wound about the workpiece at a preselected tension which is optimum for the particular fibers being used and the geometry of the particular laydown surface or workpiece being constructed. Such tensions can typically range from 0.25 pounds of force to approximately 1.0 pounds of force. Therefore, there is a long-standing need in the composite manufacturing industry to precisely control fiber tension as much as possible, or at least maintain the tension of the fiber within an acceptable range, as the fiber is being de-spooled from its individual spool and subsequently positioned about the workpiece.
Additionally, the tensioning system may be called upon to hold the fiber in a stand- by or stationary mode should that particular fiber not be needed on a given portion of the workpiece. Fiber tensioning systems are also called upon to take up any slack in the fiber slowly when tension is first applied to the fiber by the tensioning system so as not to unduly stress or break the fiber. Furthermore, fiber tensioning systems ideally detect malfunctions in the delivery of fiber, report them to a master computer or controller, and, if deemed appropriate, release the tension on the fiber. Preferably, fiber tensioning systems should be able to monitor fiber usage and detect a nearly empty spool condition and report such information to a master controller whereupon the operator can replace the nearly empty spool with a minimum of disruption. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there is a need within the industry for a fiber tensioning system that not only properly and precisely maintains the tension of a multitude of fibers within a narrow range of force in an economical manner but also reliably performs a variety of monitoring, reporting, and fault-detection tasks as well.
Fiber tensioning systems, including those used in computerized fiber placement/winding machines, often use a plurality of pulleys, or redirect rollers, mounted on a support structure which guides and supports the fiber as it is being de-spooled, or paid out, as it travels toward the computer-controlled head along a preselected path. Typically, the spool of fiber is mounted on a spool holder which is driven by a processor- controlled electric motor.
A fiber tension system incorporated within a fiber placement machine is disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,072xe2x80x94Brockman et al., which is incorporated herein. The Brockman et al. ""072 patent depicts a load cell being mounted to a redirect roller to sense the tension of the fiber, which in connection with a CNC controller system and a local microprocessor then controls the torque being imparted upon the spool by a drive motor. Furthermore, the CNC controller system and local processor uses position and velocity feedback information from the drive motor and incorporates a velocity loop as well as a force loop.
With respect to using pulleys, or redirect rollers, to manipulate fiber path in order to maintain a preselected tension, an article published in the August 1997 issue of PCIM magazine beginning on page 90, which is incorporated herein, describes a tension control system used in the manufacturing of nano-technology fiber sensors for the biotechnology industry. The described system includes the use of a dancer arm having a redirect roller at a free end of the arm and a low friction air cylinder attached at a midpoint along the arm. The computer-controlled, closed-loop feedback system allows fiber tension to be maintained by making automatic adjustments to an electric pressure regulator to increase or decrease the pressure being supplied to the cylinder in order to reposition the arm, thereby changing fiber tension during the manufacturing process thereof.
An objective of the present invention includes providing an accurate, reliable, and low-cost fiber tow tensioning system. Another objective is to reduce if not eliminate time-consuming calibration requirements and to provide a tensioning system suitable for use not only in any fiber placement machine but for use in any machine or process where tension and control of a fibrous element is required. It is a yet further objective to provide a fiber tension system that neither measures force, including electrically controlled force, nor requires analog sensors and associated circuitry which are subject to drift. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a fiber tension system which eliminates the need to control fiber spool holder torque, thereby allowing the use of inexpensive stepper motors to drive the fiber spool holder. Another objective is to provide a fiber tensioning system which detects a broken tow or other malfunction and reports such to a main controller and, if deemed appropriate, ceases tensioning. An additional objective is to provide a fiber tensioning system that takes up fiber slack slowly when tension is first applied, detects a nearly empty spool, determines fiber usage, as well as monitors fiber speed. These and other objectives and benefits of the present invention will become apparent upon reviewing the present specification in its entirety.
The present invention provides an apparatus and method for controlling tension of one or more fiber tows and preferably comprises a support frame having a spool holder, a motor for driving the spool holder, a dancer arm having a free end with a redirect roller mounted thereon and a fixed end pivotally mounted to coact with an angular-position sensor, a low-friction pneumatic cylinder mounted to the dancer arm and the support frame, a second redirect roller mounted to coact with a second angular-position sensor, a controller and associated circuitry to control the position-controlled tensioner system.
Preferably, a microcontroller mounted on a single printed circuit board (PCB) having signal buffering circuitry to control four individual tensioners is provided. The PCB preferably plugs into a STD-style backplane which allows communication between several microcontrollers, thereby allowing the control of at least 32 individual tensioners. Communication between a fiber placement machine main, or master, controller and each tensioner controller is also provided. Preferably, the motors driving the spool holders are stepper motors driven by respective stepper drivers. The microcontroller controls the stepper motor so as to feed or not feed fiber in order to maintain the dancer arm in a preselected position, usually its center position. The air cylinder mounted to each dancer arm is connected to a common pneumatic pressure regulator so that all tensioners in the same orientation receive the same pneumatic pressure. The tension on each fiber is thus controlled by monitoring its respective dancer arm""s position, as being sensed by the angular-position sensor co-located with the dancer arm at its pivot point and accordingly activating the stepper motor to cause the fiber to allow the dancer arm to return to its neutral position. Additionally, forces due to gravity and the pneumatic cylinder acting upon the dancer arm and hence the fiber tow contribute to maintaining fiber tension as well. The second angular-position sensor coacting with its respective redirect roller provides fiber speed information, thereby allowing better control of the dancer arm position, and estimation of current spool diameter to better track fiber usage and to detect any irregularities or malfunctions of fiber travel.
Because each microcontroller preferably controls four tensioners, each micro controller is directly aware of both adjacent neighboring tensioners with respect to the other pair of tensioners within its direct control. Furthermore, the PCB""s and the backplane are designed to allow the fiber speeds of the other tensioner""s neighbors to be readily available to the main fiber placement machine controller should the detection of a broken tow fiber occur in any one of the tensioners. Additionally, the control logic detects if a fiber fails to de-spool and will automatically deactivate the respective stepper motor and monitor fiber travel thereafter. Thereafter, the control logic will then cause the stepper motor to slowly reinitiate tensioning if the detected problem appears to have cleared itself. An optional clutch, which is automatically engaged upon the stepper motor being activated and which automatically disengages when the stepper motor is deactivated, may be provided. Thus, the optional clutch provides a mechanism in which to selectively couple and decouple the spool holder from the stepper motor drive train and assists in further reducing fiber tension upon the controller sensing a de-spooling problem.

Abstract: Preferably, a microcontroller mounted on a single printed circuit board (PCB) having signal buffering circuitry to control a plurality of individual tensioners is provided. The PCB preferably plugs into a backplane which allows communication between several microcontrollers, thereby allowing the control of at least 32 individual tensioners. Communication between a fiber placement machine main, or master, controller and each tensioner controller is also provided. The second angular position sensor coacting with its respective redirect roller provides fiber speed, allowing better control of the dancer position, estimation of current spool diameter to better track fiber usage, and to detect any malfunctions in fiber travel.


Embodiments of this application provide an information indication method, a device, and a system, to reduce pilot overheads caused by a reference signal. The method includes: determining, by a base station, that a port used to transmit a first reference signal and a port used to transmit a second reference signal are multiplexed; sending, by the base station, the first reference signal and/or the second reference signal on a multiplexed port; and generating, by the base station, information indicating multiplexing of the port, and sending the information indicating multiplexing.

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard organization is currently formulating a next generation mobile communications system (next generation system) that is referred to as a 5th Generation (5G) mobile communications system.
In the 5G mobile communications system that is currently being formulated, to fully use spectrum resources, major corporations have reached consensus on supporting both low frequencies (frequencies less than 6 GHz) and high frequencies (frequencies greater than 6 GHz). Moreover, to improve spectral efficiency and cell coverage, a quantity of used antenna units also increases, and even may be 1024 at a high frequency. In addition, to support a larger quantity of layers in Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) multiplexing, a quantity of ports used to transmit a reference signal also increases accordingly. For example, in the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) 1 #86 meeting, major corporations have reached consensus on further researching Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) measurement supporting 32 or more ports and supporting at least eight Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) ports whose time-frequency locations are orthogonal to a time-frequency location of a CSI-RS port.
However, as a quantity of ports for a reference signal increases, pilot overheads caused by the reference signal also increase accordingly, and likely become a key factor that finally affects system performance. Therefore, how to reduce the pilot overheads caused by the reference signal becomes an urgent problem that currently needs to be resolved.

Information indication method, device, and system


Systems and methods for edge exclusion control are described. One of the systems includes a plasma chamber. The plasma processing chamber includes a lower electrode having a surface for supporting a substrate. The lower electrode is coupled with a radio frequency (RF) power supply. The plasma processing chamber further includes an upper electrode disposed over the lower electrode. The upper electrode is electrically grounded. The plasma processing chamber includes an upper dielectric ring surrounding the upper electrode. The upper dielectric ring is moved using a mechanism for setting a vertical position of the upper dielectric ring separate from a position of the upper electrode. The system further includes an upper electrode extension surrounding the upper dielectric ring. The upper electrode extension is electrically grounded. The system also includes a lower electrode extension surrounding the lower dielectric ring. The lower electrode extension is arranged opposite the upper electrode extension.

1. Field of the Invention
The present embodiments relate to wafer processing apparatus, and more particularly, apparatus, methods, and computer programs for edge exclusion control with adjustable plasma exclusion zone ring.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacturing of integrated circuits includes immersing silicon substrates (wafers) containing regions of doped silicon in chemically-reactive plasmas, where the submicron device features (e.g., transistors, capacitors, etc.) are etched onto the surface. Once the first layer is manufactured, several insulating (dielectric) layers are built on top of the first layer, where holes, also referred to as vias, and trenches are etched into the material for placement of the conducting interconnectors. The chemically-reactive plasmas are created in a plasma chamber. This is an illustration of use of etching. Etching may be used to clean the substrate or remove residues from a surface of the substrate.
As an amount of etching changes, hardware of the plasma chamber is changed. Such change in hardware results in an increase in cost and effort used to etch a substrate.
It is in this context that embodiments of the invention arise.

Edge exclusion control with adjustable plasma exclusion zone ring


In a color display tube a shadow mask skirt is welded to a frame at least near the ends of two oppositely located sides of the frame, and engages the ends of the other two sides of the frame in a fractional manner.

The invention relates to a colour display tube comprising a substantially rectangular display window having an upright edge, a substantially rectangular shadow mask comprising a large number of apertures and a skirt, a substantially rectangular supporting frame to which the skirt of the shadow mask is connected, and suspension means for suspending the supporting frame in the corners of the upright edge.
A colour display tube comprising a shadow mask connected to a supporting frame is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,098. The shadow mask described in said specification is connected to the supporting frame by means of twelve welds. Each side of the shadow mask is connected to the supporting frame by means of three welds, one weld being situated substantially in the centre of the side and the other two welds being situated near the corner of the side at a distance from the centre which is two thirds of the distance between the centre and the corner of the side. Furthermore the supporting frame is suspended in the upright edge of the display window by means of suspension means. Via said suspension means vibrations of the display window can be transmitted to the supporting frame. However, the operation of the colour display tube is adversely influenced by said vibrations of the shadow mask. It has been found in practice that the operation in particular of a colour display tube of which the supporting frame is connected in the corners of the upright edge of the display window is adversely influenced.
It is the object of the invention to provide a colour display tube having an improved operation by damping the detrimental vibrations of the shadow mask.

Color display tube with vibration damping in a supporting frame connected to a shadow mask


A cutter assembly has an adapter, an outer collar, a recoil spring, a head, a pushing assembly and a central drill. The adapter has an L-shaped guiding slot and multiple balls. The outer collar is slidably and rotatably mounted around the adapter and has an annular protrusion and a positioning rod. The annular protrusion selectively abuts against the balls. The positioning rod is mounted on the outer collar and extends slidably into the guiding slot. The head is mounted detachably on the adapter and has a saw and an inserting rod. The inserting rod is inserted into the adapter and has an annular engaging groove. The annular engaging groove is formed around the inserting rod at a position corresponding to the balls to selectively hold the balls in the engaging groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cutter assembly, and more particularly to a cutter assembly that can be replaced with a new head quickly in a safe way.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIG. 8, a cylindrical cutter is used to drill a through hole in a material such as a metal plate when the diameter of the hole required is too great for the available drill bits. A conventional cylindrical cutter 90 comprises a cylindrical adapter 91 and a central drill 94. The adapter 91 has a connecting rod 93 and a head 92 formed respectively on two ends of the adapter 91. The connecting rod 93 is connected to and has three clamped surfaces formed on the connecting rod to be clamped by a clamping device of a rotating machine such as an electric drill. Accordingly, the cylindrical cutter is actuated and rotated by the rotating machine. A cylindrical saw 921 is integrally formed around the bottom of the head 92 to drill a through hole in a material such as a metal plate. The central drill 94 is detachably mounted in the bottom of the adapter 91 and extends out from the saw 921.
However, because the saw 921 is integrally formed on the head 92 of the adapter 91, another cutter assembly with a saw having a different diameter is needed when a through hole with a different diameter is to be cut which involves excessive stocks if a user is to be prepared for different work pieces. To detach the cutter assembly from the rotating machine, the clamping device has to be released with tools. When a new cutter assembly is attached to and clamped by the clamping device, the clamping device has to be locked with tools. Therefore, to replace the conventional cutter assembly with a new one takes time and is laborious.
Furthermore, during the process of replacing the conventional cutter assembly, tools, the detached cutter assembly and the new cutter assembly have to be held by the user such that these components easily fall off from the user to cause injury to the user.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a cutter assembly to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A telecommunications system includes a first device having a plurality of interfaces, with each interface having a unique MAC address, the first device using the MAC addresses for forwarding frames. The system includes at least one bridge in communication with the first device. The system includes a second device in communication with the first device through the bridge having a plurality of interfaces with each interface having a unique MAC address, the first device forwarding frames to a first interface of the plurality of interfaces of the second device using the unique MAC address of the first interface of the second device. A method for communicating.

Current technology solutions include 802.1Q (VLAN), IEEE 802.1ah (Provider Back-Bone Bridging) and 802.1D bridging.
These base solutions are notorious for making inefficient use of available links—because of the use of one (or more) variations of STP (Spanning Tree Protocol), which effectively blocks ports (and corresponding links)—making them unusable.
Proposals discussed to date to provide a means of making better use of redundant links include:                MSTP: MSTP makes use of VLAN grouping to derive distinct spanning trees—where one or more VLANs are associated with each spanning tree, ports are "blocked" on a VLAN group basis, and the choice of links that make up a VLAN group spanning tree are pseudo-randomized in an attempt to equalize the distribution of VLAN traffic across links. One problem with this approach is that MSTP does not currently define a means to weight the assignment of VLANs to a group, or the overlap of VLAN groups and all redundant-link choices, on the basis of either expected or observed traffic on each VLAN—consequently, the service quality received by network users is typically influenced by incidental factors used in random selection rather than the service quality they appear to expect.        802.1ah: 802.1ah is an IEEE proposal, for use by service providers, using MAC-in-MAC tunneling for the delivery of traffic on a provider-edge to provider-edge basis. Limitations of this approach include the fact that 802.1ah does not define or describe mechanisms for how the MAC-in-MAC tunnels are defined and configured and—consequently—how distribution of traffic is established and maintained.        PBT: PBT (Provider Backbone Transport) is a Nortel proposal that extends 802.1ah by providing 1) a means and basis for establishing 802.1ah tunnels and 2) methods for establishing and maintaining tunnels to accommodate specific service quality needs. Issues with this approach include the fact that control and forwarding across infrastructure bridges requires all such bridges to support the mechanism.        GELS: GELS (GMPLS [Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching] controlled Ethernet Label Switching) is a proposal (brought to the IETF from several sources). It suggests using a GMPLS control-plane to establish the equivalent of the combination of multiple spanning trees and local 802.1Q-like filtering databases. The essential mechanisms discussed to date would use signaling to program forwarding entries at each GELS-compliant GMPLS-controlled Ethernet switch, where both the VLAN tag and the destination MAC are used as keys (in signaling and in forwarding) for creating/finding each forwarding entry. The most important issue with GELS is that it is largely undefined at this point—including, in particular, how the collection of paths is determined prior to signaling (whether by central or distributed computation) and how such a determination impacts provisioning of service quality. A secondary issue is that—at present—it appears that all Ethernet forwarding devices within an Ethernet forwarding domain must be GELS-compliant.        TRILL: TRILL (Transparent Interconnect over Lots of Links) is an IETF proposal that combines 802.1D—as well as 802.1Q—and either IS-IS, or OSPF, routing to determine optimal forwarding paths (independent of any variation of STP) using SPF (Shortest Path First) routing mechanisms. The key objective of this effort is to define a scalable—SPF based—Ethernet forwarding approach for use in large enterprises. Current proposals in this effort focus on minimal configuration, use of Ethernet+SHIM in Ethernet encapsulation, and forwarding optimization based on link utilization, VLAN and (largely IP[Internet Protocol]-specific) Multicast Group forwarding. As this effort is currently targeted for Enterprise use, proposals do not include (but also do not preclude) use of a signaling or negotiation process to determine path selection on a basis other than SPF routing.
As stated above, MSTP can easily result in (possibly pathologically) inequitable distribution of Ethernet traffic.
802.1ah addresses a broader problem space, allowing—but not proposing—a specific solution to the problem of traffic distribution and service quality.
Both PBT and GELS claim to provide a potential solution to the bandwidth distribution problem—through the use of signaling—but require ubiquitous deployment of the specific solution chosen.
TRILL offers a solution that provides path usage optimization and may be used in an incremental replacement/deployment strategy for large enterprises—but does not directly allow for modification of assignment of traffic to links on the basis of service quality expectations.
As part of the background, 802.1ah is derived from (and includes) 802.1Q—as 802.1Q is derived from (and includes) 802.1D. PBT is an extension, or proposed extension, to 802.1ah. GELS is a related—but different—proposal with respect to 802.1Q and may or may not include 802.1ah as it continues to develop in the IETF. TRILL is intended to extend 802.1Q, in combination with IS-IS.

MAC (media access control) tunneling and control and method


An energy consumption meter having a variable phase error compensator. While the variable phase error compensator may provide fixed phase error compensation for fixed phase error(s), it may also provide variable compensation for varying phase error(s) introduced by one or more parameters. Varying phase error(s) may be introduced, for example, by fluctuations in the frequency of an alternating current supply. Such varying phase errors may be corrected by monitoring one or more sources of varying phase error(s), calculating one or more appropriate corrections, and correcting one or more sampled parameters involved in determining energy consumption. This avoids erroneous energy consumption metering due to varying phase errors.

A key component of an electronic electricity meter is a current transformer that is used as a current sensor. Typical current transformers for this purpose have a core of a magnetic material, a primary conductor axially led through a central hole of the core and constituting a current loop, and a secondary winding galvanically insulated from the primary conductor, the ratio between the primary and secondary being on the order of several thousands. The secondary voltage developed at the terminals of the secondary windings is representative of the primary current, and thus of the electric power consumed. A measurement of an electric energy consumption is obtained by repeatedly sampling this voltage and the mains voltage, multiplying the voltage pairs with each other and with the sampling period and accumulating the multiplication products.
Due to magnetic saturation effects of conventional core materials, current transformers exhibit significant amplitude errors when the current through the primary conductor has a DC component Recently, current transformers have been proposed that tolerate a DC component in the primary current by not producing significant amplitude errors. These current transformers are referred to as DC tolerant current transformers.
DC tolerant current transformers, however, suffer from the problem that they have an inherent phase angle error. This phase angle error causes large measurement errors for phase angles of the load different from zero. For example, when the phase angle error at the nominal mains frequency of 50 Hz is +4.0° and the phase angle of the load is 60.0°, the measurement error amounts to +11.8%. A measurement error of this magnitude is not acceptable. It has been proposed to correct the measurement error with a simple RC combination in the path of the analog voltage signal upstream from the A/D converter. This approach is successful for a constant mains frequency, but ignores the fact that the actual mains frequency may well deviate from the nominal mains frequency.

Electric energy meter for an AC mains supply