RF switching circuitry includes an RF switch coupled between an input node and an output node. Distortion compensation circuitry is coupled in parallel with the RF switch between the input node and the output node. The RF switch is configured to selectively pass an RF signal from the input node to the output node based on a first switching control signal. The distortion compensation circuitry is configured to boost a portion of the RF signal that is being compressed by the RF switch when the amplitude of the RF signal is above a predetermined threshold by selectively injecting current into one of the input node or the output node. Boosting a portion of the RF signal that is being compressed by the RF switch allows a signal passing through the RF switch to remain substantially linear, thereby improving the performance of the RF switching circuitry.

Modern mobile devices continue to demand increasing rates of data exchange. One way to increase the rate of data exchange of a mobile device is by simultaneously transmitting and receiving radio frequency (RF) signals from a single antenna in the mobile device. Although effective at increasing the rate of data exchange that the mobile device is capable of achieving, the simultaneous use of a single antenna for transmitting and receiving signals can result in interference between transmit and receive circuitry in the front end of the mobile device. The interference between the transmit and receive circuitry may be especially problematic for certain combinations of transmit and receive frequencies, such that the mobile device may become unusable in these frequency combinations.
FIG. 1 shows exemplary mobile device front end circuitry 10 for transmitting and receiving RF signals from an antenna 12. The mobile device front end circuitry 10 includes a plurality of low band ports 14, a plurality of high band ports 16, a low band duplexer 18, a high band duplexer 20, low band switching circuitry 22, high band switching circuitry 24, a diplexer 26, and antenna tuning circuitry 28. The plurality of low band ports 14 are coupled to the low band switching circuitry 22 through the low band duplexer 18. Similarly, the plurality of high band ports 16 are coupled to the high band switching circuitry 24 through the high band duplexer 20. Both the low band switching circuitry 22 and the high band switching circuitry 24 are coupled to the diplexer 26, which is in turn coupled to the antenna 12 through the antenna tuning circuitry 28.
In a receive mode of operation, an RF signal is received at the antenna 12, which is passed through the antenna tuning circuitry 28 to the diplexer 26, where it is separated into a low band signal component and a high band signal component. The low band signal component is delivered to the low band switching circuitry 22, where it is then delivered to an appropriate one of the plurality of low band ports 14 through the low band duplexer 18 so that it may be further processed by low band receive circuitry (not shown). The high band signal component is delivered to the high band switching circuitry 24, where it is then delivered to an appropriate one of the plurality of high band ports 16 through the high band duplexer 20 so that it may be further processed by high band receive circuitry (not shown).
In a transmit mode of operation, a transmit signal is provided to an appropriate one of the plurality of low band ports 14 or an appropriate one of the plurality of high band ports 16 from transmit circuitry (not shown). The transmit signal is passed through either the low band switching circuitry 22 or the high band switching circuitry 24 to the diplexer 26, where it is subsequently delivered to the antenna 12 through the antenna tuning circuitry 28. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the antenna tuning circuitry 28 may include one or more RF switching elements for connecting various components to the antenna 12 in order to alter the impedance presented to the antenna 12. The RF switching elements in the antenna tuning circuitry 28 may be nonlinear, and therefore may generate harmonics of signals passed between the antenna 12 and the diplexer 26.
In certain combinations of transmit and receive frequencies, harmonic components of a transmit signal may fall within the signal band of a receive signal. This may lead to harmonic distortion generated from the transmit signal flowing back through the diplexer 26 and into the receive circuitry. Because the transmit signal is generally a much higher amplitude signal than the receive circuitry is designed to handle, the harmonic distortion may overpower and desensitize the receive circuitry, thereby impeding the performance of the mobile device front end circuitry 10 or rendering it unusable altogether. For example, when transmitting in Band 17 (704-716 MHz), the third harmonic of the transmit signal falls within a Band 4 receive signal (2110-2155 MHz). Accordingly, distortion about the third harmonic of Band 17 generated due to the RF switching components in the antenna tuning circuitry 28 will travel back through the diplexer 26 and into the Band 4 receive circuitry, causing desensitization of the receive circuitry and degrading the performance of the mobile device front end circuitry 10.
FIGS. 2A-2F show conventional RF switching circuitry 30 that may be used in the antenna tuning circuitry 28 of FIG. 1 in a variety of configurations. FIG. 2A shows conventional RF switching circuitry 30 including a plurality of RF switching elements M_RF and adapted to operate in a series configuration, wherein a signal presented at an input node 32 is selectively passed to an output node 34 based on a control signal delivered to a control port 36. FIG. 2B shows conventional RF switching circuitry 30 adapted to operate in a series configuration, wherein the series equivalent of a first tuning capacitor C_TN1 and a second tuning capacitor C_TN2 is selectively presented between an input node 32 and an output node 34 based on a control signal delivered to a control port 36. FIG. 2C shows conventional RF switching circuitry 30 adapted to operate in a series configuration, wherein the series equivalent of a first tuning inductor L— TN1 and a second tuning inductor L_TN2 is selectively presented between an input node 32 and an output node 34 based on a control signal delivered to a control port 36. FIG. 2D shows conventional RF switching circuitry 30 adapted to operate in a shunt configuration, wherein a signal presented at an input node 32 is selectively shorted to ground. FIG. 2E shows conventional RF switching circuitry 30 including a tuning capacitor C_TN and adapted to operate in a shunt configuration, wherein a signal presented at an input node 32 is selectively shorted to ground through the tuning capacitor C_TN. FIG. 2F shows conventional RF switching circuitry 30 including a tuning inductor L_TN and adapted to operate in a shunt configuration, wherein a signal presented at an input node 32 is selectively shorted to ground through the tuning inductor L_TN. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the antenna tuning circuitry 28 may contain RF switching circuitry 30 in any of the previously mentioned configurations in order to alter the impedance presented to the antenna 12.
As discussed above, while the RF switching circuitry 30 may allow tuning of the impedance presented to the antenna 12 in order to increase the efficiency of the mobile device front end circuitry 10, each one of the RF switching elements M_RF may generate harmonic distortion about a passing signal. The generated harmonic distortion may cause interference between transmit and receive circuitry in the mobile device front end circuitry 10, thereby degrading the performance of the circuitry.
Accordingly, there is a need for RF switching circuitry that is capable of passing RF signals while simultaneously reducing or eliminating the generation of harmonic distortion.

Technique to reduce the third harmonic of an on-state RF switch


There is disclosed a closure comprised of a valve, a base unit and an upper unit. The base unit has a base surface with a peripheral skirt. The base surface has an aperture with a cylindrical section extending above and below the base surface. The cylindrical section has an aperture therethrough. The upper unit has an upper surface and an aperture adapted to align with the aperture of the cylindrical section of said base unit. The upper unit has a lid to cover the apertures in the base unit cylindrical section and the upper unit. A lid inner top surface has two projecting seals, one to maintain the valve closed when the lid is closed and the other to provide a seal when the lid is closed. and a latch mechanism attaches the base unit to the upper unit. A preferred latch mechanism comprises a projection and an interfitting recess, one being on the base section and the other on the upper section. The lid top surface preferably has an essential horizontal top surface. In a preferred embodiment the valve is a polymeric valve located in the aperture between the base unit and the upper unit and held in place by contact with both the base unit and the upper unit. The rheology of the product in the container and the characteristics of the valve are coordinated so that the product will be fully contained by the valve regardless of the orientation of the container, including being inverted.

Essentially all containers will have a closure of some type. This can be a cap, a dispensing pump, a dispensing cap, or a cap with an integral valve. This is the case whether the container is a bottle or a tube. The closure can be permanently or removably attached to the container. Some will merely flow the product from a container and others will control the flow from a container. The closures, and the container to be used with a closure, will depend to a large extent on the product that is in the container.
The closure must protect the product prior to and during use. It must prevent components of the product from escaping from the container and prevent external substances from entering the container, prior, during and after use. It also must be easy to use, and if a dispensing closure, must dispense accurate amounts of product and be neat during extended use. There must not be an accumulation of product at the closure exit. Further the closure must be decorative and should be useful with liquid and viscous products. In addition it should provide the option of storing the container during use in various orientations, such as on the closure.
Some of these problems have been addressed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,033 which includes a valve to control the flow from a container. The closure is of a single unit structure with the valve being maintained in place using a retaining ring structure. This decreases the decorative options that can be accomplished with at least two units. In addition, the valve structure would need to be modified to a different shape to be effective for dispensing more viscous products. This valve structure is suited for dispensing liquids such as liquid soaps, shampoos and lotions but not for dispensing more viscous products. U.S. Pat. No. 6,672,487 discloses a related closure with a valve structure similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,033. The valve in this patent is captured and locked into place by a bead structure in the closure base and the closure collar. Although there is disclosed a two unit structure the closure collar is a relatively small unit and would not provide a sufficient opportunity to further decorate the product package. Further the structure of this valve would have to be modified for dispensing viscous products. It is designed to dispense less viscous products such as beverages, food condiments and body lotions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,655 discloses valves that are useful for dispensing various products. The disclosures are directed primarily to valve structures and not to any specific container or closure structure. The products that can be dispensed using the disclosed valves range from liquid products to viscous products such as toothpastes. U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,063 also discloses a variety of valves that could be engineered to be useful in dispensing various products. However these patents do not disclose a closure structure that can have enhanced decorative features nor any solutions with regard to protecting the contents of the container from a loss of components or contamination from an exterior source during storage
The present closures solve these problems and can be used on a range of containers, including tube containers. These closures provide for an ease of use and in a preferred embodiment include a valve designed for better control of the product being dispensed and a valve seal design for enhanced protection of the product prior to and during use. It further minimizes any build-up of product at the closure exit when used with viscous products. Additionally the closure structure is susceptible to enhanced decoration and the outer top surface of the closure can be planar so that the container can be stored inverted and in a ready mode for the next use.


A mobile interactive presentation and collaboration system having a projector carriage is positioned rearward of a screen assembly such that a projector positioned on the projector carriage operates as a counterweight balancing the screen assembly to prevent die screen assembly from tipping forward. The projector carriage is positioned at the base of the screen assembly to lower the center of gravity of the system to further improve the stability of tire system.

Interactive computer based presentation and collaboration system have recently seen increased use. These collaboration systems often comprise a large interactive display that permits multiple users to simultaneously view and interact with the display. However, due to the high cost and substantial inconvenience of installing these systems, it is often highly desirable that the systems be mobile to allow a single system to be moved between multiple locations such as multiple conference rooms. Similarly, certain meeting spaces may not be suited for permanent installation of the systems or intended for only as a one-time meeting space.
An approach to making these systems mobile is pairing a short throw projector with a conventional whiteboard mounted a wheeled cart. Typically, the projector is a separate system that is positioned a distance from the cart and aimed at the white board. A drawback of this approach is that users often walk in front of the projector or standing at the white board blocking or partially obscuring the projected image. Alternatively, the projector is suspended from an arm extending from the top of the projector. The extreme angle of the projector reduces the likelihood that a user will be positioned to block the image. However, an inherent drawback of this system is that the top mounted arm with the extended projector can make the system is top-heavy and prone to tipping. Similarly, the front wheels of the cart must project substantially in front the white board to prevent the whiteboard from tipping forward. In particular, the top arm used to suspend a front projector in front of the screen shifts the center of mass of the system forward creating an even greater risk of the screen tipping forward. This arrangement can make accessing the whiteboard difficult or create a tripping hazard as users often move in front of the whiteboard during a presentation or collaboration.
A similar drawback is that a direct projection of the image onto the front of a whiteboard often produces an inferior quality image. For example, any residue left from writing on whiteboard with dry erase markers can degrade or obscure the projected image. Similarly, whiteboard materials are prone to warping, which can further distort the projected image.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mobile interactive presentation and collaboration system that addresses the drawbacks of presently available system.

Mobile interactive presentation and collaboration system


A container for storing, securing and transporting articles. The container comprises a plurality of members having predetermined lengths. A plurality of connectors interconnect the members to space apart and arrange the members generally vertically and horizontally to form a boxlike shape. A selectably securable closure is hingedly coupled to a first sidewall of the container. A pair of wheels are attached to a first edge of a bottom of the container, and a pair of legs attached to a second, opposing edge of the bottom of the container. The container may be stored in either a generally vertical orientation or a generally horizontal orientation. The container may also be pivoted about the wheels to transport the container. In addition, the container may be stacked with other containers when in the horizontal orientation.

Voting for candidates for public office in the United States is largely carried out by use of portable voting machines of various types, including mechanical, optical and electronic machines. The machines are kept in a storage location until needed, then transported to various polling places within a voting district shortly before election day. Many of the voting machines available in the art are adapted to fit into a transport case, such as a suitcase-sized container or a protective, wheeled chassis. Some voting machines have even been integrated directly into collapsible polling booths.
Although the cases for voting machines fulfill their intended function of protecting a voting machine and its ancillary components, a problem arises with storing a plurality of voting machines. Election officials are faced with the task of collecting the voting machines and organizing them in a logical fashion to ensure that they are all accounted for while in storage. Inevitably, some voting machines are temporarily misplaced or are lost altogether. Officials must also ensure that the machines are not stolen or tampered with, as such activities may call into question the validity of the polling results.
An additional problem arises when the voting machines are taken out of storage and distributed to the various polling places. The machines are often taken to public locations, such as libraries and schools, prior to election day so that the machines are readily available to the election workers responsible for setting up the polling stations. This necessitates that election officials rely on the facilities of the polling place to store and secure the voting machines prior to being set up. Consequently, the voting machines may be stored in a relatively unsecured location, such as an office or storage room, leaving them susceptible to theft and tampering.
Transporting voting machines from the storage location to the various polling places is also problematic, as the machines must be individually loaded, transported and unloaded, requiring a significant amount of labor. There is also a risk that some of the cases will be inadvertently lost or delivered to the wrong polling place, hampering the voting process by leaving some polling places with fewer voting booths than are needed. There is a need for a more efficient and effective way to store, secure and transport voting machines.

Container for storing, securing and transporting articles


A method and system of selecting and migrating relevant data from among data associated with a workload of a virtual machine and stored in source storage cache memory in a dynamic computing environment is described. The method includes selecting one or more policies, the one or more policies including a size policy defining a default maximum size for the relevant data. The method also includes selecting the relevant data from among the data based on the one or more policies in a default mode, and migrating the relevant data from the source storage cache memory to target storage cache memory.

The present invention relates to management of virtualized workloads, and more specifically, to cache mobility. In a dynamic computing environment (e.g., cloud computing environment), applications being executed may be implemented on resources that are not co-located or may be moved from one physical system to another. For example, when a customer of a cloud computing environment executes an application, the application may be implemented on one cloud resource that accesses information from a database stored on a different cloud resource that is separated by several ethernet switches. As another example, unbeknownst to a cloud customer, an application being executed on one cloud resource may be moved to another (physical) cloud resource for any number of reasons. The reasons may include a crash, upgrade, maintenance, or management decision (e.g., consolidating several users onto one resource rather than spreading them out to increase power usage efficiency).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Technologies for quality of service based throttling in a fabric architecture include a network node of a plurality of network nodes interconnected across the fabric architecture via an interconnect fabric. The network node includes a host fabric interface (HFI) configured to facilitate the transmission of data to/from the network node, monitor quality of service levels of resources of the network node used to process and transmit the data, and detect a throttling condition based on a result of the monitored quality of service levels. The HFI is further configured to generate and transmit a throttling message to one or more of the interconnected network nodes in response to having detected a throttling condition. The HFI is additionally configured to receive a throttling message from another of the network nodes and perform a throttling action on one or more of the resources based on the received throttling message. Other embodiments are described herein.

Demands by individuals, researchers, and enterprises for increased compute performance and storage capacity of computing devices have resulted in various computing technologies developed to address those demands. For example, compute intensive applications, such as enterprise cloud-based applications (e.g., software as a service (SaaS) applications), data mining applications, data-driven modeling applications, scientific computation problem solving applications, etc., typically rely on complex, large-scale computing environments (e.g., high-performance computing (HPC) environments, cloud computing environments, etc.) to execute the compute intensive applications, as well as store voluminous amounts of data. Such large-scale computing environments can include tens of hundreds (e.g., enterprise systems) to tens of thousands (e.g., HPC systems) of multi-processor/multi-core network nodes connected via high-speed interconnects (e.g., fabric interconnects in a unified fabric).
To carry out such processor intensive computations, various computing technologies have been implemented to distribute workloads across different network computing devices, such as parallel computing, distributed computing, etc. In support of such distributed workload operations, multiprocessor hardware architecture (e.g., multiple multi-core processors that share memory) has been developed to facilitate multiprocessing (i.e., coordinated, simultaneous processing by more than one processor) across local and remote shared memory systems using various parallel computer memory design architectures, such as non-uniform memory access (NUMA), and other distributed memory architectures.
Accordingly, memory requests from multiple interconnected network nodes can occupy the same shared buffer (e.g., super queues, table of requests, etc.) as local memory requests of a particular network node. However, such shared buffers are limited in size (e.g., containing tens of entries), which can result in other memory requests being queued until data returns from the memory subsystems for those memory requests presently in the shared buffer. As such, entries of the shared buffers tend to be occupied by those memory requests targeting memory that provides high latency access (e.g., memory requests received from remote network nodes) or that is being over-utilized. As a result, other requests (e.g., local memory requests) targeting faster or non-congested memory (i.e., memory requests that would be served faster) can become starved in the core due to no available shared buffer entries available to execute said memory requests.

Technologies for quality of service based throttling in fabric architectures


To provide a counter circuit capable of accurately counting a high-frequency signal in which hazard or the like is easily generated. There are provided: a frequency dividing circuit that generates first and second frequency dividing clocks, which differ in phase to each other, based on a clock signal; a first counter that counts the first frequency dividing clock; a second counter that synchronizes with the second frequency dividing clock to fetch a count value of the first counter; and a selection circuit that exclusively selects count values of the first and second counters. According to the present invention, a relation of the count values between the first and second counters is kept always constant, and thus, even when hazard occurs, the count values are only made to jump and the count values do not fluctuate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a counter circuit, and, more particularly relates to a counter circuit that can suitably count a clock signal in which hazard easily occurs. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a latency counter, and, more particularly relates to a latency counter that counts a latency of an internal command within a synchronous memory. Further, the present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device including such a latency counter and also relates to a data processing system including such a semiconductor memory device.
2. Description of Related Art
Synchronous memories represented by a synchronous DRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) are widely used as a main memory or the like of personal computers. In the synchronous memory, data is inputted and outputted in synchronism with a clock signal supplied from a controller. Thus, when a higher-speed clock is used, the data transfer rate can be increased.
However, because a DRAM core is consistently operated by an analog operation also in the synchronous DRAM, a considerably weak charge needs to be amplified by a sensing operation. Accordingly, it is not possible to shorten the time from issuing a read command to outputting first data. After the elapse of a predetermined delay time from the read command is issued, the first data is outputted in synchronism with an external clock.
This delay time is generally called "CAS latency" and is set to an integral multiple of a clock cycle. For example, when the CAS latency is 5 (CL=5), the read command is fetched in synchronism with the external clock, and thereafter, the first data is outputted in synchronism with the external clock that is after five cycles. That is, the first data is outputted after the elapse of the five clocks. A counter that counts such latency is called "latency counter".
As the latency counter, a circuit described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (JP-A) No. 2008-47267 proposed by the present inventor(s) is well known. The latency counter described in JP-A No. 2008-47267 includes a ripple counter that outputs a count value in a binary format and a point-shift FIFO circuit, in which by a count value of the ripple counter, an input gate and an output gate of the point-shift FIFO circuit are controlled. The reason for using the ripple counter as the counter circuit is due to a consideration of a point that hazard easily occurs in a clock signal that should be counted.
That is, in the general DRAM, a DLL (Delay Locked Loop) circuit is used, and data is inputted and outputted in synchronism with an output clock generated by the DLL circuit. The DLL circuit always operates in a normal mode; however, when it is entered in a power-down mode or the like, its operation is stopped due to reduction of power consumption. Thus, upon returning from the power-down mode to the normal mode, a state that the output clock is temporarily unstable occurs, and hazard is sometimes outputted.
When hazard occurs in the output clock, if a ring counter in which shift registers are circulation-connected is used, for example, the count value sometimes fluctuates. That is, in the ring counter, it is necessary that the number of registers to which an active level is latched is one. However, there is sometimes a state that the active level is latched to two or more registers by hazard, or the active level is not latched to any register. When the ring counter is in such a state, the count value fluctuates and the operation of the latency counter is disabled.
Such problems can be solved by using a ripple counter in which a counting operation is performed in a binary format. That is, the ripple counter is deemed not to experience a state that the count value fluctuates, and thus, even when the count value is made to jump wrongly by hazard, the count value can be used as is. Due to these reasons, in the latency counter in JP-A No. 2008-47267, the ripple counter is used as the counter circuit.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-115351 discloses a similar circuit, as another patent document related to the latency counter.
As described above, as a countermeasure against hazard, it is very effective to use the ripple counter as the counter circuit used for the latency counter. However, in the ripple counter, a count value changes more belatedly in higher-order bits. Thus, when the frequency of the clock signal is very high, there can be a case that the output of the count value is not in time for the operation of the FIFO circuit, depending upon a certain situation.
Such a problem occurs not only in the counter circuit for a latency counter but also in overall counter circuits that need to count a high-frequency signal in which hazard or the like is easily generated.

Counter circuit, latency counter, semiconductor memory device including the same, and data processing system


A driving method of a semiconductor device for compensating variation in threshold voltage and mobility of a transistor is provided. A driving method of a semiconductor device including a transistor and a capacitor electrically connected to a gate of the transistor includes a first period where voltage corresponding to threshold voltage of the transistor is held in the capacitor, a second period where a total voltage of video signal voltage and threshold voltage is held in the capacitor holding the threshold voltage, and a third period where charge held in the capacitor in accordance with the total voltage of the video signal voltage and the threshold voltage in the second period is discharged through the transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, a display device, or a light-emitting device, or a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flat panel displays such as liquid crystal displays (LCD) become widely used in recent years. However, LCDs have various drawbacks such as a narrow viewing angle, narrow chromaticity range, and slow response speed. Thus, to overcome those drawbacks, research of an organic EL (also referred to as an electroluminescence, an organic light-emitting diode, an OLED, or the like) displays have been actively conducted (Patent Document 1).
However, organic EL displays have a problem in which current characteristics of transistors for controlling current which flows into organic EL elements vary from pixel to pixel. When current flowing into the organic EL elements (that is, current flowing into the transistors) varies, luminance of the organic EL elements also varies, whereby display screens display images with unevenness. Thus, methods for compensating variation in threshold voltage of transistors have been examined (Patent Documents 2 to 6).
However, even if variation in the threshold voltage of the transistors is compensated, variation in mobility of the transistors also leads to variation in current flowing into an organic EL element, so that image unevenness occurs. Thus, methods for compensating not only the threshold voltage but also variation in mobility of transistors have been examined (Patent Documents 7 and 8).

Semiconductor device and driving method thereof, and electronic device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


Method and apparatus are described for providing a rule file. More particularly, a design rule document is converted to a table file of design rules and associated design rule values, where design rules follow a naming convention to maintain uniqueness among them. A parameterized design rule check (PDRC) file is obtained. Such a PDRC file calls out design rule names instead of design rule values. A computer program is used to exchange design rule values associated with design rule names in the table file for the design rule names called out in the PDRC file to provide a design rule check (DRC) file. This method and apparatus also apply to any technology file containing parameterized rules.

The process for producing an integrated circuit comprises many steps. Conventionally, a logic design is followed by a circuit design, which is followed by a layout design. With respect to the circuit design and layout portion, once circuits for an integrated circuit have been designed, such designs are converted to a physical representation known as a "circuit layout" or "layout." Conventionally, a layout may be viewed as an elevational view representing semiconductor process layers forming physical devices, such as transistors, contacts, and buses, among other well-known circuit elements. Layout is exceptionally important to developing a working design as it affects many aspects, including, but not limited to, signal noise, signal time delay, resistance, cell area, and parasitic effect.
Once an initial layout is done, it must be checked to ensure spacing between circuit elements conforms to a set of rules known as Design Rules. Design Rules conventionally set minimum spacings, sizes and the like for circuit elements. Though a layout is developed with such Design Rules in mind, there may be violations of such Design Rules owing to complexity or magnitude of the circuitry to be laid out or of the Design Rules themselves.
Accordingly, a next step in the design process is to perform a Design Rule Check, more commonly known as a DRC, on a layout. This step is important because violation of one or more Design Rules may result in a higher probability, and in some cases an absolute certainty, that a fabricated chip would not work as desired.
Conventionally, a circuit designer designs a circuit on a computer using a computer-aided design (CAD) tool. Data from such a CAD designed circuit is provided to a computer-aided engineering (CAE) tool. This CAE tool is used to produce a layout. However, a layout so produced may still have one or more Design Rule violations. Accordingly, what is known as "Physical Verification and Analysis" is done. Components of this include a DRC and a Layout Versus Schematic (LVS) check. DRC and LVS are conventionally done with a Design Rule Checker and an LVS Verifier, both of which are CAE tools.
A Design Rule Checker may access specified Rules File and Rules Library for purposes of checking a proposed layout. Unfortunately, Rules Files, or DRC files, conventionally are written with numbers associated with logical operators embedded in such files. Moreover, it is not uncommon for a same number to be used multiple times throughout a file. However, though a number may appear in multiple places does not necessarily mean it refers to the same rule. This makes update DRC file numbers time consuming and prone to error.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide DRC file updating solution that is less time intensive and error prone.
Furthermore, there are additional EDA tools which use "technology files" that contain design rule information. These technology files are used to control and configure EDA tools. Some examples of EDA tools which require technology files containing design rule data are extraction, compaction, and parameterized cells layout.

Method and apparatus for rule file generation


The disclosure describes an elongated housing, e.g., a catheter, configured to be inserted into a lumen of a patient to diagnose or treat a patient. The elongated housing includes a scope channel that accepts a cystoscope and a viewing window at the distal end of the elongated housing. The user may use the cystoscope to view tissue adjacent to the viewing window. The viewing window may take up at least 10 percent of the length of the elongated housing to allow the user to identify a large area of tissue in the lumen without moving the elongated housing with respect to the tissue. Once the user identifies the target tissue, the user may position the elongated housing graduations on the viewing window and the proximal end of the elongated housing. An ablation needle electrode may be extended into the target tissue to deliver ablation therapy to the target tissue.

Medical catheters or elongated housings are used in a variety of procedures to diagnose or treat a patient at a location within the patient. A catheter typically has at least one channel that allows a device, medication, or apparatus to reach the desired location within the patient. Some catheters provide a channel that accepts a cystoscope, endoscope, or another image transmitting device so that the user can identify specific tissues or structures within the patient. Identification of a specific tissue via the catheter may be necessary in order to successfully deliver treatment to the desired tissue of the patient.
In one example, a catheter may be used to treat benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) in men. BPH is a condition caused by the second period of continued prostate gland growth that constricts the urethra and may cause problems with urination and bladder functionality. Minimally invasive techniques for treating BPH include inserting a catheter into the urethra of the patient, identifying the prostate location, and extending a needle electrode from the catheter through the urethra and into the prostate tissue. The user delivers ablation therapy to the prostate via the needle electrode until ablation is complete. The user may reposition the catheter and extend the needle electrode into additional tissue sites until the patient has been treated. Once therapy is complete, the needle electrode is retracted into the catheter and the catheter is removed from the patient.

Distal viewing window of a medical catheter


A device for insertion into a roll of coiled sheet material to rotatably support the roll during decoiling. The device includes a hub assembly with an axle and a pair of rotatable hub centers that are connected to a plurality of support members. One of the hub centers is moved toward the other to adjust the support members. The support members are radially movable with respect to the axle and engage the interior surface of the hollow core of the roll. The device has bearings which allow free rotation of the hub centers while under load from the roll. A torque limiter is disposed on the device to prevent undesired decoiling of the roll.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in roll or coil holders and particularly to an adjustable decoiling device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Devices for insertion into the hollow core of a roll or coil of material to support the roll or coil and to facilitate its unwinding are known. It is also known to use an adjustable device to accommodate rolls or coils with different inside diameters, see for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 442,309 and 2,875,962.
Rolls of sheet steel are used in forming and bending sheet metal into arcuate panels which may be joined together along adjacent seams to form arched metal buildings. Machines for this purpose are made by MIC Industries, Inc. of Reston, Va.
There is a need in the art for a device which can rotatably support these large heavy rolls of sheet steel while it is fed into the various shaping, shearing and bending sections which form the sheet steel into the arcuate building panels.
These rolls of sheet steel are typically uncoiled by placing a core having a size slightly less than the inside diameter of the roll inside the hollow center of the roll. The ends of the core extend past the ends of the roll and are supported so that the roll can be rotated to dispense sheet steel.
With this known arrangement, only a certain size core can be used with a particular size roll of sheet steel. It is therefore necessary to keep various size cores on hand for use with different size rolls of sheet steel. Rotation of the large heavy roll can be difficult when using such a core.
Another problem arises as a result of an inturned lip portion formed on the inside edge of the roll of sheet steel. This lip extends into the hollow center of the roll and must be cut off to enable placement of the above described core in the roll.


A method estimates a state-of-charge (SoC) of a battery by constructing a set of two or more battery models. Each battery model is associated with an adaptive SOC estimator. A set of intermediate SOCs is estimated using the models and the associate adaptive SoC estimators. Then, the set of intermediate SoCs are fused to obtain a final SoC of the battery.

Many power applications require a well-designed battery management system (BMS) for operational safety and performance. The BMS monitors a current status of a battery, and regulates charging and discharging processes. One fundamental function is to estimate a state-of-charge (SoC) of the battery, i.e., a ratio of the current battery capacity over the maximal capacity.
In SoC estimation, one notable trend is an increasing emphasis on model-based estimation methods. While battery modeling is well known, more attention is being directed to the development of estimation methods.
Because a good model is a prerequisite, model-based SoC estimation typically uses dynamic modeling and parameter identification. However, accurate identification is difficult for the following reasons. The parameters for a battery model change over time and with varying operational conditions. The internal resistance increases and the capacity decreases as a result of battery aging. The charging and discharging efficiencies are dependent on the SoC and the current and temperature. The parameters can differ from one battery to another, making identification for each battery difficult. Therefore, adaptive methods are preferred. Adaptive methods perform identification and SoC estimation jointly.
As shown in FIG. 1, an adaptive SoC estimator provides the SoC 140 and estimates of the model parameters in real time after assimilating the current-voltage data on the basis of a model 110. The parameter estimates 111 are used to update the model to assist the estimation 120. A battery 100 is connected to a voltage sensor 102, a current sensor 102, and a temperature sensor 103. The parameter estimation unit 120 can, for example, use a UD-recursive least square (RLS) to estimate parameters for the model based on an battery equivalent circuit model 121.
One adaptive Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) based SoC estimator interacts with a parameter estimator. In another method, state augmentation is performed to incorporate the SoC variable and model parameters, and then an unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) is applied to estimate an augmented state. However, the convergence, and as a result, the accuracy, are difficult to guarantee. In another method, an adaptive SoC estimator is developed using an Iterative Extended Kalman Filter (IEKF), guided by an analysis of the observability and identifiability. An adaptive Partial Differential Equations (PDE) observer for SoC estimation is also known. It should be noted that all conventional methods are based on a single battery model.
The related Application uses an adaptive approach for SoC estimation via IEKF based simultaneous state and parameter estimation. While credible estimation is obtained, the accuracy can still limited due to a mismatch between the model and the actual system.

Method for estimating a state of charge of batteries

Mitsubishi Electronic Research Laboratories, Inc.


To provide a laser distance measuring apparatus which can increase the measurement frequency per unit time by suppressing the increase in the data amount expressing the measurement time, while ensuring the distance measurement precision and the measurable distance. A laser distance measuring apparatus measures, with a time resolution, a light receiving time which is a time from a time point when the laser beam generating unit emits the laser beam to a time point when the light receiving unit outputs the light receiving signal; calculates an object distance which is a distance to the object, based on the measurement result of the light receiving time by the time measuring device; and changes the time resolution of the time measuring device used for calculation of the object distance, based on detection information.

Present disclosure is related with a laser distance measuring apparatus.
Previously, there has been known the laser distance measuring apparatus which irradiates the light beam, such as a laser beam, to the measuring object, and measures the distance to the object based on the reflected light which is reflected from the object. Such laser distance measuring apparatus is also called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) or a laser radar. By scanning the laser beam of beam source in the specific scan field by the scanning means, the objective distance and the direction are obtained and the three-dimensional distance image is obtained. Since the apparatus mounted on the moving body such as vehicle is used for monitoring person and obstacle surrounding the moving body, it is requested that the measurement field is widen, and by increasing the measurement point number obtained per unit time, person and obstacle are detected in an early stage without overlooking.
For example, in JP 2017-173298 A, the laser distance measuring apparatus mounted on the vehicle is disclosed. In the technology of JP 2017-173298 A, the reflected light of the emitted laser beam from the object is received, and the distance is obtained from its time difference.


A switching circuit includes a first well and a second well formed in a semiconductor substrate; a first transistor being connected with a first node at one end, and the first transistor being formed in the first well; a second transistor being connected with another end of the first node at one end, and connected with a second node at another end, and the second transistor being formed in the second well; and a potential control circuit that connects the second well with the first node during a predetermined period including a period for the first transistor and the second transistor to transition from off to on in a state where potential of the second node is lower than potential of the first node, and connects the second well with the second node after the predetermined period.

Conventionally, there is a switching device that includes multiple input terminals connected with multiple voltage sources, respectively, and an output terminal connected with a power-supplied device and selectively switches connections between the multiple voltage sources and the power-supplied device.
In the switching device, each switching path that connects each of the multiple voltage sources and the power-supplied device includes a first and a second enhancement-type P-channel MOS transistors. The switching device connects the drain electrode of the first enhancement-type P-channel MOS transistor with the source electrode of the second enhancement-type P-channel MOS transistor.
Also, the switching device connects the gate electrode of the first enhancement-type P-channel MOS transistor with the output terminal, and connects the gate electrode of the second enhancement-type P-channel MOS transistor with the input terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Switching circuit and semiconductor memory device


A network management application (NMA) obtains identification information identifying a network device. The NMA searches a storage area for a directory corresponding to the identification information. When the NMA locates the directory corresponding to the identification information, the NMA searches the directory for a file containing descriptions of the attributes of the network device. When the NMA locates the file containing the attribute descriptions, the NMA generates an image of the network device in accordance with the attribute descriptions.

A network is a group of two or more network devices linked by wired or wireless connections. A network device is an electronic system, e.g., a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile or laptop computer, a cellular or mobile telephone, etc., that is accessible by or over a network.
A network management application (NMA) is a computer program used to manage network devices. The NMA can run as a stand-alone application either on a server, i.e., a network device that provides data to another network device, or on a client, i.e., a network device that receives data from a server. In some instances, many thousands of clients request data from the same server.
As part of the network management process, a computer program known as an agent gathers data regarding the operating status of a network device. The data includes information regarding specific components of the network device, for example, that a port (i.e., an interface on an electronic device used to connect another device to the electronic device) is defective. The agent transmits the operating status data to a database, where the data is stored until retrieved by an NMA.
A person can access a client and view an image, and any corresponding textual information, conveying the operating status of a network device. When accessed for this purpose, the client requests an image of the network device from the server running the network's NMA. Typically, the NMA is written to include instructions for generating images of various network devices and their components and any corresponding textual information. For example, the instructions include data regarding the shapes and locations of the network device's ports. Consequently, when a network device running an NMA receives the request for the image conveying the operating status of a particular network device, the NMA retrieves the network device's operating status data from a database and generates the image and any corresponding textual information. The network device running the NMA displays the image on a flat-panel display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT).
When an NMA is written to include instructions for generating images of network devices, the NMA cannot generate an image of a particular network device or any corresponding textual information unless the NMA includes instructions for generating images of that network device and its components and any corresponding textual information. When one or more new devices added to a network are developed after the release of the NMA running on the network's server, the NMA will not contain instructions for generating an image of any newly developed network devices or any corresponding textual information.
In order for the NMA to generate images (and any corresponding textual information) of network devices developed after the release of the NMA, the NMA is rewritten to include instructions for generating such images and textual information. Subsequently, a revised version of the NMA is released. The NMA is rewritten on multiple occasions when network devices are developed periodically over time after various releases of the NMA. Rewriting an NMA so that it can generate images (and any corresponding textual information) of newly developed network devices consumes a great deal of time and resources. In addition, if a defect is identified in the NMA after its release, significant code changes are required in order to correct the defect.

Dynamic device management and deployment


A data distribution system, that includes a source router; destination routers; and a gateway; wherein the source router is arranged to receive multiple data streams and wirelessly transmit the multiple data streams over multiple source router output wireless communication links towards the destination routers; wherein the destination routers are arranged to wirelessly receive the multiple data streams over destination routers input wireless links and to transmit the multiple data streams to the gateway; and wherein the gateway is arranged to reconstruct the multiple data streams and output the multiple data streams over one or more gateway output links.

Wireless technology including Wi-Fi, Microwave, Wimax or LTE are used for data transmission and connectivity using Radio Transmission technology for variant of application at the office, Cellular network, Broadband Wireless or Cellular backhaul.
A wide variety of different wireless data technologies exist, some in direct competition with one another, others designed for specific applications. Wireless technologies can be evaluated by a variety of different metrics of which some are described in here.
Cellular networks or WAN are designed for city-wide/national/global coverage areas and seamless mobility from one access point (often defined as a Base Station) to another allowing seamless coverage for very wide areas. Cellular network technologies are often split into 2nd generation, 3G and 4G networks. Originally 2G networks were voice centric or even voice only digital cellular systems (as opposed to the analog 1G networks). Typical 2G standards include GSM and IS-95 with extensions via GPRS, EDGE and 1×RTT, providing Internet access to users of originally voice centric 2G networks. Both EDGE and 1×RTT are 3G standards, as defined by the ITU, but are usually marketed as 2.9G due to their comparatively low speeds and high delays when compared to true 3G technologies.
True 3G systems such as EV-DO, W-CDMA (including HSPA) provide combined circuit switched and packet switched data and voice services from the outset, usually at far better data rates than 2G networks with their extensions. All of these services can be used to provide combined mobile voice access and Internet access at remote locations.
4G networks provide even higher bitrates and many architectural improvements, which are not necessarily visible to the consumer. The current 4G systems that are deployed widely are HSPA+, WIMAX and LTE. The latter two are pure packet based networks without traditional voice circuit capabilities. These networks provide voice services via VoIP.
For wider area communications, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is used. WLANs are often known by their commercial product name Wi-Fi. These systems are used to provide wireless access to other systems on the local network such as other computers, shared printers, and other such devices or even the internet. Typically a WLAN offers much better speeds and delays within the local network than an average consumer's Internet access. WLAN may use in mesh multi-path, multi-hop wireless local area network (WLAN) for outdoor. This wireless mesh network is managed at the layer 3 to meet the connectivity scalability, to enable network connectivity between sites over WLAN mesh networks.
Some systems are designed for point-to-point line-of-sight communications mostly used for wireless broadband services and high data traffic backhaul over proprietary microwave wireless transmission technologies, however these two wireless links are not interoperable with other vendors technologies, once two such nodes get too far apart they can no longer communicate, and may result in frequency congestion in highly populated areas that prevent any throughout scalability in case the microwave line is not sufficient.
An optional solution for higher bandwidth distribution of multiple point to point line may transmit point to point wireless each directed to a different route to prevent congestion and reconstruct the wireless signal back to receiver, that may require careful radio engineering as described in the below diagram.
And a back to back Wi-Fi repeater is used to transmit the wireless signals to the other hand in way that will prevent congestion on the wireless links, as described below
The above solution may be sufficient for single transmitter in a certain distribution area, but cannot serve several clients and cannot scale the bandwidth to more than the amount of microwave links that can operate without congestion.
There is a need for plug and play solution that will enable the use off the shelf wireless technology to enable interoperability between vendors, and provide scalable wireless transmission system to support wireless backbone transmission of up to 100 Gbps without the limitation associated with current point to point wireless microwave technologies frequency congestion and with the ability to support the multiple clients.

Method and system for distribution of high data throughput over multiple wireless connections


A rectangular-prism-shaped base member is made from a dielectric material or a magnetic material. A ground electrode and a power supplying electrode are formed on one end face of the base member with a gap disposed therebetween. At least one through hole is formed between the end face and the opposing end face. A radiation electrode is formed on the inside surface of the through hole. One end of the radiation electrode is connected to the ground electrode, and the other end serves as an open end. The power supplying electrode and the radiation electrode are electromagnetically coupled through a capacitor formed at the gap.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface-mount antenna and communication apparatus using the same which are used in a radio local area network (LAN) and mobile communication equipment such as a portable telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 8 shows a conventional .lambda./4 surface-mount antenna. Through holes 22 and 23 are provided between one pair of end faces 21a and 21b in a base member 21. A first radiation electrode 24 and a second radiation electrode 25 are formed at the inside surfaces of the through holes 22 and 23, respectively. One end of the first radiation electrode 24 is connected to one end of a pattern electrode 26 formed on one end face 21a, and the other end of the first radiation electrode 24 serves as an open end 24a on the other end face 21b. One end of the second radiation electrode 25 is connected to the other end of the pattern electrode 26, and the other end of the second radiation electrode 25 is connected to a ground terminal 27 formed on an end face 21b in the base member 21.
There is also shown a power-supplying terminal pin 28. A metal pin 28b electrically connected to a power supplying terminal 28a is covered with resin 28c. The power supplying terminal pin 28 is inserted into the through hole 22 having the first radiation electrode 24 to form a capacitor between the metal pin 28b and the first radiation electrode 24 with the resin 28c serving as a dielectric. With this capacitor, a high-frequency signal is electromagnetically coupled with the first radiation electrode 24 to cause the high-frequency current to flow to the ground through the first radiation electrode 24, the pattern electrode 26, and the second radiation electrode 25. With this configuration, a radio wave is emitted.
In the conventional surface-mount antenna, the coupling level between the power supplying terminal pin 28 and the first radiation electrode 24 depends on how the power supplying terminal pin 28 is inserted into the first radiation electrode 24. The manner in which the terminal pin 28 is inserted may cause a frequency change. Therefore aging or dropping of the antenna causes a large frequency shift. Furthermore, since the power supplying terminal pin 28 is required, the antenna becomes large and is prevented from being made compact.
Electromagnetic coupling between the power supplying terminal pin 28 and the first radiation electrode 24 needs to be weak. Since the coupling is made at a high voltage, the level of coupling is difficult to adjust.
A communication apparatus using such a conventional surface-mount antenna also has the same drawbacks as a surface-mount antenna.

Surface mount antenna and communication apparatus using same


Data channel parameter optimization with intelligent selection of initial data channel conditions and optimization algorithm hyperparameters for use of a black box optimizer to optimize one or more data channel parameters. It is currently identified that the initial data channel condition affects the ability of a black box optimizer to optimize data channel parameters. In turn, by use of an intelligent agent (e.g., employing artificial intelligence or machine learning) to iteratively select optimized initial data channel conditions, the optimization of the data channel may be improved. Moreover, the sensitivity of the data channel parameters may be determined, which allows for identification of a subset of data channel parameters that are varied in an optimization approach. This may result in improved performance of the optimization without sacrificing optimized performance of the data channel.

Magnetic recording channels, also known as data channels, are complex integrated circuits that enable efficient write and read operations for digital data on magnetic data storage media. Specifically, the data channel is a complex electronic circuit that houses all the digital and analog signal processing hardware and algorithms to efficiently write digital data to and read digital data from a magnetic data storage device. Components of the data channel include, for example, the write pre-compensation module for nonlinearity mitigation, AC-coupling filters, asymmetry correction module, timing and gain recovery units, finite impulse response (FIR) filters for equalization, Viterbi detectors, and so on.
To achieve performance efficiency, each component and sub-component of the magnetic recording channel circuit requires fine tuning of its associated parameters (e.g., register values). Optimization strategies may involve running individual and decoupled searches over each data channel circuit parameter, often through manual manipulation by a human user conducting the optimization. While local optimums of each parameter may be obtained, results obtained are not the joint optimum of the various parameters in combination. While the performance of individual components within a data channel may be theorized in response to data channel parameters for a given component, because of the complexity and independence of the integrated circuits that comprise the data channel, the performance of the data channel as a whole is difficult to predict theoretically. As such, in spite of in-depth technical expertise on the underlying algorithms and the data channel circuit, the inherent complexity of the channel technology presents a challenging task to optimize the data channel to achieve a desired performance metric. In turn, performance optimization of the magnetic recording channel as a whole becomes a challenge when parameters of each and every component involved are tuned separately.

Automated and intelligent data channel optimizers with sensitivity assessment


The invention relates to a wood-gluing system enabling the continuous production of glued pieces of lumber for panels and the like. The system includes a deck, a horizontal displacement system for advancing lumber across the deck, a braking system, a one-way clamping system and an upstream pressure system. The system may be used in conjunction with finger-jointing processes or with single pieces of lumber and may be used for the production of both furniture grade and construction grade wood products to NLGA and NGRC standards.

In the lumber industry, it is well known that wood boards can be edge-glued to create larger panels of wood or face-glued to create beams.
It is also known that the scrap wood from various high-end lumber operations such as sawmill operations contain useful quantities of wood fibre which can be salvaged for lower-end lumber operations including the production of finger-jointed wood products. Finger-jointing processes cut usable wood fibre from scrap material and through shaping, gluing and clamping the ends of the scrap material create longer lengths or boards of lumber. The resulting longer boards built up from shorter lengths have advantages over equivalent lengths of solid, single piece lumber including 1) they will often be less expensive, 2) using certain glues, they will often have structural strengths equivalent to or greater than the strengths of an equivalent length of solid, single-piece lumber and, 3) longer, stable and straight boards of lumber (typically up to 62 feet) can be created.
As with solid, single-piece boards, finger jointed boards can, depending on certification, be utilized as conventional lumber (ie for framing) or can be edge-glued and/or face-glued to create other lumber products. In particular, edge-glued lumber can be used to create slabs and face-glued lumber can be used to create beams.
Over the years, many techniques for finger jointing have evolved and continue to evolve both with respect to materials handling aspects of the process as well as with the gluing technology. For example, and with respect to gluing technology, in high speed operations producing finger jointed lumber, it is desirable that glue set times are fast in order to maintain high throughput levels. However, high-speed gluing requires that a careful balance be maintained between the glue set time and production speed to ensure that the glue sets during the clamping phase of assembly and not too early or too late in the process. In particular, a glue setting too early in the process will prevent proper assembly of the finger-jointed pieces whereas a glue setting too late will require longer clamping times. Furthermore, there remains the problem that faster setting adhesives may set up in the pot or barrel.
Past glues have included phenol based glues which through a combination of moisture and heat-activation (microwaves) initiate the glue setting which in combination with the joint structure provide the resulting adhesive and structural strength at the joint. However, heat-activated glues utilizing microwaves require complex tunnels to both emit the microwaves and shield the plant from this radiation. In addition, the technology relating to products manufactured from phenol glues lend themselves to batch processes as opposed to continuous flow production by virtue of glue-setting apparatus. This is particularly true with respect to an edge gluing process.
As a result of some of the problems of phenol glues, quick-setting polyurethane glues have been developed and incorporated into high speed finger jointing operations. Polyurethane glues require moisture for setting which may have to be introduced into the process depending on the moisture content of the wood. Thus, the use of polyurethane glues is particularly suited to use with gluing green or wet-wood. Furthermore, polyurethane glues do not require the same specialized clamping and setting equipment as heat activation systems.
The equipment presently used in the continuous production of single lengths of lumber initially creates a series of fingers on the ends of each piece of wood. Glue is applied to each finger joint and each piece of wood is moved onto a linear shuttle which accelerates successive pieces of wood against and into a leading piece of wood thereby causing adjacent finger joints on each piece of wood to interlock. At the end of the shuttle run, the assembled pieces are stopped against a first clamping surface, trimmed to length, moved sideways out of the shuttle run whereupon a longitudinal clamping pressure is applied to fully engage the finger joints. The resulting length of lumber is released from the clamp onto a horizontal deck to allow for final curing of the glue. As successive pieces of lumber are created, cut to length, moved sideways, clamped and released onto the horizontal deck, each piece of lumber is horizontally displaced across the deck. At the edge of the deck, each piece is removed for final processing, cleaning and packaging.
In the past, individual boards of single-piece or finger-jointed lumber could be subsequently assembled by edge-gluing to create slabs or face-glued to create beams in one or more separate operations to the milling or finger-jointing processes.
For example, past edge-gluing processes apply glue to the edges of adjacent boards and clamp and press adjacent boards together while the glue is curing to form a slab. However, such processes are generally non-continuous, slow and/or labour-intensive which results in higher production costs than could be achieved if the slab was created as part of the initial milling or finger-jointing assembly process.
Accordingly, there has been a need for an edge or face gluing process and apparatus that provides the continuous assembly of lumber into edge-glued or face-glued slabs at high speed and pressure.
Another problem with past wood-gluing equipment is the clamping pressure profile applied to a growing slab. That is, in past systems which may apply a clamping pressure across a growing slab, as each successive board is added to the growing slab, there are substantial changes in the clamping pressure as linear shuttles advance and retreat. Accordingly, there has been a need for a wood-gluing process and apparatus which provides a high, continuous clamping pressure across the width of the slab while additional boards are being prepared and added to the slab.
Further still, there is a distinction between panels manufactured for furniture and for construction. In particular, construction grade lumber requires that the strength of any glued joint meets certain design values established for the particular grade whereas furniture grade wood does not require the same joint strength or integrity. For example, in manufacturing construction grade lumber from glued pieces of wood (either finger jointed or edge-glued) using cold-clamping with a polyurethane adhesive, constant high clamping pressures are required to ensure maximum joint strength and proper glue penetration into the wood during the curing cycle.
Furthermore, in particular jurisdictions, the use of wood for construction purposes requires that the lumber meet the standards required under jurisdictional building codes such as the Canadian and U.S. building codes. In North America, the Canadian Lumber Standards Accreditation Board (CLSAB) and the American Lumber Standard (ALS) Board of Review, approve and enforce the rules established by the Canadian National Lumber Grades Authority (NLGA) and the National Grading Rules Committee (NGRC) respectively. The Canadian National Lumber Grade Authority (NLGA) conforms to the National Grading Rule (NGRC) in its own rules for dimension lumber, with some exceptions. For example, the NLGA establishes unique design values for fibre of Canadian origin. Certification of product under these rules is required to enable the use of product by the builders as is required by code officials.
Structural lumber products range in dimensions of width and thickness from 2″ to 4″ thick by 2″ and wider. The certification grades, from lowest to highest, progress through stud grade, #2, #1 and select structural. Standards for each grade are described in the manuals of the NLGA, and American rules writing agencies conform to the Department of Commerce PS 20-99 (American Softwood Lumber Standard) determine end uses as prescribed by the appropriate building code agency. All rules and standards under the NLGA and NGRC as of the date of this document are included in this application as Appendix A and Appendix B respectfully. Furthermore, while it is understood that certification standards may change in the future, the current standards (dated 2002) are the standards as referenced in this application.
In the past, commercial production of certificated edge-glued structural lumber has not been achieved. Accordingly, there has been a further need for cost effective, high-speed edge-glued and finger-jointed structural lumber products, which meet inter alia North American Building Code requirements.
More specifically, edge-glued boards manufactured from either solid lumber or finger-jointed boards have not passed the certification standards for construction grade lumber and, in particular, commercial production of certification standards #2, #1 and select structural have not been achieved. Accordingly, there has been a further need for cost effective, high-speed edge-glued and finger-jointed structural lumber products which meet the certification standards for a range of dimensions.
Past edge-gluing systems have not solved the above problems of manufacture, quality or commercial viability. A review of the prior art has revealed U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,025,053 and 5,888,620 (Grenier) which disclose a process for adhesively bonding finger jointed lengths of wood in side-by-side relationship to form boards; U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,871 (Weinstock) which discloses a method and apparatus for laminating timber to form laminated beams; U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,597 (Schulte) which discloses a method for producing a veneer web which are bonded side-by-side to form a veneer web; U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,191 (Robinson) which discloses a method and apparatus of fabricating trailer flooring via an edge-gluing process and U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,705 (Cromeens), U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,119 (Maier), U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,521 (Redekop) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,910 (Hill) which each disclose finger jointing apparatus per se.

Wood-gluing and clamping system and products


Disclosed herein are methods for N-demethylating an N-methylated compound using an enzymatic reaction, rather than, e.g. a chemical modification. Also provided herein are enzymes for performing the reaction.

Naturally occurring opiates such as thebaine, morphine, and codeine are N-methylated. The N-demethylation of such opiates is a key chemical transformation in the synthesis of synthetic opiates. To date, commercial N-demethylation methods are chemical in nature and typically require toxic and expensive reagents while low in yield (WO 2011/032214A1). The naturally occurring alkaloids atropine, scopolamine, and cocaine, along with the opiate morphine all contain a tertiary N-methylamine group. Modification of the N-methylamine group alters the pharmacological properties of these alkaloids. This can lead to the production of many important pharmaceutical compounds. (Do Pham, D D et al. Green Chem., 2014, 16, 1399-1409).
For example, the opiate thebaine is a synthetic precursor for the analgesic oxycodone and the intermediate oxymorphone, which is used to prepare the N-methylcyclobutyl-based analgesic nalbuphine and the N-methylcyclopropyl-based opioid antagonists naltrexone, buprenorphine, nalmefene, and the allyl-based naloxone used in the treatment of alcohol or opiate dependence and for rapid opiate detoxification. (Do Pham, D D et al. Green Chem., 2014, 16, 1399-1409; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Pain management and the opioid epidemic: Balancing societal and individual benefits and risks of prescription opioid use. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press; Allen, B. E., et al., U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0087647 A1).
While many methods of N-demethylating opiates have been described, including the use of chemical reagents, and procedures utilizing photochemistry, electrochemistry, and microorganisms, enzymatic N-demethylation has not been widely described (J. von Braun, Chem. Ber. 1909, 42, 2035; J. H. Cooley, E. J. Evain, Synthesis 1989, 1; K. C. Rice, J. Org. Chem. 1975, 40, 1850; (c) K. C. Rice, E. L. May, J. Heterocycl. Chem. 1977, 14, 665; L. S. Schwab, J. Med. Chem. 1980, 23, 698; H. Merz, K. H. Pook, Tetrahedron 1970, 26, 1727; J. A. Ripper, E. R. T. Tiekink, P. J. Scammells, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2001, 77, 443; P. J. Smith, C. K. Mann, J. Org. Chem. 1969, 34, 1821; J. E. Barry, M. Finkelstein, E. A. Mayeda, S. D. Ross, J. Org. Chem. 1974, 39, 3488; K. M. Madyastha, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 1994, 106, 1203; K. M. Madyastha, G. V. B. Reddy, J. Chem. Soc, Perkin Trans. 1 1994, 91 1; K. McCamley, J. A. Ripper, R. D. Singer, P. J. Scammells, J. Org. Chem. 2003, 68, 9847-9850; S. Thavaneswaran, P. J. Scammells, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2006, 76, 2868-2871; S. Thavaneswaran, K. McCamley, P. J. Scammells, Nat. Prod. Commun. 2006, 7(10), 885-897).
Thus, there is a need to develop clean and efficient methods of N-demethylating opiates—as well as other drug classes such as the tropane alkaloids—for use in among other things, synthetic opiate production and new drug discovery.

Morphinan N-demethylase isolated from the methylobacterium thebainfresser and methods of use thereof


The electric switch comprises at least one key (4) that pivots about a pivoting axis (5) and a base (2) provided with at least one electric connection and disconnection actuation point (3), so that the pivoting of the key 4 causes the application of pressure to at least one actuation point 3 and causes the electric connection or disconnection, and it is characterized in that the base (2) comprises at least one pivoting actuator (6).

The known electric switches currently comprise a key mounted on a base provided with an actuation point, said key being pivotable about a pivoting axis. This key defines two positions: a first contact position or electric connection position and a second disconnection position or rest position.
From this second rest position, when the user presses the key, it switches to the first contact position, in which it can be maintained or, if desired, it can automatically return to the second position, e.g. by a spring. When this automatic return occurs, each time the key is pressed, the electric contact will be connected and disconnected when the key is not pressed, or the electric contact will be connected and disconnected alternately when the key is pressed.
In these electric switches in which the key automatically returns to its rest position, it is usual that said key substantially protrudes from the base at its end furthest from the pivoting axis. The reason is the presence of a mechanical mechanism for electric driving, which occupies considerable space.
In order to overcome this drawback, electric switches of this type are also known which use electronic mechanisms for electric driving, which have the advantage that the key protrudes just a little from the frame at its end remote from the pivoting axis. However, these electronic mechanisms are substantially more expensive than the mechanical mechanisms and increase the cost price of the electric switch.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an electric switch in which the key protrudes about the same as the presently known electronic switches which automatically return to their rest position, but by a fully mechanical mechanism. This way, the sensation that a user has is to use an electronic type electric switch, but in reality it is a mechanical type electric switch.

Abstract: A low-cost mechanical type electric switch is obtained which automatically returns to its rest position, and which for the user has the same sensation as an electronic type electric switch.


A chemically modified chelate resin comprising the reaction product of a cross-linked polymer bead chelate resin containing amine reaction sites with an aromatic aldehyde selected from the group consisting of 4-Formyl-benzo-15-Crown-5; 4-Formyl-benzo-18-Crown-6; 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde; 3-ethoxy salicylaldehyde; salicylaldehyde; 2-pyridine carboxaldehyde, 3-pyridine carboxaldehyde; 4-pyridine carboxaldehyde; and pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to selected chemically modified chelate resins and their use to remove multivalent ions from resist components. In particular, this invention relates to a method for removing multivalent metals (including iron, chromium, copper, cobalt, and calcium) from a resist component solution or resist composition solution by contacting that solution with these selected chemically modified chelate resins.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Impurity levels in photoresist compositions are becoming an increasingly important concern. Impurity contamination, especially by metals, of photoresists may cause deterioration of the semiconductor devices made with said photoresists, thus shortening these devices' lives.
Impurity levels in photoresist compositions have been and are currently controlled by (1) choosing materials for photoresist composition which meet strict impurity level specifications and (2) carefully controlling the photoresist formulation and processing parameters to avoid the introduction of impurities into the photoresist composition. As photoresist applications become more advanced, tighter impurity specifications must be made.
In the case of novolak resin materials used for making positive photoresists, such novolak resins have been subjected to distillation or crystallization purification operations in order to remove impurities, especially metals. However, such operations have deficiencies. One, they are time-consuming and costly. More importantly, they do not remove impurities down to the very low levels now needed for advanced applications (i.e., in very low parts per billion maximum levels; typically below 50 parts per billion by weight for each metal).
Ion exchange resins have been used for novolak impurities. One general technique is to pass an impure novolak resin solution through a particulate cation exchange resin (e.g., AMBERLYST styrene sulfonate-divinyl benzene cation exchange resin). However, such treatments have several problems associated with it including the following:
1. The cation exchange resin treatment of the novolak may decrease the pH of the novolak-containing solution, possibly causing serious corrosion of metal containers in which the purified novolak-containing solution may be stored.
2. The purified novolak may have a decreased rate of dissolution during the development step of the photoresist which may be caused by the undesired adsorption of the lower molecular weight portion of novolak resin onto the cation exchange resin.
3. Alkali metals such as sodium and potassium are easily removed with conventional particulate cation exchange resins. However, divalent or trivalent metal cations (e.g., Cu.sup.+2, Ni.sup.+2, Zn.sup.+2, Fe.sup.+2, Fe.sup.+3, Ca.sup.+2, or Cr.sup.+3 ions) may have a lower affinity to conventional cation exchange resins. Iron and other easily oxidizable metals cannot be completely removed because they may be colloidal metal hydroxides or oxides. Such colloidals are not significantly removed by cation exchange resin treatment.
4. Ion exchange resins, particularly strong acid-type of cation exchange resins, decompose resist components which contain or use solvents containing hydrolyzable groups such as esters. For example, ethyl lactate is decomposed by AMBERLYST A-15 to form polylactide moieties, which may degrade lithography performance of photoresists. As used herein, that term "polylactide" is defined as a polymeric or oligomeric product of a lactide, a cyclic dimer of lactic acid which is formed by hydrolysis of ethyl lactate.
In addition to the standard cation exchange resin treatment of the novolak resin, it is known to subject complete photoresist compositions (e.g., novolak resin, photosensitizer, and solvent) to both cation and anion exchange resin treatment. For example, Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 57-74370 discloses a method of reducing impurities in silica paint film liquid coating by suing cation exchange resins and anion exchange resins in separate and a successive manner. Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 01-228,560, which was published on Sep. 12, 1989, teaches that the metal impurities content in photosensitive resin solutions or photoresist compositions may be reduced with a mixture of a cation and anion exchange resins. However, these techniques have the deficiency of not removing divalent and trivalent metal impurities and may decompose resist components or solvents containing resist components. Usually, such cation and anion exchange resins have been washed with a solvent such as deionized water or the same solvent in which the resist component is already dissolved in. However, such washings with water or solvents will not clean the resins of preattached metal impurities because metal ions such as sodium or potassium as well as other acidic contaminants strongly bind to the anionically charged groups of cation exchange resins.
There are several ways now known to remove multivalent ion metal impurities such as iron, chromium, copper, calcium, and the like from resist components. These include (a) microfiltration, (b) clay treatment, and (c) conventional chelate resin treatment. All three methods are successful in removing large amounts of such multivalent impurities with many types of resist components; however, each of these methods may be either very slow or not always effective when attempting to obtain certain resist components having multivalent metal impurity levels below 50 ppb.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/753,488, which was filed on Sep. 3, 1991 with Kenji Honda, Edward A. Fitzgerald, and Lawrence Ferriera as the co-inventors, is directed to a method for removing metal impurities from a resist component solution or a resist composition solution by contacting that solution with a cation exchange resin and a chelate resin. One of the chelate resins disclosed in this application is DIANION CR-20 polyamine-type chelate resin produced by Mitsubishi Kasei of Tokyo, Japan. This type of chelate resin advantageously will not decrease the pH of a photoresist solution or novolak solution during a metal ion removal step. However, this chelate resin, as well as other known chelate resins, will not consistently remove substantially all of the polyvalent metal ions from the solution (e.g., less than 100 ppb remaining for each polyvalent metal). Stronger chelating resins are needed for this purpose without lowering the pH of the solution.
Accordingly, there is still a need in the photoresist art for improved methods of removing metal impurities from novolak resins and other materials used as photoresist components without otherwise adversely affecting other properties of the resist component. The present invention is a solution to that need.
Separately, U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,284, which issued to parker on May 1, 1984, is directed to a process for producing polymers that contain pendant unsaturation. In particular, that process involves reacting a polymer containing a pendant phosphonium salt with an aldehyde in the presence of an alkali ionizable functionality to yield a polymer having a pendent unsaturation. See formula III in column 3. Among the polymer precursors listed as being suitable for this reaction is styrene/divinyl benzene. Among the suitable aldehyde reactants is 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde. It is also noted that the resulting compounds may be used as chelates (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,284). However, this reference does not teach or suggest using polymer precursors with amine functionalities. Also, the reference does not teach or suggest that its reaction products may be used to remove multivalent metal impurities from any material, let alone resist components, as presently claimed.

Selected chelate resins and their use to remove multivalent metal impurities from resist components


A motor control apparatus for a bicycle having a motor that moves to a plurality of first positions (e.g., gear shifting positions) and to a second position (e.g., an antitheft position) includes a signal providing circuit that provides a first signal for commanding the motor to move from the plurality of first positions toward the second position and that provides a second signal for commanding the motor to move from the second position toward the plurality of first positions. A position indicating circuit is provided for generating a position indicating signal indicating when the motor is in a selected one of the plurality of first positions, and a motor inhibiting circuit is provided for generating a motor inhibiting signal for inhibiting the motor from moving toward the second position in response to the first signal when the position indicating signal indicates the motor is in the selected one of the plurality of first positions.

The present invention is directed to control devices for bicycle transmissions and, more particularly, to a motor control device for controlling a motor used to shift the bicycle transmission.
Bicycles, particularly recreational bicycles referred to as city cruisers, are inexpensive and are easy to ride. Consequently, such bicycles are widely used to commute to work or school. This type of recreational bicycle is sometimes equipped with an internal gear shifter to ride at high speeds over flat terrain or to ride uphill with minimal exertion. Such internal gear shifters commonly use planet gear mechanisms which are compactly housed in the wheel hub.
Because of the usefulness of these bicycles, they are sometimes taken from bike stands or the like in front of train stations and other places. To prevent this type of theft, bicycle locks such as box-shaped locks and horseshoe-shaped locks may be attached to the front or back fork to lock the wheel. However, the simple structure of bicycle locks makes them easy to unlock and remove. Thus, two bicycle locks are sometimes attached to the front and back forks for added protection. For example, a box-shaped lock may be attached to the front fork, and a horseshoe-shaped lock or chain lock may be attached to the back fork. As a result, there is less of a probability of theft because it is more trouble for a potential thief to unlock and take off two locks than just one. However, when two bicycle locks are used, it is a nuisance to lock and unlock them, particularly when a rider is in a hurry. Furthermore, even when two locks are used, bicycles can still be pedaled away and stolen by unlocking or removing the locks.
One idea for preventing the bicycle from being taken is to mount an antitheft device inside of the internal hub transmission to restrict movement of the bicycle when the transmission is set to an antitheft position. If the various operating positions of the bicycle transmission are electrically switched by remote operation from the handlebar, then only a simple operation is required for preventing theft. Such operation is further facilitated if the operating positions are controlled by a motor driven by a microprocessor running appropriate software. If, however, the microprocessor should malfunction due to static electricity, noise, or other such disturbance during running while the operating position is being switched, then there is the danger that the operating position will be erroneously switched from a gear shift position to the antitheft position, and movement of the bicycle will be restricted.


An apparatus and method for performing offset compensation, and a computer-readable recording medium for performing the offset compensation are disclosed. The offset compensation apparatus for use in an optical zoom lens system includes: a lens unit including a zoom lens and a focus lens; a lens conveyance unit for conveying the zoom lens and the focus lens; an offset measurement unit for measuring an offset of the zoom lens and an offset of the focus lens; an offset verifier for verifying the measured offset data of the zoom lens and the focus lens; and a controller for controlling the zoom lens and the focus lens according to the verified offset data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for performing offset compensation, and a computer-readable recording medium for performing the offset compensation, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for performing offset compensation for use in a camera module, and a computer-readable recording medium for performing the offset compensation.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, the number of users who desire to use a camera module equipped with an optical zoom function. The optical zoom function can be implemented by moving a zoom lens from a current location to another location using a small-sized motor.
In other words, if the user enters a Wide-zooming signal or a Tele-zooming signal, the zoom lens moves by a drive motor. Therefore, a target-object image captured by a lens system of the camera module zooms in or zooms out, and at the same time a focal length changes. If the zoom lens moves from a current location to another location, a focus lens should be interoperable with the zoom lens, such that an in-focus status between the zoom lens and the focus lens can be maintained.
However, the above-mentioned camera module of the optical zoom lens system has technical difficulty in its design, such that unique- or assembly-tolerances of constituent components (e.g., a part connected to a motor, or a conveyance part, etc.) may be easily encountered. In this case, the above-mentioned camera module has difficulty in maintaining a desired focus when zooming in or out the target-object image.
When unexpected foreign materials are placed on the conveyance part, or a horizontal level of the conveyance part is incorrect, the above-mentioned camera module has difficulty in correctly interworking with the focus lens according to the movement of the zoom lens.
The camera module of the above-mentioned optical zoom lens system compares a first vertex of a real zoom trace curve with a second vertex of a predetermined ideal zoom trace curve in order to recognize a difference between the first vertex and the second vertex, determines the difference between the first vertex and the second vertex to be an offset, and compensates for the offset.
However, the above-mentioned conventional method for performing the offset compensation has disadvantages in that it requires not only a long period of time consumed for the offset compensation but also unnecessary processing operations by hardware.

Apparatus and method for performing offset compensation, and computer-readable recording medium for performing the offset compensation


A syringe (10) has a plunger (20), a barrel (11) and a collar (40, 50) with two pawls (42A, 42B). The plunger has two opposed ratchets (23A, 23B) that align with the one each of the pawls and thereby or impede, withdrawal of the plunger during or following depression of the plunger. The barrel has a collar with an inner (50) and an outer member (40) that are incapable of rotation relative with respect to each other. The outer member has the two pawls (42A, 42B) and two fingers that slidably engage opposed guide slots (28) on the plunger to thereby prevent or minimize rotation of the plunger relative to the collar. The inner member of the collar is operable to prevent engagement of the plunger ratchet by the two pawls until the plunger is depressed.

The practice of sharing syringes without adequate sterilization between successive users is a major contributor to the transfer of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis and other communicable diseases with subsequent severe repercussions for the sufferer and at a high cost to society for supporting and providing medical attention to sufferers.
In response to this problem, syringes have been developed with the aim of preventing syringe re-use.
One solution has been to develop syringes where the needle is permanently retractable into the barrel of the syringe, retraction driven by a compressed spring, as for example described in International Publication WO 01/80930.
Although very effective, retractable syringes are relatively expensive, particularly when required in large quantities for mass immunizations or for distribution to intravenous drug users. This is particularly a problem in third world countries where the incidence of HIV is high, mass immunization programs need to be frequently undertaken and healthcare resources are limited.
Several simpler and less expensive non-retractable syringe alternatives exist, such as syringes having disabling mechanisms that prevent re-use, but generally these syringes require the user to actively disable the syringe. Even health care professionals can at times be remiss and fail to actively disable such syringes after use.
It is therefore an object of the invention to overcome or alleviate at least one of the deficiencies of the prior art, or at least provide a useful alternative.