Simplifying the design of buffer amplifier circuits to provide reference voltages of desired characteristics on a path. Two separate circuits may be used to provide the necessary charging (of a load connected to the path) in non-overlapping time durations. In an embodiment in which the load comprises sampling capacitors of a stage of an analog to digital converter (ADC), each of the two circuits contains a corresponding charging capacitor, with the charging capacitors charging the load in non-overlapping time durations of a hold phase. The first charging capacitor may be charged using a coarse buffer with a high drive strength and the second charging capacitor may be charged using a fine buffer with high accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the design of buffers providing constant voltage, and also to its application in the design and implementation of a multi-stage ADC.
2. Related Art
Buffer amplifier circuits (buffer) are often employed to provide a desired constant reference voltage. In general, a buffer receives a constant voltage from a constant voltage source such as band-gap reference, and generates a reference voltage with a desired drive specification (characteristics of the signal generated by the buffer, such as, signal settling time, magnitude of current provided, noise margin, etc.). The drive specification is generally determined from the expected load and its characteristics offered to the buffer.
The load offered to a buffer varies dynamically with respect to time in several environments. One problem with such varying load is that the reference voltage itself may vary due to the variation in the load. However, the buffer can be designed to settle to the desired reference voltage over time. There are several environments in which such settling duration needs to be short as described with reference to an analog to digital converter (ADC) below.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a pipeline ADC in one embodiment illustrating the need for a reference voltage which needs to settle to a desired magnitude within a short duration. ADC 100 is shown containing sample and hold amplifier (SHA) 110, stages 120-1 through 120-S, digital error correction block 130 and reference buffer 150. Each block is described below in further detail.
Reference buffer 150 generates a reference voltage (Vref) on path 152 typically from a constant DC voltage (e.g., bandgap reference voltage, well known in the relevant arts). The reference voltage can be in differential and/or single ended form depending on the requirements of the other components using the voltage. In order to avoid obscuring the features of the present invention, the description henceforth is provided with reference to single ended implementations. The extension of the approaches to differential circuits will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts by reading the disclosure provided herein, and such implementations are contemplated to be covered by various aspects of the present invention.
SHA 110 samples the input analog signal received on path 101 and holds the voltage level of the sample on path 111 for further processing. Digital error correction block 130 receives sub-codes from various stages (on paths 123-1 through 123-S respectively), and generates a digital code corresponding to the sample received on path 101. Various error correction approaches, well known in the relevant arts, may be used to correct any errors in the received sub-codes. The generated digital code is provided on path 139 as a final digital code corresponding to the voltage of a sample on the input analog signal at a particular time instant.
Each stage 120-1 through 120-S generates a sub-code (based on the reference signal Vref received on path 152) corresponding to a voltage level of an analog signal received as an input, and an amplified residue signal as an input to a (any) next stage. For example, stage 120-1 converts a voltage level on path 111 to generate a sub-code on path 123-1, and the amplified residue signal generated on path 112 is provided as an input to stage 120-2. A common reference signal Vref is provided to stages 120-1 through 120-S. FIG. 2 further illustrates (logical) components contained in each stage (described with reference to stage 120-1 only, for conciseness) of a pipe line ADC according to a known approach.
With respect to FIG. 2, stage 120-1 is shown containing flash ADC 250, digital to analog converter (DAC) 260, subtractor 270 and gain amplifier 280. Flash ADC 250 (an example of a quantizer) converts a sample of an analog signal received on path 111 into a corresponding p-bit sub-code provided on path 256 (contained in path 123-1 of FIG. 1, and P is less than N). DAC 260 converts the sub-code received on path 256 into corresponding analog signal (Vdac) on path 267.
Subtractor 270 generates a residue signal as the difference of sample 111 (Vi) and the analog signal received on path 267. Gain amplifier 280 amplifies the residue signal (Vi-Vdac) and is provided on path 112 as an amplified residue signal. The signal on path 112 is used to resolve the remaining bits in the N-bit digital code by the subsequent stages of the ADC. The manner in which the residue signal is generated by each stage is described below with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B.
FIG. 3A is a circuit diagram illustrating the manner in which DAC 260, subtractor 270, and gain amplifier 280 are implemented in an embodiment providing p-bit sub-codes and FIG. 3B is a timing diagram used to illustrate the sample and hold phases of the circuit. The circuit diagram is shown containing op-amp 350, feedback capacitor 360, feedback switch 380 and circuit portions 301-1 through 301-2n. Circuit portions 301-1 is shown containing sampling capacitor 330-1, switch 310A-1, 310B-1 and 310C-1. The remaining circuit portions 310-2 through 310-2n may also contain similar components, and are not described in the interest of conciseness. Each component is described below in further details.
The circuit in FIG. 3A operates using two phase signals, shown as sampling phase 370 and hold phase 390. In the first phase (sampling phase 370) switches 310A-1 through 310A-2n are closed at time points 371 and the remaining switches 380, 310B-1 through 310B-2n, and 310C-1 through 310C-2n are kept open. As a result, each sampling (input) capacitor 330-1 through 330-2n is ideally charged (in duration between 371–372) to the voltage of input sample received on path 111 by time point 372.
In the second phase (between durations 391–392), feedback switch 380 is closed and switches 310A-1 through 310A-2n are kept open. Connections of switches 310B-1 through 310B-2n, and 310C-1 through 310C-2n are made such that the input terminals of each sampling capacitors 330-1 through 330-2n is connected either to Vref or to REFCM terminal, as determined from the output of flash ADC 250. As a result, capacitors 330-1 through 330-2n transfers a charge proportional to the difference (residue) of input signal and the Vref or REFCM to feedback capacitor 360 (up to time point 392). The residue is amplified by op-amp 350 and provided as amplified residue signal to the next stage, as desired.
By examining the operation of the circuit, it may be appreciated that the magnitude of load offered during different hold phases (at every rising edge 391 to reference buffer 150 by the switched capacitor circuit of FIG. 3A) may be different (depending on the value of the sub-code). In particular, the capacitive load offered by the switched capacitor circuit (in durations 391–392) of FIG. 3A is given as:CL=C1(Vref−Vin)/Vref  Equation (1)
wherein Cn represents the capacitance value of all the capacitors connected to Vref, and Vin represents the sampled input voltage.
From Equation 1, it may be appreciated that one factor contributing to load variation is the varying voltage level (Vin) of the input signal. Another factor contributing to load variation is the number of capacitors connected to Vref (buffer 150 in the hold phase), which depends on the output of the quantizer (flash ADC 250). For example during hold phase(s) (between time points 391 and 392 of FIG. 3B), a selected number of sampling capacitors (based on the sub-code) are connected to the Vref and remaining capacitors are connected to REFCM terminal.
Accordingly, when the input signal equals Vref, the capacitive load offered by switched capacitor circuit of FIG. 3A may equal zero. Similarly, when the input signal has voltage level of 0, no capacitor is connected to Vref (since sub-code equals zero), thereby resulting again in zero capacitive load. However, when the input signal is between 0 and Vref, the capacitive load exhibits a quadratic relation with the input signal.
Due to such varying load, the effective reference voltage provided to switched capacitor amplifier circuit may be different in different conversion cycles (in hold phases in particular). One problem with such differences is, the generated digital codes could be non-linear (i.e., the generated code would not be proportionate to the voltage level of the input signal). Such non-linearity is often undesirable.
One known approach to reducing such non-linearity is to design reference buffer 150 to provide a charging current to charge load capacitors connected to the reference buffer (in this case, some of the capacitors 330-1 through 330-2n based on quantizer output) to a desired reference voltage before occurrence of time point 392 in every hold phase.
However, at least for a high frequency operation of ADCs, it is generally desirable to keep the hold phase (391–392) short. Furthermore, the magnitude of the reference voltage provided to the capacitors needs to consistently equal a desired reference value before each edge 392. Such high frequency and accuracy can be attained by providing sufficient amount of current to capacitors 330-1 through 330-2n instantaneously (or in short duration).
In one prior embodiment, such instantaneous current requirement is supported by connecting an external capacitor having a large value at the output of the reference buffer as illustrated in FIG. 4. The circuit shown there contains buffer 410, (large) capacitor 430, sampling capacitor 460 (representing the capacitive load offered by the switched capacitor amplifier of FIG. 3A, in the illustrative example above), resistor 470, and switches 481 and 482. Each component is described below in further detail.
Switches 481 and 482 connect sampling capacitor 460 to an input signal during sampling phase (371–372), and to reference signal/voltage during hold phase (391–392) respectively. Resistor 470 represents an output impedance of reference buffer 410. A voltage drop across the resistor 470 represents the droop (difference in the reference voltage offered between a no-load scenario and when a load is offered). The droop (voltage drop across resistor 470) increases with current drawn from buffer 410.
Large capacitor 430 is connected to the output of the reference buffer 410 (after output impedance 470). The large capacitor is charged (as shown by charging path 413) when load (sampling capacitor 460) is not connected (between time point 371 and 372) to the buffer. During hold phase, the required instantaneous current is supplied by the large capacitor (as shown by path 436) to sampling capacitor 460 (load). Thus, the buffer may merely need to provide an average charging current in the combination of sampling and hold phases to support the charge requirement of the external capacitor.
One recognised problem with the above approach is that the external (fabricated on a different die) capacitor is often connected to the switching load through a bond-pad (connecting interface), which generally offers an inductive impedance. Thus at higher conversion rate, the inductive impendence inhibits instantaneous current from external reference cap. Hence, such an approach may not be suitable for higher conversion rate switched capacitor data converters.
To overcome some of the related problems of the above approach, the large capacitor is built within (integrated into) the reference buffer output stage. However, the large size of the capacitors may present challenges in fabrication. The challenge may be appreciated by recognizing that an ADC generating N bit digital codes may require an internal capacitor having a capacitance of (CLOAD*2N), wherein CLOAD represents the total capacitive load. The total capacitive load is also proportion to 2N, and thus the required capacitance value increases rapidly with increased resolution (increasing N) requirements, and may be practically difficult to fabricate for sufficiently high value of N.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus which provides a reference voltage with desired accuracy in a short duration to a dynamically varying load.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit (s) in the corresponding reference number.

Providing reference voltage with desired accuracy in a short duration to a dynamically varying load


To prevent an ink blurring on the recording medium, the ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets onto the recording medium to record an image includes a plurality of recording heads, each having a plurality of ejecting ports and ejecting different inks; a data storage device for storing printing data and non-printing data for each of the recording heads; a boundary detector for detecting a boundary between the printing data and the non printing data of one of the recording heads in accordance with the printing data stored in the storage device; and a judging an adjusting device for judging whether printing data of other heads continues for more than a predetermined number of dots at the boundary detected by the boundary detector; and a thinning device for converting some of the printing data of the other heads to non printing data when the judging means determines that the printing data of the other heads continues for more than the predetermined number of dots.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an ink jet recording apparatus using an ink jet recording head. More specifically, the present invention is directed to an ink jet recording apparatus capable of recording a color image on a recording medium without ink blurring by thinning the image by excluding some of ink dots.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A color ink jet recording apparatus ejects a plurality of ink droplets onto a recording medium to form a single pixel. A color image may be formed by varying the sort of ejecting ink. This conventional ink jet recording apparatus records on the recording medium at high speed using, for example, low viscosity ink (mainly containing water). Extremely high ink absorbing speed and absorbing capacity are required to the recording medium. Various sorts of coated paper for ink jet recording purposes have been developed which have thick ink absorbing layers. However, the ink absorbing speed and the absorbing capacity of this coated paper do not meet the requirements of the color recording using four different color inks. Accordingly, the ink blurs at the edge of the color, boundary among different colors, and high density area, so that printing sharpness is lowered and ink concentration happens to fluctuate.
On the other hand, in view of cost, curling, weights and so on, a recording medium with thin coat layer and a recording medium of plain paper are preferable. However, when a color image is recorded on such recording paper, the ink blurs conspicuously. The bleeding of ink occurs at the color mixture portion on the plain paper and the plain paper cockles. The quality of the image is debased by the contacts of the ink ejecting surface of the rcording heads with the paper while the heads are moving. Furthermore, the ink is offset by the paper transporting roller, so that the quality of the image is debased. A similar problem occurs on OHP film having low ink absorbing capacity. There are some problems, taking account of the properties of the recording head. The ink on the convex portion of the recording material is attached on the ink ejecting plane of the recording head, which cause no ink to be ejected from the ink ejecting ports. In addition, the water repellent effect of the ink ejecting plane would be weakened due to sliding between the convex portion and the recording head, so that the ink may be readily attached to the ink ejecting planes.

Ink jet recording apparatus and method capable of preventing ink blurring by thinning ink dots


A storage stores content information for a trial version of an application program assigned identification information and content information for a product version; a license information acquisition unit acquires license information for the application program by referring to request information acknowledged by an input acknowledging unit; a determination unit determines whether the license information for the application program is stored in the memory by referring to the identification information; and a display processing unit generates a display screen using first content information until the determination unit determines that the license information is stored, and generates a display screen using second content information when the determination unit determines that the license information is stored.

A conventional menu screen proposed to improve operability of user interface includes a two-dimensional arrangement of a plurality of function icons and a plurality of media icons.
[patent document No. 1] WO2005-109157 pamphlet
Manufacturers of games develop a variety of game software and attempt to introduce new games to users by distributing trial versions of software free of charge as well as advertising their products through TV commercials or the like. Many game devices recently available are designed to store game software in a large capacity storage such as a hard disk and allow users to enjoy the installed game without a game disk. These game devices also allow users to download game software from a virtual game shop on the Internet. Attempts are made to distribute trial versions of software from a virtual game shop and gain new users.
When a user likes the trial version of software, the user purchases the product version via the Internet and downloads the product. Therefore, the user has to download the software twice, i.e., the trial version and the product version. Various steps for purchase that should be gone through in a virtual game shop force users to experience hassle. As the trial version and the product version of game software are stored in the storage of the game device in a duplicate manner, the storage capacity is wastefully consumed. Since icons of executable game software are displayed in a menu screen of the game device, the icon of the trial version and that of the product version are both displayed, resulting in less user-friendly interface.


An integrated box-type 3D printing device, having a support structure, a first bracket, a second bracket, and a printer body. The first bracket is movable back and forth in a first direction on the support structure. The printer body is arranged on the second bracket. The second bracket is movable back and forth in a second direction relative to the first bracket. The printer body is movable back and forth in a third direction on the second bracket. The support structure is provided with an accommodating space for accommodating the second bracket. The second bracket is foldable in the opposite direction to the third direction so that the second bracket is foldable into the accommodating space so that the integrated box-type 3D printing device assumes a transport and storage configuration when the second bracket is folded into the accommodating space.

3D printing is a new type of rapid additive manufacturing technology, which can accurately print the electronic blueprint with consumables, and has the advantages of rapid molding, less pollution, saving materials and high quality of molded products. A more recent development in 3D printing is creating buildings or other structures by 3D printing in the field of construction. At present, this technology is becoming more and more mature in the field of construction works.
In order to meet the requirements of printing head movement in three-dimensional space, the traditional 3D printing equipment generally adopts a Cartesian coordinate system or a parallel arm structure, and they both need three degrees of freedom of movement, which requires three sets of sliding devices. The bulky 3D printer makes it difficult to transport, costly and cumbersome to install on site.

Integrated box-type 3D printing device with a foldable printer body

Shanghai Yannuo Building Material Co., Ltd.


A toner includes a crystalline polyester resin in an amount equal to or greater than 25% by mass. The toner satisfies the following formula when the toner is tested using a capillary rheometry measurement during which a pellet of the toner is pressed by a member while being heated: 0.3≦(first temperature−second temperature)/(second temperature−third temperature)≦1, where the first temperature is a temperature at which the member falls 4 mm, the second temperature is a temperature at which the member falls 2 mm, and the third temperature is a temperature at which the member starts to fall.

A toner is used to form an image on a medium. A toner that can be fixed at a low temperature is preferred because the energy used for fixing the toner would be reduced.
A toner of one type in the related art includes a binder resin that has a low glass transition temperature. This toner has a low fixing temperature, but may be solidified while being stored in a toner cartridge.
A toner of another type includes crystalline polyester resin to further lower the fixing temperature. However, the toner of this type may also be solidified while being stored in a toner cartridge. Further, because viscosity of this toner significantly reduces when being heated to a certain temperature, the toner may not be properly transferred to the medium because of lack of viscosity. As a result, a temperature range within which the toner can be properly transferred to the medium may become narrower.

Toner containing crystalline polyester resin and method of manufacturing the same


A hand-operated tool includes a tool head having a central longitudinal axis, a handle extending from the tool head, a connector securing the handle to the tool head, and a central step at an upper end of the tool head and at the central longitudinal axis. A length of the handle is preferably adjustable. The handle preferably includes a handle portion forming a triangle shaped closed loop and has an upper section extending perpendicular to a central longitudinal axis of the handle portion and lower sections angularly extending from ends of the upper section to the central longitudinal axis of the handle portion. The connector preferably includes a pair of laterally spaced apart and parallel lower portions having lower ends secured to the tool head, a central portion connecting the lower portions, and an upper portion centrally connected to the central portion and the handle.

A variety of different hand-operated tools are commonly used for lawn and gardening tasks such as, for example, spades, shovels, and forks which can require the user to step on a tool head to apply enough force to drive the tool head into the ground or other material to be by the tool. These hand-operated tools typically have a generally straight, cylindrical-shaped handle extending rearwardly from the tool head along a central longitudinal axis. In some instances, a rear end of the handle is provided with a grip such as, for example, a D-shaped grip. The upper end of the tool head is typically provided with abutments or steps located on opposite sides of the handle onto which the user can step to apply a force to the tool head into the ground. The tool head is typically made of a metal such as, for example, steel while the handle is typically made of a material such as, for example, wood, fiberglass, or plastic.
While these prior hand-operated tools may be adequate to perform intended lawn and gardening tasks under some conditions, they can be difficult and uncomfortable to grasp and hold, particularly with two hands, and can require the operator to have a relatively large amount of hand strength. Additionally, the user can become easily unbalanced and must apply an undesirably high amount of force when stepping on the tool head because the user must step at the side of the tool head offset from the central axis. This can particularly be a concern when the hand-operated tools are used by women, elderly, or handicapped users. Additionally, there is a never ending desire to improve certain characteristics of such hand-operated lawn and garden tools such as, for example, quality, reliability, versatility, weather-resistance, high strength, low weight, and low manufacturing costs. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved hand-operated lawn and garden tools.


A method for detecting a media change includes the steps of comparing a previous media condition to a current media condition, detecting a media change when the previous media condition is in one state and the current media condition is not that one state and, prompting a user to make appropriate menu selections when the media change is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to media feeding and more specifically a method of detecting a media change and prompting a user to verify characteristics of the changed media.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image-forming devices are known for producing images on media such as plain paper, photo paper, transparencies and the like. Image-forming devices include laser printers, ink jet printers, and other types of printing peripherals that may include devices, such as a multi-function peripheral device or all-in-one device. In such an image-forming device or peripheral, media is positioned on an input tray and fed from the input tray through the printing device along a feedpath to an output tray. In general, the image-forming mechanism of the device, such as an ink jet printing mechanism, moves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the movement of the media through the media feedpath. However, the image-forming mechanism may alternatively be stationary relative to the media moving past the image forming portion of the device.
In low-cost peripheral devices, media changes between print jobs are typically not recognized. As media-type sensors have been introduced into these printing systems, the media-type may be detected at the beginning of a print job. However, these systems still rely on a user to actuate a menu and manually change the media size so that the print controller may properly determine the layout of the image being printed on to media. For example, if the media size is not changed within the menu system, a printer may continue printing when media has already passed through the print zone due to a change in media size. This causes ink spray on to the mechanisms and components adjacent the print mechanism and may result in ink smearing on later prints. Alternatively, if media-type is changed and not compensated for by the controller, the image quality may suffer significantly. This is because controllers are generally calibrated to eject ink in different ways for different media-types.
It would be helpful to a user if the printing peripheral recognized a media change and affirmatively prompted a user to verify media characteristics located within the input tray of the feedpath.


A lithium battery and method for fabricating the same are provided herein. The battery cathode comprises a carbon structure filled with a catalyst, such as palladium-catalyst-filled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The carbon structure provides a barrier between the catalyst and the electrolyte providing an increased stability of the electrolyte during both discharging and charging of a battery.

The search for high energy density batteries has motivated research in lithium-air batteries. Catalysts have been shown to improve both the battery capacity and the recyclability of these batteries when used in cathodes.
High energy density batteries have garnered much attention in recent years due to their demand in electric vehicles. Lithium oxygen (Li—O2) batteries have nearly 10 times the theoretical specific energy of common lithium-ion batteries and in that respect have been regarded as the batteries of the future. A typical Li—O2 battery comprises a Li anode, a porous cathode open to oxygen, and a Li+ ion conducting electrolyte separating the electrodes. A Li—O2 battery stores energy via a simple electrochemical reaction (2Li+O2⇄Li2O2) in which Li2O2 is deposited on the surface of the cathode via a forward reaction (oxygen reduction reaction, ORR) during discharge and a backward reaction (oxygen evolution reaction, OER) takes place during charging to decompose Li2O2 on the surface of cathode. Since the main discharge product (Li2O2) and other discharge/charge byproducts in Li—O2 batteries are electrically insulating and not soluble in electrolytes, the structure and electronic conductivity of cathode materials have been critical factors in determining the limiting capacity of Li—O2 batteries. Carbonaceous materials such as carbon nanoparticles, carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, graphene platelets, and other forms of carbons have been commonly used as cathode materials in Li—O2 batteries. Among carbon-based materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely used in Li—O2 cathodes due to their high specific surface area, good chemical stability, high electrical conductivity, and large accessibility of active sites. CNT (single-walled) have been used as cathode materials in Li—O2 batteries and shown discharge specific capacities as high as 2540 mAh·g−1, which were obtained at a 0.1 mA·cm−2 discharge current density. Although many research studies have been done to improve the performance metrics of Li—O2 batteries, they are still in their early stages and many technical challenges have to be addressed before their practical applications.
The most common problems impeding the development of Li—O2 batteries have been low rate capability, poor recyclability, and low round-trip efficiency. All of these issues are originally stemmed from sluggish kinetics and the irreversible characteristic of the OER and ORR reactions which causes high overpotentials in the discharging/charging process. Hence, increasing the efficiency of OER/ORR reactions and minimizing the overpotentials during the discharging/charging process have been regarded as a meaningful approaches to overcome the aforementioned problems in Li—O2 batteries.
Various additives have been explored to remedy this problem including the use of redox mediators. Redox mediators minimize charge polarization by acting as charge carriers between the cathode and Li2O2 surface. Alternatively, different noble metals and metal oxide catalysts have also been integrated in the cathodes of Li—O2 batteries. The catalyst may influence the performance of Li—O2 batteries by destabilizing the oxidizing species which decreases the charging overpotential. They may also increase the surface active sites and facilitate charge transport from oxidized reactants to the electrode which can also lead to formation of nanocrystalline Li2O2. However, it has been recently shown that the catalyst on the oxygen cathode in Li—O2 batteries is easily deactivated due to continuous accumulation of discharge and charge products upon cycling. It also has been reported that coarsening and agglomeration of catalyst upon charging/discharging reduces the efficiency of catalyst in Li—O2 batteries. Platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) catalysts have been reported to promote Li2O2 oxidation at low potentials but also cause electrolyte decomposition resulting in the formation of Li2CO3 and thus deactivating the catalysts.

THE FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES


A method and system are provided that efficiently compound high levels of inorganic filler, processing fluid and silicone polymer at a commercial rate into homogeneous filled and devolatilized silicone compositions. In the method, filled silicone compositions are compounded by compounding a filler, processing fluid and silicone polymer in a first compounding apparatus to produce a first dispersed composition and simultaneously compounding a filler, processing fluid and silicone polymer in a second compounding apparatus that shares a common extruder shaft with the first compounding apparatus to produce a second dispersed composition. The system comprises a first compounding apparatus and a sequential second compounding apparatus that shares a common shaft with the first compounding apparatus. An extruder transition section of the system includes an enclosed discharge chamber defined by a first sectioning wall, a second sectioning wall and a contoured lower wall that transitions toward a discharge port and a shaft extends through the first sectioning wall, traverses the chamber and extends through the second sectioning wall.

The invention relates to a sequential method and system to compound heat-vulcanizable silicone compositions.
A heat-vulcanizable silicone composition comprises a high viscosity silicone polymer, an inorganic reinforcing filler and various additives that aid processing or impart desired final properties to the composition. A vulcanizing agent can be added and the composition heat-cured to fabricate silicone rubber moldings such as gaskets, medical tubing and computer keypads.
Typically, the heat-vulcanizable silicone composition is produced by kneading a high-viscosity polydiorganosiloxane, the inorganic filler and additives by means of a batch kneading machine such as a high intensity Banbury mixer or a low intensity double arm dough mixer. In this process, polydiorganosiloxane, inorganic filler and treating agents are batch mixed until desired properties are obtained. This process requires long residence times and large amounts of energy. Non-homogeneous shear and extensional stresses across a commercial sized batch can result in non-uniform size distribution of filler that results in variations in properties. Batches processed at different times may be characterized by different physical properties. The batch process is labor, energy and capital intensive and produces materials of only marginal consistency.
In Kasahara et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,171, a premix is formed in a first step wherein a polydiorganosiloxane having a viscosity at 25° C. of 1×105cP or more, an inorganic filler and a treating agent are mixed in a high-speed mechanical shearing machine. The step produces a flowable particulate mixture in which each ingredient is present in a substantially uniform, finely dispersed state. The premix is then fed at a constant feed rate into an extruder that has two screws rotating in the same direction and has a length to diameter ratio (L/D) of 25 to 50.
In Hamada et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,978, a premix of polydiorganosiloxane, inorganic filler and treating agents is formed at a temperature in the range of about 200° C. to 300° C. in a co-rotating continuous double screw extruder with L/D of about 25 to 50. The premix is then compounded and heat treated at 150° C. to 300° C. in a counter-rotating, double screw extruder. A useful L/D ratio for the second extruder is in the range of about 5 to 15.
Highly vigorous first step processes for forming a premix of silicone polymer, filler and treating agent generate a product having a high volatiles content. The premix must be mixed with additional polymer and devolatilized in a second step to produce a useful product. Other newer processes that avoid a premix and/or that use a raw untreated filler can be limited in throughput. Larger diameter extruders will increase throughput. However, larger diameter extruders must be custom built. Hence, larger extruders are expensive and cost more per unit capacity. There is a need for a process that continuously and consistently produces a devolatilized high viscosity filled silicone polymer composition at high throughput. Further, there is a need for an improved continuous compounding method that efficiently utilizes compounding equipment while providing commercial scale production.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method that comprises receiving a first stream of video frames at a first frame rate and generating a second stream of video frames at a second frame rate. The method also comprises interpolating between a pair of adjacent video frames of the first stream of video frames to produce a first number of interpolated intermediate video frames in a particular sequence of the intermediate video frames. The method further comprises duplicating at least one of the adjacent video frames of the pair of adjacent video frames to produce a second number of duplicated intermediate video frames in the particular sequence of the intermediate video frames. The method further comprises, in response to a change in observed interpolation quality, dynamically changing the first number of interpolated intermediate video frames and the second number of duplicated intermediate video frames.

Up-conversion of video streams uses frame interpolation to insert interpolated frames between original frames of a video stream. For example, up-converting a video stream from 24 frames per second (fps), as in conventional analog video, to 120 fps, as in high-definition television, is performed by inserting four intermediate frames between consecutive or temporally adjacent frames of the original video stream. In an aggressive interpolation, all four intermediate frames may be interpolated frames. In a defensive interpolation, only one or two of the intermediate frames may be interpolated frames, and the remaining intermediate frames are repeated or duplicated frames of the original video stream. If interpolation is turned off or not being used, then all intermediate frames are duplicated frames rather than interpolated frames.
In conventional video systems, users are provided with a setting, such as in a menu screen, to set the degree of interpolation. Aggressive interpolation is used to avoid judder, or the appearance of shaking that can occur when repeating frames. But aggressive interpolation may result in artifacts created by interpolation errors. Often, users of conventional video systems may select a mid-level or "medium" level of interpolation aggressiveness to avoid the worst interpolation artifacts, thus balancing interpolation quality with the appearance of judder.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.


The present invention is an image processing apparatus for processing an image data using an image file which includes the image data and image processing control information to be used for processing the image data. The apparatus comprises an automatic picture quality adjuster configured to automatically regulate lightness of the image data according to lightness of a whole image expressed by the image data and an adjustment degree determiner configured to determine a degree of the auto adjustment based on the image processing control information.

The picture quality of image data generated by a digital still camera (DSC), a scanner, or other image input devices is often subjected to automatic adjustment on a personal computer or a printer. Parameters relating to adjustment of the picture quality include brightness (lightness) of an image. The brightness of the image is regulated, such that the reflectivity of an image corresponding to the brightness is made approximate to the reflectivity of a standard light reflector (for example, a reflector having a reflectivity of 18%), according to the brightness over the whole image expressed by the image data. Such regulation prevents the whole image from being excessively darkened or brightened.
In some cases, the user may desire adequate expression of the brightness not over the whole image but in only a part of the image. For example, in the case of portraits, emphasis is given not on the brightness over the whole image but on the brightness of only a figure, which is the main subject. In such cases, regulation according to the brightness over the whole image may cause the figure from being excessively brightened.


An LTCC carrier composed of thermosetting polymer, woven glass fiber and ceramic has gold over nickel contact pads on top and bottom surfaces and conductive vias therethrough between aligned pairs of top and bottom pads. The vias prevent undesirable inductive paths from limiting high frequency operation of the circuitry. Solder deposits on the top pads attach the LTCC component, which is further secured to the carrier by epoxy, thus improving resistance to thermal stress and mechanical shock. A slot through the carrier body between top and bottom surfaces further reduces thermal stress and mechanical shock. Metallized castellations on opposite carrier sides provide additional surface area for reflow solder joints with the PCB, and a means for visually inspecting the solder joint quality. A gap in the metallization on the top layer of the carrier prevents solder spreading during multiple soldering cycles, which may result in poor solder joints.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to carriers for electronic components and in particular to carriers for low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Surface Mount Technology (SMT) is used by the electronics industry as a mass production technique for attaching electronic components to printed circuit boards (PCBs) by reflow soldering. The electronics industry has a continuing need to shrink components in order to decrease the PCB area needed for circuitry, and to fit more circuitry into a given area. One method of shrinking components is to use Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic, (LTCC) which allows circuitry to be distributed in multiple stacked layers rather than being spread out in a single layer. Examples of LTCC circuitry, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,049,905, 7,030,713 and 6,784,521. Semiconductor dice can also be attached to to LTCC components in order to further reduce PCB real estate requirements. Typically the semiconductor die is attached to the top layer of the LTCC component and examples of this are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,027,795 and 6,917,796.
Typically, LTCC components use Palladium Silver (PdAg) or gold over nickel for interconnect terminations, and while PdAg has lower cost and greater availability, gold over nickel is superior for less leaching out of metallization during soldering. Historically, gold over nickel has not been available as a finish for most LTCC designs. There exist a significant number of LTCC designs with PdAg finish and one aspect of this invention addresses such designs in terms of providing a finish of gold over nickel instead.
One quality problem in reflow soldering of LTCC components to PCBs is the inspection of solder joints. The typical interconnect termination for an LTCC component is located on the bottom of the component and thus visual inspection of the solder joints is difficult when the component has been soldered in place on a PCB. One technique to allow easier visual inspection of the solder joints involves welding or brazing metal leads to the terminations, though this adds expense and the risk of damage to the terminations. Another technique is to add solderable wraparound metal leads to the LTCC package, which results in reduced real estate for circuitry on the top layer and adds lead inductance, thus reducing high frequency performance.
Another quality problem for LTCC components is in mitigating thermal stress and mechanical shock, which can cause interconnect termination joint failure or even cracking of the component. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of ceramic and silicon components is sufficiently different from the CTE of typical epoxy fiberglass PCBs that this mismatch can cause solder joint failure with changes in temperature. The CTE mismatch problem is worse for larger components where the amount of thermally induced mechanical stress is greater. Techniques used to provide thermal stress relief for LTCC and semiconductor components generally take the form of an intermediate substrate or interposer, either attached first to the component and thus serving as a carrier, or attached to the PCB, often in the form of a specialized layer. These intermediate structures generally either function by providing a mechanically flexible means to absorb movement and stress generated by CTE mismatch, or by providing an intermediate CTE so that the solder joints on each side of the intermediate structure each see less thermal stress.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,554,206 discloses a flexible substrate with arrays of conductive pads and conductive posts on opposite sides of the substrate and offset from each other to permit movement in response to thermal expansion. This substrate requires numerous manufacturing steps and is a mechanically complex solution to the problem, and since the conductive posts are under the component, provides no improvement to inspection of the resulting solder joints.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,819 discloses a flexible substrate having via holes filled with conductive adhesive, where the surfaces of the substrate over the via holes are coated with solderable metal contacts. Since the solderable contacts are under the component it provides no improvement to inspection of the resulting solder joints.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,462 discloses a flexible substrate having ball grid arrays on both faces, where the ball grid arrays are connected by conductive vias through the substrate and are either offset or aligned. When offset, the substrate between each pair of solder balls is able to flex and warp in response to thermal stress. When aligned, the substrate has holes interposed between the solder balls to permit more flexure of the substrate. However, in either version the solder joints are under the substrate and thus difficult to inspect.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,551 an interface board is configured to be placed between a leadless component and a PCB. The interface board is made of material having a thermal coefficient similar to that of the PCB. Solder pads on opposite sides of the interface board are offset from each other and PCB material is selectively removed to allow the board to flex. This approach causes the footprint of the PCB to be different than that of the component, which is a major drawback.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,172 a hidden lead package device is placed between a leadless component and a PCB. One end of the hidden lead is brazed to the leadless component and the other end Is soldered to the PCB. This approach causes the footprint of the PCB to be different than that of the component, which is not acceptable in existing PCB designs and in addition, the brazing operation could result in cracking of the LTCC material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,872 discloses a surface mount component attached to an interposer formed from a thin, flexible polymer sheet with conductive traces radiating outward from the component to the sheet edges where the traces can then be soldered to a PCB. The sheet interposer is able to flex in response to thermal stress and the solder joints can be inspected, but requires additional PCB real estate to function and requires the users to design a specialized PCB.
A variant on the flexible substrate approach to mitigating CTE mismatch between surface mount components and PCBs is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,397 wherein a hollow dielectric frame serves as a carrier for the component, using metal clips spanning from the frame's bottom surface to the frame's top surface as conductive elements which the component is soldered to and then in turn the assembly is soldered to the PCB. The disadvantage of this approach is that the metal clips will increase circuit inductance and thus limit high frequency operation, and also have to be manufactured as separate parts and then assembled onto the dielectric frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,136 discloses a PCB with a relatively thin expansion layer bonded to the surface of the PCB as a means to mitigate CTE mismatch between the PCB and a surface mount component. This approach has the disadvantage of requiring specialized manufacturing for the PCB, requires additional real estate, and also does not address the problem of solder joint inspection since the solder joints are either under the component or are situated at leads extending outwards which lower the usable frequency range of the circuit.
Another approach to mitigating the CTE difference between LTCC components or other ceramic or silicon based components and a PCB substrate is the use of interposers or intermediate mounting substrates with a CTE intermediate that of the component and the PCB. Examples of these intermediate CTE interposers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,734,540, 6,516,513 and Patent Application 2009/0002963. All three of these inventions provide solder connections under the interposers or substrates and thus provide no improvement in ability to inspect the solder joints.
One form of a carrier for surface mount components is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,862,190, wherein the carrier adapts the termination footprint of a surface mount device to a different and generally larger footprint on a PCB. This carrier has a generally simple and useful form but has leads long enough to impose limits on high frequency operation and by being substantially larger than the surface mount component is inefficient for mounting the component with a minimal increase in PCB real estate.
There is a need for a cost-effective means to reliably attach an LTCC or other surface mount component to a PCB or similar electronic substrate without leaching of metallization during reflow soldering, with improved capability for visual inspection of the solder joints, with a reduction in thermal stress and mechanical shock on the solder joints, with no significant increase in required PCB real estate required for mounting, and permitting circuit operation at up to and including microwave frequencies.


A method comprises magnetically holding a bead carrying biological material (e.g., nucleic acid, which may be in the form of DNA fragments or amplified DNA) in a specific location of a substrate, and applying an electric field local to the bead to isolate the biological material or products or byproducts of reactions of the biological material. For example, the bead is isolated from other beads having associated biological material. The electric field in various embodiments concentrates reagents for an amplification or sequencing reaction, and/or concentrates and isolates detectable reaction by-products. For example, by isolating nucleic acids around individual beads, the electric field can allow for clonal amplification, as an alternative to emulsion PCR. In other embodiments, the electric field isolates a nanosensor proximate to the bead, to facilitate detection of at least one of local pH change, local conductivity change, local charge concentration change and local heat. The beads may be trapped in the form of an array of localized magnetic field regions.

Methods for quick and cost effective DNA sequencing (e.g., at high-throughput) remain an important aspect of advancing personalized medicine and diagnostic testing. Some known systems for DNA sequencing require that DNA samples be transferred between various subsystems (e.g., between the nucleic acid isolation subsystem and the amplification subsystem), thus resulting in inefficiencies and potential contamination. Some known methods for DNA sequencing employ optical detection, which can be cumbersome, expensive, and can limit throughput. Other systems utilize some forms of electronic sensing, but the sensor and sequencing flow cell are one-time use disposables, which substantially increase the cost to the user, and limits the complexity of the sensor which may be cost effectively manufactured, as it will be thrown out after a single use. Some systems utilize amplification methods within the same flow cell, in which the sequencing is performed, binding the amplified directly to the flow cell, preventing reuse. Other systems utilize emulsion PCR, wherein beads and samples are mixed into small emulsions utilizing low concentrations. Due to Poisson distribution, most of the beads and sample do not come together in an emulsion with a single bead and a single sample, and are thus lost. The cost of the beads is a substantial portion of the cost of the sequencing, and most of that cost is thrown away without ever generating any useful data. The current system enables utilization of virtually all of the sample, and the reuse of the beads, thus reducing the cost to the user.
Current DNA sequencing systems typically need whole genome amplification in order to have sufficient sample, as the sample is very inefficiently utilized. Such whole genome amplification methods typically introduce significant amounts of bias in amplification in different portions of the genome, and require higher levels of coverage to overcome said bias. Methods for localizing samples, and reagents into a volume wherein a desired reaction or binding may occur is another aspect which is envisioned for the system, which may eliminate or reduce the need for whole genome amplification, and thus reduce the coverage needed.
Thus, a need exists for improved systems and methods for extracting, amplifying and sequencing polynucleotides

Systems and methods for automated reusable parallel biological reactions


A wildlife warning system that comprises at least two independent warning devices, wherein each warning device has an electric power supply, at least one signal generator, a microcontroller for controlling the signal generator, and a communication means for wireless communication with other warning devices and/or with a base station for the purpose of forming a wireless network of wildlife warning devices.

Accidents with wild animals, particularly relatively large wild animals such as deer, stags or wild boar, are regretfully part of the daily road scene and not only usually end in the death of the wild animals in question but also cause high levels of annual personal and material damage. Ever quieter vehicles, which also have a tendency to move at a higher speed, mean that the trend toward serious wildlife accidents has rather increased in recent years, since the animals are not left with sufficient time to escape when a vehicle approaches. Wildlife accidents are not just a large problem for road traffic, however, but are also a large source of danger for rail traffic, particularly for high-speed passenger trains, and also for aircraft that are taking off and landing.
Particularly for road traffic, a wide variety of approaches to preventing wildlife accidents have been developed in past decades. Besides costly structural measures, such as creating wildlife bridges, wildlife tunnels or wildlife fences, a wide variety of wildlife warning devices are also known that are usually fitted at the edge of the road on exposed road sections and are intended to prevent collisions between wild animals and vehicles by transmitting audible and/or visual signals. A variant of such wildlife warning devices is based on the detection of the wild animals themselves. By way of example, wildlife warning devices are known that use light barriers that run along the roadsides, with interruption of the light barrier by a wild animal being followed by the transmission of audible and visual warning signals in order to prevent the wild animal from crossing the road. Other wildlife warning devices are based on the detection of approaching vehicles. Such apparatuses are known as passive and active variants. The passive variants merely involve the headlamp light from approaching vehicles being deflected to the side by suitable reflectors, as a result of which the visual effect is meant to prevent the wildlife from crossing the road and hence to avoid accidents. The effectiveness of such passive reflectors is found to be very restricted, however. Much more effective are active electronic wildlife warning devices that have a dedicated electric power supply and, by way of example, use a light sensor to detect an approaching vehicle and are subsequently able to actively emit audible and/or visual warning signals. A typical example of such a wildlife warning device that has an electric power supply, at least one signal generator for emitting audible and/or visual signals and a microcontroller for controlling the signal generator is the wildlife protection appliance from the applicant, which is sold under the name WWG2.1 and is one of the most effective commercially available appliances.
The patent specification US 2003071735 A1 describes a wildlife protection system (wildlife warning system) that can be activated by means of a radio signal, or that transmits an activation signal to adjacent wildlife warning systems upon activation by means of a sensor.
However, the electronic wildlife warning devices known to date are also associated with problems.
Appliances that involve the detection of the headlamp light from approaching vehicles have a relatively short early warning time for the wild animals, for example, when the vehicles are approaching at relatively high speed. Vehicle speeds of just approximately 50 km/h and above often do not leave the wild animals enough time to be able to leave the road before the vehicle arrives, however.
Furthermore, such appliances are ineffective in daylight, since the signal generators are triggered when a headlamp light is detected, which means that the appliances are usually activated by an ambient light sensor only at twilight or at the onset of night.
In the case of wildlife warning devices that, regardless of the amount of vehicles, are activated when the wild animals themselves are detected, there is also the risk of familiarization effects, since the triggering of the light and sound signals is then not associated with a specific danger situation. Therefore, the effectiveness of such installations can be impaired over the longer term.
Electronic wildlife warning appliances are generally also at risk of theft and complex to maintain on account of the limited life of the components. Therefore, frequent time-consuming and costly inspections are required in order to ensure continuous operation and availability of the wildlife warning devices.
The present invention is therefore based on the technical problem of providing a wildlife warning system that solves or at least minimizes the problems described above for known wildlife warning devices.


Alerts (13) are generated at mobile entity devices (12) and servers (16). The alerts are examined at the servers and handled by the server and/or forwarded to a clearing house (22). At the clearing house, emergency events (40) are created in response to the alerts by an event module (36). A notify module (38) compares events to an information need (304) associated with a subscriber profile (46) to determine whether a subscriber associated with the subscriber profile should be notified about events. The notify module also handles interactive search requests from a client (20) for the events.

As computers have grown increasingly important in today's society, information tracking and distribution has grown increasingly useful in many industries. Law enforcement is one such industry. Law enforcement has successfully used computer systems for tracking information about criminals. However, existing law enforcement computer systems have typically been limited to crime information. Further, existing methods lack effective capabilities to share information with other law enforcement departments and non-law enforcement personnel.

Method and system for situation tracking and notification


The present invention provides a method and an apparatus for treating a chlorine-containing waste, which can separate and recover a chlorine component from a chlorine-containing waste, and also can achieve a high chlorine removal thereby obtaining a high purity chlorine compound, and can decrease the amount of water for recovering chlorine. The method for treating a chlorine-containing waste of the present invention comprises a washing/filtrating step of adding water to the chlorine-containing waste, followed by mixing to form a first slurry, separating the first slurry into a solid and a filtrate through filtration, and using the resulting solid as a cement raw material; a filtrate treating step of adding a reducing agent and a pH adjustor to the filtrate to form a sediment containing heavy metal and calcium contained in the filtrate, and separating the sediment through filtration; a crystallization step of concentrating the filtrate, from which the sediment has been removed, through heating and evaporation to form a second slurry in which a chlorine compound contained in the filtrate has been crystallized, separating the second slurry into a solid containing a chlorine compound and a mother liquor, and recovering the solid; and a separated mother liquor treating step of returning a portion of the mother liquor to a cement manufacturing facility.

In a cement manufacturing facility, the amount of a volatile component such as chlorine contained in industrial waste has recently increased in a kiln with the increase in the amount of industrial waste to be treated, and thus an adverse influence may be exerted on the quality of cement and the operation of a cement kiln system. Thus, a chlorine bypass device for removing chlorine from the cement manufacturing facility has been disposed so as to cope with the problem.
This chlorine bypass device is a device in which, in order to remove a volatile component such as chlorine concentrated by repeating volatilization and condensation between a cement kiln and a preheater, chlorine bypass dust containing the solidified volatile component composed mainly of a chlorine compound is produced by bleeding an exhaust gas from a kiln tail portion of the cement kiln, followed by cooling, and the chlorine bypass dust is discharged out of the system thereby removing chlorine from the inside of the cement kiln.
The chlorine bypass dust generated in the chlorine bypass device contains a large amount of the chlorine compound and heavy metal. It is necessary to remove the chlorine compound and heavy metal so as to reuse as the cement raw material again.
Thus, a method of removing a chlorine component by washing the chlorine bypass dust with water has been proposed and put into practical use.
For example, there is proposed a method for a treatment of converting into a cement raw material, which comprises the steps of adding water to a waste containing chlorine thereby converting the waste into a slurry; eluting chlorine contained in the waste; filtering the slurry in which chlorine is eluted; optionally washing the slurry to remove chlorine, separating the slurry into a desalted cake and a filtrate through filtration; using the desalted cake as a cement raw material and adding a chelating agent and a pH adjustor to the filtrate, thereby sedimenting heavy metal and a harmful component and removing them; adding additives to the filtrate after the heavy metal and harmful component have been removed, thereby replacing calcium ions by sodium ions; and using calcium carbonate thus sedimented as a cement raw material (refer to Patent Document 1).
There is also proposed, as a method for separating and recovering a chlorine compound removed by washing the waste with water, a method for treating a waste, which comprises the steps of washing a waste with water thereby eluting a chlorine component and a lead component, thus carrying out solid-liquid separation (washing step); adding an alkali solution to the solid removed by filtration thereby eluting the lead component and converting calcium into a hydroxide, followed by removal through filtration (alkali elution step); adding the filtrate to the filtrate separated in the washing step and adding a sulfidizing agent thereby sedimenting and separating lead (deleading step); adding a carbonic acid source to the deleaded filtrate thereby sedimenting and separating calcium (calcium removal step); and heating the filtrate thereby sedimenting a chloride, followed by separation and recovery of the chloride (salt recovery step) (Patent Document 2).
(Patent Document 1)    Japanese Patent No. 3,304,300
(Patent Document 2)    Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2003-1218

Method for treating chlorine-containing waste


In a receiver, both an A/D conversion (ADC) and a phase-split (PSF) is carried out on an input signal (R) to obtain a pair of digital signals (Xd,Yd) which are mutually phase shifted. The pair of digital signals (Xd,Yd) is processed (VSP) as a vectorial signal with a frequency-characteristic which is asymmetrical with respect to zero frequency. In order to make the receiver better suited for relatively low A/D conversion sampling frequencies (Fs), the phase-split (PSF) is carried out prior to the A/D conversion (ADC).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a receiver and a method of reception in which both an A/D conversion and a phase-split is carried on an input signal to obtain a pair of digital signals which are mutually phase shifted and further processed as a vectorial signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
European Patent Application EP-A 0 486 095 discloses a prior-art receiver of the above-identified type. In the prior-art receiver, a reception signal is first pre-processed by means of analog filters and analog amplifiers. Subsequently, the pre-processed reception signal is subjected to an analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. A digital filter converts the digitized reception signal into a pair of phase quadrature signals xi and yi. The pair of phase quadrature signals xi and yi is applied to a first Cordic processor which carries out a frequency conversion. As a result, a pair of baseband phase quadrature signals xo and yo is obtained, this pair being low-pass filtered and, subsequently, applied to a second Cordic processor for FM demodulation. For a more comprehensive understanding of the prior-art receiver, reference is made to EP-A 0 486 095 which, in particular, explains the operation of the Cordic processors in great detail.
In EP-A 0 486 095, it is stated that the sampling frequency of the A/D conversion should be at least twice the highest frequency in the radio-frequency (RF) reception range. In a practical embodiment of the prior art receiver with an RF reception range between 87.5 and 108 MHz, the sampling frequency was 350 Mhz.

Receiver with digital processing of a phase-splitted input signal


A method of manufacturing an insulated flat long-length second-generation HTS wire by preparation of an electrodeposition emulsion, stirring the mixture for a time necessary for the neutralization reaction between the polyimide and the stabilizer to occur to form an intermediate solution, adding a precipitating agent to the intermediate solution while stirring; electrodeposition of the emulsion onto a HTS wire in a cathode cell while the HTS wire is moved through the cell containing the emulsion where the cathode is at a negative potential and the wire is at a positive potential; thermal treatment to form an insulating film on the wire surface by heating at a temperature not exceeding 200° C. A long-length HTS wire with a high-quality thin polyimide insulation coating of a high dielectric strength can be obtained, as well as an insulated HTS strand of a complex shape, e.g., of a Roebel type.

Insulation coatings on second generation HTS wires are made of polyimide that can withstand mechanical impacts at cryogenic temperatures (77 K).
Polyimides are thermally resistant polymers, and they do not feature plasticity below their decomposition temperature; therefore, extrusion method cannot be used for applying insulation on long-length HTS wires. Conventional approach to insulating a HTS wire is to wrap it in a 25-50 micron-thick polyimide tape.
However, an insulation layer made this way lacks uniformity along the wire length due to the overlapping of adjacent turns that significantly increases the resulting HTS wire thickness, and reduces its engineering current density by more than 2 times.
Alternative methods used so far to coat HTS wires with polyimide are based on applying polyimide particles from a solution followed by drying, to remove solvent molecules.
For example, from patent RU 2662801 a method is known that suggests manufacturing electrical insulation of a second-generation HTS wire by way of moving a second-generation HTS wire tape through a deposition cell containing a coating solution with viscosity varying from 10 to 40 Pa-s at ambient temperature, the characteristic constituent of the solution is a polyimide resin precursor or a polyimide resin itself; the solution is uniformly distributed along both sides of the superconducting tape by way of interaction between the applied solution and two cylindrical bodies whose surface features spirally arranged alternating ledges and depressions; thus, an insulating film of a preset thickness is obtained from the applied solution, and is followed by thermal treatment of the superconducting wire with the solution film.
Pursuant to the patent claims, the invention allows obtaining a uniform coating without unevenness and undulation, as well as adjusting and controlling the electrical insulation layer thickness.
However, this method of drawing through a concentrated polyimide solution is not effective due to the poor wettability of the wire edges, and consequently poor quality of the resulting insulation layer at the edges.
The most promising method of applying polyimide insulation is electrophoretic deposition, since it intrinsically yields a sufficiently dense coverage of the wire edges. It also allows applying insulation on strands of a complex shape, e.g., on a HTS cable of Roebel type.
For example, patent application JP 2012064495 describes a method of manufacturing a superconducting wire with a coating that includes the formation of a HTS wire by creating a superconducting layer on a substrate, and supplying electric power to the superconducting wire immersed into a solution for electrodeposition of polyimide, to form a polyimide layer around the superconducting wire. The deposition takes place in an aqueous solution of an anionic polyimide and an organic solvent.
The application also describes a second generation HTS wire obtained by this method. The wire includes buffer layers applied on a substrate, a superconducting layer, and stabilizing layers (optional) which are coated with a polyimide layer.
According to that document, the authors believe that such an electrically deposited coating prevents the delamination of layers applied on the HTS wire substrate.
Unfortunately, the patent provides insufficient information on the procedure of electrodeposition from the solution; however, this patent confirms the possibility of making polyimide layers on second generation HTS wires. One can only guess whether the electrodeposition occurs from a polyimide resin emulsion, or with the use of a precursor in the form of a polyamine acid salt (the latter assumes subsequent high-temperature imidization).
The most similar method of manufacturing of insulated flat conducting wires with an aspect ratio a/b of 12 or greater (a is the wire width; b is the wire height) is described in patent application US 2019066883. This method provides for the preparation of an electrodeposition solution (we use the following composition: 56.5% of polar solvent, 2% of polyimide, 1.5% of triethanolamine, and 40% of acetone) by way of mixing a polyimide resin, with an average molecule weight Mn of 2.0×104 to 4.0×104, with a polar organic solvent and a stabilizer (tripropylamine); the mixture is stirred at a temperature of 20 to 25° C. for a time necessary for the neutralization reaction between the polyimide and the stabilizer to occur (3 hours or greater) to form a well-mixed solution, followed by the addition of a precipitating agent (water) to the mixture to form an emulsion for electrodeposition. Then, the precipitating agent (water) is added dropwise while stirring at a rate of 8000 to 12,000 rpm, to form the emulsion. Then follows the electrodeposition stage consisting in immersing a flat conducting wire with the above mentioned aspect ratio of at least 12 (in our case the ratio was 80-100) into the deposition solution with concurrent passing of direct current at 150 V through the wire, to enable electrodeposition of the polyimide resin particles onto the flat conducting wire surface; then follows the thermal treatment stage where the flat conducting wire is heated, to form an insulating film on its surface. The thermal treatment is comprised of two sub-stages including heating at low temperatures of 150 to 220° C., and heating at high temperatures which are at least 30° C. greater than those of the low-temperature sub-stage.
A flat wire manufactured according to this method is also described.
Authors of that patent application point the advantages of the known method consisting in that an insulated flat conducting wire with a high aspect ratio a/b (12 and greater) features a uniform insulating film formed on the periphery (surface) of the conducting wire.
There are several features that make the known method unsuitable for a fast deposition of thin polyimide insulation layers on long-length second generation HTS wires:
1. The known method has only been tested on specimens of up to 20 mm in length; there is no evidence yet that the method can be used for the insulation of long-length wires.
2. The very high drying temperature of up to 300° C. can result in damage to the HTS wire during thermal treatment.
3. The insulating film is very thick, thicker than 40 microns (it is unknown if the thickness may be controlled).
4. The known method is only suitable for copper alloy wires.
5. The stirring rate of 8,000 to 12,000 rpm during the addition of the precipitating agent is too high.
6. The voltage of 150 V during electrodeposition using the known method is too high, and can lead to the wire damage. We propose to use 10-50 V voltage.
Summarizing the deficiencies of the known method, it can be concluded that this method does not allow to get an insulated long-length HTS wire coated with a high quality uniform thin insulating polyimide layer with a high breakdown voltage, and does not allow applying insulation on a HTS wire (strand) of a complex shape, e.g., of Roebel type. This can be explained by that the resulting emulsion lacks uniformity and long-term stability for electrodeposition of a polyimide film over the whole length of a HTS wire; moreover, the conditions of electrodeposition of a coating onto a long-length HTS wire and conditions of its subsequent thermal treatment, can damage the HTS wire.
These deficiencies of the known method represent a certain technical problem for manufacturing of second generation HTS wires.

Method of manufacturing of insulated flat long-length second generation high-temperature superconducting wires and wire


An apparatus for improving the acquisition time of GPS signals includes a GPS receiver (21) and a real-time clock circuit (30). The GPS receiver receives GPS signals including a precise time reference signal for providing a position based upon the location of the GPS receiver. The GPS receiver also includes an internal time base (11) derived from the precise time reference signal. The real-time clock circuit is coupled to the GPS receiver for receiving a first time reference signal from the GPS receiver when the precise time reference signal of the GPS signal is available and for providing a second time reference signal to the GPS receiver when the precise time reference signal of the GPS signal is not available thereby allowing a fast acquisition time of GPS signals when the GPS signals are temporarily interrupted or not yet available.

The use of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receiver is widespread for determining a position fix based upon the receipt of GPS signals from GPS satellites. One of the foremost interesting specifications of a GPS receiver is the time it takes for the receiver to acquire satellite signals and deliver position coordinates to the user after power is applied to the unit. The time required to accomplish these steps is known as the time-to-first-fix (TTFF). The TTFF of any receiver is influenced by its own unique hardware and software design, and is one of the key parameters that users of GPS receiver technology scrutinize in making purchase decisions whereby the unit with the shortest TTFF has a key advantage.
In battery powered hand held GPS receivers, for example, the acquisition time influences total battery life as the unit must be powered on continuously while the user waits for position coordinates. A short period of time between power on and first fix gives the user the data he is interested in and consumes less total energy than a unit that accomplishes the same task in a longer period of time. In addition, when one is waiting for the first fix, even short periods of time can seem like an eternity.
In automotive applications, a car, having a GPS receiver installed therein, may move and change location during the TTFF period, and thus, the uncertainty in position may be particularly dangerous if the position coordinates are intended to be used in an emergency, such as a system to identify the location of an accident since the user has no knowledge of position until after the TTFF period expires.
Hence, what is needed is an invention that greatly shortens the average TTFF in order to and make the TTFF interval as short as possible and to extend battery life.

Real time clock apparatus for fast acquisition or GPS signals


One example method for reducing load is provided that includes monitoring traffic load within at least two wireless cells by a central management entity associated with the cellular communication network; determining by the central management entity that at least one of the at least two wireless cells being monitored, should hand over at least one of the mobile devices being currently serviced by a base station associated with that at least one cell; determining by the central management entity to which of the other cells from among the at least two wireless cells being monitored, should the at least one of the mobile devices be handed over to; and notifying each of the base stations associated with the other cells from among the at least two wireless cells being monitored, to affect a change in their respective one or more operating parameters.

In mobile telecommunications, the term handover or handoff refers to the process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel connected to the core network to another. There may be different reasons why a handover might be required in mobile telecommunications networks, among which re for example,
when the mobile device is moving away from the area covered by one cell and entering the area covered by another cell, in which case the call is transferred to the second cell in order to avoid call termination when the mobile device leaves the range of the first cell;
when the capacity for connecting new calls of a given cell is used up (i.e. the cell becomes overloaded) and an existing or new call from a mobile device, which is located in an area overlapped by another cell, is transferred to that cell in order to free-up some capacity in the first cell for other users, who can only be connected to that cell;
in non-CDMA networks when the channel used by the mobile device becomes interfered by another mobile device using the same channel in a different cell, the call is transferred to a different channel in the same cell or to a different channel in another cell in order to avoid the interference;
when the user behavior changes in non-CDMA networks, e.g. when a fast-travelling user, connected to a large, umbrella-type of cell, stops then the call may be transferred to a smaller macro cell or even to a micro cell in order to free capacity on the umbrella cell for other fast-traveling users and to reduce the potential interference to other cells or users;
The most basic form of handover is when a communication session, to which the mobile device is part, is redirected from its current cell (referred to as "source cell") to a new cell (referred to as "target cell"). The purpose of such handover is to maintain the call as the subscriber is moving out of the area covered by the source cell and entering the area of the target cell.
For practical implementations of handoffs in a cellular network, each cell is assigned with a list of potential target cells, which can be used for handing-off calls from this source cell to these potential target cells, called neighbors whereas the list is called neighbor list. Creating such a list for a given cell is not trivial and different algorithms may be applied to input data retrieved from field measurements or computer predictions of radio wave propagation in the areas covered by the cells.
Typically, during a communication session one or more parameters of the signal in the channel in the source cell are monitored and assessed in order to decide when a handover may be required. The downlink (forward link) and/or uplink (reverse link) directions may be monitored. The handover may be initiated by the mobile device or by the base station (BTS)/by an E-UTRAN Node B ("eNB") in the LTE Standard, of its source cell and, in some systems, by a BTS of a neighboring cell. The mobile device and the BTSs of the neighboring cells monitor each other signals and the best target candidates are selected by the BS of the source cell from among the neighboring cells.
This need to hand over mobile devices from one cell to another has been increased in the recent years as wireless networks operators have started to deploy their own or rely on end users to buy very small Base Stations, in order to meet the increasing demand for data traffic. This new type of cell sites, referred to herein below as "small cells" or "metro cells", used in conjunction with wireless cells of the traditional cellular networks (macro cells). Networks that include both macro cells and metrocells are referred to herein as heterogeneous networks (HetNets).
The term "small cells" as used herein and throughout the specification and claims encompass femtocells, picocells microcells and metrocells. Small-cell networks can also be realized by means of distributed radio technology consisting of centralized baseband units and remote radio heads. A common factor in all these approaches to small cells is that they are centrally managed by mobile network operators.
In analog systems, the parameters used as criteria for requesting a handover are usually the Received Signal Strength Indicator ("RSSI") and the received Signal-to-noise ratio ("SNR"). In non-CDMA 2G digital systems the criteria for requesting handover may be based on estimates of the received signal power, bit error rate (BER) and block error/erasure rate (BLER), received quality of speech (RxQual), distance between the mobile device and the BTS (estimated from the radio signal propagation delay) and others. In CDMA systems, 2G and 3G, the most common criterion for requesting a handover is Ec/Io ratio measured in the pilot channel (CPICH) and/or RSCP.
Section 8.3.8 of ETSI's "LTE: Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); X2 Application Protocol (X2AP) (3GPP TS 36.423 version 9.4.0 release 9)" relates to mobility setting change which enables an eNB to negotiate the handover trigger settings with a peer eNB controlling neighboring cell, or in other words, the goal of the procedure is to renegotiate the mobility settings of target cell eNB2 when offloading UEs from the source cell, eNB1, to the target cell, eNB2. The procedure uses non UE-associated signaling, in which eNB1 sends a MOBILITY CHANGE REQUEST to its neighbor eNB2 and if that request is accepted by eNB2, the latter responds by returning a MOBILITY CHANGE ACKNOWLEDGE to eNB1. An example of such a process is illustrated in FIG. 1.
However, there is still an inherent problem associated with such a method for carrying out the handoff procedure, when some of the mobile devices which have just been handed over from eNB1 to eNB2 are immediately thereafter pushed back by the eNB2 to eNB1, and vice versa.
According to above-mentioned procedure, the eNB of the overloaded cell determines that it needs to handover some of the mobile devices, which it serves to its neighbors in order to reduce its load. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the eNB sends a MOBILITY CHANGE REQUEST to one or more of its neighbors identifying a change that is required in the neighbors' operating conditions, a change which will enable handing over the mobile devices as determined. Each of the neighbors that are approached by the eNB sends either a confirmation or a rejection to that request. If the eNB receives a rejection it will re-negotiate with that neighbor a different change (a smaller change), which hopefully will be acceptable to that neighbor and still will ease the situation for the originating eNB. This is a complex and resource consuming process, which still does not necessarily result in an optimized operation. There are several possible reasons for this drawback, for example:                Fast connection (e.g. X2 link) does not necessarily exist between neighbor eNBs; and        The process performance strongly depends on particular details of the load balancing algorithms, which are implemented at both eNB1 and eNB2. When both eNBs are produced by the same vendor, these details are synchronized with each other, however this not the case if they are both produced by different vendors.

Method and apparatus for load management in cellular communication networks


The present invention relates in general to polymer-bioactive agent conjugates for delivering a bioactive agent to a subject. The polymer-bioactive agent conjugates contain triazole moieties in the polymer backbone and a bioactive moiety selected from prostaglandin analogs, β-blockers and mixtures thereof. The present invention also relates to methods for preparing the polymer conjugates using click chemical reactions, to monomer-bioactive agent conjugates suitable for preparing the polymer conjugates, and to pharmaceutical products comprising the polymer conjugates for the treatment of glaucoma.

Polymer-bioactive agent conjugates containing a bioactive agent covalently bound to a polymer are of interest for the targeted and controlled delivery of therapeutic agents. In the treatment of many different conditions, the site-specific delivery of a drug directly to or near a desired site of action in the body of a subject can be highly desirable to improve the efficacy and/or safety of the drug. Certain sites in a subject may require sophisticated delivery vehicles to overcome barriers for effective drug delivery. For example, the eye has a limited volume for administration and requires a pharmaceutical product with a high drug loading to ensure that adequate doses of drug can be delivered while keeping product volume to a minimum. Despite the limited volume it is desirable to be able to deliver drug to the site continuously and in a controlled manner over an extended period of time.
β-blockers are antagonists of beta-adrenoreceptor sites and are used to treat or manage a range of conditions, including cardiac arrhythmias, hypertension, hypotension and glaucoma. Elevated intraocular pressure (ocular hypertension) is a risk factor for glaucoma. β-blockers can reduce intraocular pressure and exert an ocular hypotensive effect by reducing the production of aqueous humour in the eye.
Prostaglandin analogues are molecules designed to bind to a prostaglandin receptor and are used to treat gastro-intestinal acid related disorders such as duodenal and gastric ulcers, as abortifacients or uterotonics to induce labour or prevent past partum haemorrhage, and to treat ocular hypertension. Prostaglandin analogues exert an ocular hypotensive effect by increasing uveoscleral outflow of aqueous humour.
Prostaglandin analogues and β-blockers used in the treatment of glaucoma are presently formulated as eye drops, which if administered conscientiously to the affected eye will lower intraocular pressure. This in turn can slow the progression of glaucoma. The prostaglandin analogues and β-blockers are administered as eye drops, either alone (i.e. as a single agent) or in combination. It is postulated that combining prostaglandin analogues with β-blockers that exert their effect through a different mechanism, may provide an additive effect in reducing intraocular pressure. For example, some pharmaceutical preparations used in the treatment of glaucoma, such as Xalacom™ eye drops marketed by Pfizer and Ganfort™ eye drops marketed by Allergan, contain a prostaglandin analogue in combination with a β-blocker.
Unfortunately, as glaucoma is an asymptomatic disease many patients do not use their drops conscientiously, compromising therapy. A recent study by Friedman et al. (Friedman et al. IOVS 2007: 48, 5052-5057) showed that adherence to glaucoma treatment options is poor with only 59% of patients in possession of an ocular hypotensive agent at 12 months, and only 10% of patients used such medication continuously. Patient compliance in glaucoma therapy is therefore an issue.
Drug delivery systems have been developed to aid in the administration and/or sustained delivery of bioactive agents (such as drugs) to a desired site of action. One mode of delivering a drug to a subject involves the use of a polymer in association with the drug so that it can be delivered to and/or retained at a specific location.
One form of a polymer/drug delivery system utilises an admixture of a polymer with a drug, where the drug is blended with the polymer matrix. However, such admixtures generally result in poor control over the release of the drug, with a "burst effect" often occurring immediately after administration and significant changes in the physical properties of the admixture occurring as the drug is released (Sjoquist, B.; Basu, S.; Byding, P.; Bergh, K.; Stjernschantz, J. Drug Metab. Dispos. 1998, 26, 745.). In addition, such admixtures have limited dose loading capacity, resulting in a prohibitively large device for convenient administration to some sites in a subject.
Another form of a polymer/drug delivery system is based on the polymerisation of a drug so as to incorporate the drug molecule as part of the backbone of a polymer chain. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,807, WO2008/128193, WO94/04593 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,122,615. However, such polymer systems generally provide inefficient delivery of the drug, as release of the drug relies on breakdown of the polymer backbone. Furthermore, breakdown of the polymer backbone produces inactive intermediates. Such intermediates can complicate regulatory approval, which may require the safety of the intermediates to be demonstrated.
Another approach for preparing polymer-bioactive agent conjugates involves the covalent attachment of bioactive agent molecules to a pre-formed polymer backbone. Examples of such polymer conjugates have been reviewed in Nature Reviews: Drug Discovery 2003: 2, 347-360. However, this approach can also be problematic. In particular, steric and thermodynamic constraints can affect the amount of bioactive agent that can be covalently attached, and also impact on the distribution of the bioactive agent along the polymer backbone. These factors can, in turn, reduce control over the release of the bioactive agent. Furthermore, the use of a pre-formed polymer backbone provides limited scope for modification of the polymer conjugate after attachment of the bioactive agent should the properties of the conjugate need to be adjusted to improve drug release and/or to aid patient comfort, particularly in the eye.
For efficient delivery, bioactive agents such as drugs are ideally pendant from the backbone polymer chain.
In preparing polymer-bioactive agent conjugates, step-growth polymerisation is one approach that has been used. By means of step-growth polymerisation, polymer-bioactive agent conjugates can be prepared by covalently reacting a bioactive agent-functionalised monomer having at least two terminal reactive functional groups, with a co-monomer of complementary terminal functionality. An example is the reaction of a drug-functionalised dihydroxy monomer with a diisocyanate co-monomer to form a polymer-drug conjugate with a polyurethane polymer backbone. However, one problem with step-growth polymerisation methods is that many bioactive agents, such as drug molecules, can contain multiple functional groups that are capable of participating in the covalent reactions used to form the polymer. In such circumstances, there is a risk that a functional group on a drug molecule could react with a terminal functional group of a monomer, leading to intra-chain incorporation of the bioactive agent in the polymer. As a result, the bioactive agent becomes part of the polymer backbone structure, rather than forming a pendant group. Prostaglandin analogues and β-blockers are examples of such drugs with multiple nucleophilic functional groups with a consequential high risk of in-chain incorporation.
It would be desirable to provide new polymer-bioactive agent conjugates, which address or ameliorate one or more disadvantages or shortcomings associated with existing materials and/or their method of manufacture, or to at least provide a useful alternative to such materials and their method of manufacture.

Polymer conjugate for delivery of a bioactive agent