A positioning method of a photoelectric conversion device (an imaging device) includes irradiating an optical member with light and receiving light which passes through an opening of a light shielding member and the optical member with the photoelectric conversion device. The photoelectric conversion device is moved in a direction orthogonal to an optical axis of the optical member and a first position at which the photoelectric conversion device detects a side of an opening and a second position at which the photoelectric conversion device detects another side opposing the side are acquired. A position of the photoelectric conversion device at which a center of the opening and a center position of the photoelectric conversion device are aligned based on the first position and the second position is determined. The photoelectric conversion device is fixed at the determined position.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of present invention relate to method for positioning a photoelectric conversion device, and a liquid ejecting apparatus that includes a photoelectric conversion device.
2. Related Art
An ink jet printer is known as an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus. The printer forms an image on paper by ejecting a printing liquid onto the paper. The printing liquid is an example of a liquid that is ejected from a liquid ejecting unit onto the paper. The printer includes a transport unit and the paper is an example of a medium which is transported a predetermined movement amount by a transport roller of the transport unit. Accordingly, the image in the transport direction of the paper is influenced by the precision of the movement amount of the paper or the precision with which the medium or paper is transported.
A printer may include a detection unit which detects the movement amount of the paper, and a transport control unit. An adjustment is performed by the transport control unit controlling the transporting of the paper based on a detection result of the detection unit such that the movement amount of the paper is a predetermined value. JP-A-2013-119439 discloses an example of such a printer. The detection unit included in the printer of JP-A-2013-119439 is provided with a light emitting unit which emits light that irradiates a rear surface of the paper, an optical member such as a lens which focuses the light which is reflected from the rear surface of the paper, and an imaging unit in which an imaging device is housed in a case. The imaging device acquires a paper surface pattern of the rear surface of the paper based on the light that is focused by the optical member.
The case of the imaging unit is generally formed integrally with a lens barrel member which houses the optical member and the imaging device, and a housing portion which houses the light emitting unit. The imaging unit is provided with transparent glass on a distal end of the housing portion. The transparent glass is disposed such that the center thereof is aligned with the optical axis of the optical member. The housing portion is attached to a medium supporting portion of the printer such that the detection window which is formed in the medium supporting portion is aligned with the transparent glass. The detection unit detects the movement amount of the paper based on the paper surface pattern of the rear surface of the paper which the imaging unit acquires an image of. In other words, movement amount of the paper detected by the detection unit is based on the image of the rear surface of the paper.
However, the precision of the image that is acquired by the imaging device that is housed in the lens barrel member is reduced by stray light. Stray light is generated light that is scattered at the inside wall of the lens barrel member and at the edge of the lens. In a positioning step of the imaging device in which the center position of the imaging device is aligned to the optical axis of the optical member based on an output signal of the imaging device, which is output according to the light with which the imaging device is irradiated, there is a concern that misalignment will increase when the precision of the image that is acquired by the imaging device is reduced. The scattered light can reduce the precision with which the image is acquired.
When the precision of the image that is acquired by the imaging device of the imaging unit is reduced or is deteriorated, for example by scattered light, there is a concern that the precision of the movement amount of the paper detected by the detection unit will be reduced. Note that, because the imaging unit that is mounted to the printer of JP-A-2013-119439 is not particularly made in consideration of the precision of the image that is acquired by the imaging device being reduced due to stray light in this manner, the imaging unit is considered to include the same problem as that described above.

Positioning method of photoelectric conversion device, and liquid ejecting apparatus


Processes for removing sulfur and nitrogen contaminants from hydrocarbon streams are described. The processes include contacting the hydrocarbon stream comprising the contaminant with lean halometallate ionic liquid an organohalide resulting in a mixture comprising the hydrocarbon and rich halometallate ionic liquid comprising the contaminant. The mixture is separated to produce a hydrocarbon effluent and a rich halometallate ionic liquid effluent comprising the rich halometallate ionic liquid comprising the contaminant.

Various hydrocarbon streams, such as vacuum gas oil (VGO), light cycle oil (LCO), and naphtha, may be converted into higher value hydrocarbon fractions such as diesel fuel, jet fuel, naphtha, gasoline, and other lower boiling fractions in refining processes such as hydrocracking and fluid catalytic cracking (FCC). However, hydrocarbon feed streams for these materials often have high amounts of nitrogen which are more difficult to convert. For example, the degree of conversion, product yields, catalyst deactivation, and/or ability to meet product quality specifications may be adversely affected by the nitrogen content of the feed stream. It is known to reduce the nitrogen content of these hydrocarbon feed streams by catalytic hydrogenation reactions such as in a hydrotreating process unit. However, hydrogenation processes require high pressures and temperatures.
Various processes using ionic liquids to remove sulfur and nitrogen compounds from hydrocarbon fractions are also known. U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,504 discloses a process for the removal of organosulfur compounds from hydrocarbon materials which includes contacting an ionic liquid with a hydrocarbon material to extract sulfur containing compounds into the ionic liquid. U.S. Pat. No. 7,553,406 discloses a process for removing polarizable impurities from hydrocarbons and mixtures of hydrocarbons using ionic liquids as an extraction medium. U.S. Pat. No. 7,553,406 also discloses that different ionic liquids show different extractive properties for different polarizable compounds.
Sulfur extraction has also been reported using Lewis hard acid AlCl3 combined with tert-butyl chloride, n-butyl chloride, and tert-butyl bromide, A Carbonium Pseudo Ionic Liquid with Excellent Extractive Desulfurization Performance, AIChE Journal, Vol. 59, No. 3, p. 948-958, March 2013; and acylating reagents and Lewis acids, Acylation Desulfurization of Oil Via Reactive Adsorption, AIChE Journal, Vol. 59, No. 8, p. 2966-2976, August 2013.
There remains a need in the art for improved processes that enable the removal of contaminants from hydrocarbon streams.

Contaminant removal from hydrocarbon streams with lewis acidic ionic liquids


Various methods and systems for dynamically determining the role of a network device in a link authentication protocol exchange are disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method involves monitoring several (e.g., two) link authentication protocol exchanges. These link authentication protocol exchanges can be initiated at substantially the same time. A first network device acts as an authenticator in a first one of the link authentication protocol exchanges and a supplicant in a second one of the link authentication protocol exchanges. One of the link authentication protocol exchanges is terminated prior to completion.

Link authentication protocols are used to provide network devices with authenticated access to a network. In particular, link authentication protocols are used to authenticate each port coupled to a particular link. If a link authentication protocol exchange fails, a port connected to the link that was being authenticated by the exchange can be disabled from communicating via the link.
IEEE 802.1X defines a protocol for authenticating an Ethernet link. In the IEEE 802.1X model, two network devices communicate via the link being authenticated. When the link is brought up, one of the two network devices acts as an authenticator device while the other one of the two network devices acts as a supplicant device. The behavior of the authenticator device and the supplicant device is defined by IEEE 802.1X. In particular, the authenticator device communicates with an authentication server in order to authenticate the link to supplicant device. In situations in which the authenticator device and the authentication server are not co-located, the authenticator device needs to have layer 3 connectivity with the authentication server in order to be able to complete the IEEE 802.1X protocol exchange.
When a host device (e.g., a personal computer) connects to a network, the host device will act as a supplicant device. The nature of the host device's role is clear (i.e., the host device cannot act as an authenticator, since the host device is seeking admission into a network and does not have layer 3 connectivity with the authentication server until after the host device has been authenticated and authorized). Likewise, the network device at the edge of the network to which the host device is being connected will necessarily act as the authenticator device (since the network device at the edge of the network is providing the admission control and already has layer 3 connectivity to the authentication server). Thus, in many situations, the role (authenticator or supplicant) of a network device in an 802.1X exchange is unambiguous.
In certain situations, however, the role of each device is not immediately apparent. For example, IEEE 802.1X protocol exchanges can be used among the network nodes that make up the network. In such a situation, either or both of the devices involved in a given protocol exchange may potentially have layer 3 connectivity with the authentication server and may provide admission control to the other device; however, the device that has connectivity with the server may not necessarily be the device that is designated as the authenticator in the protocol exchange. Thus, in some circumstances, the ability of a given network device to gain connectivity with an authentication server may depend on that network device successfully completing an 802.1X protocol exchange with another network device. At the same time, if the network device has been designated as the authenticator for the 802.1X protocol exchange, the ability of the network device to complete the 802.1X protocol exchange with another device will depend upon the network device having connectivity with the authentication server. If a network device is designated as the authenticator for a protocol exchange, but that network device does not actually have connectivity with the authentication server, deadlock situations may arise.
A network can be designed to enforce authenticated access pervasively, for all network devices on all links. Ideally, when such a network is brought up, successful authentication (and as a result, connectivity with an authentication server) will start from the devices closest (i.e., separated by the fewest number of links) to an authentication server and propagate outwards. Links to supplicant devices closest to the authentication server will be authenticated, allowing the supplicant devices to subsequently act as authenticator devices. The new authenticator devices are then able to authenticate other devices that are further (in links) from the authentication server.
The role (authenticator or supplicant) of each device can be manually configured for each of the links in the network. However, it is difficult to manage manual configuration of the role. Additionally, conditions such as link flaps and network partitioning can easily change the relative 'distance' (in links) of a device from a server, potentially causing a device, which has been manually designated as an authenticator, to no longer have connectivity to an authentication server, even if one or more links coupled to the device have previously been authenticated. Deadlock situations may arise if a device that has not yet been admitted into the network (e.g., because the device has not yet completed a successful link authentication protocol exchange) tries to be an authenticator device while the device that already has connectivity with the authentication server is forced to be a supplicant. Therefore, a dynamic role determination mechanism for use with link authentication protocol exchanges is needed.

System and method for dynamically determining the role of a network device in a link authentication protocol exchange


A transmission coupling for manipulator head includes a support body (50) connected to the manipulator head (4), an intermediate transmission member (76) slidable on the support body (50) along a first line (C), and an attachment member (28) slidable on the intermediate member (76) along a second line (B) perpendicular to the first line. The attachment member can pivot relative to the support body (50) about at least two mutually-perpendicular axes substantially parallel to the plane defined by the first and second lines. The present invention also relates to a rapid attachment device for an interchangeable tool for a manipulator head (104) include a base body (106) connected to the manipulator head and a generating device for providing a force for retaining the tool (102). The base body and the tool have respective cooperating abutment surfaces which are kept in contact as a result of the force exerted by the generating device and are adapted to establish the position of the tool relative to the head along a first line of constraint. Constraining members (118, 120) are provided for constraining the two degrees of freedom of the tool in a plane substantially perpendicular to the first line of constraint.

The present invention relates to improvements of a manipulator head.
The present invention has been developed with particular regard to a manipulator device for pieces of sheet metal of the type forming the subject of the following applications, all of which are based on Italian Patent Application Nos. 67703A/89 and 67704A/89 both filed on Aug. 16, 1989.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2-216462 PA0 U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/567,727, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,022 PA0 U.K. Patent application No. 9017741.1 PA0 German Patent Application No. P4025988.9 PA0 French Patent Application No. 9010392 PA0 Korean Patent Application No. 90-12769 PA0 Swedish Patent Application No. 9002675-8 PA0 Chinese Patent Application No. 79108086 PA0 Swiss Patent Application No. 2656/90 PA0 Austrian Patent Application No. A 1698/90
FIG. 1 and 2 schematically show a part of these applications. In FIGS. 1 and 2, two motor-driven manipulator heads indicated 2 and 4 are provided with respective attachment members 6, 8 rotatable on the heads 2, 4 about respective axes A, A'. In FIG. 1, respective gripping tools 10, 12 are fixed to the attachment members 6, 8 for gripping a metal sheet 1. In a different configuration of use, the attachment members 6, 8 are connected to operating equipment 16.
As a result of working tolerances, the axes of rotation A, A' of the heads 2, 4 may not be exactly coincident. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the error in the alignment of the axes has been exaggerated in order to facilitate understanding of the problem. Observation of FIGS. 1 and 2 makes it clear that the error in alignment of the axes A, A' causes considerable problems in the taking up of the sheet 1 or the equipment 16. This error causes further problems when the two attachment members are to contribute equally to the transmission of driving torque to the equipment 16.
Obviously, the problem of the relative errors in the geometry of the manipulator heads also exists in the more general case of a manipulator device having a single head to which any operating tool is connected.
The present invention further relates to an attachment device of the type comprising a base body connected to a manipulator head and having associated means for generating a force for retaining the tool, in which the body and the tool have constraining means for establishing the exact position of the tool relative to the head. The constraining means include a pair of cooperating abutment surfaces on the body and on the tool which are kept in contact as a result of the force exerted by the generating means and are adapted to establish the position of the tool relative to the head along a first line of constraint.
The above-mentioned applications described a device for gripping metal sheet in which the interchangeable tool is constituted by a plate for picking up metal sheets and having a seat in which a base body carried by the head of a manipulator device is inserted. The force which retains the plate is generated by permanent magnets carried by the base body. The position of the plate relative to the body is defined by the contact between the walls of the cavity of the plate and corresponding walls of the body. The working tolerances of the contact surfaces of the body and the plate must be particularly close so that the plate is connected to the head without any play. The close tolerances between the contact surfaces, however, mean that the plate must be located in an extremely precisely defined position and the movement of the manipulator head towards the plate must also be extremely precise in order for the plate to be engaged without sticking or interference.

Transmission coupling for a manipulator head


Embodiments of systems, apparatus, and/or methods are described for enhanced situational awareness of dispatchers and/or first responders associated with responding to an incident such as an emergency situation by assigning mobile emergency units to a scene of emergency. As such, an emergency response system is disclosed. In some embodiments, the disclosed emergency response system provides an electronic platform for collaboration or partnership involving two or more first responders. In some partnership embodiments, the disclosed emergency response system provides a ranked list of potential candidates than can be assigned to respond to the incident. For example, the potential candidates can be mobile emergency units belonging to a first responder and/or its partner(s). Various beneficial aspects of partnerships and their technical implementations are discussed in detailed herein.

In incidents such as an emergency situation, every second can be critical in saving lives and property. A dispatcher receiving a call related to an emergency situation typically has to be ready to make life-saving decisions within a very short time, e.g., sometimes within a few seconds. The decisions of a dispatcher are communicated electronically to one or more first responders traveling via mobile emergency units to the location/scene of the emergency situation. First responders, mostly emergency medical services (EMS) providers, have contractual response time obligations (typically based on required standards) associated with a type of emergency situation. In addition, some first responders may have internal response time standards against which they evaluate their performance. Further, given a particular type of emergency situation, the maximum allowable time to respond to the emergency can vary depending on scene/location corresponding to the emergency situation. For example, a life-threatening emergency call in an urban area may have an 8-minute response time requirement. However, an emergency call that is not life-threatening and in an urban area may allow for a 10-minute response. A life-threatening emergency call in a non-urban area may allow for a 15-minute response time, whereas a non-life threatening emergency call in a non-urban area may allow up to a 20 minute response time. Thus, it is important to design robust emergency awareness tools that are not only cost-effective and compliant to industry standards, but also optimize response times depending on the environment or context of the emergency situation, thereby enabling first responders to arrive at the emergency scene in the shortest time possible.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems, methods and apparatus for providing enhanced situational awareness in incidents


Described is an alert system and method a system and method for alerting nearby network-connected communication devices. The system includes a network-connected victim communication device configured to receive a trigger, and at least one network-connected target communication device configured to receive and provide notification of an alert. The alert management server is communicatively coupled to the network-connected victim communication device and to the at least one network-connected target communication device to receive the trigger from the network-connected victim communication device and to provide the alert to the at least one network-connected target communication device. The alert management server is configured to monitor the network-connected victim communication device for the trigger, receive the trigger from the network-connected victim communication device, create an alert based on the trigger, and send the alert to the at least one network-connected target communication device. A related method of distributing an alert is also described.

Many people are in need of assistance from time to time. Protection from physical violence, medical assistance, psychological assistance, and various types of care assistance may be needed from time to time.
Often, when a person finds themselves in need of assistance, they phone a friend, a neighbour, or an emergency service. However, in some circumstances the friend, neighbour, or emergency service may not be available or may not be available in time. Further, in some circumstances, a person may not wish to place a call or may not be able to place a call.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements in the art.


The invention relates to an exhaust gas turbocharger (1) having a housing and having a shaft (2) which is arranged so as to be capable of rotating about its longitudinal axis in the housing and on which a turbine wheel (4) and a compressor wheel (3) are seated and which is guided in radial bearings (5, 6) which are embodied as magnetic bearings and in at least one axial bearing (9), the bearings (5, 6, 9) each having a bearing plate (12, 14, 16) which is seated on the shaft (2) and at least one stator (19, 20, 21, 22, 49, 50) which lies axially opposite said axial bearing (9) on at least one side, forming a gap. In order to cool the bearings, it is proposed according to the invention that at least one flow duct (62, 65), via which at least one bearing gap can have an air stream applied to it, is formed in the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an exhaust gas turbocharger having a housing and having a shaft which is arranged so as to be capable of rotating about its longitudinal axis in the housing and on which a turbine wheel and a compressor wheel are seated and which is guided in radial bearings which are embodied as magnetic bearings and in at least one axial bearing, the bearings each having a bearing plate which is seated on the shaft and at least one stator which lies axially opposite said bearing plate on at least one side, thus forming a gap between the bearing plate and the stator. The invention also relates to a method for cooling the bearings of such an exhaust gas turbocharger.
2. Description of the Related Art
Exhaust gas turbochargers are used to improve the efficiency, and thus increase the performance, of internal combustion engines. They have a shaft which is provided at one end with a turbine wheel and at the other end with a compressor wheel. The turbine wheel has the exhaust gas stream of the internal combustion engine applied to it, essentially part of the thermal energy of the exhaust gas being converted into a rotary movement by the turbine wheel. The compressor wheel is driven by means of the shaft, sucks in fresh air and allows it to flow under excess pressure into the inlet ducts of the internal combustion engine, thus improving the volumetric efficiency.
Stringent demands are made of the bearings of the shaft of exhaust gas turbochargers. On the one hand, the shaft reaches high rotational speeds of up to 300 000 rpm. On the other hand, the exhaust gas turbocharger, and thus its bearings, are exposed to high temperatures. A further problem is that the exhaust gas stream which strikes the turbine wheel generates strong axial forces which have to be absorbed in an axial bearing. Owing to the high rotational speeds, the rotating parts of the exhaust gas turbocharger must be balanced highly precisely, so that as few oscillations and vibrations as possible are generated. In addition, it is also necessary to ensure that the very wide temperature range in which an exhaust gas turbocharger operates does not lead to stresses in the bearings owing to material expansion.
Previously, plain bearings or roller bearings were exclusively applied as bearings for the shaft. Owing to the above-mentioned stresses, they are subject to considerable wear and they are responsible, along with their lubrication, for up to approximately 80% of failures of exhaust gas turbochargers. In comparison, a magnetic bearing of the shaft provides the advantage that it is possible to dispense with the use of oil as lubricant. As a result, strict exhaust gas standards for vehicles can be complied with and the reliability of turbochargers can be increased. Furthermore, magnetic bearings provide the advantage of reducing or even avoiding the need to balance the rotating components as these bearings keep the rotor on its center-of-gravity axis. In one respect it is necessary to additionally take into account the magnetic nature of such bearings in comparison with conventional oil-lubricated sliding bearings or roller bearings. While a considerable portion of the heat of the shaft is conducted away by the through-flowing lubrication oil in said conventional bearings, this is not the case with the magnetic bearing. As a result, the air located in the bearing housing is heated. However, the air must not exceed the maximum permitted temperature for the magnets which are used. When NdFeB magnets are used this limit is approximately 130° C.

Turbocharger with air-cooled magnetic bearing system


The number of required clock periods in a bit aligned block transfer operation may be reduced by analyzing the logical relationship between source, destination and pattern operands prior to fetching these operands from memory. If the result of the raster operation can be determined without actually using the value of any of the operands, the result is provided without reading memory values. When the raster operation will have no effect on the existing destination operand, the write operation is also canceled.

The present invention relates to bit aligned block transfer (bitblt) hardware used to copy or move data from one area of memory to another within the display hardware of a computer system.
A standard architecture for display hardware includes an image control system for creating, modifying and moving image data, an image storage system for holding the image data after being processed by the image control system, and an image display system for translating the stored image data to a visible image on a cathode-ray-tube (CRT). A standard image display system uses a technique called raster scanning to display stored image data. In a raster scan, a beam starts in the upper left hand corner of a display screen and moves horizontally across the screen. The beam is turned off when it reaches the end of the horizontal line and is repositioned at the beginning of the next lower horizontal line. This process repeats until the beam reaches the lower right hand corner of the screen after which the beam is turned off and returned to the upper left hand corner where the process repeats. In a bit mapped system, the raster screen is treated as an array of picture elements (pixels) which have a controllable intensity and/or color. To control the pixel outputs on the screen, the image control system modifies the data value in an associated image storage address location of memory.
The quality of the image displayed on the screen is improved by increasing the number of raster lines and the number of pixels displayed in each raster line. However, increasing the number of pixels increases the time the image control system takes to modify a screen of image data. When blocks of data are modified on a screen, the image processor conventionally reads the data value associated with each pixel located in the block, modifies it, and writes each pixel into a memory location. Therefore, the larger the block of data, the longer the time required for the image processor to update the screen. Furthermore, with increased pixel resolution a given size block of image data contains more pixel data to process. To relieve the burden on the image control processor when large blocks of data are changed, special bitblt hardware has been developed. Bitblt hardware modifies data arrays faster than a general purpose image control processor and frees the image processor to perform additional functions. A bitblt involves reading a data value from the image storage system, performing a "raster operation" on the data and writing the result back into the image storage system. This process is repeated for each pixel in the defined block to be altered. Raster operations are logic functions that use the source data value and the destination data value to modify the bitblt pixel values. Since a period of time is required to move the data to and from the image storage system, data transfers can be a major bottleneck in performing bitblt operations.

Bit aligned data block transfer method and apparatus


The present invention relates to an elongated main branch of a baton having a longitudinal axis and a cross branch normal to the main branch, the cross branch being located near one end of the main branch. The cross branch also has a longitudinal axis that is coplanar to the axis of the main branch. Construction is as follows: the main branch and the cross handle usually are of an unitary construction in which a major length of the main branch (and the cross handle) are of a solid, one-piece construction but wherein at least a minority of the length of the main branch is provided with a cavity means. The cavity means of the invention can take the following form: For example, in one aspect of the invention there is at least a first portion of the cavity means that is located at the one end of the main branch adjacent to the cross branch, into which is fitted with an elongatable strap in the form of a chain or rope of constant weight per length. An end of the strap is next attached to a detachable, weighted end cap that forms an end wall of the first portion of the cavity means when the end cap is attached to the main branch of the baton. The strap and weighted end cap thus can define both active and inactive states relative to the cavity means wherein in the inactive state, the strap is completely stowed within the first portion of the cavity means and the end cap is attached at one end of the cavity means. In the active state, a majority of the strap extends from the first portion of the cavity means along with a detached weighted end cap.

A conventional police baton is a club which is typically about two-feet long and about one inch in diameter. Such baton is made from wood, hard rubber or a plastic material. The baton is gripped at one end and is used in a sweeping or jabbing motion in disarming and apprehending a suspect.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 230,150 discloses a branched short handle secured at right angles to the main branch. The user can grip the baton by the short handle and is thus able to perform a horizontal swinging motion, by allowing the cross handle to turn in the user's hand. The baton achieves significantly greater velocity during a swing stroke because the rotational speed is added to the speed of the swinging motion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,409 discloses a crosshandled baton in which the branched short handle is pivotal relative to the main branch. A sleeve is provided on a shank over half of the branched short handle nearest the main branch. By loosening the grip on the outer half of the branched short handle while maintaining a firm grip on the inner half (between thumb and index finger) the baton will pivot freely in the rotatable sleeve without any risk of the short handle working up out of the user's hand. Another possible use of the crosshandle is as a hook as set forth in U.S. Pat No. 4,703,932. The user can reach out the baton and hook a limb of the person by the branched short handle. However, the force which a limb exerts against the baton may be such as to cause the user's hand holding the baton to be twisted, allowing the baton to move away from the limb being engaged. In that manner, the suspect may easily disengagement himself from control via the baton.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,636 relates to a crosshandled baton in which the branched short handle is provided with a trigger wherein its rotational capability is controlled by the user. Result: the user can control the baton with either hand because of the position of the trigger that delatches the short handle from the main branch. In addition, the main body could be formed with an interior cavity. The purpose is many-fold: to reduce the weight of the baton, support telescoping cylinders within the cavity, support movable lead beads or shot that travels toward the tip of the baton and support a tear gas canister.
However, often such hollow construction leads to disadvantages when such batons are used in actual disarming situations. For example, the cavity may reduced the weight of the baton below that desired in using the baton in its usual jabbing and/or swinging maneuvers. The addition of movable elements (when the latter are fitted within the cavity), may make the baton difficult to use. For example, when the baton is used in a swinging or jabbing mode of operation, the sudden addition of momentum due to relative movement to such elements toward the end of the baton, may makes the balance of the baton uneven and lead to difficulties in the user controlling the amount of force the baton delivers to the suspect's body, especially where the user is involved in a confrontational situation where circumstances facing the user change rapidly with time.

Crosshandled baton with constraining means


A real-time language translation technique for text-based conversations. The messages forming the text-based conversation amongst a plurality of participants to the conversation are translated in real-time either from a user language to a conversation language of the conversation, or from the conversation language to the user language. The result is that the user is able to seamlessly converse in a text-based conversation (in the conversation language) using a language other than the conversation language. The invention is particularly advantageous for on-line text-based conversations, wherein users of on-line text-based conversations are able to seamlessly converse with each other in different languages.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to on-line conversations, and more particularly, to multilingual on-line conversations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many on-line service providers, such as Apple's world and various Internet service providers, allow users or subscribers to converse in real time using text Such conversations are held in "chat rooms." Users are able to log into and out of a chat room as they like. To enter a particular chat room, the user's computer electronically connects to an on-line service provider's host computer which provides the chat service. Once connected, the user is able to enter (i.e., log into) any of a number of chat rooms being supported by the chat service. Those users logged into a chat room are able to see any message typed and sent by any of the other members logged into the chat room. The on-line services also offer the ability to send real-time messages in a one-on-one mode, where a message is targeted to a specific user who is currently on-line.
One significant problem with existing on-line chat services is that all participants to a conversation (within a chat room) must share a common language. The common language is customarily English in as much as most people involved with computers have at least a minimum fluency in English. However, since these on-line services are available on a global basis, non-English speaking people are at a distinct disadvantage when using on-line chat services. Although conversations in other specific languages can be initiated, the problem remains that those who are not sufficiently fluent to converse in that language are placed at a disadvantage.
Although computer-based translation of documents and files is available today to convert such documents and files from one language to another language. However, such computer-based translation is unsuitable for on-line chat services or message-based conversations which do not involve documents or files.
Hence, there is a need to provide on-line services such that international, real-time, text-based conversations can be had between two or more users who themselves use different languages to converse.

Language translation for real-time text-based conversations


A technique for providing electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technologies is disclosed. A power supply RC-based ESD protection circuit having an RC value in the nanosecond range increases the allowable power-up slew rate so that fast power-up events (e.g., hot-plug and power switching operations) are not erroneously interpreted as ESD events. Because the RC value is small, the layout area needed for the RC-based ESD protection circuit is also reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuits and more specifically to a power supply RC-based ESD protection clamp circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) technologies, a power supply ESD protection clamp provides a low-impedance path from the power supply to the ground supply when an ESD event occurs. An ESD event occurs when a voltage transient having a fast rise and a fast decay time is input to the power or ground supply. However, a power-up event, even a fast power-up event such as may occur when a device is "hot plugged" should not be interpreted as an ESD event.
Conventional RC-based ESD protection circuits rely on an RC-based active NMOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor with N-type channel) as the power supply ESD protection clamp. In contrast with other ESD protection circuits that depend on avalanche junction breakdown phenomena to operate, the RC-based active NMOSFET power supply ESD protection clamp provides a lower turn-on voltage and clamps lower ESD-induced voltage drops during ESD events. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional RC-based active NMOSFET power supply ESD protection clamp circuit 100, according to the prior art.
To achieve high ESD protection efficiency, the size of the active NMOSFET 110 must be sufficiently large so that the NMOSFET 110 can provide a very low impedance path for the ESD current. To ensure that NMOSFET 110 is fully turned on during ESD events, the RC time constant determined by the resistor R and the capacitor C needs to be greater than the width of a voltage transient that is an ESD event. A typical RC time constant should be greater than 1 us for all process corner variations. Achieving an RC time constant greater than 1 us typically necessitates a large capacitor layout area which is usually larger than the layout area of the NMOSFET 110 in modern CMOS technologies. The large RC time constant layout area negatively impacts the overall die size. As CMOS technologies advance with very thin gate oxide, the larger capacitor in the RC time constant is all associated with significant stand-by power consumption due to a high gate leakage current. Therefore, reducing the die area consumed by the layout of capacitor C used in the power supply ESD protection clamp circuit is desirable.
Further complicating the design of the power supply ESD protection clamp circuit, fast power-up events that occur for hot-plug and power supply switching applications may have voltage ramp times of 1 us or less. Therefore, a RC time constant in the micro-second range may cause the NMOSFET 110 to be falsely triggered during a fast power-up event having a voltage ramp time of less than 10 us. Typical RC-based ESD protection clamp circuits have an allowable power-up slew rate of at least 5V/us or higher to avoid circuit malfunction or silicon damage. However, the maximum allowable power-up slew rate of the RC-based active NMOSFET power supply ESD protection clamp circuit 100 is close to 0.1V/us due to having a high RC time constant.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a power supply RC-based ESD protection clamp circuit that uses a resistor and capacitor having a smaller RC time constant, and reduced layout area that also has a very high allowable power-up voltage slew rate.

Electrostatic discharge protection circuit having high allowable power-up slew rate


A differential pair arrangement includes two mutually intersecting differential pairs of conductors wherein each pair may perform as both aggressor and victim. The crosstalk imposed on the victim conductor by the pair of aggressor differential pair is substantially zero at any moment and any section. Therefore, there is no crosstalk accumulated along the longitudinal direction of the conductors, and thus the far-end or the near-end crosstalk is substantially zero.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electrical conductor arrangements for high speed transmission, and particularly to the arrangements for use with differential pair(s) to eliminate the crosstalk thereof.
2. The Related Art
Crosstalk is the concern in high speed transmission. In fact, the concept of xe2x80x9cdifferential pairxe2x80x9d of the conductors to eliminate the crosstalk between the adjacent conductors are popularly used in the industry field. Understandably, the basic theory of the differential pair arrangement is based on the crosstalk impact from the same xe2x80x9caggressorxe2x80x9d source to the respective xe2x80x9cvictimxe2x80x9d conductors of the differential pair being the same with each other when the two (victim) conductors of the victim differential pair are respectively equally spaced from the same xe2x80x9caggressorxe2x80x9d source. Under this situation, the undesired crosstalk noise signal due to the same xe2x80x9caggressorxe2x80x9d source may be theoretically eliminated with the subtraction calculation. This phenomena is generally based on the assumption that the victim differential pair is spaced from the aggressor source with a significant distance while the internal distance between the two conductors of the victim differential conductors internally is relatively small. Understandably, regardless of the circuits on the printed circuit board, the contacts in the connector, or the wires of a cable, the distance between the differential pair of victim conductors and the aggressor source is relatively small, so that the induced crosstalk from the same aggressor source to the two respective conductors of the victim differential pair will be obviously different. This is an inherent shortcoming.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,647,770, 5,971,813, 6,017,247 and 6,120,329 disclose some approaches to eliminate the crosstalk among the differential pairs of conductors. Obviously, the way these approaches used is generally to intentionally oddly deflect/off some portions of the corresponding contacts of the modular jacks to be coupled/close to other corresponding contacts so that the crosstalk measured at the ends of the contact tails, via which the modular jacks are mounted on the mother board, may be reduced. Understandably, such a method requires complicated calculation and/or plural try-and-errors. Additionally, such complicated/odd configurations of the corresponding contacts make it difficult to manufacture/assemble the modular jack. Moreover, due to such offset/deflection arrangement of some contacts, the lengths of the electrical paths of the respectively contacts will be different, thus resulting in the skew effect which is also not desired by the electrical circuit design.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,761,842 and 6,057,512, and the copending application Ser. No. 09/535,426 filed on Mar. 27, 2000 with the same assignee, disclose the similar approach in another application, i.e., the cable field, where the differential pair of wires are twisted for eliminating the crosstalk from the adjacent wires. Understandably, the twisted arrangement of the differential pairs makes it difficult to manufacture the whole cable, increases the lengths of the electrical paths, i.e., increasing the resistance thereof, and also results in the improper skew effect.
Yet, the similar approach in another field can be referred to FIG. 1 disclosing the differential pairs of conductors/traces are applied on the printed circuit board, wherein a ground circuit is disposed between every two adjacent differential pairs of signal conductors for eliminating the crosstalk therebetween. Understandably, the placement of plural ground circuits between every adjacent two different pairs of signal conductors will occupy significant space on the printed circuit board, thus opposing the miniaturization trend of the electrical industry.
Anyhow, disregarding the foregoing disadvantages of the existing approaches used in the different fields, other than the crosstalk concern another important issue for the high speed transmission is impedance matching/consistency requirement wherein the impedance corresponds to the associated inductance and capacitance thereof. The inconsistency/un-matching of the impedance along the electrical path may create the reflection of the signal and thus jeopardize the quality of the signals which is looking for the required so-called eye pattern of the signal configuration, i.e., the signal configuration being not fallen within the minimum region of such an eye-pattern for assuring transmission stability and reliability thereof. Understandably, the odd deflection used in the modular jack contacts and the twisted pair of the wires may result in impedance inconsistence along the electrical path because of changeable/inconsistent distance between the differential pair of victim conductors and the corresponding aggressor source. Therefore, the quality of the signals can not meet the preferable eye pattern. Additionally, in the differential pair application, the two conductors of each victim differential pair ideally should be arranged as close as possible so as to try to achieve the close/similar magnitude of the induce crosstalk noise for elimination by subtraction. While the internal distance between two conductors of each differential pair is also an important factor for controlling the impedance thereof. Moving closer to each other may result in the un-matching or incompatible impedance along the transmission path. In other words, most of time there is a conflict situation between the reduction of the crosstalk and the consistency of the impedance because of the inherent structure limitations and electrical characters. In other words, it is required to scarify some portions of at least one of these two factors for implementation.
Moreover, in all the aforementioned three type application fields, the crosstalk can not efficiently or ideally eliminated, and thus for the far-end crosstalk, the peak value of each individual victim conductor may not be in phase due to the propagation delay skew. In other words, because of the possible propagation delay skew, the induced crosstalk of each differential pair can not be symmetrically eliminated with each other. Under this situation, the actual differential far-end crosstalk may be higher than the difference of the peak value.
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a differential pair arrangement of the conductors where the plain, systematic and scientific arrangement is presented under a controllable and predictable sense.
Another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement where the crosstalk can be efficiently eliminated or even disappear at each single moment so that the crosstalk of either the far-end or the near-end is expectedly desirable zero.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an arrangement where the crosstalk can be zeroed down while without jeopardizing the compatibility of impedance thereof.
According to an aspect of the invention, an arrangement of differential pairs of conductors includes two pairs of conductors intersect with each other at a right angle to form a cross-like configuration thereof wherein the distance between the respective victim conductor and one of the adjacent differential pair of aggressor conductors is equal to that between the same respective victim conductor and the other of the adjacent differential pair of aggressor conductors so that the crosstalk imposed on such a respective victim conductor due to the adjacent differential pair of conductors can be almost zeroed down at every moment, thus assuring no crosstalk at either far-end or near-end of such a victim conductor.
Another feature of the invention is that the respective victim conductor can be a single-ended type rather than a differential pair type wherein such a victim conductor may be moveably disposed at any position which is located in a plane equidistant with the differential pair of aggressor conductors.
Another feature of the invention is to almost zero down the crosstalk along the whole length of the victim conductor whereby the impedance thereof can be adjusted to meet the impedance of the next connecting part around the two ends of the victim conductor without jeopardizing the crosstalk thereof.

Arrangement of differential pair for eliminating crosstalk in high speed application


Techniques for feature engineering pipeline generation for machine learning using decoupled dataset analysis and interpretation are described. A feature engineering engine obtains a dataset and utilizes a number of analyzers to generate data facts associated with the columnar values of the dataset. The data facts are consolidated together as a set of data statements that are used by multiple interpretation engines that implement different strategies for treating the data in order to generate feature engineering pipeline code.

The field of machine learning has become widely accepted as a significant driver of the future of technology. Organizations everywhere now seek to use machine learning techniques to address a wide variety of problems, such as optimizing aspects of their products, internal processes, customer experience, etc. While the high-level view of machine learning sounds simple—e.g., provide training data to a computer, to allow the computer to automatically learn from the training data to generate a model that can make predictions for other data—implementing machine learning techniques in practice can be tremendously difficult.
This difficulty is partially due to the underlying algorithmic and mathematical complexities of machine learning algorithms, which are typically developed by academic researchers or individuals at the forefront of the field. Additionally, it is also difficult to generate, update, and deploy useful models, which can be extremely time and resource consumptive and filled with complexities. Moreover, machine learning models tend to be extremely focused on particular use cases and operating environments, and thus any change to the underlying environment or use case may require a complete regeneration of a new model. Further, constructing and deploying machine learning technologies is quite different from traditional software engineering, and requires practices and architectures different from what traditional software engineering development teams are familiar with.

Feature engineering pipeline generation for machine learning using decoupled dataset analysis and interpretation


The present invention provides a substrate treating system for successively treating a plurality of substrates W under an air-conditioned environment. The system comprises an outer casing provided with a cassette transfer port through which a cassette is transferred, a cassette section having a cassette table arranged within an inner space surrounded by the outer casing for supporting the cassette transferred through the cassette transfer port, a sub-arm mechanism for taking the substrates one by one from the cassette section, a process section positioned adjacent to the cassette section and having a plurality of treating units for treating the substrates arranged therein, a main arm mechanism arranged within the process section for receiving the substrates from the sub-arm mechanism arranged in the cassette section and, then, transferring the received substrates to each of the treating units while transferring the treated substrates out of the treating units, an air supply mechanism for supplying a clean air to form a down-stream within the space surrounded by the outer casing, and a partition plate for partitioning the inner space surrounded by the outer casing not to interfere the down-flow of the air formed by the air supply mechanism, the partition plate having a substrate transfer port through which the substrate is transferred from one of the partitioned spaces to the other partitioned space.

The present invention relates to a substrate treating system and a substrate treating method for selectively coating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a substrate of a liquid crystal display (LCD) device with resist to form a resist pattern, followed by developing the pattern.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional resist coating/developing system used in the photolithography process in the manufacture of a semiconductor device. As shown in the drawing, the conventional system comprises a cassette station 210, a process station 220 and an interface section 230. Semiconductor wafers W are put in or taken out of a cassette CR by a wafer transfer device 211 mounted in the cassette station 210. A series of treatments with resist are applied to the wafers W in the process station 220. Further, wafers W can be transferred between the interface section 230 and a light-exposure device (not shown) arranged adjacent to the interface section 230.
The treating system of the construction described above is arranged within a clean room in which a clean air forms a down-stream. A down-stream of clean air is also formed within the treating system, as denoted by arrows in FIG. 1. Specifically, air intake chambers 210a, 220a, 230a are formed above the cassette station 210, process station 220 and interface section 230, respectively. Further, ULPA filters 210b, 220b, 230b are arranged below the air intake chambers 210a, 220a, 230a, respectively. Also, treating spaces are formed below these ULPA filters. As seen from the drawing, a clean air flows downward from the air intake chambers 210a, 220a, 230a into treating spaces through the ULPA filters 210b, 220b, 230b, respectively. Further, the clean air flowing downward through the treating spaces is discharged to the outside through a large number of air outlet ports 240 appropriately formed in a lower portion of the treating system. Incidentally, the air outlet port 240 formed in the cassette station 210 alone is shown in FIG. 1. However, air outlet ports are similarly formed in each of the process station 220 and the interface section 230, though these air outlet ports are not shown in FIG. 1.
In the conventional treating system shown in FIG. 1, it is impossible to form a uniform down-flow of the clean air through each of the cassette station 210, the process station 220 and the interface section 230. For example, an open portion 212 for the worker is formed on the left side in the drawing of the cassette station 210. Since the down-flow of the clean air within the treating system is weakened in the vicinity of the open portion 212, the particles generated from the worker, etc. enter the cassette station 210 through the open portion 212, with the results that these particles are likely to be attached to the wafer W. In this case, it is difficult to prevent sufficiently the particles from entering the system even if the clean air supply rate into each of the air intake chambers 210a, 220a, 230a is increased.
Also, in order to increase the cleanliness of each of the cassette station 210, the process station 220 and the interface section 230, it is necessary to control the inner pressure of each of these cassette station 210, process station 220 and interface section 230 so as to stop air flow among these members 210, 220, 230 and to allow the clean air to flow from these members to a clean room positioned outside these members.
In the conventional treating system, the inner pressure of each of the cassette station 210, the process station 220 and the interface section 230 is controlled by manually controlling the clean air supply rate into each of the air intake chambers 210a, 220a, 230a. However, the inner pressure of the treating system is changed by various factors including, for example, the door-opening during maintenance of the treating system, leading to a change in the differential pressure between the clean room and the treating system. It follows that the particles are likely to enter the treating system. A differential inner pressure also takes place among the cassette station 210, the process station 220 and the interface section 230, with the result that the particles are likely to enter the adjacent member among these members 210, 220 and 230.
FIG. 2 shows another conventional treating system 401. As seen from the drawing, treating units 407, 408 and a main arm (main transfer means) 406 are arranged within a single casing 410 in this treating system. An opening (inlet-outlet port) 403 for transferring a carrier (cassette) C into or out of the casing 410 is formed in the casing 410. The carrier C transferred into the casing 410 is disposed on a carrier station (table) 404. Then, the wafer W is taken out of the carrier C by a sub-arm (sub-transfer means) 405 and, then, transferred from the sub-arm 405 to the main arm 406. Further, the wafer W is transferred by the main arm 406 into the treating units 407, 408 successively in accordance with a predetermined recipe.
It should be noted that the conventional treating system 401 shown in FIG. 2 extends over two clean rooms CR1 and CR2, as apparent from the drawing. The particular treating system is generally called a through-the-wall type. To be more specific, the system 401 shown in FIG. 2 extends over first and second clean rooms CR1 and CR2 which are separated from each other by a partition wall 402. The first clean room CR1 is called a working zone the inner space of which is controlled at a high cleanliness. The carrier C is transferred into the system 401 and a controller is operated by a worker or a transfer robot within the working zone. On the other hand, the second clean room CR2 is called a utility zone. The cleanliness within the second clean room CR2 is set lower than that within the first clean room CR1 used as the working zone.
A wafer transfer port 403 of the system 401 faces the first clean room CR1. A carrier C introduced into the treating system 401 through the transfer port 403 is disposed on a table 404. Under this condition, the wafer W is taken out of the carrier C by a sub-arm 405 and, then, transferred from the sub-arm 405 onto a main arm 406 for further transference of the wafer W into the treating unit 407 for liquid treatment and the treating unit 408 for heat treatment, successively.
Fan-filter units (FFU) 409 each consisting of an integral structure including a fan and a filter are arranged in an upper portion of the treating system 401. The FFU 409 serves to cleanse the air within the first and second clean rooms CR1, CR2 so as to permit a clean air to be introduced into the casing 410 and to form a down-flow of the clean air within the system 401 such that the particles are substantially prevented from being attached to the wafer.
In the substrate treating system of the through-the-wall type, it is not absolutely necessary for the partition wall 402 to be positioned at the boundary between the carrier station 411 and the first process station 412. Specifically, a partition wall 402a may be used in place of the partition wall 402 such that the wall 402a forms a front wall of the system 410, as denoted by broken lines in FIG. 2. Alternatively, a partition wall 402b may be formed between the first process station 412 and the second process station 413, as denoted by broken lines.
When it comes to the substrate treating system of the through-the-wall type, the inner pressure of the first clean room CR1 used as a working zone is set higher by about 1.5 mm Aq (1.5 mm H.sub.2 O) than that of the second clean room CR2 used as a utility zone. As a result, formed is an air stream flowing from the wafer transfer port 403 toward the casing 410, even if a down-low of the clean air is formed by the FFU 409. It follows that the particles generated within the first clean room CR 1 are likely to flow into the treating units 407, 408 so as to be attached to the wafer W. Incidentally, these particles are likely to be generated when the carrier C is introduced into the system 410 and when the wafers W are taken out of the carrier C by the sub-arm 405.
In order to prevent the particle attachment problem, it is proposed to mount an openable door to close the transfer port 403 such that the transfer port 403 is kept closed except the time when the carrier C is transferred into or out of the treating system. Even in this case, however, the particles flow into the treating system through the transfer port 403 when the carrier C is transferred into or out of the treating system because the inner pressure of the first clean room CR1 is higher than that of the second clean room CR2.

Substrate treating system and substrate treating method


A robot including a robot body, a plurality of wheels on the robot body for propelling the robot body, and an axle for each wheel. Each wheel is configured to alternately attach to an axle at or proximate the center of the wheel for high efficiency mobility on flat terrain and also configured to attach to an axle at a position offset from the center of the wheel for better mobility on rougher terrain.

A highly versatile and mobile six-legged mobile robot is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,513. That patent is incorporated herein by this reference. This robot exhibits unprecedented mobility on rough and difficult terrain. But, such a six-legged robot is not optimized for energy efficiency, smooth operation, payload ability, and range when used on flat terrain.
Conventional wheeled robots do exhibit higher energy efficiencies and ranges than legged and tracked robots when used on relatively flat terrain. But, such wheeled and tracked robots are unable to traverse rough and difficult terrain as well as legged robots.
To our knowledge, no prior robot design exhibits efficiency, smooth operation, payload capacity and the range of wheeled robots on flat terrain and also the ability of legged robots to successfully traverse rough terrain. Moreover, no prior robot designed for traversing terrain is also able to efficiently operate in aquatic environments.


A musical tone synthesizing apparatus generates musical tones by simulating the tone generation construction of a plucked-stringed instrument or percussion type stringed instrument. The apparatus has a plurality of closed loop circuits which simulate each tone generating element of the instrument, an excitation circuit which creates an excitation signal corresponding to the excitation given to the plurality of tone generating elements in response to the operation of a tone generating operator or the operational information of the tone generating operator, and a memory which stores a non-linear relation between the tone generating elements and the tone generating operator such as a hammer. The excitation signal is supplied to each of the closed loop circuits and circulates around each closed loop circuit and is delayed by means of a delay circuit having delay interval, and is fed back into the excitation circuit as the state of the tone generating elements. By varying the delay time of each delay circuit, the beat between the musical tones taken out from each closed loop circuit can be generated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a musical tone synthesizing apparatus which is applicable to synthesis of the musical tones of plucked stringed instruments, percussion type stringed instruments and other musical instruments of this type.
2. Prior Art
Devices are well known wherein, through simulation of the tone generation mechanisms of an acoustic musical instrument, the sound of these acoustic musical instruments can be synthesized.
As an example, devices for synthesis of the sound of stringed instruments have been described, consisting of a low-pass filter for simulating reverberation losses in the strings, and a delay circuit for simulating propagation delays of the vibration of the strings, the low-pass filter and delay circuit being connected so as to form a closed loop. With such a device, an excitation signal, for example an impulse signal, is introduced into the closed loop. Thus introduced, the impulse signal circulates about the closed loop with a period equal to the frequency at which the strings under simulation would vibrate in the actual stringed instrument. The bandwidth of the signal is restricted each time it traverses the low-pass filter, and finally, the signal is output from the closed loop as a signal corresponding to the tone of the stringed instrument being synthesized.
with the device described above, by adjusting the delay period of the delay circuit and the characteristics of the low-pass filter, the sound of a plucked stringed instrument such as a guitar, or of a percussive stringed instrument such as a piano can be synthesized, having characteristics very close to those of the target instrument. When simulating the sound of a stringed instrument played with a bow such as a violin, the excitation signal is introduced into the closed loop from an excitation circuit, wherein a signal is generated simulating the effect of the bow. Examples of this type of musical tone synthesizing apparatus include those disclosed in Japanese Patent Application, Laid-open No. 63-40199 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,043.
With the conventional musical tone synthesizing device described above, each closed loop formed by the low pass filter and delay circuit is only capable of synthesizing the sound of one string at any given moment. Thus, these conventional devices model an instrument for which only one string is struck, plucked, or otherwise caused to vibrate at one time. For the above reason, such a device cannot realized the sound effect of, for example, an acoustic piano of which three strings corresponding to one of lower keys are struck at one time, wherein each strings being tuned so as to create slight discrepancies in tuning between each of the three strings to thereby realize beat effect. The above described conventional devices would of course not be able to simulate such an effect. Thus these devices are considerably limited in their ability to faithfully reproduce the sound of various conventional stringed instruments.

Musical tone synthesizing apparatus for synthesizing a muscial tone of an acoustic musical instrument having a plurality of simultaneously excited tone generating elements


The invention relates to a composition for the detection of traces of human or animal blood. The aforementioned composition comprises a luminol compound, an oxidizing agent and a base which are diluted in a preferably aqueous solvent. Said composition is characterized in that:                the luminol compound is present in a quantity providing a concentration of between 1 and 20 mmoles/l in the end composition,        the oxidizing agent is hydrogen peroxide which is present at a concentration of between 25 and 100 mmoles/l in the end composition,        the base is soda, NaOH, which is present at a concentration of between 25 mmoles/l and 500 mmoles/l in the end composition.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a composition designed for the detection of traces of human or animal blood, including therein a field kit and a procedure for the preparation of the composition in question. The invention further encompasses a procedure for the detection and the localisation of traces of human or animal blood.
The procedure of searching and the localisation of human and animal blood traces by means of chemiluminescence is an already well-established and documented factor.
The luminescence designates the ensemble of emission phenomena of electro-magnetic ultraviolet rays, either visible or in the infra-red range and that are not provoked by a thermal effect.
Certain molecules, the luminophores, possess the property, after they have been brought to an excited state, to emit this so-called <<cold light>> while in the process of returning to their fundamental state. The phenomenon may be provoked by different means and, depending on the nature of the energy source that brings a molecule to its excited state, different types of luminescence can be defined.
Chemiluminescence represents the emission of light produced directly or indirectly by a chemical reaction. In general, chemiluminescent reactions result from the process of oxidation.
For the detection of human or animal blood, the luminol (5-amino-2.3-dihydro-1.4-phthalazinedione) is the most commonly used chemiluminescent compound, although a number of other luminol compounds are equally employed.
In an aqueous solution, the chemiluminescent reaction of luminol requires the presence of a system of oxidisation and an alkaline environment (White E. H. & Roswell, D. F. 1985. Luminol chemiluminescence. Chemi-and Bioluminescence (Burr, J. G., ed.), Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 215-244).
The oxidation of luminol leads to the formation of the ion aminophthalate in an excited state whose return to its fundamental state is accompanied by the emission of light.
The quantum efficiency yield of the reaction is feeble (approximately 0.01) and the emission spectrum presents a maximum at 430 nm (light-blue colour) (White, E. H. & Roswell, D. F. 1985. Luminol chemiluminescence. Chemi-and Bioluminescence (Burr, J. G., ed.), Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 215-244).
The principal compounds that are able to act as catalysts in this light-emitting reaction are the transition metals (Cr3+, Mn4+, Fe2+, Fe3+, CO2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Hg2+), free or complexed, hemin and peroxidase (enzyme extracted, for instance, from horse radish).
Hemin is a particular biochemical structure that forms an integral part of peroxidase. This structure is equally present in haemoglobin, which is the carrier protein of oxygen and of part of CO2 in the blood.
Hence, the presence of haemoglobin—thus, of blood—can be made evident by exploiting the ability of hemin to catalyse the chemiluminescence of luminol.
In other words, a mixture of luminol/oxidising agent/alkaline(base) agent, when coming into contact with blood, will emit light.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Already more than 60 years ago, a method to test for the presence of blood by means of this kind of compound was proposed as an empirical aid for detecting traces of blood as an instrument in criminal and forensic investigations.
Thus, in 1937, Specht, W. in The Chemiluminescence of hemin: an aid for finding and recognizing blood stains important for forensic purposes. Angewande Chemie, 10, 155-157, was the first to propose demonstrating at the scene of a crime the presence of blood to serve as evidence in criminal and forensic investigations, this by using a compound containing 0.1 part by weight of luminol, 3 parts by weight of an alkaline agent, being sodium carbonate, and 15 parts by weight of an oxidising agent, being hydrogen peroxide 30% diluted in 100 parts by weight of distilled water.
In 1937, Specht, W. in The Chemiluminescence of hemin: an aid for finding and recognizing blood stains important for forensic purposes. Angewande Chemie, 10, 155-157, studied and demonstrated the sensitivity of the luminescent reaction with this reactive agent on traces of dried blood, then diluted to 1:2 000 by volume.
In 1939 Proescher, F. & Moody, A. M. in Detection of blood by means of chemiluminescence. Journal of Laboratory Clinical Medicine., 24, 1183-1189, recalled that Specht, W., in 1937, in his article The Chemiluminescence of hemin: an aid for finding and recognizing blood stains important for forensic purposes. Angewande Chemie, 10, 155-157, had in tickets and brushwood conducted tests on blood exposed to the sun and to the rain and that, under these varying conditions, the chemiluminescent reaction had occurred.
As to their own efforts, they tested the compound of Specht, W., expounded in 1937 in The Chemiluminescence of hemin: an aid for finding and recognizing blood stains important for forensic purposes. Angewande Chemie, 10, 155-157, both on the blood from animals and humans up to dilutions of 1:1 000 000 and demonstrated thereby that the chemiluminescent reaction occurred on both occasions.
In 1951, Grodsky, M., Wright, K. & Kirk, P. L., in Simplified preliminary blood testing. An improved technique and comparative study of methods. Journal of the America Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 42, 95-104, noting that the sensitivity and the reactivity of luminol are very difficult to control while the hydrogen peroxide is being used in the capacity of oxidising agent, proposed the use of a perborate oxidising agent. He likewise proposed a field kit consisting of different receptacles each independently containing the said luminol, the perborate oxidising agent, and the alkaline agent sodium carbonate. This field kit would also hold accessories such as plastic and glass vaporisers, filter paper, a bottle of distilled water, a flashlight to allow for the mixing of the reactive agents in the dark, plus plastic receptacles to hold and carry along the traces of blood or other minute bits of evidence.
In that respect, Grodsky, M., Wright, K. & Kirk, P. L. in 1951, in the article Simplified preliminary blood testing. An improved technique and comparative study of methods. Journal of the America Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 42, 95-104, managed to optimise the chemiluminescent reaction of luminol, in the presence of very diluted blood, being a dilution of 1:5 000 000 by volume.
In 1939, Proescher, F. & Moody, A. M. in Detection of blood by means of chemiluminescence. Journal of Laboratory Clinical Medicine., 24, 1183-1189, just like Grodsky, M., Wright, K. & Kirk, P. L. in 1951 in Simplified preliminary blood testing. An improved technique and comparative study of methods. Journal of the America Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 42, 95-104, recommended to first spray the location with hydrochloric acid in order to decompose the haemoglobin and to improve the sensitivity level of the test.
In 1966, Weber, K. in Die Anweldung der Chemiluminescenz des Luminols in der Gerichtlichen Medizin und Toxicologie. I. Der Nachweis von Blutspuren. Deutsche Zeitschrift für die gesamte Gerichtliche Medizin, 57, 410-423, provided evidence of the fact that the use of a carbonate alkaline agent did merely provoke a slow reaction of haemoglobin oxidation and that, consequently, the luminescence was much weaker when such a carbonate alkaline agent was utilised. Therefore, he advocated the use of sodium hydroxide for an alkaline agent. In 1966, Weber, K. in Die Anweldung der Chemiluminescenz des Luminols in der Gerichtlichen Medizin und Toxicologie. I. Der Nachweis von Blutspuren. Deutsche Zeitschrift für die gesamte Gerichtliche Medizin, 57, 410-423, in his turn noted that the concentrations with luminol and hydrogen peroxide used in the reagents by Specht, W. in 1937 in The Chemiluminescence of hemin: an aid for finding and recognizing blood stains important for forensic purposes. Angewande Chemie, 10, 155-157, were too strong and provoked a concentration inhibition in the reaction of luminol linked to the concentration of the reagents and hence a disappearance of the chemiluminescence and a notable lowering in the evidence of blood traces. In 1966, Weber, K. in Die Anweldung der Chemiluminescenz des Luminols in der Gerichtlichen Medizin und Toxicologie. I. Der Nachweis von Blutspuren. Deutsche Zeitschrift für die gesamte Gerichtliche Medizin, 57, 410-423, thus proposed a composition consisting of 0.4 mmoles/l de luminol, 17.6 mmoles/l of hydrogen peroxide, and 45 mmoles/l of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, diluted in distilled water, for the detection of traces of dried or fresh blood up to a dilution ratio of 1:20 000 000.
In 1990, Grispino, R. R. J. in The effects of luminol on serological analysis of dried bloodstains Crime Laboratory Digest, 17 (1), 13-23, proposed using a luminol composition containing 5.6 mmoles/l of luminol, 472 mmoles/l of potassium or sodium carbonate and 100 mmoles/l of hydrogen peroxide H2O2, diluted in distilled water, for the detection of traces of blood dried during several days and of fresh blood in dilutions of this blood from 1:10 000 up to 1:100 000.
All of the above demonstrates that, for the purpose of detecting traces of blood at the scene of a crime, the use of a composition containing luminol in combination with an alkaline agent and an oxidising agent dates back a long way in the past.
With reference to this particular application, it is advocated to use hydrogen peroxide as an oxidising agent rather than sodium perborate, as sodium perborate is not readily soluble in water and impedes the vaporisation arrangement of the composition. Likewise, the use of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide as an alkaline agent is advocated rather than a composition of carbonate, for the oxidation reaction of luminol was much slower with a carbonate compound than with a hydroxide one, meaning that the light emission was less intense with the former compound.
In 1966, Weber, K. in the article Die Anweldung der Chemiluminescenz des Luminols in der Gerichtlichen Medizin und Toxicologie. I. Der Nachweis von Blutspuren. Deutsche Zeitschrift für die gesamte Gerichtliche Medizin, 57, 410-423, thus proposed a composition of this type but containing rather weak quantities of luminol and of hydrogen peroxide, as too strong quantities of these compounds bring with them an inhibition in the luminol reaction and, consequently, a disappearance of the chemiluminescence and a notable lowering of the evidence of traces of blood.
Furthermore, Byrne, in the patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,116 and 5,833,887, has proposed the use of the chemiluminescent reaction of luminol in order to detect traces of blood loss in wounded game animals, on the hunting sites, in conditions of failing light and reduced visibility.
To this effect, Byrne, in the patents U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,770,116 and 5,833,887, advocates the use of a composition containing, in addition to luminol, sodium perborate for an oxidising agent and sodium carbonate as an alkaline agent.
Nevertheless, this composition presents difficulties linked to the utilisation of the sodium perborate and the sodium carbonate as already described supra.
This is particularly inhibiting for an application to be used on the occasion of the hunt, specifically when blood detection is sought not in the dead of (black) night but rather under the simple conditions of failing light, as is the case at the time of sundown, when the loss of luminous intensity emitted by the luminol reaction with the blood is particularly bothersome since this luminescent intensity at such a time may not be sufficiently noticeable for the hunter to detect the traces of blood left by his prey.
Moreover, all tests carried out in the past were conducted on much diluted blood samples.

Composition, kit and method of detecting and locating traces of blood

Abstract: The invention also relates a kit and a method for preparing said composition. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method of detecting and locating traces of human or animal blood.


A new composition of matter that can be substituted as a bulking agent for sugar or starch to reduce the caloric content of foods comprising the polymeric product of the reaction of a water-soluble polyol with a di- or tri-epoxide, in water containing a water-soluble inorganic base that serves as a catalyst, and the process for making it.

A significant reduction in the caloric content of foods can be accomplished by removing the main source of the calories, which may be sugar, starch, or fat. However, when the calorie source is removed, it must be replaced with something that restores the food to its original appearance, texture, taste, consistency, and subjective feel in the mouth. In the case of sugar and starch, such a replacement material is frequently called a bulking agent.
For sugar replacement, the bulking agent should resemble sugar as closely as possible; it should be white, water-soluble, and solid; have a low caloric content, be odorless and either tasteless or sweet, and have no physiological effects. A lack of sweetness can be remedied with an appropriate amount of an artificial, calorie-free sweetener.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,766,165 and 3,876,794 disclose bulking agents made from monosaccharides such as glucose and maltose (reducing sugars) by heating them in the presence of edible polycarboxylic acid catalysts to form soluble or insoluble polyglucoses and polymaltoses having average molecular weights in the range of 1500 to 36,000. Melt-polymerization processes are used, and the use of alkali or alkaline earth carbonates to neutralize excess acidity in the products is disclosed.
European patent application EP 0 404 227 A2, published Jun. 13, 1990, describes a low-calorie bulking agent that is made by reacting together a monosaccharide such as glucose or maltose, a polyol such as glycerol or sorbitol, and a polycarboxylic acid that also acts as a catalyst, at elevated temperatures and pressures. The saccharides disclosed are reducing sugars. The product is intended to be added to puddings, cakes and other foods.
It is known that poorly digestible, water-soluble solids of low molecular weight, such as sorbitol (182.2), xylitol (152.1), and mannitol (182.2) give rise to osmotic diarrhea (the latter being known as a laxative), for instance from Lineback and Inglett, Food Carbohydrates, AVI Publishing, Westport CT., (1982) pg. 51, and that the effect is dependent on the molecular weight of the non digested quantity of the material. Thus, the bulking agent should also be polymeric.
There is a need for water-soluble polymers, made from inexpensive starting materials, which meet the above criteria. In addition to being replacements for sugar in foods, they may also find applications more traditionally associated with water-soluble polymers such as thickening agents, encapsulants, etc.

Non-caloric bulking agents for food for replacement of sugar or starch


The present invention discloses an assembly structure of an electrical card, wherein the conventional plastic frame and connector are integrated into a connector frame; the connector frame is engaged with upper and lower shells via press-fitting front press-fit platelets of the upper shell and press-fit hooks of the lower shell; a back cover has two extension arms protruding from its two lateral sides, and the other ends of the upper and lower shells are press-fit to the back cover and wrap those two extension arms; and the upper shell and the lower shell are wrapped by each other and press-fit together. Thereby, the upper and lower shells, the connector frame and the back cover are assembled into an electrical card structure. The present invention has a rigid joint mechanism to assemble an electrical card having superior engagement and can be easily disassembled for fixing the circuit inside the electrical card.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved structure of an electrical card, particularly to an assembly structure applicable to a long electrical card and a short electrical card.
2. Description of the Related Art
With rapid advance of electronic technology and extensive popularity of computers, information products have been indispensable for most people, and the portable electronic products thereof, such as notebook computers and personal digital assistants, are tending to be miniaturized; thus, various electrical cards are created to expand the functions in limited dimension. The electrical cards are classified into short type and long type according to their sizes.
No matter whether it is a long card or a short card, a general electrical card has a plastic frame, and a metallic upper shell and a metallic lower shell are installed above the plastic frame. A connector soldered to the front end of a circuit board is installed to the front end of the plastic frame, and the circuit board is disposed between the metallic upper shell and the metallic lower shell. Multiple insertion platelets are formed on two lateral sides of both the shells. In one shell, each insertion platelet has a connection hole, and in the other shell, each insertion platelet is tilted outward as a press-fit platelet. Two metallic shells are assembled into a unitary body via press-fitting the press-fit platelets into the connection holes, and a back cover is assembled to the rear side of those two metallic shells.
However, there are problems in the abovementioned design of the connection hole and the press-fit platelet. If the press-fit is too tight, it is hard to disassemble for inspection and maintenance. If the press-fit is loose, the engagement is weak, and the electrical card may be split from the connection place owing to an external force, which may bring about the damage of the electrical card. Besides, in the conventional technologies of the electrical card, the plastic frame and the connector are independent elements, which need assembling together; thus, the assembly steps thereof are increased and the fabrication time thereof is also prolonged.
Accordingly, the present invention proposes an assembly structure of an electrical card having characteristics of rigid engagement and easy assembly/disassembly to overcome the abovementioned problems.

Assembly structure of an electrical card


An assembly for checking an registering purchases made by a consumer in a self-service sales point. The assembly includes a station for unloading the pruchases, a work station provided with apparatus for registering and accounting the purchases adapted to be occupied by one person, and a loading station, wherein the respective unloading and loading station being placed substantially opposite each other and on either side of work station. The loading station involves a location adapted to receive a trolley. The person faces the registering and accounting apparatus having at the person's right or left the unloading deck and at the person's left or right, respectively, the trolley. The unit includes at least two such assemblies. The sales point of the self-service type is provided with at least two such units.

In self-service stores, the goods taken from the shelves by the consumer are usually placed in trolleys or containers provided to that end. The consumer then heads towards one of the exit stations, commonly known as "cashdesks" or "check-outs".
Heretofore employed check-out stations comprise a conveyor belt onto which the consumer unloads the goods contained in the trolley.
The cashier (hereinafter referred to as the operator) takes the articles one by one to register them with the aid of a cash register which memorizes the price and name of the article, indicated by a so-called bar code disposed on the article. The operator captures the data from the bar code either manually or automatically with the aid of a laser reader (scanner). The operation is thus continued until all the goods selected by the consumer have been registered. The consumer then pays for the total amount of the goods purchased. Payment is made at the same station as the registration and by the same operator. Concomitantly, and more generally after the operation of payment, the consumer must reload his/her trolley, placing either the articles themselves or the articles placed in plastic bags that the operator provided as registration was being effected.
This known way of proceeding and the means used present numerous drawbacks.
Firstly, these known means do not allow, or only with difficulty, the use of a container disposed on the trolley or of a container belonging to the consumer.
Unloading, registration, payment and reloading of the trolley are effected at the same station and by the same operator. These operations must be effected virtually sequentially, which consequently increases the time necessary for every consumer to effect all of these operations; the consumer is therefore obliged to remain a relatively long time at the cashdesk to effect these operations. Furthermore, the operations of unloading, registration and payment effected by the same person increase the complexity of the tasks that one and the same operator must perform.
From the standpoint of security, the fact of having relatively large sums of money, whether it be in the form of cheques, cash or credit card payments, handled by an operator occupied with other tasks and who must cope with a continuous sequence of operations, increases the risks of error.
The absence of use of container by the consumer, or of container supplied by the store itself, involves consuming a large number of plastic bags for collecting the goods together and loading them again in the trolley. The budget relative to plastic bags is high, up to several hundreds of thousands of francs for one year in one store. Any reduction in consumption of plastic bags, without sacrificing the conviviality and convenience of shopping, would thus enable substantial savings to be made and would also certainly be advantageous from the environmental standpoint.
The reduction in the time spent by each customer at the check-out leads to reducing his/her stress; it is, in fact, important to develop customers' loyalty by providing pleasant conditions when shopping, with reduced waiting time.
Furthermore, self-service store management must take into account the indiscretions not only of the customer but also of the staff, also known as "connivance trolley", which consists, for a cashdesk operator, in registering articles and/or prices which have no connection with those actually present in the trolley and taken away by the customer, with the operator's complicity. The present system does not make it possible to fight such intrigues efficiently.
The known systems and methods are thus observed to present numerous drawbacks concerning both the customers and the management of the selling point.
In this context, the present invention aims at overcoming these drawbacks and proposes a method and means for carrying it out, enabling a consumer to register the articles purchased, to pay the price thereof and to leave the store after a waiting time reduced to a minimum. The method and the device of the invention also aims at optimalizing management of the staff at the self-service store check-outs, both from the qualitative and quantitative standpoints, while improving security and reducing the risks of "connivance trolleys".

Assembly for checking and registering purchases in a self-service sales point

Societe Anonyme des Marches Usines-Auchan


A conveyed set of recipient email messages can be identified. An event triggering the conveyed set of email message to be prioritized relative to each other can be detected. Responsive to the detected event, a priority score for each of the emails in the conveyed set can be determined based upon recipient specific criteria. The recipient specific criteria can be based upon recipient behavior regarding a set of previous email messages. The priority score can be calculated base upon prioritizing factors determined from patterns discovered in the recipient behavior regarding the set of previous email messages. At least one programmatic action can be performed based upon the determined priority scores of the email messages.

The present invention relates to the field of electronic mail, more particularly to the prioritization of recipient email messages based upon user behavior, a user's management chain, and other criteria.
Answering email has become an important part of most businesses. Many employees are required to respond to many emails during the day. For some employees, most of their day can be spent responding to and dealing with emails. It is important for employees to maximize the efficiency of their time when dealing with emails. One way for employees to optimize their efficiency is the prioritization of their emails. Currently, email senders can manipulate a priority field to mark the email as high or low importance. Although the senders can mark an email as a certain priority, the recipient may have a different idea of the priority of the email. The priority field cannot indicate a priority relative to the other emails present in a user's inbox because the sender has no knowledge of the emails in the recipient's inbox.

Prioritization of recipient email messages

International Business Machines Corporation


A method, system and computer program product for speech recognition using multiple languages includes receiving, by one or more processors, an input from a user, the input includes a sentence in a first language. The one or more processors translate the sentence to a plurality of languages different than the first language, and create vectors associated with the plurality of languages, each vector includes a representation of the sentence in each of the plurality of languages. The one or more processors calculate eigenvectors for each vector associated with a language in the plurality of languages, and based on the calculated eigenvectors, a score is assigned to each of the plurality of languages according to a relevance for determining a meaning of the sentence.

The present invention generally relates to the field of natural language processing, and more particularly to a method, system and computer program product for speech recognition using multiple languages.
Intent recognition is a fundamental part of conversational systems. Intent recognition algorithms facilitate robot-human interaction by predicting or understanding what a user wants the system to do, and how the system can offer help. Intent recognition algorithms are used in a wide variety of tasks including, for example, search engines.
In advanced conversational systems, complex conversations can occur between machines (e.g., computers, robots, etc.) and users. In these cases, intent recognition algorithms calculate a degree of similarity between different sentences typically within the same language. The accuracy of the intent recognition algorithms determines the performance of the conversational system. Typical intent recognition algorithms select a sentence with the highest degree of similarity as the correct sentence (i.e., the sentence matching the user's intent). Specifically, the algorithm determines how close two pieces of text are in surface closeness (lexical similarity) and meaning (semantic similarity). Lexical or word similarity is often used to achieve semantic similarity. However, in some languages, sentences with a high degree of (lexical or word) similarity can have completely opposite meanings. For example, in the Chinese language, the sentences, translated into English, "Do not give up" and "Have to give up" have a high degree of similarity (approximately 94%). This situation may lead artificial intelligence (AI) systems using natural language processing to choose the wrong sentence thereby reducing the accuracy of the conversational system. Therefore, methods and systems for improved speech recognition would be desirable.

Cognitive analysis for speech recognition using multi-language vector representations