An combustion state detecting apparatus for an internal-combustion engine is equipped with: an ignition coil (4) for applying a high voltage (V2) for igniting to the spark plugs (8a through 8d) of the cylinders of an internal-combustion engine; an ionic current detecting circuit for applying a bias voltage (VBi) to at least one spark plug to detect ionic currents (ia, ib) flowing via the spark plug which has just been subjected to ignition control; comparator circuits (14a, 14b) which compare detected ionic current signals (Eia, Eib) with threshold values (TH1, TH2) and turn them into ionic current pulses (Gia, Gib); and an ECU (2A) which drives the ignition coil according to a crank angle signal (SGT) and determines the combustion state of the internal-combustion engine. The ECU changes the threshold values for each ignition control and judges the combustion state according to the respective threshold values and the state in which the ionic current pulses are generated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combustion state detecting apparatus for detecting a combustion state according to the ionic current detected from a spark plug immediately after the ignition of an internal-combustion engine and, more particularly, to a combustion state detecting apparatus for an internal-combustion engine, which apparatus changing the threshold value for shaping ionic current waveform for each ignition control and carries out statistical processing on a plurality of ionic current pulses obtained for each threshold value, thereby enabling various combustion states to be detected with high reliability.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, in an internal-combustion engine, a fuel-air mixture composed of fuel and air which has been introduced into a combustion chamber is compressed as a piston moves up, and high voltage for ignition is applied to a spark plug installed in the combustion chamber to generate an electric spark so as to burn the fuel-air mixture; the force pushing the piston down which is produced during the power stroke is taken out as a rotary output.
When the combustion takes place in the combustion chamber, the particles in the combustion chamber are ionized; therefore, applying high voltage to an ionic current detecting electrode installed in the combustion chamber causes ions with electric charges to move, thus producing a flow of ionic current.
The ionic current sensitively reacts to the combustion state in the combustion chamber, making it possible to detect a combustion state such as a misfire according to a detected ionic current value, i.e. the amount of generated ions.
The apparatus which detects a failure of normal combustion, i.e. a misfire, from the amount of ionic current detected immediately following ignition is well known (refer, for example, to the one disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-104978. It is also well known that, in such an apparatus, a spark plug also serves as an ionic current detecting electrode.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrative of a conventional combustion state detecting apparatus for an internal-combustion engine, the apparatus employing ionic current; it shows a case wherein high voltage is distributed to the spark plugs of respective cylinders through a distributor.
FIG. 8 shows a timing chart illustrative of the operating waveforms of each signal in FIG. 7; it shows the waveforms observed when normal combustion takes place.
In FIG. 7, a crankshaft of an internal-combustion engine, i.e. an engine, which is not shown, is provided with a crank angle sensor 1. The crank angle sensor 1 issues a crank angle signal SGT composed of pulses based on the engine speed.
Each pulse edge of the crank angle signal SGT indicates the reference crank angle of each cylinder (#1 through #4) of the internal-combustion engine; the crank angle signal SGT is supplied to an ECU 2 comprised of a microcomputer and used for various control operations.
Typically, the rising edge of the crank angle signal SGT is set at the crank angle position of B75 degrees (75 degrees before the upper dead center) which corresponds to the timing at which initial energization is begun; the falling edge is set at the crank angle position of B5 degrees (5 degrees before the upper dead center) which corresponds to the timing of initial ignition.
Although it is not shown, the ECU 2 receives cylinder identifying signals generated in synchronization with engine speed in addition to the operational information from a variety of sensors. In the ECU 2, the cylinder identifying signals contribute, in association with the crank angle signal SGT, to the identification of the respective cylinders to be controlled.
The ECU 2 performs diverse control operations based on the crank angle signal SGT from the crank angle sensor 1, the cylinder identifying signals, and the operational information from the sensors, then issues driving signals for diverse actuators including an ignition coil 4.
For instance, a driving signal P for the ignition coil 4 is applied to the base of a power transistor 3 connected to a primary winding 4a of the ignition coil 4 in order to turn ON/OFF the power transistor 3, thereby turning ON/OFF the supply of primary current i1. Cutting primary current i1 off causes primary voltage V1 to rise, and secondary winding 4b of the ignition coil 4 generates further boosted secondary voltage V2 as the high voltage of a few tens of kilovolts for ignition.
A distributor 7 connected to the output terminal of a secondary winding 4b sequentially distributes and applies the secondary voltage V2 to spark plugs 8a through 8d of the respective cylinders #1 through #4 in synchronization with the revolution of the internal-combustion engine so as to burn the fuel-air mixture by generating discharge sparks in the combustion chambers of cylinders under ignition control.
A series circuit constituted by a rectifying diode D1 connected to one end of the primary winding 4a, a resistor R for limiting current, a capacitor 9 connected in parallel to a zener diode DZ for limiting voltage, and a rectifying diode D2 is connected to the ground from one end of the primary winding 4a to constitute a path for supplying charging current to a bias supply (to be discussed later) for detecting ionic current.
The capacitor 9 is charged to a predetermined bias voltage VBi of several hundreds of volts to function as a bias supply for detecting ionic current i; it supplies ionic current i by discharging via a spark plug which has just been subjected to ignition control, i.e. during the latter half period of a power stroke, among the spark plugs 8a through 8d.
A detecting resistor 10 in the path of ionic current i extending from one end of the capacitor 9 to the ground constitutes an ionic current detecting circuit for producing an ionic current detecting signal, i.e. an ionic current waveform Ei.
High-voltage diodes 11a through 11d which have the anodes thereof connected to the other end of the capacitor 9 and which are connected to the path of the ionic current i have the cathodes thereof connected to one end of the respective spark plugs 8a through 8d so that the polarities thereof are identical to ignition polarities.
The ionic current detecting signal, i.e. the ionic current waveform Ei, is compared with a predetermined threshold value TH in a comparator circuit 14 and turned into an ionic current pulse Gi which is supplied into the ECU 2 as a detected ionic current value for determining a combustion state (misfire).
Threshold value TH which provides the comparative reference for forming pulses is set to a fixed value by a line voltage which has been divided.
In FIG. 8, the ignition signal P is generated in the controlling sequence of cylinder #1, cylinder #3, cylinder #4, and cylinder #2. The primary current i1 of each cylinder is supplied to produce the secondary voltage V2. The ionic current waveform Ei is generated immediately after the cutoff timing of the ignition signal P, i.e. the ignition timing; it indicates a peak value ip and then falls.
The ionic current pulse Gi rises at time tu when the ionic current waveform Ei exceeds the threshold value TH and switches to ON for a section of a pulse width .tau..
Referring to FIG. 8, the operation of the conventional combustion state detecting apparatus for an internal-combustion engine shown in FIG. 7 will now be described.
Normally, the ECU 2 issues a fuel injection signal for an injector, not shown, and the ignition signal P for the power transistor 3 in accordance with the crank angle signal SGT, etc., and it turns ON/OFF the power transistor 3 by the ignition signal P to turn ON/OFF the supply the primary current i1.
When the primary current i1 is cut off, the primary winding 4a generates the boosted primary voltage V1. This causes charging current to flow via the path composed of the rectifying diode D1, the resistor R, the capacitor 9, and the rectifying diode D2, thus charging the capacitor 9. The charging of the capacitor 9 is terminated when the charging voltage of the capacitor 9 has become equal to the reverse breakdown voltage, i.e. bias voltage VBi, of the zener diode DZ.
When the primary voltage V1 is generated at the primary winding 4a, the secondary winding 4b in the ignition coil 4 generates the further secondary voltage V2 of a few tens of kilovolts which has been boosted to high voltage for ignition and applies it to the spark plugs 8a through 8d of the respective cylinders in the order of #1, #3, #4, and #2 in which they are listed via the distributor 7. This causes spark discharge to take place at the spark plugs of the cylinders to be subjected to ignition control, thereby burning fuel-air mixture to provide a torque from the power stroke.
The combustion of the fuel-air mixture generates ions in the combustion chamber of the cylinder, and the bias voltage VBi charged in the capacitor 9 causes the ionic current i to flow; e.g., when the fuel-air mixture is burned in the spark plug 8a, the ionic current i flows through the capacitor 9, the rectifying diode 11a, the spark plug 8a, the detecting resistor 10, and the capacitor 9 in the order in which they are listed.
The ionic current i is converted to voltage via the detecting resistor 10 and formed into the ionic current waveform Ei; it is further formed into the ionic current pulse Gi via the comparator circuit 14 before being supplied to the ECU 2.
The ECU 2 then determines whether the combustion state of the cylinder under ignition control is good, that is, whether a misfire has happened, mainly according to the presence of the ionic current pulse Gi and according as whether the rising timing tu and the pulse width .tau. of the ionic current pulse Gi satisfy judgment conditions.
In the case of normal combustion, the fuel-air mixture is burned only at the spark plug of the cylinder which is in the compression stroke among the spark plugs 8a to 8d of the respective cylinders. The cylinders are subjected to the ignition control in the order of cylinder #1, cylinder #3, cylinder #4, and cylinder #2 as previously mentioned.
In a four-stroke engine, the control cycle of each cylinder is repeated in the order of the induction stroke, the compression stroke, the power stroke, and the exhaust stroke, thus shifting from one stroke to another.
Thus, the ECU 2 detects the ionic current pulse Gi of a series corresponding to the respective spark plugs 8a to 8d while identifying fuel injection and the cylinders under ignition control, thereby determining the combustion state such as the presence of a misfire in each cylinder.
The pulse width .tau. of the ionic current pulse Gi, however, depends on the fixed threshold value TH since the threshold value TH in the comparator circuit 14 is set to a fixed value.
Hence, when determining the combustion state of an internal-combustion engine according to the pulse width .tau. of the ionic current pulse Gi obtained using the fixed threshold value TH, it is difficult to accurately identify the varying factors of the ionic current i indicative of the combustion state of the internal-combustion engine, the varying factors including the peak value ip, the generating period, i.e. the pulse width .tau., and the disturbance in waveform. This has also posed a problem in that it is difficult to accurately recognize the combustion state of the internal-combustion engine.

Combustion state detecting apparatus for an internal-combustion engine


The present invention solves problems to provide an in-vehicle information processing device that is equipped in a vehicle to perform communications wirelessly and has a function as a communication terminal for transmitting and receiving information without an access point to form an ad-hoc wireless communication network, the device comprising: a road shape storage unit 19 operable to store road shape data of a road leading to a driver's destination; a propagation path derivation unit 21 operable to derive propagation path data from information received by a driver's vehicle, using position data of another vehicle from which the information is propagated; a determination unit 15 operable to determine whether or not the propagation path data matches the road shape data, and to generate match information in a case that the propagation path data matches the road shape data; and a notification unit 16 operable to notify the driver of the received information in a case that the match information is generated.

With recent development of information communication technologies, in the field of intelligent transport systems (ITS), various researches and developments have been made for inter-vehicle communications by which information communication is performed by radio or the like among traveling or stopped vehicles.
The inter-vehicle communication is classified into point-to-point communication for communicating between vehicles in a close proximity of each other using a directional antenna, and point-to-multipoint or multipoint-to-multipoint communication for transmitting information regarding a driver' vehicle to other vehicles in a close proximity of the driver's vehicle using a non-directional antenna (for example, Kaichi Fujimura et al.; "A Collaborative MAC Protocol of Inter-Vehicle and Road to Vehicle Communications", The second ITS symposium, Japan, ITS JAPAN, 6-8 Dec. 2003, pp. 361-366).
The communication using the directional antenna has been examined to be used for active systems for controlling and automatically steering vehicles using inter-vehicle distance control, platooning, or the like, and on the other hand, the communication using the non-directional antenna has been considered to be suitable for passive systems for providing information and alarming.
As one of the communication systems using the non-directional antenna for providing information and alarming, a human-centered ITS view aid system has been developed to prevent pileups by detecting statuses of a road, a vehicle, and a driver when the vehicle travels at a high speed, and providing, using the inter-vehicle communication, following vehicles and the like with an emergency status such as a collision, an icy road surface, or a low conscious level of the driver, by displaying the status in real time and clearly even for aged drivers (for example, Sadayuki Tsugawa; "Future of Inter-Vehicle Communications ITS View Aid", Humatronics, Japan, Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc., 6 Feb. 2004, No. 06-04, pp. 38-43). As further examples, it is disclosed that experiments in transmitting acceleration/deceleration information, braking information, and the like from a preceding vehicle to a following vehicle have been conducted in a cooperative driving phase I project by Jouhou System Kougaku Laboratory (JSK) as well as in a CarTALK2000 project by the European Union (see the non-patent document by Sadayuki Tsugawa).
On the other hand, researches have been made for driver assistance systems for warning a driver about an approaching vehicle which the driver cannot see, by transmitting position information using the inter-vehicle communication in an intersection where a driver's view is obstructed.
Furthermore, a communication device for vehicles has been conventionally disclosed to have a function of detecting in real time traffic congestion information using the inter-vehicle communications (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-272095 publication).
Still further, a method has conventionally been disclosed for propagating data packets between vehicles using the inter-vehicle communications (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-123892 publication).

Vehicle-mounted information processing apparatus


A gun trigger safety device for double action revolvers and other guns which holds the trigger in an unfireable position is disclosed. The gun trigger safety device comprises a plug that is molded to conform to the space defined by the inner perimeter of the gun trigger guard behind the trigger. The trigger is held in an unfireable condition when the plug is properly inserted. The gun trigger safety device includes flexible, asymmetrical flanges formed on both sides thereof which partially extend around the trigger guard and the rear edge of the trigger to secure the safety device in position. The flange on the entering side of the gun trigger safety device will bend as it is pushed into the trigger guard housing behind the trigger. The leading edge of the entering flange is radiused to facilitate insertion of the device into its functional position behind the trigger. In one embodiment the asymmetrical flanges are configured so as to be released from the right side of the weapon by right handed persons. In an alternative embodiment the asymmetrical flanges are configured so as to be removed from the left side of the weapon by left handed persons. This unidirectional release function reduces the chance that a child or an uninitiated person will inadvertently release the device. The gun trigger safety device is fabricated with different surface finishes to match the guns coloration in order to disguise the fact that the weapon is in a disabled condition.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to gun safety devices and, more particularly, to a trigger safety device for double action revolvers and semi-automatic pistols as well as other guns, which holds the trigger in an unfired position.
Safety devices to prevent accidental firing of handguns are well known to those skilled in the art. Such safety devices are available in a variety of configurations. Trigger covers may be attached to a handgun to cover the entire trigger guard preventing access to the trigger. However, such safety covers must be attached by pins or screws and a special tool is required for release of the cover. An example of such a trigger cover is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,994 to Nishioka. This patent discloses a trigger cover including a locking device which is activated by a tool such as an allen wrench or a key.
Other such safety devices utilize a locking clamp which holds the trigger in a depressed position thereby preventing the weapon from being in a loaded condition. The disadvantage of this type of device is that it must be unlocked with a key if firing is necessary. Although this is effective in preventing a child from firing the gun, it may also inhibit proper use in an emergency situation while searching for the key.
Each of the safety devices described above has the added disadvantage that they may be readily seen making it apparent to the uninitiated or even a child that the weapon has been disabled. Thus, a child who finds a handgun that is disabled by an obvious safety device may be tempted to tamper with it. Further, a criminal is not likely to be deterred when confronted with a weapon having such a safety device installed thereon. Thus, any such safety device which is cumbersome to remove in an emergency situation is undesirable.
The present invention has been developed to provide a trigger safety device for double action handguns which holds the trigger in an unfireable condition and which is capable of quick release in an emergency situation. Further, the safety device of the present invention is designed to conceal the fact that the weapon is in a disabled condition.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,075,994 to Jim Z. Nishioka discloses a trigger cover including an open position and closed position. The open position being for exposing the trigger and allowing access to an operation of the latter. The closed position being for covering and restricting access to the trigger.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,852,286 and 4,825,576 to Robert Troncoso et al., disclose detachable gun trigger safety devices designed to span the space between a gun trigger and the rear portion of that gun's trigger guard and wedge the trigger forward to prevent its rearward movement and firing of the gun.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,945,665 and 5,033,218 to Stephen G. Nelson both disclose quick-release gun trigger safety devices including a block made of a resilient material that is molded to conform to the inner perimeter of a gun trigger guard. The trigger is held in a depressed state when the block is inserted. The block has flexible flanges formed on both sides which partially extend around the trigger guard and the depressed trigger to hold the block in place.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 260,548 to Darrell E. Holland discloses the ornamental design for a safety lock for hand gun, as shown and described.


A press section of a paper making machine for dewatering a paper web (W) formed in a preceding forming section in which dewatering felts (11, 28) are applied to both surfaces of the paper web (W) as the paper web (W) travels in a closed draw from the forming section through a first extended nip press (NP.sub.1), thereby drawing a substantial amount of water simultaneously and symmetrically from both surfaces of the paper web (W). The upper felt (11) transports the paper web (W) from the first extended nip (NP.sub.1) to a smooth surfaced center roll (30) where the paper web (W) passes through at least one roll nip (N.sub.1, N.sub.2) or extended nip (NP.sub.2 ', NP.sub.3 '). The center roll (30) is positioned at an elevation higher than the first extended nip (NP.sub.1) thereby reducing the length of the press section. In a second roll nip (N.sub.2), a press fabric (33) is substituted for the upper felt (11) to efficiently remove additional water. Additional extended or roll nips (NP.sub.2, N.sub.3, N.sub.0, N.sub.E) may be interposed between the center roll (30) and the succeeding drying section, between the forming section and the first extended nip (NP.sub.1), or between the first extended nip (NP.sub.1) and the center roll (30).

It is known from the prior art to use one or more extended-nip presses in a press live section that follows the forming section of a paper machine. In such an extended-nip press, the length of the pressing zone extending in the running direction of the paper web is substantially longer than that encountered in a roll press nip. Traditionally, extended-nip presses were commonly used only in paperboard machines and to make thicker grades of paper. However, more recently, extended-nip presses have also been introduced for use in the production of thinner paper grades, such as newspaper and fine papers.
Known press sections have various problems, especially when used in the high speed manufacture of relatively thin paper products. Relatively thin paper products are much more likely to be damaged during their manufacture than are thicker paper products, especially at relatively high web speeds of about 25 to about 35 m/sec. The relatively low number of intertwined fibers due to the very thinness of such thin paper products is one cause of such vulnerability. This latter factor also contributes to the difficulties encountered when attempting to separate such relatively thin paper stock from relatively smooth surfaces because considerable adhesion forces have to be overcome. Consequently, the incidence of tearing of and other damage to relatively thin paper webs is much higher even in such currently available press sections that employ extended nip presses than that encountered with thicker materials.
Examples of prior art that is considered to be most closely related to the present invention can be found in the following published patent documents: Finnish patent application No. 890530 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,570 and published German patent document No. DE-OS 3808293.4), German utility model No. DE-GBM 8805966, Finnish patent application No. 913886 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,732 and published German patent document No. DE-OS 4026021), Finnish Pat. No. 75,382, Finnish patent application No. 811403 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,598), and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,257,844, 4,551,205, 4,704,192, and 5,120,399. Further, reference is made to the paper in the journal Wochenblatt fur Papierfabnkation 19(1993), pages 780 to 782"Die Flexonip.RTM.-Pressen", which describes some of the latest extended nip press constructions of J. M. Voith GmbH. The press sections in these prior art devices have various problems.
In Finnish patent application No. 890,530, especially with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 (and in the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,570), the paper web is transferred from one extended nip press into a second and/or third extended nip press on the smooth surface of a gliding belt mantle of the extended nip press. Because the gliding belt mantle is smooth, water is pressed out of the paper web only through the surface of the paper web which faces away from the mantle because the smooth surface of the mantle has no route by which water can leave the paper web. Additionally, such a smooth surface mantle has pronounced adhesion properties and therefore poor paper web transfer properties. Moreover, the first nip is not an extended nip that removes water efficiently through both surfaces of the paper web, and the overall concept disclosed is not that of a compact press section of several nips.
In the FIGS. 1 and 2 embodiments in German utility model No. DE-GMB 88 05 966, the press section consists solely of two separate extended-nip presses in which the high load pressing is carried out on the same face of the same pressing felt. Moreover, the paper web is transferred over the long distance between the two nips by confining the paper web between two wet felts and on the face of one felt, thus resulting in the rewetting of the web by water previously expelled from the paper web to the felt. Consequently, the water content of the paper web increases after it is pressed in this so-called rewetting process. While the geometries of the press sections that are shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6 are more compact than those of FIGS. 1 and 2, the same press felt runs through both of the extended nips, thereby reducing the water absorbing capacity of the felt in the second extended nip. The transfer-of the paper web from one extended nip to the other relies fully on the differences in the surface characteristics of the pressing felts as there is no additional mechanism to ensure the transfer of the paper web.
In Finnish patent application No. 913886 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,732), FIGS. 1, 1a, 2, 3, 3a and 3b, a transfer means, which lower than that of a felt, runs through all the press nips. Since the largest amount of water is removed in the first nip, the dewatering in one direction (i.e. through one surface of the paper web) is limited by the transfer means contacting that surface. In FIGS. 2, 2a, 3, 3a and 3b, the transfer means in the first nip consists of a gliding belt which is impervious to water and smooth so that dewatering through one surface of the paper web is completely precluded.
Finnish patent application No. 811403 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,598), Finnish Pat. No. 75,382, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,84 do not disclose or suggest the use of an extended nip press with a high dewatering capacity at the first nip or anywhere else, or a closed web transfer to the dryer section.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,120,399 merely discloses the use of a single felt extended nip at the first nip. In this case, water is removed from the paper web in one direction only. Also, the press sections comprise only two nips, and no compact multi-nip press section is suggested.

Press section employing an extended nip press with suction counter roll


One cell of the first cell group CG and one cell of the second cell group CxG are selected simultaneously in response to address signals A1 and A2; data of these selected cells are amplified by the first and second sense amplifiers SA1 and SA2, respectively as sense outputs dA, dA, dB, dB; these sense outputs are given to a select circuit SEL including output buffer circuits OB; the select circuit outputs any of the first and second sense outputs to an output circuit Q17, Q18 in response to select signals ODA, ODB applied from an output switch circuit OSW on the basis of a specific address signal A12, A12. Since plural sense outputs based upon plural cell data are previously outputted simultaneously from the sense amplifiers to the select circuit and then one of the sense outputs is selected on the basis of a specific address, the cell data can be read at high speed as compared with when data are simply read from cells without simultaneous data transfer and data selection.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more specifically to a semiconductor memory device suitable for a MOS static random access memory (SRAM) for realizing high speed access to cells.
FIG. 1 shows a prior-art semiconductor memory, in which only the data-read related portion is shown in detail. In the drawing, CG denotes a cell group. Cells C (C11, C21, C31, . . . ; C12, C22, C32, . . . ; . . . ) of the cell group CG are connected to word lines WL (WL1, WL2, selected by a row address A1, respectively. Outputs of these cells C are read out through bit lines BL, BL (BL1, BL1; BL2, BL2; . . . ). Data of the bit lines BL, BL are transmitted to two I/O lines IOL (IOL1, IOL2) via column switches CSW (CSW1, CSW2, . . . ). Gates of these column switches CSW are connected to address lines AL (AL1, AL2, . . . ) selected by a column address A2, respectively. Further, two I/O lines IOL1 and IOL2 are connected to a sense amplifier SA. Sense outputs d, d are outputted from the sense amplifier SA and then given to an output buffer circuit OB. Two output gate lines G0 and G0 of the output buffer circuit OB are connected to gates of two series-connected output buffer transistors Q17 and Q18, respectively. An output signal D.sub.out can be obtained through a junction point between the two output buffer transistors Q17 and Q18.
The data reading operation of the prior-art memory device as described above will be ,described hereinbelow. When a word line WL1, for instance is selected by a row address A1, data are outputted from the cells C11, C21, . . . to the bit lines BL1, BL1; BL2, BL2; . . . . On the other hand, if an address line AL1 (column switch CSW1), for instance is further selected by a column address A2, a data of the cell C11 is transmitted to the I/O line IO1, amplified by the sense amplifier SA, and then given to the output buffer circuit OB as two sense outputs d, d, so that the outputs of the output buffer circuit OB are given to the gates of the two output buffer transistors Q17 and Q18 via the output gate lines G0, G1, respectively to generate a data of cell C11 as an output signal D.sub.out.
Thereafter, when the row address changes and therefore another word line WL2, for instance is selected, data of the cells C12, C22 . . . are transmitted to the bit lines BL1, BL1; BL2, BL2; . . . Further, if the column address A2 changes and therefore another address line AL2 (column switch CSW2), for instance is selected, a data of the cell 22 is transmitted to the I/O line IOL. In the same way as already described, a data of cell 22 is obtained from the junction point between the two transistors Q17 and Q18 as an output signal D.sub.out.
As described, in the prior-art semiconductor memory device, since the data read-out routes are all formed in the same way and therefore data are read from the respective cells via the same routes, respectively, the respective access times for reading data from the respective cells are roughly equal to each other. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to operate the memory unit (e.g. cash memory) in such a way that an access time on the basis of a specific address becomes shorter than that on the basis of the ordinary address.

Semiconductor memory device having improved access to addresses


Techniques for providing a user terminal with a web application, which is customized in respect of terminal-specific properties and, optionally, user-specific parameters. An application server stores a template for the customized web application and a feature set for each of several terminal types; receives a request for creation of the customized web application, and determines the user-specific parameters based on the request; sends the user terminal a data message which triggers a request from the user terminal; determines the user terminal's type based on the request; determines the terminal-specific properties based on the determined type; creates the customized web application based on the template, the user-specific parameters and the terminal-specific properties; inserts the customized web application into a set of delivery files for a data communication system and transmits the set of delivery files to the user terminal.

Customer loyalty cards are traditionally embodied as plastic cards with magnetic stripes that are readable by a magnetic card reader operatively coupled to a checkout terminal, such as a cash register. Such plastic loyalty cards involve certain problems. For example, administration and mailing of the cards is a labour-intensive operation for the issuing companies. Furthermore, the necessity of carrying around a number of physical cards is a burden on the consumers. US patent application 2009/0012900, titled "Making Secure Data for Customer Loyalty Programs" addresses various techniques for implementing electronic loyalty cards.
Replacement of the traditional loyalty cards by their electronic equivalents poses new security threats, particularly if the benefits provided by the various loyalty cards are supposed to be variable, which means that some loyalty cards provide benefits not provided by others. Obviously, the loyalty cards should be tamper-proof, which goal is typically reached by means of cryptographic techniques. But the use of cryptographic techniques and a feature set which depends the customer and the technical parameters of the customer's terminal involves problems that are not adequately addressed in the prior art.

Providing a customized application to a user terminal


A shielded and sealed electric harness having conductors housed in a tubular structure providing protection and shielding, the structure being constituted by a tubular inner textile braid, an intermediate metal tubular braid for electromagnetic shielding, and a corrugated outer sheath having its end adhesively bonded to a heat-shrink endpiece for fastening onto a portion of a connector of a branch joint.

At present, two different technologies are used for assembling electric harnesses, depending on the temperatures that exist in their zones of use. When the maximum temperature in said zones does not exceed 150° C., the electrical connection wires and cables are generally protected by means of a structure comprising a textile braid forming a first layer protecting the electric wires and cables, a tubular braid surrounding the textile braid and providing electromagnetic shielding, and an outer sheath of heat-shrink polymer and having, at its end, an endpiece made of a heat-shrink polymer and serving both to protect the end of the shielding braid on the tubular metal or composite connection part and also to connect with the outer sheath of that connection part. That structure has the advantage of accommodating relatively short radii of curvature, but its ability to withstand temperature is limited to 150° C.
In zones where the temperature is higher and might reach a peak value of 260° C., the electric wires and cables are protected by a tubular structure that comprises an inner sheath of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a metal braid for electromagnetic shielding surrounding said sheath, and a textile braid surrounding the shielding braid and made of a material that withstands high temperatures, e.g. aramid fibers, the end of said structure being held by a mechanical collar against a metal or composite connection part.
The drawback of that structure is that it is heavier than the preceding structure and does not accept short radii of curvature.


Equipment for preparing a polymer solution of a non-ionic, cationic, anionic or amphoteric polymer by reaction between a compound including at least one aldehyde function and at least one base polymer aqueous solution having at least one non-ionic monomer includes a reactor provided with a stirring system, as well as a recirculation loop including between the outlet of the reactor and the inlet of the reactor, a recirculation pump, a pH measuring probe, and a pressure differential in-line measuring device in the form of a calibrated tube configured to measure the pressure difference of the polymer solution between the inlet and the outlet of the calibrated tube, the calibrated tube being branched on the recirculation loop.

Water-soluble polyacrylamides functionalised with an aldehyde are widely used in paper manufacturing processes in particular in order to increase the dry strength of these papers. These water-soluble polyacrylamides are primarily manufactured from non-ionic, cationic, anionic or amphoteric basic polymers.
Polyacrylamides functionalised with an aldehyde have two weaknesses:                They are available in the form of diluted aqueous solutions containing between 5 and 12% by weight of polymer. Thus, their transfer into papermaking plants involves logistical constraints and considerable transport costs.        These polymers in an aqueous solution have a short lifespan (between 10 and 40 days) and beyond, the polymer solutions gel.
In addition, during the production of the glyoxaled polymer, it is necessary to monitor the progress of the reaction of functionalisation with the aldehyde. This consists of a measurement of the viscosity of the polymer using a viscometer, by collecting regular samples of the reaction medium. This monitoring requires the permanent presence of an operator.
To overcome all these constraints, it is possible to manufacture these polymers functionalised with an aldehyde directly from equipment installed within papermaking plants. The difficulty of the manufacture of these polymers within the papermaking plant then lies in the means set up to automatically monitor the reaction of functionalisation with the aldehyde.
The document US 2017/0306065 of the ACAT company describes equipment for on-site glyoxalation (functionalisation of a polyacrylamide with glyoxal) with the control parameters:                The monitoring of turbidity        The adjustment of pH according to the temperature        The adjustment of pH according to the reaction time        The pH variation during the reaction        The actual consumption of the recirculation pump.
The control parameters set forth in this document are interesting. Nevertheless, they have the drawback of not accurately reflecting the evolution of the molecular weight of the polymer throughout the glyoxalation reaction (a branching of the structure of the polymer is possible). Indeed, the turbidity measurement is sensitive to the quality of the waters (pollution, matters in suspension) and to the quality of the base polymer (impurities, colourations . . . ).
Therefore, the control of the reaction through a turbidity monitoring could lead to:                The obtainment of a lowly glyoxaled polymer (little reaction between the glyoxal and the base polymer). The polymer solution thus obtained would then have a low evolution of its viscosity throughout the reaction.        The obtainment of a highly glyoxaled polymer which would be in the form of an insoluble gel.
These are the drawbacks related to the reaction of functionalisation of a polymer with an aldehyde that are to be solved.

Equipment and method for preparing an aldehyde-functionalised polymer


A circuit-component transferring apparatus including a component holder which includes an axial portion and a component holding portion which is provided at a lower end of the axial portion and which holds the circuit component, a holder-holding movable member which holds the axial portion of the component holder such that the component holder is movable in an axial direction thereof and which is movable to cause the component holder to move in a direction intersecting an axis line of the axial portion thereof, a cam member which is provided above a locus of the movement of the component holder caused by the movement of the holder-holding movable member and which has a lower cam surface including a height-changing portion, a spherical cam follower which is held by an upper end of the component holder such that the spherical cam follower is rotatable in all directions and which is rollable on the lower cam surface of the cam member, and a biasing device which biases the component holder toward the cam member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for transferring a circuit component such as an electric-circuit component or an electronic-circuit component, and particularly to the art of changing the height position of a circuit-component holder of the apparatus.
2. Related Art Statement
Japanese Patent Application laid open for inspection under Publication No. 5(1993)-196110 discloses a circuit-component ("CC") transferring device which includes a component holder for holding a CC, and a movable member for moving the component holder holding the CC, and which changes the height position of the component holder while the movable member moves the same. The CC transferring device is employed as a CC mounting device in a CC mounting system. The known CC mounting device includes a plurality of component holders and an intermittently rotatable body which is rotatable about a vertical axis line, which supports the component holders such that the component holders are equiangularly spaced from each other about the vertical axis line, at a predetermined regularly-spacing angle, and which is intermittently rotatable in such a manner that the rotatable body is continuously rotated by a predetermined intermittent-rotation angle in a first step and then is stopped in a second step and the first and second steps are repeated, the predetermined intermittent-rotation angle being equal to the predetermined regularly-spacing angle. The rotatable body has a plurality of through-holes in which a plurality of pairs of vertically movable straight rods are fitted, respectively, such that each pair of rods are movable in a direction parallel to the vertical axis line of the rotatable body. The number of the pairs of straight rods is equal to the number of the component holders. The respective upper end portions of the two straight rods of each pair which project upward from the rotatable body are connected by a connection member to which a roller as a cam follower is attached such that the roller is rotatable about a horizontal axis line thereof perpendicular to the vertical axis line of the rotatable body. The roller is rotatably fitted in an annular cam groove which is formed in an outer circumferential surface of a stationary, cylindrical cam member. The annular cam groove includes two height-changing portions the height position of each of which continuously changes in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical cam member.
A holding member, fixed to respective lower end portions of the two straight rods of each pair, holds one component holder such that the component holder is movable in an axial direction thereof and is rotatable about an axis line thereof. Thus, when the rotatable body is rotated about the vertical axis line thereof, all the component holders are revolved around the vertical axis line. Simultaneously, as the roller corresponding to each component holder is moved in each of the height-changing portions of the annular cam groove, each component holder is moved downward or upward. The roller is attached to the connection member connecting the two straight rods of each pair, such that the roller is not rotated about a vertical axis line and is always held in engagement with the cam groove.
The known CC mounting device receives, from a CC supplying device of the CC mounting system, CCs at a component receiving position corresponding to the highest portion of the annular cam groove, and mounts the CCs, on a circuit substrate ("CS") supported by a CS supporting device of the CC mounting system, at a component mounting position corresponding to the lowest portion of the annular cam groove. The CS supporting device is provided below the CC supplying device. Thus, the CS supporting device can be moved, while supporting the CS, to a desired position in a horizontal plane, so that each of predetermined CC mounting places on the CS can be positioned right below the component mounting position where the CC is mounted at each CC mounting place on the CS. Since the CS supporting device is movable in a space below the CC supplying device, the CC mounting device or the CC mounting system can be produced in small size. In addition, the diameter of the rotatable body can be reduced, which contributes to increasing the speed of rotation of the rotatable body and thereby improving the efficiency of mounting of CCs on CS.
However, the known CC mounting device employs the groove cam and the rollers as the cam member and the cam followers, respectively, and accordingly requires that the rollers be held in engagement with the groove cam. To this end, support shafts by which those rollers are rotatably supported, and vertically movable members (each of which consists of a pair of vertically movable straight rods, a connection member, a holding member, etc.) each of which is vertically movable while supporting a corresponding one of the support shafts, must be held by the rotatable body such that none of the support shafts and the vertically movable members are rotatable relative to the rotatable body. This leads to increasing the size of the rotatable body, the total number of parts needed, and the secondary angular moment, and the production cost of the CC mounting device.


An elastic holding organ for fastening a timepiece component on a support element, including a rigid portion provided with an inner face including at least three deformable arms provided with free ends defining an opening into which the support element can be inserted, the arms being configured to perform a coupling with the support element by an elastic clamping in compression of this support element in the opening.

In the state of the art, elastic holding organs are known, such as clockwork collets, generally made of materials called fragile materials such as silicon which contribute in assembling balance-springs on shafts of regulating organ balance such as horological movement resonators, by a coupling of the elastic clamping type made from a coupling system comprising deformable arms such as elastic blades which are conventionally stressed in bending.
However, one of the major disadvantages of these holding organs is related to the fact that the coupling system that they implement allows obtaining only a small elastic clamping force in the given dimensions because the breakage limit stress of the material constituting these holding organs is often reached quickly.
The purpose of the invention is to provide an alternative to the existing holding organs.

Organ for elastically holding a timepiece component on a support element


The present invention provides a bumper structure for an automatic moving device which directs the moving device to change directions when bumping into an obstacle. The bumper structure of the present invention comprises a base, an elastic housing and a conductive terminal. A plurality of conductive sheets is formed over the base, wherein the conductive sheets are coupled to the control circuit of a moving device via the base. The elastic housing is formed over the base, with a protruding actuator section formed within the elastic housing, and the actuator section is parallel to the conductive sheets. The conductive terminal is formed at the bottom of the actuator section but is not in contact with the conductive sheets. The elastic housing may provide buffer when bumping into an obstacle, and the force generated by the impact presses the actuator section downwards, allowing conductive terminal of the actuator section to couple with the plurality of conductive sheets, thereby connects the plurality of conductive sheets and sends a signal to the control circuit of the moving device, directing the moving device to change directions.

With the continuous development and improvement in technology, scenes in the movies where robots serving humans and the coexistence of humans and robots is now a dream that may be realized. In recent years, intelligent robotic systems have been widely used in factory automations, hospital automations, museum tour guides, surgical auxiliary systems, space explorations, military applications, domestic services, office services, entertainment purposes and even performed dangerous mission for humans.
As robots are now viewed as the emerging industry for next generation, many organizations have invested a large amount of resources into the research and development of robots, which allowed robots for various purposes to be present to the public continually, such as the robotic pets for accompanying humans and the cleaning robots for cleaning up the house. However, regardless of the structurally complex industrial robots or the relatively simple structured household small robots all require the equipping of sensing elements, for the convenience of robotic activities and prevent robots from bumping into obstacles and become damaged.
High cost and structurally complex robots usually utilize different types of sensors simultaneously for accurate obstacle detection and avoid impacts. For example, the ASIMO robot developed by Honda utilizes visual sensors mounted on the head and ground surface sensors to perform obstacle detection, map out another route to go around the obstacles and arrive at the destination. Moreover, there are also many domestic robots on the market that are affordable to general families, such as the Trilobite vacuum robot manufactured by Electrolux. The Trilobite utilizes ultrasonic sensors to spot and avoid obstacles via sending and receiving ultrasonic signals. However, although visual sensors, ultrasonic sensors and infrared sensors may be effective at spotting and avoiding obstacles, but the disadvantages include the high cost of production and being structurally complicated, also, when the robot moves too fast and the sensors cannot react in time and impacts with the obstacle, the sensors are unable to provide buffer.
Other methods for robots to effectively detect and avoid obstacles include the use of infrared signals or safety magnetic strips for the construction of virtual walls, even though these methods may limit the robots' movements to avoid obstacles, but they are ineffective when it comes to avoiding moving obstacles (such as cats, dogs and humans etc.), and the methods of use are rather inconvenient.
Even though the domestic robots (such as Roomba the vacuum robot and Scooba the ground washing robot developed by iRobot,) sold on the current market usually contain bumpers to lower the damages from impacts, but the bumpers are usually only configured at the front of the robots, therefore when the robot turns around or backs up and impacts with the obstacle with its sides or the back would limit the bumper from providing buffer protection. Moreover, as the bumpers are usually coupled to touch sensors, so if the robot section that contacts with the obstacle is without bumpers, then the sensors would not be activated, thus would require other sensing devices to react to the impact.
Conductive rubber particles and conductive rubber strips are a popular material for electrical wiring, as they have the advantages of being fine, light weight, adaptable, reliable and flexible, and may be securely fixed on to components without soldering to turn on electronic components, and therefore widely used in remote controls, mobile phones, notebooks, portable music players and other electronic products.
Due to the above, the present invention provides a bumper structure for a moving device (such as a robot) to change directions when bumping into an obstacle, with the effects of providing buffer during impacts, can be implemented with low cost and may be wrapped around the moving device to provide a 360° buffer protection.

Bumper structure for an automatic moving device


An adaptive control system for a machine implement is provided. The adaptive control system includes a machine implement of a machine and an adaptive controller operatively coupled to the machine implement. The adaptive controller includes a processor configured to receive a position of the machine implement relative to a terrain from at least one position detection system, receive data regarding operating conditions of the terrain, compare the position with a target position stored in a memory, compare the data regarding the operating conditions with data stored in a reference model of the terrain stored in the memory, and adjust the position of the machine implement based upon the comparisons and based upon an updated reference model of the operating conditions of the terrain.

Conventional earthmoving or geography altering machines such as track type tractors, motor graders, scrapers, and/or backhoe loaders, have an implement such as a dozer blade or bucket, which is used on a worksite in order to alter a geography or terrain of a section of earth. The implement may be controlled by an operator or by an autonomous grade control system to perform work on the worksite. For example, the operator may move an operator input device that controls the movement or positioning of the implement using one or more hydraulic actuators. To achieve a final surface contour or a final grade, the implement may be adjusted to various positions by the operator or the grade control system.
Positioning the implement, however, is a complex and time-consuming task that requires expert skill and diligence if the operator is controlling the movement. Conventional machines deploy proportional (P), proportional-derivative (PD), proportional-integral (PI), and/or proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers to attain position control of various machine implements. Such controllers may be deployed in combination with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver on the machine. One such conventional machine control system utilizing a GPS is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,465.
However, such conventional P/PD/PI/PID controllers require frequent retuning of control gain parameters and are not very adaptive to changes in the operating conditions of the terrain or other parameters used in efficient grade control. For example, for each new type of terrain, prior to operation, the controller gain parameters have to be changed for that particular terrain. Such frequent retuning increases latency and requires manual intervention, which increases the operating costs.

Adaptive control system and method for machine implements


A filtration system 10 for use to separate contamination from a liquid is provided, including an elongated tubular housing 14 which has a closed end 16 and an open end 18. Located within the housing 14 is an elongated perforated tubular member 20 which has openings 22. A separating baffle 24 for prohibiting flow between the housing 14 and the tubular member 20 is located near the closed end 16 of housing 14. A first fluid port 39 in the housing 32 is located between the filter element 12 and the open end 18. A second port 32 is located in the housing 14 between the filter element 12 and the closed end 16. The filter element 14 is installed and removed through the open end 16 of the housing 14 and is installed between the housing 14 and the member 20. A cover 66 is placed over the open end 16 of the housing 14 in order that fluid which is contained within the housing 14 may be sealed therein. A reservoir 50 is located at the open end 16 of the housing 14 in order that fluid escaping from the housing 14 during removal of the filter element 12 may be contained within the reservoir 50.

The removal of contamination from fluids which are being pumped through duct work is essential to avoid clogging of the pipes by the contamination and more importantly to avoid damage to pump components. Further, the fluid if it be a petroleum distillant needs to be purified in order that it may adequately serve as a lubricant or as a fuel.
Filters typically have an element to which the contaminants adhere or are trapped. These elements are housed in an enclosure which is sealed and through which the liquid flows. The filter element as it becomes increasingly saturated with contaminants becomes impervious for the fluid flow. Filters must therefore be periodically cleaned or replaced.
Early filters were typically removed, cleaned and replaced. Filters of this type are also known as strainers and are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,616,577 to J. T. Janette and U.S. Pat. No. 1,647,799 to F. L. Hammer.
Modern filters are typically removed, discarded and replaced with a new filter. These filters, also known as cartridge type filters, are much more convenient in that they do not require cleaning of a replaceable filter and greatly reduce the filter change time in that the filter need not be cleaned and coincidentally decrease the amount of time that the oil filtration system is inoperable.
These cartridge type filters typically consist of a cylindrically shaped filtering structure supporting a filter media that is composed mostly of a paper substance that is folded accordion style. The filter is typically cylindrical in shape with a cylindrical hole centrally located in the filter. A central perforated tube made of a durable material such as metal or plastic serves to provide support to the filter and also to provide a means for which the fluid may progress from or progress to during the filtration process. An upper and lower cover are affixed to the ends of the filter and are connected to the perforated tube in order to provide sufficient support to and confine the filter media.
Many fluids which are filtered, such as petroleum distillants, pose various ecological problems to the environment and as such their disposal must be appropriately administered.
Typically the petroleum distillant fluid must be separated from the contaminated filter. The presence of the durable perforated center tube makes the removal of the fluid from the filter more difficult. A large expensive press must be used to compress the filter. While the paper element is manufactured from a renewable resource, namely trees, the perforated tube is made from a nonrenewable resource, namely plastic or metals. The existence of a disposable durable perforated tube created therefore further ecological problems.
During removal of the filter element contaminated fluids may spill from the housing containing the fluid and contaminate the area. The spilling is aggravated by the vacuum that can be created between the filter and the filter housing as the filter is lifted upward in a vertical direction the added fluid therefore spills over the outer edges of the housing.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.

Filter housing with means to prohibit fluid flow


The present invention is directed to disposable composite downhole tool formed of a resin-coated fiber. The fiber is formed of a degradable polymer, such as a poly(lactide) or polyanhydride. The resin is formed of the same degradable polymer as the fiber. It chemically bonds to the fiber, thereby making a strong rigid structure once cured. The fiber may be formed into a fabric before being coated with the resin. Alternatively, the fiber is formed of a non-biodegradable material.

In the drilling of oil and gas wells, there are a number of tools that are used only once. That is, the tool is sent downhole for a particular task, and then not used again. These tools are commonly referred to as "one-time" use tools. Examples of such one-time use tools include fracture plugs, bridge plugs, free-falling plugs, downhole darts, and drillable packers. While these devices perform useful and needed operations, some of these devices have the drawback of having to be removed from the well bore when their application is finished. Typically, this is accomplished by drilling the tool out of the well. Such an operation requires at least one trip of a drill string or coil tubing, which takes rig time and has an associated expense. In order to minimize the time required to drill these devices out of the well bore, efforts have been made to design devices that are easily drillable. The challenge in such design, however, is that because these devices also have certain strength requirements that need to be met so that they can adequately perform their designated task, the material used in their construction must also have adequate mechanical strength.

One-time use composite tool formed of fibers and a biodegradable resin


In a video coding method, it is determined to code input video data according a technique selected from the group of: (a) intra-coding, (b) inter-coding without a residual and (c) inter-coding with a residual, wherein inter-coding codes the input video data with reference to coded video data at another time. When it is determined to code the input video data according to type (c) decoded video data of another frame is decoded and the the input data is coded according to the selected technique.

The present invention relates to video coders and, more particularly, to predictive video encoders.
FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified video coding system. The system includes an encoder 100 provided in communication with a decoder 200 over a channel 300. The encoder 100 receives original video data at an input. It generates coded video data from the original video data and outputs the coded video data to the channel 300. The channel 300 may be a communication link, such as those provided by telecommunications networks or computer networks, or may be a memory such as an optical, electric or magnetic storage device. The decoder 200 retrieves the coded video data from the channel 300 and, by inverting the coding process performed by the encoder 100, reconstructs the original video data therefrom. Depending upon the coding/decoding techniques used, the reconstructed video data may be either an exact replica or merely a close approximation of the original video data.
Coded video data consumes less bandwidth than uncoded video data. Encoders 100 employ coding techniques that exploit redundancy in the uncoded video data. A variety of coding techniques are known; they vary in terms of bandwidth conservation and computational complexity imposed upon the encoder and/or decoder.
One type of known video coder is the "predictive coder." In a predictive coder, coded video data at one time may be coded using video data at another time as a reference. An example is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates several frames 10–50 of video information, each frame representing the video data at different times. An intra-coded (I) frame 10, 50 is coded "from scratch." That is, an I frame may be decoded based solely on the coded video data for that frame; the coded video data makes no reference to data of any other frame. By contrast, predictively coded (P) frames 20–40 are coded with reference to other frames. To decode a P frame (e.g, 20), a decoder 200 retrieves coded data for both the P frame and reconstructed data previously decoded for another frame (e.g. I frame 10). Prediction arrows 60–80 illustrate possible prediction directions. A frame usually occupies less bandwidth when coded as a P frame rather than as an I frame.
Predictive coders establish "prediction chains," a series of frames wherein reconstructed data of one frame is used to predict the reconstructed data of another. Frames 10–40 in FIG. 2 illustrate a four frame prediction chain. An originating frame is coded as an I frame but all others in the chain are coded a P frames. Because the P frames achieve more bandwidth conservation than I frames, many coders extend prediction chains as far as possible. Some coding systems also force an encoder 100 to introduce an I frame even when unreasonable coding errors would not otherwise be present. By introducing I frames at regular intervals, decoders 200 may perform random access functions, akin to fast-forwarding and rewinding, that would not otherwise be possible.
As is known, predictive coders may code input video data on a block basis. Input video data may be broken down in to "blocks" (also called "macroblocks" in some coding applications), arrays of video data of a predetermined size. Each block of a frame is coded independently of the other blocks in the frame.
In a P frame, a predictive coder may code a block of data as one of three types:                (a) An Intra-Coded Block: The block is coded without reference to any block in any other frame;        (b) An Inter-Coded Block Sans Residual: Image data for the block is copied from a block in another frame and displayed without modification; or        (c) An Inter-Coded Block Plus a Residual: Image data for the block is copied from a block in another frame and supplemented with an error term (called a "residual") that is supplied in the channel 300.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram that illustrates processing that may be performed by an encoder 100 to code video data predictively. The encoder 100 may include a block encoder 110 and a block decoder 120. The block encoder 110 receives a block of input video data at a first input and blocks of decoded video data from the block decoder 120. For a P frame, the block encoder 110 determines how to code the block (whether as type (a), (b) or (c) above). The block encoder 110 outputs coded video data to the channel 300. In this regard, operation of the block encoder 110 is well-known.
The block decoder 120 receives coded video data from the block encoder 110 and decodes it. The decoded video data of a frame is stored at the block decoder 120 ready to be input back to the block encoder 110 to be used as a reference for predictive coding of later frames. In this regard, operation of the block decoder 120 is well-known.
The block decoder 120 permits the encoder 100 to "see" the reconstructed video data that the decoder 200 (FIG. 1) will obtain by decoding coded video data from the channel 300. The block decoder 120 permits the block encoder 110 to generate accurate residuals when coding blocks according to type (c) above. The block decoder 120 prevents prediction errors from compounding over a series of frames that would occur if type (c) blocks were used to predict other type (c) blocks in a prediction chain.
Reconstruction of coded data is a computationally expensive task. Provision of the block decoder 120 in an encoder 100 increases its complexity and expense. There is a need in the art for an encoder 100 that is less expensive and more simplified in implementation than known encoders.


A composite endless belt for use in printers, imaging devices and the like comprises a nonwoven, porous, open pore thermoplastic substrate having one or more electrically conductive elastomeric coatings thereon. The substrate, which comprises a combination of short fibers and fibrids or a randomly laid continuous fiber, is formed into an endless loop and the overlapping ends thereof are welded together ultrasonically. The belt is very thin, the combined thickness of the substrate and coating or coatings being less than about 0.015 inches.

Certain printers and imaging devices and machines require the use of a belt in the printing or imaging region of the device or machine. Depending on the particular application, the belt may be used to perform any one of several functions. For example, the belt can be used to perform a printer transport function, i.e., to transport and hold paper (or another material to be printed on) in the printing area of a conventional printer. The belt carries paper or the like and positions the same in front of the print head and, after printing, the belt indexes, thereby feeding the printed paper to the next area or section of the machine. The transport and holding function is usually assisted by a vacuum, drawn through perforations in the belt. Endless belts are also used as imaging belts, wherein the belt is charged with an image, the charge on the belt receives a toner and the image is then transferred to paper or another suitable material.
There are a number of important requirements to be met before a belt can be used in such applications. These requirements include, among others, the following: (1) the belt must be seamless or have a minimal or undiscernible seam; (2) the belt must be electrically conductive; (3) the belt must have good temperature resistance characteristics (as is discussed in more detail below); (4) the belt must be flexible; (5) the belt must have customized (controllable) frictional characteristics; (5) the belt must be thin (both for greater flexibility and for heat transfer advantages, as discussed below); and (6) the belt must be resistant to creasing.
There are, of course, a number of belts that are candidates for use in the applications described above but no single prior art belt embodies all of the advantages and meets all of the requirements set forth above. Two principal types of prior art belts are coated, woven endless belting and ultrasonically welded, thermoplastic film belts. The former, i.e., coated, woven, endless belts, possess many of the characteristics discussed above but that technology is not presently capable of providing very thin belts, i.e., belts having a thickness equal to or less than about 0.010 inches. Regarding the second type, although welded plastic (e.g., polyester (Mylar)) film belts have been employed in some applications, there are several problems and disadvantages with such belts in other important applications. For example, because of the thickness increase ("bump") at the weld, the seam shows up when printing on paper over the seam area. Further, when imaging directly onto the belt, i.e., in an application where the belt is used as an imaging belt, the seam also shows up on the paper and the image thereof is transferred. In addition, plastic film belts are easily creased, thus creating handling problems. Further, plastic film materials which are amenable to welding generally do not have the inherent temperature capabilities required. (Again, these requirements in connection with the specific application mentioned previously are discussed in more detail below.) A further disadvantage of plastic film belts is that surface conductivity is not easily achieved and bulk conductivity does not exist in materials meeting the temperature constraints in question. Also, plastic film belts are not very flexible and this is a disadvantage for a number of reasons. For example, where a vacuum assist is used, the vacuum is not as effective. Further, flex life is diminished. A further disadvantage is that plastic film belts are not readily coated, in an endless fashion, with elastomeric materials (such as may be required to render the belts conductive). In this regard, such belts cannot be coated prior to welding in that the coating will greatly inhibit the welding process.
Patents of interest in the field of belts include the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,823,942 (Martin et al); 3,542,633 (Goldsmith); and 3,482,676 (Fackler). The Martin et al patent relates to a document transport belt having a light reflective outer layer and an electrically conductive inner layer. The outer layer is made of ethylene propylene rubber or ethylene propylene diene rubber containing light reflective pigments. The electrically conductive inner layer is made of ethylene/propylene rubber or ethylene/propylene diene rubber containing conductive carbon black. The outer layer and inner layer are joined together to form a plied sheet. Heat and pressure are applied to the plied sheet to cure the base polymer in both layers. The Goldsmith patent relates to an electrically conductive anti-stick conveyor belt. The foraminous substrate of the belt is preferably made of glass fiber cloth, but may be made of other flexible materials. The substrate is provided with openings, either inherently through its weave or directly formed with openings by perforating. The flexible substrate is coated with a fluorocarbon polymer to provide anti-stick properties. This base coating, which is non-conductive, is, in turn, covered with a conductive fluorocarbon coating so that electrostatic charges on the face of the belt can leak off through the conductive coating to the back of the belt to grounded backing plates or rollers. The Fackler patent relates to a belt for a document feeding apparatus having a light reflective outer layer and an electrically conductive inner layer. In a typical example, the outer belt layer is made of a white or light colored polyolefin or neoprene and the inner layer is made of graphite impregnated neoprene. The layers are secured together by bonding.
Other patents of possible interest include the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,526,357 (Kuehnle et al); 4,287,984 (Okamoto et al); 4,244,465 (Hishikawa et al); 3,986,773 (Marx et al); 3,584,733 (Isermann); 3,437,336 (Enke et al); and 2,576,882 (Koole et al).


Parking lock arrangement, having a parking lock mechanism, which can be moved between a parking lock position and a release position, and having an operating device which is supported so that it can rotate about a first axis and which is designed, through rotation, to operate the parking lock mechanism. The parking lock arrangement further has an actuating mechanism and a coupling device which couples the operating device to the actuating mechanism. The actuating mechanism is supported so that it can rotate about a second axis relative to a drum, which is rotatable about the second axis via a drive.

The present invention relates to a parking lock arrangement having a parking lock mechanism, which can be moved between a parking lock position and a release position, having an operating device which is supported so that it can rotate about a first axis and which is designed, through rotation, to operate the parking lock mechanism, and having a coupling device which couples the operating device to an actuating mechanism.
DE 20 2008 001 760 U1 (corresponding to US 2009/193931 A1) discloses a comparable parking lock arrangement of this type.
Parking lock arrangements serve to prevent motor vehicles moving and are used, in particular, in motor vehicles having automated drive trains, for example with torque-converter transmissions, dual-clutch transmissions etc.
The parking lock mechanism may comprise a parking lock ratchet, for example, which is rigidly connected to a gearbox output shaft, and a parking lock pawl, which in the parking lock position engages in a toothing of the parking lock ratchet wheel in order thereby to immobilize the vehicle on the output side.
The operating device may be embodied as a wheel or a shaft, on which a cam is provided, which serves to press the parking lock mechanism from a release position into a parking lock position.
As is disclosed in DE 20 2008 001 760 U1, the cam here may be supported on the operating shaft so that it can rotate to a limited extent, the cam being connected to the operating shaft by way of a spring.
This makes it possible to operate the parking lock mechanism also starting from a relative position in which, for example, a projection of a parking lock pawl is aligned with a tooth of a parking lock ratchet wheel.
An actuator or a manual parking lock shift mechanism may be provided for rotating the operating shaft in DE 20 2008 001 760.

GETRAG GETRIEBE-UND ZAHNRADFABRIK HERMANN HAGENMEYER GMBH & CIE KG


A production plan is created so as to minimize risk of demand variations. Forecasted values of amounts of requests are entered for each different item of products, markets, dates, past accuracy of demand forecasts, and order achievements at the time when the plan is created. Scenario information is created in which assumable amounts of request for each different item of the products, markets, and dates and probabilities at which the amounts of requests agree with actual amounts of requests are defined. Management indexes are found from the amount of stockout and amount of stock calculated in each different scenario, based on the scenario information, target values of the management indexes, and information on strongpoints. An amount of production that maximizes the achievement ratios of the management ratios to their targets within the ranges of supplied materials and within the range of the production capacity is calculated by an optimization algorithm.

The present invention relates in general to the forecasting of a number of products required by the market before a demand for such products is established, the ordering of materials for the products, and the manufacture of the products; and, more particularly, the invention relates to a technique associated with a method of creating a production plan that minimizes the managerial risk caused by out-of-stock and overstock conditions created by errors in forecasting the demand for a product at the time when the materials are ordered.
In a manufacturing industry where speculative productions are performed, the number of ordered products is forecasted before an order for the product is established. Then, the materials are ordered. Generally, a long time of more than one month is required to procure the materials. Therefore, the amount forecasted at the time when the materials are ordered may be different from the actual demand. Where the actual demand is smaller than the amount forecasted at the time when the materials are ordered, an excess stock is produced. In the reverse case, an out-of-stock condition will occur. Such conditions may lead to a loss in profit. Furthermore, the out-of-stock condition will incur a decrease in the amount of sales, putting pressure on the corporate management. Therefore, it is desired that overstock and out-of-stock conditions be prevented as much as possible.
To prevent the occurrence of overstock and out-of-stock conditions, the date at which products are introduced and the amount (hereinafter referred to as the introduction plan) have been heretofore predetermined at the time when the demand is established. When the introduction plan is created, the amount of materials is adjusted to compensate for oversupply or undersupply caused by a difference between the amount forecasted at the time when the materials are ordered and the actual demand. In addition, it is necessary to determine the amount of introduction, such that the production is produced within the operation time of the production line. That is, each one of many kinds (more than hundreds of kinds in some cases) of products must be judged to determine whether its parts are sufficiently or insufficiently available. The excess parts must be assigned to insufficient parts of other products. Then, the date of introduction and the amount of introduction must be determined such that the operating time of the production line is not exceeded and that the products are delivered at the date of request. Especially, where the amount forecasted at the time when the materials are ordered is greatly different from the actual demand, the amount of adjustment is large. The introduction plan is created involving many process steps. Furthermore, in some cases, it is impossible to fully compensate for an oversupply or an undersupply of materials or to adjust the load on the production line in spite of the fact that the introduction plan has been created with many process steps. As a result, an overstock or out-of-stock condition is produced.
As a technique for coping with such demand variations, JP-A-11-96210 discloses a technique for adjusting for an overload by calculating a planned load on the equipment from the number of products planned to be fabricated and reducing a load exceeding the processing capability of the equipment in accordance with a specified reduction policy. Also, JP-A-9-277142 discloses a technique for adjusting for an oversupply or undersupply of ordered materials, by forecasting the ratio of optional products producing violent demand variations or long lead time products relative to the group of products. Another, generally used method of eliminating a shortage of materials is disclosed by Kazunari TANAKA in Illustrated Inventory Control, Nippon Jitsugyo Publishing Co., Ltd., 2000. In particular, when materials are ordered, it is assumed that a certain amount of shortage will occur. The amounts of materials exceeding the required amounts are ordered as safety inventory control.
However, with the techniques disclosed in the above-cited JP-A-11-96210 and JP-A-9-277142, it is only possible to adjust one of oversupply or undersupply of materials or an excess of production capacity produced by demand variations. It has been impossible to adjust both at the same time.
Furthermore, in the technique described by Kazunari TANAKA in Illustrated Inventory Control, Nippon Jitsugyo Publishing Co., Ltd., 2000, a safety stock quantity is determined based on the assumption that the transition of a variation of a forthcoming amount of a request is similar to the transition of a variation of the past sales achievements. Therefore, when the transition of a variation of a forthcoming amount of a request is greatly different from the transition of a variation of the past sales achievements, as typically occurs in the initial or last stage of a product life cycle, an appropriate safe stock quantity cannot be set. This results in an overstock or out-of-stock condition.

Method of creating production plan of demand variation input type and method of creating production plan minimizing risk of demand variations


The present disclosure relates to an electrochemical cell including an anode, a sulfur-containing cathode, a lithium-ion-containing electrolyte, and a porous carbon interlayer disposed between the anode and the cathode. The interlayer may be permeable to the electrolyte. The interlayer may be formed from a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) or a microporous carbon paper (MCP).

Entering a new era of green energy, several criteria such as cost, cycle life, safety, efficiency, energy, and power need to be considered in developing electrical energy storage systems for transportation, such as electric vehicles and grid storage. Li—S batteries are one of the prospective candidates in this regard as sulfur offers a high theoretical capacity of 1675 mAh g−1 at a safer operating voltage range of ˜2.1 V and lower cost compared to the currently used oxide and phosphate cathodes. With this perspective, there is increasing interest in recent years in Li—S battery research. Development of a high capacity (>800 mAh g−1) Li—S system with a long, acceptable cycle life will gives this system a greater opportunity to be commercialized in the near future.
The early-stage research in lithium-sulfur batteries was initiated three decades ago, but the spotlight did not return to this battery system until there was a renewed interest in electric vehicles (EVs) in recent years. The major impediments to the development of Li—S batteries are low active material utilization, poor cycle life, and low charge efficiency. The poor utilization of active material results from the insulating sulfur, which hinders the electron transfer during electrochemical reactions. Also, sulfur molecules form easily-dissolved polysulfide intermediates with lithium (Li2Sx, 2<x≦8) in the electrolyte, resulting in severe, irreversible capacity fade. The soluble polysulfides shuttling between the anode and cathode lead to low Coulombic efficiency. Thus, improving the conductivity of the sulfur cathode and maintaining/reutilizing soluble polysulfides within the cathode structure are critical to develop a viable Li—S system.
Many approaches have been explored to tackle the drawbacks of sulfur cathodes, such as synthesizing carbon-sulfur composites and applying surface coatings of conductive polymers. The studies have shown promising improvements in Li—S batteries, but the material processing steps are often elaborate and costly, limiting the feasibility of manufacturing a viable lithium-sulfur cell. Employing sulfur-carbon composites and applying conductive polymer surface modification are the main approaches in laboratories around the world to realize high capacity and improved cycle life. Both approaches enhance the electrical conductivity of the cathode and suppress the loss of soluble polysulfide intermediates during cycling and thereby improve the active material utilization and cyclability. In addition, the issue of low Coulombic efficiency has been resolved by the addition of lithium nitrate to the electrolyte. However, the major stream of Li—S battery research has focused on the modification "inside" of the cathode and electrolyte, but the design "outside" of the cathode such as cell configuration could be a new strategy for improving the performance of Li—S batteries.

Porous carbon interlayer for lithium-sulfur battery

BOARD OF REGENTS, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM


A system and method are provided for a configuration tool to administer a secure store file. In an embodiment, a front-end layer of the configuration tool displays a visual representation of one or more properties stored in a secure store file. The configuration tool may receive input identifying one of the displayed properties. In an embodiment, the configuration tool uses a logical task to set a value for the selected property in a data layer of the configuration tool.

Many businesses are providing access to their products and services through applications that are delivered over computer networks such as the Internet. These applications typically have a multi-tiered architecture. In those cases where the applications are delivered over the Internet they are commonly referred to as Web-based applications. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a Web-based application 100 having a multi-tiered architecture.
Web-based application 100 includes client layer 110, application layer 120, and database layer 130. Client layer 110 includes user interface 112 that runs on a client computing device such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, personal digital assistant, telephone, and the like. In a Web-based environment, user interface 112 is typically a Web browser. User interface 112 may collect input from a user and provide that input to application layer 120 for processing.
Application layer 120 includes application server 122 to receive and process input from client layer 110. Application server 122 typically includes a number of subcomponents including, for example, connectivity layer 140, presentation logic 142, business logic 144, and database interface 146. Connectivity layer 140 provides connections to client layer 110 using protocols such as the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP), HTTP secured through the Secure Socket Layer, the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP), and the like. Presentation logic 142 generates a Graphical User Interface (GUI) using, for example, a markup language such as the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). Business logic 144 represents the core of the application, for example, the rules governing the underlying business process (or other functionality) provided by the application. Database interface layer 146 provides an interface to database layer 130. The Java 2 Enterprise Edition Specification v1.3, published on Jul. 27, 2001 (the J2EE Standard) defines an increasingly popular architecture for application layer 120.
Database layer 130 includes data access logic used by business logic 144 to store and retrieve data in database 132. Database 132 provides non-volatile storage (sometimes referred to as a persistent store) for the data accessed and/or processed by application layer 120. Database 132 may be, for example, a relational database or an object-oriented database.
Establishing a connection between application server 122 and database 132 is typically a two-part process: loading an appropriate driver and connecting to database 132 using the appropriate driver. Loading an appropriate driver is typically accomplished with a method call. For example, application server 122 may employ a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) Application Program Interface (API) that complies with the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE), version 1.4.2, published June 2003 (the J2SE Standard). Loading an appropriate driver from the JDBC API may be done, for example, with the following line of code: Class.forName("jdbc.DriverXYZ").
The second part of the process is to connect to database 132 using the loaded driver. The following line of code illustrates connecting to database 132 using the loaded driver: connection con=DriverManager.getConnection ("address," "login," "password"). The terms "address," "login," and "password" illustrate connection information that is accessed by application server 122 to establish a connection to database 132.
In conventional systems, the connection information is stored as plain text in a file system and accessed, as needed, by application server 122. Storing connection information as plain text in a file system leads to potential security problems. For example, file systems are vulnerable to access by unauthorized users. Further, unauthorized users may readily comprehend the value of plain text connection information (e.g., plain text passwords, addresses, etc.) that is stored in a file system. Also, if the file system is connected to the application server by a network, then connection information may be vulnerable as it is communicated over the network.

Offline configuration tool for secure store administration


An analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST test module for use in a semiconductor tester to support DFT/BIST testing of semiconductor devices having at least one analog/mixed-signal circuit-under-test is disclosed. The analog/mixed-signal circuit-under-test coupled to an on-chip test circuit having a test signal input and a test signal output. The analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST test module includes signal source circuitry for generating test signals for application to the test signal input of the analog/mixed-signal circuit-under-test and capture circuitry for acquiring output signals from the test signal output of the analog/mixed-signal circuit-under-test. Processing circuitry responsive to user-programmed algorithms analyzes the output signals from the analog/mixed-signal circuit under test independent of the semiconductor tester host computer.

Conventional automatic test equipment (ATE) typically tests semiconductor devices according to a functional test scheme. This approach verifies that the device performs its intended function under a variety of realistic operating conditions. Use of the functional test approach often requires the generation of functional test patterns that exercise the device through its external interface.
As device complexities and densities increase, functional test costs tend to correspondingly increase. In particular, the volume of functional test pattern data required to achieve acceptable fault coverage may increase exponentially with the size of the device.
In an effort to lower these costs, many semiconductor manufacturers have employed structured design-for-test (DFT) and built-in-self-test (BIST) methods. With many of these test methods, the goal changes from verifying functionality to finding manufacturing defects. DFT and BIST methods generally rely on additional circuitry provided on the device to enhance the controllability and observability of the internal state of the device. In some cases, the resulting circuit may be adequately tested with lower-cost automatic test equipment.
While the art is replete with conventional standardized circuit schemes for digital DFT/BIST, the conventional approach to analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST is far different. Conventionally, in order to implement and analyze test results for analog/mixed-signal circuit components such as analog-digital (A-D) converters, phase-locked-loops (PLL), digital-analog (D-A) converters, etc., using DFT/BIST techniques, different methods are typically implemented for each analog/mixed-signal circuit component. As a result, manufacturers have resorted to using custom ad-hoc analog/mixed-signal DFT methods (circuitry and software) to achieve desired results.
Generically, the conventional customized ad-hoc methods to approaching analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST follow a common high-level scheme. Referring to FIG. 1, an analog or mixed-signal device-under-test (DUT) 10 includes one or more analog/mixed-signal circuits-under-test (CUT) 12. DFT/BIST circuitry employed in the DUT to test the CUT includes a drive/sense interface circuit 14 to sample and measure signals from the analog CUT and/or to drive signal into the CUT, and a digital load/capture circuit 16 to convert the sampled analog signals to digital signals and process the signals into a more useable format. Scan chain register circuitry 18 includes scan chain registers 20 that couple to the digital load/capture circuitry and TAP (Test Access Port) interface circuitry 22 to facilitate the transfer of data off the DUT to automatic test equipment (ATE) 30. Both TAP and or scan chain registers may be used to transfer data off of the DUT.
The ATE 30 often includes a host computer 32 that acts as a controller for one or more instruments 34. The instruments may include waveform digitizers, logic analyzers, etc., and are coupled conventionally in the tester as is well known to those skilled in the art. Conventionally, analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST data is captured by digital instruments able to take advantage of the scan chain interface employed by the DUT 10. In operation, data from the analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST circuitry that is acquired by the ATE digital instrument 34 is then fed to the ATE host computer 32 where it is processed and analyzed by vendor-supplied (or user-developed) custom analysis software algorithms tailored to the analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST circuitry employed in the DUT 10.
As noted above, due to the ad-hoc nature of conventional analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST methods, the circuitry and analysis software are typically customized for each type of analog/mixed-signal CUT and multiple analysis software may be needed if more than one type of DFT/BIST method is deployed on a given device. In other words, the DFT/BIST circuitry to test an A-D converter is different than that used to test a PLL, which is different than that to test D-A converters, etc. This lack of standardization often forces the semiconductor device manufacturer to implement custom analysis tools for each type of analog/mixed-signal CUT that translates into a higher cost of test for the semiconductor device manufacturer.
In addition to the ad-hoc methodology discussed above, conventional analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST methods have often led to prolonged test times, often reducing device throughput, or required off-line analysis to determine pass/fail results which added to the cost of test. This is shown in FIG. 2, where, after each test of an analog/mixed-signal CUT 12, in steps 40, 44, and 48, the test is disrupted while the ATE host computer 32 directs its computing resources to analyzing the test results, at steps 42, 46, and 50. This stop and go test/analyze approach is undesirable to semiconductor manufacturers who value fast test rates in order to maximize device throughput. Some semiconductors manufacturers use off-line analysis to determine pass/fail in order to minimize the negative impact on the ATE. However, this method is also undesirable as it adds another process step and requires transfer of large amounts of data from the ATE to off-line storage.
What is needed and currently unavailable is a universal parallel processing approach to test and analyze DUTs that employ analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST circuitry. The automatic test equipment analog/mixed-signal DFT/BIST apparatus and method of the present invention satisfies these needs.

Automatic test equipment for design-for-test (DFT) and built-in-self-test circuitry