A process for treating a tailings stream comprises (a) contacting (1) a gelling agent and (2) an activator with said tailings stream to produce a gel; (b) entrapping solids including sand and clay, and other solid particles with the gel; and (c) allowing the gel to strengthen and solidify to produce a trafficable deposit; wherein the tailings stream comprises water and solids, which solids comprise sand, clay and other solids particles, and wherein 5% by volume to 100% by volume of the solids have a particle size less than 0.05 mm, based on the total volume of the solids. The process may further comprises spreading the gel produced in step (a) or the trafficable deposit produced in step (c) over a surface. The present invention is particularly useful to treat tailings streams produced in processes to extract bitumen from oil sands ores.

Oil sands have become an attractive source of oil recovery to support global demand for oil. Oil sands are large deposits of naturally occurring mixtures of bitumen, water, sand, clays, and other inorganic materials found on the earth's surface. Bitumen is a highly viscous form of crude oil. The largest oil sands deposits are found in Canada and Venezuela. In particular, the Athabasca oil sands deposit is equivalent to 1.6 to 2.7 trillion barrels of oil, and is located in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. About 10% to 15% of the economically recoverable Athabasca oil sands deposits can be surface mined. Once the oil sands ore is mined, it is processed to extract the bitumen.
The bitumen must be extracted from the oil sands ore by separating the bitumen from the water, sand and fine clays contained in the oil sands ore. Today, the oil sands ore is prepared and conditioned prior to extracting bitumen. Processes which include open pit mining, crushing the ore, mixing the crushed ore with warm process water and optionally chemicals, and allowing the ore slurry to be conditioned over time with mechanical agitation or through shear experienced in fluid flow. Ore slurry conditioning is accomplished today by pumping the ore slurry through a hydrotransport line to a centralized extraction plant.
The oil sands ore may be mixed with chemicals and water at the front end of the process (preparing and conditioning steps as recited above) and/or added at one or more of the downstream unit operations steps to aid extraction. The oil sands ore is prepared and conditioned to provide the ore in the form of an aqueous slurry. The slurry undergoes extraction in an extraction plant, which comprises several unit operations.
Various tailings streams are produced in a bitumen extraction process. A tailings stream is an aqueous stream (slurry, suspension) containing components requiring further treatment, including for extracting valuable bitumen or for solids removal and/or purification to enable recycle of the water content of the tailings stream. Ultimately, some tailings streams will be deposited in a tailings pond for long periods of time. Coarse solids comprising predominantly sand settle quickly at the bottom of the tailings ponds. The top layer of the pond is clarified with time and gravity to make water that is suitable for re-use in the extraction process. A large middle layer is present that is comprised of water and fine solids which solids settle very slowly. The middle layer ultimately becomes mature fine tailings (MFT).
MFT is a stable composite slurry comprising fine clays and sands, silt, water, and bitumen. MFT has little strength, no vegetative potential and may be toxic to animal life, so it must be confined and prevented from contaminating water supplies. Typically, several years of settling time are required to make MFT.
Thickened tailings, with similar physical properties to MFT, can be produced through chemical thickening. Chemical thickening enables faster recovery of the water and reduces heat energy requirements when this warm water is recycled for use back in the extraction process.
MFT ponds pose an environmental concern. The Energy Resources Conservation Board of Alberta (ERCB) has issued Directive 074, which mandates a reduction of fine tailings ponds and the formation of trafficable deposits for all oil sands operators. MFT then becomes stable with little additional settling or consolidation occurring for decades.
Significant new regulations have been introduced that are forcing operators to develop and change their tailings management processes. Tailings management processes under evaluation and/or development include bioremediation through water capping of tailings ponds (i.e. end pit lakes), composite tailings (MFT plus sand and often a coagulant), non-segregating tailings (thickened tailings plus sand and often a coagulant), dry stackable tailings, paste technology, centrifugation, rim ditching, and several others. Tailings streams that can be generated in oil sands mining operations are known to those skilled in the art. See for example, R. J. Mikula, et al., "Nature and Fate of Oil Sands Fine Tailings," in Advances in Chemistry, 1996, vol. 251, pp. 677-723; and "Part B Report: A Screening Study of Oil Sands Tailings Technologies and Practices" prepared for Alberta Energy Research Institute by D. W. Devenny, March 2010, available at http://eipa.alberta.ca/media/40994/report %20b%20%20integrated%20oil%20sands%20tailings%20treatment %20technologies%20march%202010.pdf (accessed Dec. 15, 2011). It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that reference names (terminology) of the tailings streams may vary as oil sands producers vary and processes used to extract oil and address the various tailings streams will also vary.
MFT or fine thickened tailings may be treated with sand and a coagulant such as gypsum and/or carbon dioxide, and optionally lime, to produce consolidated composite tailings (CCT). CCT may be referred to as composite tailings (CT) and non-segregating tailings (NST). Such process is not ideal for several reasons. CCT takes many years to consolidate and strengthen to reach the compressive strength requirements dictated by Directive 074, which sets forth the regulatory requirements. It has been disclosed that CCT may take at least 10 years to consolidate and strengthen to meet the regulatory requirement. CCT dramatically increases the volume of treated fine tailings as compared to the starting MFT or thickened tailings stream. As a result, extra land surface and more containment dykes need to be built to contain the extra treated tailings volume. CCT requires sand to build the dykes and to maintain the correct sand to fines ratio needed in the recipe. Sand shortages and land shortages in mining operations may limit the application of CCT.
Tight control of the sand to fine ratio is required in CCT processes to maintain a non-segregating mixture. If the correct sand to fine ratio is not maintained, the mixture segregates and will never consolidate. Treated material that segregates will need to be re-worked to comply with the regulatory requirement and extra land and time is needed to store off-spec (outside of specifications) CCT.
The NST process using thickened tailings and coarse solids captured directly from the extraction process may produce >40% off-spec NST, that is material that does in fact segregate. Sand and tailings that are needed to make the CCT are supplied from an upstream extraction process. The ratio of sand and fine solids available in real-time from the process will vary depending on the composition of the oil sands ore. In many circumstances, the sand to fine solids ratio needed to make a non-segregating mixture cannot be provided in real-time from the process. Thus, the interaction between extraction and CCT treatment may affect either or both of the upstream extraction process and the downstream tailings treatment process. Finally, gypsum/lime treatment adds calcium ions to the recovered water, which are problematic when this recovered water is re-used in the extraction process.
An alternative process employing centrifuges in conjunction with conventional polymeric flocculants to treat MFT to produce a dewatered MFT stream and recovered water is being evaluated. Centrifuging requires large capital investment in the centrifuge equipment. Also, the centrifuge product cannot be transported through pipeline and must be transported by truck or rail to dedicated disposal areas. R. J. Mikula, et al., "Centrifugation Options for Production of Dry Stackable Tailings in Surface-Mined Oil Sands Tailing Management," J. Canadian Petroleum Technology, (2009), vol. 48, No. 9, pp. 19-23.
Another challenge for oil sands producers is separation of bitumen from sand and clay fines, as well as dewatering of the sand and clay fines for disposal, for so-called "poor quality ores." Generally, a poor quality ore, in reference to an oil sands ore, is an ore that contains a lower than average bitumen content, a higher than average fine solids content, or both. Also, ores that contain different types and amounts of natural surfactants than average can be poor quality ores. Ores that have higher ionic strength in their connate water than average can be poor quality ores. Poor quality ores may also be characterized as ores that have undergone a high degree of oxidation. Finally, ores that contain a higher than average percentage of montmorillonite or other fine clays, or a higher proportion of ultra-fine solids less than 2 microns as compared to the total fine solids fraction (<44 microns) can be poor quality ores. The high clay and fine solid content in ores not only hinder the extraction of bitumen, but also the dewatering process of sand and clay fines in downstream tailings operations. Poor quality ores are difficult to extract bitumen from at acceptable yields using conventional methods. In addition, more bitumen is retained in the tailings streams from extraction of poor quality ores, which is sent to the tailings pond as a yield loss. Seem for example, J. Masliyah, et al., "Understanding Water-Based Bitumen Extraction from Athabasca Oil Sands," Can. J. Chem. Engg. (2004) vol. 82, pp. 628-654.
Poor quality ores can reduce bitumen recovery by 40% or more and are avoided when possible. However, oil sand producers are obligated to process all ores containing 7 wt % bitumen or more with minimum bitumen recovery rates stipulated in the ERCB regulation ID 2001-7. An alternative is to blend poor quality ores with good quality ores so they can be processed more effectively. Another alternative is to apply chemical processing aids, such as sodium hydroxide, with these poor processing ores to improve bitumen recovery. With demand for oil increasing every year, there is a need to mine these poor quality ores and to produce higher yields of bitumen. Tailings streams from these ores should be essentially free of bitumen and separated from water, so the water can be re-used and the solids can be returned to the environment free of bitumen, within environmental limits.
Some producers do not have an economical source of low temperature heat that can be used to raise the temperature of process water. In these instances, there is a strong need to reduce the extraction temperature (for example, less than about 55° C.) to save heat energy and associated greenhouse gas emissions. For example, when an adjacent upgrading facility proximate to the mining operation is not available, there is added cost to supply heat energy for the extraction water. However, higher temperatures increase the efficiency of the extraction process and the recovery yield of the oil. Technology improvement is needed to improve the recovery yield at lower extraction temperatures.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0101981-A1 discloses a process to extract bitumen from an oil sands ore comprising contacting an aqueous slurry of an oil sands ore with a polysilicate microgel. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0126910-A1 discloses a process to treat a tailings stream comprising contacting a tailings stream with a polysilicate microgel, anionic polyacrylamide, and (i) a multivalent metal compound or (ii) a low molecular weight cationic organic polymer. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0104744-A1 discloses a process to treat a tailings stream comprising contacting a tailings stream with a silicate source, which is a polysilicate microgel or an alkali metal silicate, and an activator, which causes gelation of the silicate source with the tailings stream.
While there have been many advances in the treatment of tailings, there remains a need to improve de-watering (less water in the tailings), consolidation (reduction of volume of the tailings), and strengthening of the tailings and to reduce the need to add fresh water to bitumen recovery processes. There is also a need to reduce or eliminate tailings ponds, including MFT ponds, where the remaining solid can be useful and the water can be recovered and re-used in the process. There is also a need to return the mined area close to its original condition. The present invention meets these needs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An optical manipulator includes a first section for propagating an optical signal with multiple polarization modes including a transverse electric (TE) mode and a transverse magnetic (TM) mode and a second section for propagating separately the TE mode and the TM mode of the optical signal. The optical manipulator also includes a multi-mode interference (MMI) section having a groove with a first refractive index less than a second refractive index of the MMI section. The groove extends along an entire length of the MMI section to partition the MMI section into two connected channels including a first channel and a second channel. The first section is connected to the first channel and the second section is connected to both the first and the second channels.

Controlling a polarization mode and a spatial mode of optical signals in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is important for optical communication networks. For example, a conventional single mode optical fiber does not preserve the polarization mode. When the optical signal is coupled from a single mode optical fiber to the PICs, the signal decomposes into arbitrary compositions of two orthogonal polarization components, namely, a first component in a transverse electric (TE) mode, and a second component in a transverse magnetic (TM) mode. In many modules used in the PICs, the components in the TE and TM modes have different characteristics. For example, the components having different TE and TM modes propagate at different velocities in a high index contrast waveguide, and energy coupling coefficients of a micro-ring resonator for the TE and TM modes are different.
These polarization-dependent effects reduce the performances of the PICs, especially for high-speed communication. Also, most optical communication networks use only one polarization mode. Furthermore, if the components in both polarization modes are used in polarization-division multiplexing (PDM) systems, then the spectral efficiency of such systems can be increased.
Typically, systems for controlling polarization of optical signals, e.g., polarization transparent systems and polarization multiplexing systems, use various polarization manipulators, such as polarization converters and/or polarization splitters/combiners. For example, polarization splitters can be utilized in polarization transparent systems to solve, e.g., polarization dependence and polarization mode dispersion problems in the current photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Also, the polarization splitters can be utilized in polarization-division multiplexing (PDM) systems to increase the spectral efficiency.
Polarization splitters/combiners in PICs typically have very large size (length>1 mm), and requires processes specifically designed for these devices that make polarization splitters/combiners very complicated and expensive to fabricate.
For example, a polarization splitter based on a deeply etched multi-mode interference (MMI) waveguide is described by Rahman et al., "Design of optical polarization splitters in a single-section deeply etched MMI waveguide," Applied Physics B, vol. 73, p. 613-619, 2001. In this case, a long (>2 mm) MMI with deeply-etched sidewall shows a small birefringence (i.e., different effective refractive indices between TE and TM modes). Therefore, the image of the input beam appears onto different output waveguides, depending on the polarization of the input beam.
In another example, a polarization splitter, based on two MMIs (one for 1×2 splitter, and the other for 2×2 coupler) and two waveguides connecting them, is described by Doerr (US 2010/0046886 A1). By choosing the different width for these waveguides such that TE and TM modes have different effective refractive indices, the input signal is guided to different output waveguides, depending on the input polarizations. Even though the actual device length is not specified in this application, it is conceivable that the total length exceeds 1 mm.
Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the length a polarization splitter or combiner.

System and method for manipulating polarizations of optical signal

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


A simulation that integrates historical data and real-time data as a test or simulation tool can capture an entry that relates to a desired output as function points. A determination can intellectually be made as to which activities can achieve the desired output. The activities can be process steps that can represent a workflow that can be automatically implemented by an MES Appliance or other enterprise components. If a simulation reveals that the desired output might not be achieved, a change to one or more function points can be analyzed in an attempt to achieve the desired result. This change can be input into a simulation tool through a feedback loop, for example. Another simulation can performed on the modified data until a determination is made that the desired output can be achieved.

Industrial controllers are special-purpose computers utilized for controlling industrial processes, manufacturing equipment, and other factory automation, such as data collection or networked systems. At the core of the industrial control system, is a logic processor such as a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) or PC-based controller. Programmable Logic Controllers, for example, are programmed by systems designers to operate manufacturing processes through user-designed logic programs or user programs. The user programs are stored in memory and generally executed by the PLC in a sequential manner although instruction jumping, looping and interrupt routines, for example, are also common. Associated with the user program are a multitude of memory elements or variables that provide dynamics to PLC operations and programs. Differences in PLCs are typically dependent on the number of Input/Output (I/O) they can process, amount of memory, number and type of instructions, and speed of the PLC central processing unit (CPU).
In a more macro sense than the controller, businesses have become more complex in that higher order business systems or computers often need to exchange data with such controllers. For example, an industrial automation enterprise may include several plants in different locations. Modern drivers such as efficiency and productivity improvement, and cost-reduction, are requiring manufacturers to collect, analyze, and optimize data and metrics from global manufacturing sites. For example, a food company may have several plants located across the globe for producing a certain brand of food. These factories in the past were standalone, with minimum data collection and comparison of metrics with other similar factories. In the networked world of today, manufacturers are demanding real-time data from their factories to drive optimization and productivity. Unfortunately, conventional control systems architectures are not equipped to allow a seamless exchange of data between these various components of the enterprise.
Another requirement of modern control system architectures is the ability to record and store data in order to maintain compliance with Food and Drug Administration regulations such as Regulation 21 CFR Part 11. One common solution for recording data includes providing a local recording module that often occupies a slot in a controller backplane such as a PC-Historian, which is an industrial computer for the controller backplane. This includes a platform that provides high speed, time series, data storage and retrieval with both local and remote control processors. The PC-Historian communicates with controllers directly through the backplane and can communicate remotely through a network interface. The PC-Historian allows archiving data from the controller to an Archive Engine, which provides additional storage capabilities.
In general, conventional historian processors enable high-speed real-time data collection by communicating directly with the control processor across the backplane for fast data collection speeds. This includes handling large quantities of data over extended time periods while providing efficient storage and retrieval of process data over extended periods of time. These solutions are generally employed for electronic documentation and provide an audit trail and data flags for tracking modified, inserted, or incomplete data. In order to configure such products, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) can be provided to map controller tags defined in a local or remote processor to a data historian file.
With ever shorter product life-cycles, decreasing product launch times, and increasing product variety, conventional manufacturing processes need quick deployment of tasks while maintaining high product quality and low manufacturing costs. Thus, reducing the amount of downtime, scrap, and other inefficiencies as a direct result of poor planning and implementation of various actions or processes within an industrial control environment can mitigate both inefficiencies and wasted resources.


A method for communicating a plurality of data streams between a transmitting device with multiple transmit antennas and a receiving device, is disclosed. The method comprises determining a set of power weightings, efficiently quantizing the power weightings, and providing the set of power weightings the transmitting device. Another aspect of the invention comprises the transmitter implicitly signaling the number of data streams which the receiver should feedback information for through the amount of feedback requested. An additional aspect of the invention is a means of determining the best codebook weights by combining the maximum power and maximum capacity criteria.

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) is a transmission method involving multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas which promises to greatly increase the link capacity of wireless communication systems. Various transmission strategies require the transmit array to have some level of knowledge concerning the channel response between each transmit antenna element and each receive antenna element, and are often referred to as "closed-loop" MIMO. Obtaining full broadband channel knowledge at the transmitter is possible using techniques such as uplink sounding in Time Division Duplexing (TDD) systems and channel feedback in either TDD or Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) systems. Limited feedback methods like feeding back an antenna selection indicator or codebook-based beamforming weights selection can reduce the amount of feedback as opposed to full channel feedback. These limited feedback methods can be improved on if a power weighting is fed back along with the codebook weights. However, conveying the power weighting to the transmitter can require significant channel resources. Thus an efficient feedback method is needed to provide the power weighting to the transmitter.

Method and apparatus for closed loop data transmission


Systems and methods for tracking velocity information. One system includes an application execution server providing an application layer. The application execution server is configured to receive a request including metadata. The application execution server is also configured to generate and transmit a response to the request. The application execution server is also configured to enrich the metadata by structuring the metadata for further processing by a data processing layer, where the further processing includes determining velocity information associated with the metadata, and by supplementing the metadata with available historical velocity information. The application execution server is also configured to transmit the enriched metadata for further processing by the data processing layer.

Information about the frequency at which a particular data attribute has been observed (velocity information) may be used by machine learning models in a fraud prevention context. For example, velocity information may be used by machine learning models in order to determine whether a given request is fraudulent, such as an authentication or authorization request. However, for large scale applications receiving a high volume of requests, recording velocity information at scale and accurately is difficult and is often a source of increased operational overhead and strain on a system.


A process and the product produced by the process in which recycled asphalt shingles are reduced into granules which are then heated to a temperature above 212xc2x0 F. in order to evaporate any water contained in the material. Once substantially all the water has been evaporated, the heated granules are then placed in a suitable mold and compressed under high pressure to form a block of the desired size and shape after which the blocks are removed from the mold and used on low-traffic volume areas such as patios, sidewalks, driveways, etc.

There are a number of asphalt based products commercially used especially for roofing materials such as roofing shingles. These roofing materials have a limited life, and although under proper circumstances a new layer of material can be laid over an existing layer, at some point the shingles must be removed and properly disposed of as waste. Typically, the old roofing materials are disposed of in a landfill and therefore present environmental problems.
Although there are known processes for recycling these roofing materials, the composition of them can present environmental concerns and processing complications. For example, attempts have been made to recycle asphalt roofing material through rather expensive and complex processes using a considerable amount of equipment and in which liquid asphalt is added. A number of the known processes produce a liquid product. Richards U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,007 teaches a process which uses recycled asphalt shingles that requires the addition of material to produce a multi-layer paving block containing thermoplastic materials. There is however, not known any simple process in which recycled roofing materials can be used to produce blocks at a cost where they can be commercially used in various applications for paving, walkways, etc.
It is therefore an object of the invention to make a useful product from a normally discarded material such as asphalt roofing material. It is a further object of the invention to produce a unique and simple process that can economically produce asphalt blocks made from recycled materials that can be used on patios, sidewalks, or for paving of driveways and roadways that have low traffic volume.
The invention is for a process and the product produced by the process in which recycled asphalt shingles are reduced into granules in any suitable manner. The granules are then heated to a temperature above 212xc2x0 F. in order to evaporate any water contained in the material. Once substantially all the water has been evaporated, the heated granules are then placed in a suitable mold and compressed under high pressure to form a block of the desired size and shape after which the blocks are removed from the mold.

Process for recycling asphalt shingles and product produced thereby


A template to aid in the process of making shark's teeth in material. The template is placed over a sheet of material and the apertures and slots are used as a template for marking dots and lines on the material. The lines mark the places on the material which need to be cut in the process of forming shark's teeth. The dots mark the place on the material which will become the point of the shark's teeth so that the material can be tucked at the correct place to produce uniform shark's teeth.

The invention is a template to be used in the process of forming shark's teeth in a sheet of material. Shark's teeth are decorative triangles of tucked material which are formed in a sheet of material. Typically rows of shark's teeth are formed on a sheet of material in a pattern. The sheet of material can then be used to make an article of clothing, or can be used to make useful articles such as pillow cases, quilts, covers, etc.
The process of making shark's teeth requires that a series exacting measurements be made, and marked on a sheet of material. These marks are then used as a template to cut and tuck the material in the process of forming the shark's teeth. The whole process of making shark's teeth is demanding and requires a heavy investment of time and effort to create intricate patterns.
Prior to the development of the present invention it was necessary to use a ruler or a measuring tape to make the measurements and marks on the material. A single wrong measurement could result in destruction of an intricate pattern, and the error is typically discovered only after many rows of the shark's teeth have already been formed. When such an error is made the material must be abandoned and the whole process must begin again.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to simplify the process of marking a sheet of material in the process of making shark's teeth. Use of the template of the present invention eliminates measuring errors and greatly speeds up the marking process since no individual measurements must be made. In addition, the present invention allows the user to create even, consistent shark's teeth since the measurements are exact.
These and many other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.

Tuck and point template for making shark's teeth


A communication unit is connected to both an IPv4 network and an IPv6 network for converting an IPv4 multicast packet into an IPv6 multicast packet. The communication unit, which has held the IPv6 multicast addresses, holds the IPv4 multicast addresses of a multicast group on the IPv4 network and the held IPv6 multicast addresses in correspondence with each other. Moreover, the communication unit converts the IPv4 multicast address of the received IPv4 multicast packet into the IPv6 multicast address held in correspondence with the IPv4 multicast address, then transmits the multicast packet to the IPv6 network.

The present invention relates to an IPv4-IPv6 multicast communicating method and an IPv4-IPv6 multicast communicating apparatus in a communications network system. More particularly, it relates to a method and an apparatus for implementing the multicast communication between an IPv4 terminal using IPv4 (i.e., Internet Protocol Version 4) as the communications protocol and an IPv6 terminal using IPv6 (i.e., Internet Protocol Version 6) as the communications protocol.
As one example of the methods for implementing the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal, there can be cited a technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,118,784 (JP-A-11-55319). This technology allows the communication between the IPv4 terminal and the IPv6 terminal in the following way: An IP address conversion table for managing the correspondence between an IPv4 address and an IPv6 address is created using DNS (i.e., Domain Name System) protocol extending technology in an apparatus located halfway in the communications path. Then, based on the IP address conversion table, an IPv4 header-IPv6 header conversion is executed, thereby allowing the communication to be implemented.

Multicast routing method and an apparatus for routing a multicast packet


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and an apparatus for eliminating interference among transmission channels of a transmitter. The method includes: generating a compensation parameter according to an output signal of an analog module on a transmission channel to be processed by the transmitter and an input signal of a digital module on each transmission channel among all transmission channels of the transmitter; generating a cancellation signal according to the compensation parameter and an input or output signal of a digital module on another transmission channel except for the transmission channel to be processed; and performing, according to the cancellation signal, interference elimination processing on the transmission channel to be processed. The method and apparatus according to the embodiments of the present invention avoid an increase of a transmitter product size, and improve an effect of eliminating interference among transmission channels.

With the development of wireless communications technologies, to improve an information transmission rate, a multiple-input multiple-output antenna technology also develops rapidly.
In a transmitter in which multiple transmission channels are arranged, interference often exists among the multiple transmission channels, which affects a transmission effect. To reduce the interference among transmission channels, in the prior art, a space size among transmission channels is increased by means of space shielding; in addition, to meet a requirement of an isolation degree, a physical means such as a screw or a conductive adhesive tape further needs to be arranged between the transmission channels, to implement physical isolation. The increase of the space size and the arrangement of a physical isolation element between the transmission channels increase a transmitter product size.

Method and apparatus for eliminating interference among transmission channels of transmitter


A method, system and computer-readable medium is provided for grouping database objects into logical groupings in order to simplify administrative and other operations that need to be performed by the database server. Such operations can be performed once at the logical group level for a group of related objects, as opposed to at the individual database object level. For increased flexibility, the logical groupings need not dictate the format, schema or location of their members. A hierarchy may be established between the logical groupings, where child groupings inherit some or all of the properties of the parent groupings. A correspondence may be established between some groupings and operating system directories, allowing identifiers associated with the groupings to be used as aliases for the full operating system paths to the corresponding directories.

Within operating systems, files are typically stored in logical groups referred to as "directories" or "folders". While some computer programs require particular files to be stored in particular places to operate correctly, the decision about how to organize files within operating system directories is largely left to the user. For example, one user may create a single directory to store all computer games, while another user stores each computer game in a separate directory.
Unfortunately, database systems do not reflect the same flexibility with respect to grouping data items as operating systems do with respect to grouping files. Specifically, database systems typically support two types of logical groupings: the logical grouping of data items into data containers, and the logical grouping of data containers and other types of schema objects into schemas. In both cases, membership within the logical groupings is restricted by certain constraints. These constraints significantly limit the purposes for which the logical groupings can be used.
Specifically, the data container to which a data item belongs in a database dictates the format and content of the data item. Thus, data items that have similar characteristics are stored within the same logical containers. For example, in traditional relational database systems, the user data is stored in tables. Each row within a table has values for the same fields, where the fields are dictated by the columns of the table. Recently, database systems are moving toward the object-oriented paradigm, where data is stored as objects which belong to object classes. Each object class defines certain attributes, and all objects that belong to a given object class have values for the attributes defined by the object class. Some databases combine the relational and object-oriented database models by allowing objects, which belong to object classes, to be stored in tables.
Because the format of data items within a database is dictated by the logical container to which it belongs, data items cannot be freely moved among logical containers. For example, a row from an employee table that contains an employee name, address and phone number cannot be moved into a products table that has columns for an item number, brand and price.
Unlike logical containers, schemas typically do not dictate the format of their members. However, schema membership is tied to user identity. A schema is a collection of objects that are owned by a particular user. Schema objects are the logical structures that directly refer to the database's data. Schema objects include such structures as tables, views, sequences, stored procedures, synonyms, indexes, clusters, and database links. Because schema membership is tied to user identity, schemas do not provide useful groupings that are not tied to user identities.
The inflexibility of the logical groupings within a database can make certain tasks complex and inefficient. For example, consider a situation in which numerous companies store highly confidential information about employees in a single employee table, and about products in a single product table. Potentially, each of the companies would have data in each of the two tables that it does not want the other companies to be able to see. Under these conditions, it would be desirable to assign permissions to the data within the tables based on the company of the user that entered the information. However, because there is no correlation between the logical grouping of the data (i.e. the two tables) and the criteria upon which permissions are to be assigned, the task of assigning the permissions becomes difficult. A similar difficulty is encountered if the same set of permissions is to be assigned to a group of schema objects that do not belong to the same schema, or a subset of the schema objects within a single schema.
Based on the foregoing, it is clearly desirable to overcome the inflexibility inherent in the logical grouping mechanisms available in current database systems.


A computer system may iteratively modify a local medical rule that is based on an initial sub-population. In particular, after information specifying the local medical rule and sharing instructions are received from a user of the computer system, the computer system may iteratively apply the local medical rule to one or more additional sub-populations that are associated with other users of the computer system based on the sharing instructions without sharing PHI associated with the initial sub-population. Then, the computer system may aggregate results for the one or more additional sub-populations, and may generate the population-based medical rule by modifying the local medical rule based on the aggregated results and one or more quality metrics. Moreover, the computer system may selectively provide the population-based medical rule to the user without sharing PHI associated with the one or more additional sub-populations.

Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for generating medical rules. In particular, the described embodiments relate to techniques for generating medical rules based on iterative analysis of the impact of a medical rule in a population without sharing Protected Health Information (PHI) associated with individuals in the population.
Related Art
Modern medicine has achieved significant improvements in individual health, quality of life and lifespans. These laudable public-health results have been achieved using a rigorous process that includes double-blind clinical trials and peer-reviewed publication of results. In principle, this evidence-based approach to determining medical knowledge offers the exciting prospect of further reductions in morbidity and mortality.
In practice, there are drawbacks to the existing evidence-based approach. In particular, it can take months or even years to plan and then conduct a clinical trial. Similarly, the lead time for a subsequent publication in a peer-reviewed journal can be as long as twelve to eighteen months. Consequently, the temporal sampling with which medical knowledge grows is often limited. This can make it difficult to adapt medical knowledge to time varying or transient phenomena.
In addition, many published results in peer-reviewed journals subsequently proves either to be difficult to reproduce or incorrect. In the context of the aforementioned low temporal sampling rate, this means that it can take many years for these errors in medical knowledge to be identified and corrected. Therefore, while the existing approach for determining medical knowledge has resulted in many achievements, it also has limitations that constrain medical knowledge, which can, paradoxically, adversely impact patient health, patient trust and patient satisfaction.

Population-based medical rules via anonymous sharing


Column address A0-A11 is once predecoded by a first predecoder PD1, a second predecoder PD2, and a CDE buffer CDB and then applied to a column decoder CD. Column decoder CD selectively drives one of a plurality of column selecting lines CSL on the basis of the applied predecoded signals. This causes corresponding bit lines in respective memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4 to be simultaneously selected. Column decoder CD includes a plurality of column drivers corresponding to the plurality of column selecting lines, and the column drivers are divided into a plurality of groups. The predecoded signals applied from second predecoder PD2 and CDE buffer CDB to column decoder CD are generated independently for respective groups, and signal lines for them are also distributed to respective groups. This causes the length of wiring of each predecoded signal line to be shortened.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to column selecting circuits in semiconductor memory devices, and, more particularly, to a column selecting circuit in a semiconductor memory device in which a memory cell array is divided into a plurality of blocks, and corresponding bit lines in respective blocks are simultaneously selected.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of a conventional semiconductor memory device (for example, a dynamic RAM). FIG. 9 illustrates only a memory cell array and a column selecting system for the sake of simplicity. A memory cell array MCA is provided with a plurality of word lines, a plurality of bit line pairs arranged crossing the word lines at right angles, and a plurality of memory cells arranged at respective crossings of the word lines and the bit line pairs. A sense amplifier group SAG includes a plurality of sense amplifiers provided for respective bit line pairs. Each sense amplifier amplifies data read from a memory cell to a bit line pair or data transmitted from the outside to a bit line pair. A column decoder CD decodes an externally applied column address and provides a signal for selecting one bit line pair out of a plurality of bit line pairs.
There is a tendency for the memory capacity of a semiconductor memory device to be further increased with the rapid advance in semiconductor technology in recent years. This causes the length of a bit line to be longer and the number of memory cells connected to one bit line to be increased. As a result, there has been a problem of capacitance of a bit line being increased and the speed of reading and writing being decreased.
A semiconductor memory device is proposed, in which a memory cell array is divided into a plurality of blocks, and selection of a bit line is individually carried out in each block to reduce capacitance of a bit line. For example, a semiconductor memory device illustrated in FIG. 10 includes a memory cell array divided into four blocks, i.e. memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4. Each of memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4 includes a sense amplifier group SAG1-SAG4 and a column decoder CD1-CD4. A column address is once supplied as an input to a predecoder PD and is predecoded. Predecoded signals provided from predecoder PD are applied to column decoders CD1-CD4, respectively. Each of column decoders CD1-CD4 further decodes the applied predecoded signal and selects one bit line pair in the corresponding memory cell array. Predecoder PD serves to select one memory cell array out of memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4.
Although it is possible to reduce capacitance of a bit line in the semiconductor memory device illustrated in FIG. 10, it is necessary to provide a column decoder for each memory cell array, and there is another problem that the area of circuits is increased.
A semiconductor memory device is proposed, in which the column decoders which were provided individually in respective memory cell arrays are implemented to be a common one to reduce the area of the circuits. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of such a semiconductor memory device. Each memory cell array is provided with a plurality of common column selecting lines CSL. A column decoder CD selectively drives one of the plurality of column selecting lines CSL on the basis of an externally applied column address. This causes corresponding bit line pairs in respective memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4 to be simultaneously selected. Accordingly, data are simultaneously provided from sense amplifier groups SAG1-SAG4, and one of the data is selected by a selector SEL and provided as an output.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a further detailed structure of the conventional semiconductor memory device illustrated in FIG. 11. A column address buffer CAB includes a plurality of one-bit buffers BB0-BB11 and converts externally applied column addresses A0-A11 into appropriate signals CA0, /CA0-CA11, /CA11 to be used in the semiconductor memory device, as illustrated in FIG. 13. Signals CA2, /CA2-CA9, /CA9, and CA11, /CA11 are supplied to a predecoder PD and predecoded. As illustrated in FIG. 14, predecoder PD includes a plurality of subdecoders DC01-DC04 and provides predecoded signals Y4-Y23. Predecoded signals Y4-Y23 are supplied to a column decoder CD. As illustrated in FIG. 15, column decoder CD includes a plurality of column drivers DRV. One of predecoded signals Y4-Y7, one of predecoded signals Y8-Y11, one of predecoded signals Y12-Y15, and one of predecoded signals Y16-Y23 are applied to each column driver DRV. Each column driver DRV is activated and drives a corresponding column selecting line CSL when all the predecoded signals applied from predecoder PD are at an active level (for example, at a high or "H" level).
As illustrated in FIG. 16, each of memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4 is provided with a plurality of word lines WL, a plurality of bit line pairs BL, /BL arranged to cross word lines WL at right angles, and memory cells MC arranged at respective crossings of the word lines and the bit line pairs. Each of sense amplifier groups SAG1-SAG4 includes sense amplifiers SA provided for respective bit line pairs in a corresponding memory cell array. Each sense amplifier SA is connected through a corresponding transfer gate TG to a corresponding input/output line pair IO, /IO. Each input/output line pair IO, /IO is connected to a selector SEL. Column selecting lines CSL are provided, for example, at a ratio of one column selecting line to four bit line pairs. Each column selecting line CSL is connected to gates of transistors constituting transfer gates TG of corresponding bit line pairs.
If one word line WL is selected by a row decoder not shown, stored data are read from the memory cells connected to the selected word line and transmitted to corresponding bit line pairs, respectively.
Subsequently, if one of column selecting lines CSL is driven by column decoder CD, four transfer gates TG are simultaneously turned on in respective memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4. Therefore, four bit line pairs corresponding to the selected column selecting line CSL are selected in each of memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4. The data read to each of the selected bit line pairs is transmitted through a corresponding sense amplifier SA, a transfer gate TG, and an input/output line pair IO, /IO to selector SEL.
Selector SEL selects a read data transmitted from one of the bit line pairs in one of the memory cell arrays on the basis of signals CA0, /CA0, CA1, /CA1, CA10, /CA10 applied from column address buffer CAB and provides it as an output.
As described above, according to a conventional semiconductor memory device illustrated in FIG. 12, corresponding bit line pairs in respective memory cell arrays MCA1-MCA4 are simultaneously selected by one common column decoder CD, so that the area of the circuits can be reduced in comparison with the semiconductor memory device including a column decoders for each memory cell array illustrated in FIG. 10.
According to the semiconductor memory device illustrated in FIG. 12, however, there is a problem of the wiring structure for predecoded signals Y4-Y23 between predecoder PD and column decoder CD. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 15 or FIG. 8, the conventional semiconductor memory device illustrated in FIG. 12 has all the signal lines for transmitting respective predecoded signals Y4-Y23 to column decoder CD arranged to cover the whole length of column decoder CD. Therefore, the length of wiring for each predecoded signal is made unnecessarily long, and capacitance of wiring is increased. As a result, delay in transmission of the predecoded signal is increased, and power consumption is also increased. In addition, the area of a layout for wiring for the predecoded signal is increased.

Column selecting circuit in semiconductor memory device


In various embodiments, methods, devices and systems for securely generating, sealing, and restoring factory-generated calibration and provisioning data for an electronic device are described, in which calibration and provisioning data for an electronic device are generated in a distributed manner and stored on a storage system. The calibration data can be retrieved from the storage system during device assembly and finalized calibration and provisioning data for each electronic device can be stored to the storage system. In one embodiment, a sealing server, to attest to the authenticity of the factory-generated data, seals the finalized calibration data. In one embodiment, an electronic device can access a data store containing the factory-generated data and can update or restore calibration or provisioning data for the device from the data store.

An electronic computing device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, is assembled from a variety of individual electronic components, each of which are tested during manufacturing. During testing, the components must function within an acceptable performance range to be considered a passing component. However, even among passing components, there may still be some variation in the quality of the component output, as long as the variation is within acceptable tolerance. To compensate for the variation within the acceptable tolerances, the collection of performance data that is gathered during component testing is used to adjust the output or input or both input and output of the components during the operation of the electronic device.
Once a complete electronic computing device is assembled from the individual components, the device undergoes additional testing, and additional calibration data is gathered and used to correct for errors created by signal variances due to the combined tolerances of the many components within the assembled electronic device. For example the gain of the antennas of the wireless communication interface of a device is set or adjusted, internal voltage references are programmed, audio volumes are calibrated, and the display contrast is configured to a suitable default level. Additionally, if a device is to access a particular wireless communication network, such as a mobile phone radio network, the device is provisioned to communicate over the network, and the wireless radio system is configured and calibrated, as proper radio frequency calibration for the wireless baseband processor is essential for ensuring that each device meets the regulatory requirements prescribed by the various communications regulatory agencies. Moreover, any sensors, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers that are contained within the electronic device are calibrated when manufacturing the individual components, during device manufacturing, or both.
In some devices the calibration and provisioning data is stored within dedicated nonvolatile memory devices, such as serial NOR flash EEPROM devices that is part of the component. The dedicated storage devices (within the component) allow the component manufactures to store calibration data generated during the manufacturing process. The dedicated storage devices (within the component) also provide a manner of physical security for the calibration and provisioning data, as the dedicated memory devices storing the calibration and provisioning information are only accessible using specialized equipment and access methods, which renders the factory data essentially inaccessible outside of the factory environment.
However, the added expense of the dedicated memory within each component increases the manufacturing cost, which will be reflected either at the component manufacturing level, the device manufacturing level, or both. Additionally, it may not be cost effective to include sufficient dedicated nonvolatile memory to store the desired amount of calibration data, either for the individual component or for the assembled device. Accordingly, the currently available calibration and device provisioning data must be small enough to occupy the limited amount of dedicated non-volatile memory assigned to store the calibration and provisioning data for the component.

Secure factory data generation and restoration


A heating element for the ignition of a pyrotechnic charge, e.g. for firing an air bag, has increased stability with respect to transient pulses and electrostatic discharge as a result of a selection of this mass, specific resistance and specific heat capacity. In particular the mass is 1.0×10−9 kg to 4.0×10−9 kg, the specific resistance is 1×10−6 Ω m to 2×10−6 Ω m and the specific heat capacity is 100 W/(kg.K) to 400 W/(kg·K).

For the high speed expansion of a so-called air bag in a motor vehicle and for other pyrotechnic purposes, it is common to provide a heating element which can serve to ignite a pyrotechnic or explosive charge. The heating element, usually in the form of strip, can comprise a base body, a structured resistance layer or strip on the base body and contact fields or pads which are applied overlappingly to the two ends of the resistance strip. These contact elements or pads allow connection of an excitation circuit to the heating body or element so that when an electrical current is passed through the latter, the resistance element will ignite the charge.
Heating elements of this type can be fabricated by applying a glass or glass ceramic by a screen printing process to a base body with subsequent drying and sintering of the applied layer. The steps are repeated until the desired total thickness is achieved. Then the resistance paste is screen-printed onto the glass or glass-ceramic layer, dried and sintered. Finally a conductive paste is applied to the resistance strip by a screen printing method and is dried and sintered.
The firm Dynamit Nobel AG has for many years made available heating elements fabricated by a thin layer technique or by sputtering as igniters for military explosives and mining charges (see DE 2020016 A1). These types of heating elements can be used for automotive applications only at additional expense for circuitry designed to protect against misfiring or other drawbacks.
The firm LifeSparc Inc. and Auburn University have developed heating elements fabricated by layering techniques (thin layer sputtering) upon semiconductor substrates (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,060 and 4,976,200) which also must be protected against external influences by additional circuitry, for example, diodes included in the semiconductive substrate if they are to be useful for automotive applications.
Schaffler & Co. (Austrian patent 405591 B) have developed a heating element utilizing thick layer technology.
This system can be used to fire pyrotechnical charges without the additional circuitry referred to above but does not satisfy the specifications which have been set forth for the automotive industry with respect to electrostatic discharge (ESD) and with respect to transient pulses while maintaining requisite electrical resistances (for example 2 ohms) and ignition delay (for example at most 2 ms).
The specifications which must be satisfied for automotive purposes are for example the USCAR specification (Chrysler, General Motors and Ford) and the VW80150 specification (of Volkswagen). Apart from requirements with respect to the environment (climate change tests and mechanical loading) the electrical requirements for the heating element (or example sensitivity to ignition and resistance characteristics in eh case of false pulses), is of the greatest significance. Tests are then carried out on such igniters so that the heating elements can satisfy the requirements of the automotive industry. In particular, the sensitivity to ignition can be determined by so-called "all fire" and "no fire" tests (for example Bruceton, Logit, Run-Down).
In the "all fire" test, the igniter must fire upon the application of a constant current pulse of 1.2 A within 2 ms to a certain statistical probability. In the "no fire" test the heating element must not fire under a constant current pulse of 0.5 A over a period of 10 seconds to a certain statistical probability. When the igniter receives a false pulse as described, it should not fire. A false pulse is a predetermined quantity of energy which can have a defined duration and a predetermined repetition frequency.
For example, an ESD false pulse in accordance with the USCAR standard is the discharge of a 150 pF condenser charged to 25 kV through a charging resistance of 500 ohm through the 2 ohm igniter heating element.
An example of a transient pulse in accordance with USCAR is a current pulse of 5.3 A with a pulse duration of 4 μs (rise time=1 μs, decay time=3 μs) and a repetition rate or keying ratio of 1:1000 over 24 hours through the 2 Ω heating elements.
The problem with igniters with all of the known heating elements is that they have been able to satisfy these specifications only with additional electronics. Up to now no heating element has been developed which could be fabricated by layering technology (thick layer, thin layer or semiconductor) which has satisfied the requirements of the automotive industry without the additional expense of external circuitry in accordance with the aforementioned specifications.

Heating element for igniting pyrotechnic charge

Hirtenberger-Schaffler Automotive Zunder Ges. m.b.H.


A method of purifying waste water biologically, in which at least one biological reaction is performed in at least one biological reactor containing microorganisms in activated sludge, and the waste water is separated from the activated sludge in a clarification basin, with at least a fraction of the activated sludge from said biological reactor being recirculated, wherein, prior to admitting the waste water to be treated into said biological reactor, at least a fraction of the polluting particles in suspension therein are separated out therefrom, the separated polluting particles are sent to a sludge activation reactor that is separate and disposed in parallel, the separating polluting particles are used as the main substrate for the development of microorganisms in strict aerobiosis, and the superactivated sludge obtained in this way is injected into the biological reactor(s).

At present, waste water or sewage is purified essentially by a method consisting in causing a culture of bacteria dispersed in treatment basins to develop in the presence of oxygen (with such a culture also being known as a free culture or activated sludge), then, after sufficient contact, the purified water is separated from the sludge by sedimentation in a clarifier, with a fraction of the sludge being recirculated to one of the treatment basins in order to maintain a sufficient concentration of purifying bacteria therein while the remainder of the sludge, representing excess activated sludge, is removed from the installation. Such a purification method seeks both to eliminate organic carbon pollution and to oxidize nitrogen pollution by nitrification. By including periods of contact between the activated sludge and the water to be treated in the absence of aeration (anoxic contact) and in the presence of carbon, heterotrophic microorganisms are caused to degrade nitrates into gaseous nitrogen in order to perform denitrification. In addition, by subjecting the microorganisms to systemic alternation between anaerobic and aerobic conditions, it is possible to cause phosphor-containing compounds to accumulate in excess in the microorganisms, thereby giving rise to biological dephosphatization of the water being treated. Over the last 20 years,numerous variants of that method including various possible dispositions of anaerobic, anoxic, and aerobic zones have been developed and have given rise to numerous patents and publications. Unfortunately, it has been observed that in methods using activated sludge, the parameter limiting nitrification is not the reaction kinetics of transforming ammonia or organic nitrogen into nitrate, but the age (or real retention time) of the sludge which is necessary for conserving nitrifying microorganisms in the installation. As is known, the times required for forming such nitrifying microorganisms are very long and vary strongly with temperature: thus, at a temperature of 11.degree. C., the sludge must be 10 days old, and it may be assumed that for temperatures below 11.degree. C., the growth of such microorganisms is slowed down very considerably. In addition, these microorganisms which are obligate aerobes are capable of growing in an aerated zone only, so the retention time that needs to be taken into consideration is the time spent in the aeration basin. As a result, it is necessary to provide aeration basins of large volume that are overdimensioned relative to reaction rate.
If the age of the sludge is written A, the temperature of the biological basin in .degree.C. is written T, and the daily production of excess sludge is written Px kg of solids/day!, then the mass of activated sludge, being aerated for nitrification purposes, Mba, is given by the following equation: EQU Mba=A*Px (1)
with: EQU A=4.5*0.914 .sup.(T-20) ( 2)
which, according to the proposals of the German organization Abwasser Technischen Vereinigung E. V. (abbreviated below as ATV) gives rise to a daily sludge production Px of EQU Px=0.6*(MES+BOD.sub.5)-(0.072*0.6*K)/(1+0.08*K)!*BOD.sub.5( 3)
where:
MES=daily throughput of solids admitted to biological treatment (in kg/day); PA1 BOD.sub.5 =daily throughput of 5-day biological oxygen demand admitted for biological treatment (in kg/day) with: EQU K=A*1.072 .sup.(T-15) ( 4) PA1 V=aeration volume (m.sup.3) PA1 Mba=mass of activated sludge (kg) PA1 Cba=concentration of activated sludge (kg/m.sup.3). PA1 Tps=thickening time of sludge being clarified (hours) PA1 ISV=sludge volume index (ml/g) PA1 K is a constant equal to 0.6 or 0.7 depending on the sludge takeup technique. PA1 a) The high concentration of substrate in the superactivation reactor makes it possible, because of the exothermal nature of the oxidizing reactions, to obtain temperatures (25.degree. C. to 40.degree. C.) in the reactor which are highly favorable to the development of microorganisms in general and in particular to the development of the nitrification microorganisms. Thus, if equation (2) is applied, the sludge age that needs theoretically to be maintained in the reactor in order to obtain development of the nitrification microorganisms lies in the range 2.8 days to 1 day for temperatures lying in the range 25.degree. C. to 35.degree. C. PA1 b) By keeping the biological culture permanently in strict aerobiosis in the superactivation reactor, it is possible to obtain optimum conditions for growth of the strict aerobic microorganisms (such as the autotrophic microorganisms that perform nitrification), and to exert selection on microorganisms that are obligate anaerobes, or optional anaerobes. In addition, the power of the biological reactions implemented gives rise to considerable degradation of the substrate (about 35% to 50% of organic matter is eliminated) and thus of polluting particles, thereby reducing sludge production by 20% to 30%. PA1 a mere step of oxidizing the carbon pollution, performed in a biological reactor operating under aerobic conditions; PA1 a step of oxidizing the carbon pollution plus a step of nitrification which take place under aerobic conditions and generally in the same biological reactor; PA1 a step of oxidizing the carbon pollution, a step of nitrification, and a step of denitrification which can be performed in the same biological reactor, the first two steps taking place under aerobic conditions while the last step takes place under anoxic conditions, the reactor operating alternately in aerobiosis and in anoxia; PA1 a step of oxidizing the carbon pollution, a step of nitrification, and a step of denitrification, the denitrification step taking place in anoxia in a biological reactor that is distinct from the reactor for oxidizing and for nitrification, and that is situated upstream therefrom and through which a fraction of the contents of the oxidizing and nitrification reactor is recycled; and PA1 a step of oxidizing the carbon pollution, a nitrification step, a denitrification step, and a dephosphating step, the dephosphating step taking place in an anaerobic biological reactor which is situated upstream from the denitrification reactor and in which there is recycled the waste water separated from the activated sludge which is collected at the end of the system.
The dimensions of the aeration volume are then given by the following equation: EQU V=Mba/Cba (5)
where:
Several solutions have been proposed for reducing the aeration volume.
For example, it has been proposed to increase the concentration (Cba) of the biomass being aerated. If Qt is the through flow rate, Qr the recirculation flow rate, and Cr the concentration of the substance being recirculated, then the mass equilibrium equation for the sedimentation clarifier is as follows: EQU Qr*Cr=(Qt+Qr)*Cba (6)
from which it can be deduced: EQU Cba=(Cr*Cr)/(Qt+Qr) (7)
Since Cr is necessarily greater than Cba, the clarifier must therefore perform a thickening function to enable the concentration Cr to be achieved. However, the thickening concentration of a sludge is a function of thickening time (Tps) and of the mechanical characteristics of the sludge. Such mechanical characteristics can be expressed by the volume sedimentation index in ml/g (i.e. the volume occupied by 1 gram of sludge after 30 minutes of sedimentation), which mechanical characteristics are written below as ISV. As proposed by ATV, it is possible to write: EQU Tps=(Cr*ISV)/(1000*K)!.sup.3 ( 8)
or: EQU Cr=K*(1000/ISV)*Tps .sup.1/3 ( 9)
with:
Unfortunately, since the thickening of sludge in clarification takes place in the absence of added oxygen, if it is desired to avoid degrading treatment performance and the mechanical quality of the sludge then Tps must necessarily be less than, or at most equal to, the time the actived sludge spends in anaerobiosis. A Tps of 3 h is generally considered as being the maximum value. Consequently, in the presence of a very good ISV corresponding to 100 ml/g, the recirculation Cr cannot exceed 10 g/l if equation (9) is applied.
In addition, Qr is limited firstly by the volume of the clarifier allocated to thickening sludge, and secondly by problems of distributing energy at the inlet of the clarifier. For both of those reasons it is common to adopt a recycling ratio (where recycling ratio is defined as Qr/Qt) equal to 100% or rarely 150% of the raw water flow rate. Using the preceding example of an ISV of 100 ml/g and according to equation (7), the recycling ratio gives rise to a concentration of biomass in aeration Cba lying in the range 5 kg/m.sup.3 to 6 kg/m.sup.3, which is the concentration conventionally observed in water works.
Another means of increasing the concentration of the biomass in aeration is to use a system comprising firstly a "contact" basin where nitrogen in the form of ammonia is transformed into nitrates (nitrification) and secondly, on the sludge return circuit, a "stabilization" basin which enables a high value of sludge age to be obtained. Under such circumstances, the above-described constraints are found again, i.e. activated sludge concentration is equal to Cba in the contact basin and the concentration in the stabilization basin is equal to Cr, which represents only a small overall reduction in the volume of the works.
EP-A-0 309 352 describes a method in which obtaining the desired age for the sludge is performed in a generation basin located in a loop outside the reaction basins and wherein, prior to recycling the sludge through at least one purification process, a step of concentrating said sludge by floatation is performed upstream from the generation basin. That method makes it possible to achieve a considerable reduction in the volume of the Works in that the problem of obtaining aged sludge is treated in a basin that operates at high concentration (30 g/l) so the reaction basins can then be dimensioned as a function of reaction rates.
The essential problem in operating conventional activated sludge methods is that it is essential to obtain sludge having at least a minimum age while seeking high reaction rates, and this must be done in a reaction context which is favorable to neither of those two parameters. Studies have shown that those parameters and objectives are partially incompatible because the specific activity of sludge decreases with its age.

Method of purifying waste water biologically


Systems and methods of providing Basis Service Set (BSS) load information pertinent to multi-user (MU) communications in WLAN systems. An access point (AP) can determine the counts of MU-capable user stations (STAs) active STAs in a BSS. Each MU-capable STA is configured for Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) communications and/or Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communications. The AP can further determine ratios of PPDU time over an observation period of MU uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) communications, respectively. The AP can further determine an underutilization level of each available frequency subband, the underutilization level integrating the actual underutilization in terms of both spatial streams and frequency subbands. The DL and UL underutilization levels can be separately determined and reported. The MU BSS load information can be included in a beacon frame as a BSS load information element and distributed to user STAs periodically.

In wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, multi-user (MU) transmission technologies allow simultaneous transmissions for multiple user stations (STAs) at speeds compatible with their network interfaces and channel conditions. MU communications can provide high throughput due to effective reuse of the same radio resources among multiple users and due to significantly reduced packet and channel access overheads. A WLAN system compliant with the IEEE 802.11ax standard and specifications may make extensive use of MU communications in both downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) directions, including Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) communications and MU Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) communications.
In DL MU-MIMO communications, multiple antennas can generate several concurrent spatial streams to transmit data to different user STAs; and in UL MU-MIMO, the different signals received at the antennas of an AP can be used to separate the data sent by multiple user STAs. In MU OFDMA, the whole frequency spectrum of a radio resource is divided into different subchannels or subbands, called resource units (RU), which are allocated to different user STAs for transmitting data simultaneously. For example, the division of a channel can accommodate up to 9 users for every 20 MHz of bandwidth.
There has been a lack of mechanisms for characterizing and reporting BSS load conditions that are specific for MU communications. To improve channel utilization efficiency, facilitate spatial reuse and interference management, and balance loads across multiple BSSs, it is desirable to provide BSS load information that can adequately reflect actual loading in the BSSs for MU communications.

Determination and transmission of BSS load metrics for MU WLAN systems


A data processing system (20) having a burst address generator (BAG) 55, with a programmable transaction mode applicable to both cache and pre-fetch architecture types. BAG 55 asserts a data acknowledge (DTACK) signal to end a burst transfer on either a physical boundary, as in pre-fetch mode at the end of a row in a memory device, or a limit detection, as in cache mode where the limit is determined by the length of a cache line. BAG 55 increments the burst address internally, and for operations in pre-fetch mode, the user determines if the incremented address is provided external to data processor (22).

Integrated circuit microprocessors must, in many cases, be connected with other integrated circuit devices in order to provide certain functions. Typically a microprocessor uses internal chip select circuitry to interface with other integrated circuits, often significantly reducing the cost of the system design and improving performance.
An example of an integrated circuit microprocessor with a highly flexible on-board chip select logic is taught by James B. Eifert et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,744, issued Sep. 5, 1995. The chip select logic taught by Eifert et al. provides a great deal of flexibility by allowing the chip select signal to be activated conditionally based on whether an attribute of an access cycle, such as whether the cycle is a read or a write cycle, matches a programmable attribute. This mechanism allows, for example, a program to be write protected by keeping the chip select signal inactive if the program erroneously attempts a write access to the area in memory where the program is stored.
A major concern associated with the integration of chip select logic onto a microprocessor integrated circuit involves the provision of sufficient flexibility to the user. The use of "glue" logic is extremely flexible, since the system designer has wide latitude in the placement of each external device with the microprocessor's memory map and the timing and other characteristics of the chip select signals themselves. This flexibility is very useful, since the variety of possible system designs and chip select requirements for particular peripheral devices is great. Providing sufficient flexibility in an integrated chip select unit while constraining the size of the unit within reasonable limits is quite difficult.
Various architectures have inconsistent requirements which are difficult to coordinate in a data processing system. In many modular systems there are multiple CPUs, communicating with a variety of devices. Additional modules and logic are typically required to accomodate transactions for cache type architecture and pre-fetch architecture in a single data processing system. There is a need to add uniformity and minimize redundancy in a data processing system making it flexible in adapting to system design.

Method and apparatus for adaptable burst chip select in a data processing system


The banner material is comprised of flexible polyester fabric which comes in a rolled elongated sheet. A number of grommets are placed along the top and bottom edges. The grommets along the top edge are aligned with the grommets along the bottom edge and are placed along the top and bottom edges of the banner material alternately a first distance apart and a second substantially smaller distance apart. The user of the banner can customize the length of the banner by cutting from top edge to bottom edge between the grommets, preferably between the grommets spaced the second substantially smaller distance apart in order to avoid wasting any excess banner material.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flexible banner material having grommets placed along its top and bottom edges such that the size of the banner can be customized without wasting excess banner material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Banners used to display advertising or other information are typically placed in conspicuous outdoor locations so that they can be easily viewed. They must be held tautly in place so that the information on the banner is not obscured by folding or creasing. In order to ensure that the banner material is held tautly in place while at the same time ensuring that the banner does not sustain damage as a result of wind forces or other elements, they are typically made of flexible fabric or sheet like material and are typically supported in their display position by flexible means such as cords, ropes or wires.
The prior art reveals various features and methods used to hang banners. One type of banner has the top and bottom edges of the banner being folded over and stitched to form a seam along the entire top and bottom edges. A rope or cord is inserted through each of the top and bottom seams. The ropes or cords are secured to fixed points adjacent to the banner and the banner is hung by suspending it between the two ropes. This method of securing the banner is deficient because ropes and cords tend to stretch with time, causing slack in the rope and the banner to eventually wrinkle and crease thus obscuring the information on the banner. Also, as the rope or cord becomes slack, wind may whip the banner back and forth causing weakening of the banner fabric itself and thus tearing of the seams through which the ropes are inserted.
Another method for hanging banners involves having rings or grommets in each corner of the banner. A cord is attached to each corner ring or grommet. Each of these cords is then tightened and secured to a fixed point, thus securing the banner in place. A significant problem with these type of banners is that these banners are typically manufactured and sold to the consumer at a predetermined size. This allows the consumer to choose from a selection of predetermined banner sizes, choosing the size that fits his or her need. With this type of banner, the consumer, however, cannot himself or herself customize the exact size of the banner.
Banner material is also sold in rolls of substantial length so that the consumer can customize the length of the banner himself or herself. The problem with existing banner material sold in rolls is that grommets are spaced along the top and bottom edges at a substantial distance from each other, thus causing significant waste of material. As mentioned above, a common method of hanging a banner properly, requires a grommet in each banner corner. To create a banner from a roll of banner material, the consumer will cut the banner material from top edge to bottom edge adjacent to aligned grommets. This creates 2 grommeted corners and two non grommeted corners. The banner material extending from the non grommeted corners to the next set of grommets is wasted, since it has no grommets at two of its corners.
Another problem associated with the use of grommets as a securing means is that grommets tend to tear out of the corners when the banner is subjected to forces caused by wind or other elements. The prior art reveals attempted solutions to the problem of grommets tending to tear out of the corners of the banner. One such attempted solution discloses banners which have folded over, hemmed top and bottom edges. The grommets are inserted within the folded over portion. The hems are designed to provide extra support for grommets so that they do not tear off the banner. Often, however, the hems are not sufficiently strong to avoid grommets tearing due to forces generated by strong winds and other turbulence.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,165 (Molla) provides another attempted solution to the problem of tearing grommets. The Molla patent discloses a banner of predetermined rectangular shape having four corners, with hems along the top and bottom edges. Grommets are placed in each corner. Resilient shock absorbing cords such as bungee cords are secured to each corner grommet. A rigid plastic piece is enveloped in each corner of the banner, surrounding the grommets, as extra support for the grommets. The plastic piece does provide additional support for the grommets, however, if banner material is stored in a roll, the rigid pieces may impede proper rolling of the banner material.
It is an object of the invention to allow the end user of the banner to create a banner of customized size from a roll of banner material, without wasting excess banner material.
It is a further object, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, to improve on the prior art by providing banner material having grommets which are secured in place by such means that prevent them from being torn by forces associated with wind and other elements.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, banner material is comprised of flexible polyester fabric which comes in an elongated sheet, the preferred length of which is 45 feet, on a roll. The grommets are placed along the entire length of the top and bottom edges of the banner material alternately a first distance apart, preferably 24 inches, and a second substantially smaller distance apart, preferably 3 inches. These distances may vary. For example, the first distance apart may be as little as 12 inches, which would allow the consumer more ability to customize the exact size of the banner. The first distance may also be greater in order to conserve the number of grommets used. Likewise, the second smaller distance could be as much as 6 inches in order to conserve the number of grommets or as little as 1 inch to minimize wasted banner material. The grommets along the top edge are aligned with the grommets along the bottom edge. The user of the banner can customize the length of the banner by cutting from top edge to bottom edge between the grommets, creating grommeted corners. Preferably, the user will cut from top edge to bottom edge between the grommets spaced the smaller distance apart, creating banner corners without wasting any banner material. A cord or rope, preferably being somewhat elastic is inserted and secured through grommets located at each corner of the banner and each cord is tightly secured to a fixed position so that the banner can be hung.
In the preferred embodiment, along the top edge and the bottom edge of the material, a portion of the sheet is folded over to form an edgefold. The folded over portion is heated and pressed together, sealing the folded portion, creating a strong thermal heat sealed bond. Preferably, the edgefold is approximately 1.5 inches wide, running along the entire top and bottom edges of the banner material. The grommets, are placed within the top and bottom edgefolds. Placing the grommets in the thermal heat sealed edgefold provides reinforcement and strength to ensure that the grommets will not rip out of the banner material once tied to the rope or cord and the banner is subject to strong wind forces or other turbulence. The thermal heat seal creates a fixed bond over the entire folded over portion. As such, the thermal heat sealed edgefold is significantly stronger a bond than the other securing means such as a hemmed edgefold, since the hemmed edgefold is only secured along the hemline.
The preferred distances between the top edge and bottom edge of the banner material is either 22 inches, 34 inches or 44 inches, however the actual distance may range anywhere from 20 to 50 inches.
Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.


The invention describes a fuel injection system comprising a piezoelectric element for controlling an amount of injected fuel, by charging and discharging the piezoelectric element using a driving circuitry, and a current diagnosis unit capable of detecting a fault of a current flowing in the driving circuitry within 10 xcexcsec of the fault occurring.

The present invention relates to an apparatus as defined in the preamble of claim 1, and a method as defined in the preamble of claim 7, i.e. an apparatus and method for detecting a short circuit to chassis ground when driving piezoelectric elements.
Piezoelectric elements can be used as actuators because, as is known, they possess the property of contracting or expanding as a function of a voltage applied thereto or occurring therein.
The practical implementation of actuators using piezoelectric elements proves to be advantageous in particular if the actuator in question must perform rapid and/or frequent movements.
The use of piezoelectric elements as actuators proves to be advantageous, inter alia, in fuel injection nozzles for internal combustion engines. Reference is made, for example, to EP 0 371 469 B1 and to EP 0 379 182 B1 regarding the usability of piezoelectric elements in fuel injection nozzles.
Piezoelectric elements are capacitative elements which, as already partially alluded to above, contract and expand in accordance with the particular charge state or the voltage occurring therein or applied thereto. In the example of a fuel injection nozzle, expansion and contraction of piezoelectric elements is used to control valves that manipulate the linear strokes of injection needles. The use of piezoelectric elements with double acting, double seat valves to control corresponding injection needles in a fuel injection system is shown in German patent applications DE 197 42 073 A1 and DE 197 29 844 A1, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
Fuel injection systems using piezoelectric elements are characterized by the fact that, to a first approximation, piezoelectric elements exhibit a proportional relationship between applied voltage and the linear expansion. In a fuel injection nozzle, for example, implemented as a double acting, double seat valve to control the linear stroke of a needle for fuel injection into a cylinder of an internal combustion engine, the amount of fuel injected into a corresponding cylinder is a function of the time the valve is open, and in the case of the use of a piezoelectric element, the activation voltage applied to the piezoelectric element.
FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a fuel injection system using a piezoelectric element 2010 as an actuator. Referring to FIG. 6, the piezoelectric element 2010 is electrically energized to expand and contract in response to a given activation voltage. The piezoelectric element 2010 is coupled to a piston 2015. In the expanded state, the piezoelectric element 2010 causes the piston 2015 to protrude into a hydraulic adapter 2020 which contains a hydraulic fluid, for example fuel. As a result of the piezoelectric element""s expansion, a double acting control valve 2025 is hydraulically pushed away from hydraulic adapter 2020 and the valve plug 2035 is extended away from a first closed position 2040. The combination of double acting control valve 2025 and hollow bore 2050 is often referred to as double acting, double seat valve for the reason that when piezoelectric element 2010 is in an unexcited state, the double acting control valve 2025 rests in its first closed position 2040. On the other hand, when the piezoelectric element 2010 is fully extended, it rests in its second closed position 2030. The later position of valve plug 2035 is schematically represented with ghost lines in FIG. 6.
The fuel injection system comprises an injection needle 2070 allowing for injection of fuel from a pressurized fuel supply line 2060 into the cylinder (not shown). When the piezoelectric element 2010 is unexcited or when it is fully extended, the double acting control valve 2025 rests respectively in its first closed position 2040 or in its second closed position 2030. In either case, the hydraulic rail pressure maintains injection needle 2070 at a closed position. Thus, the fuel mixture does not enter into the cylinder (not shown). Conversely, when the piezoelectric element 2010 is excited such that double acting control valve 2025 is in the so-called mid-position with respect to the hollow bore 2050, then there is a pressure drop in the pressurized fuel supply line 2060. This pressure drop results in a pressure differential in the pressurized fuel supply line 2060 between the top and the bottom of the injection needle 2070 so that the injection needle 2070 is lifted allowing for fuel injection into the cylinder (not shown).
It is important to determine and apply an activation voltage with sufficient precision such that, for example, a corresponding valve plug is accurately positioned at the appropriate time in the fuel injection cycle. Thus it is important to be able to detect various problems in the electrical circuit driving the piezoelectric elements. One such problem is a short circuit to chassis ground within, or at the terminals of, one or more of the piezoelectric elements.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to develop the apparatus as defined in the preamble of claim 1 and the method as defined in the preamble of claim 14 to reliably detect a short circuit to chassis ground within, or at the terminals of, one or more of the piezoelectric elements.
This object is achieved, according to the present invention, by way of the features claimed in the characterizing portion of claim 1 (apparatus) and in the characterizing portion of claim 14 (method).
These provide:
the fuel injection system comprises a current diagnosis unit capable of detecting a fault of a current flowing in the driving circuitry within 10 xcexcsec of the fault occurring; and
a current flowing in the driving circuitry is checked in such a manner that a possible fault of the current flowing in the driving circuitry is detected within 10 xcexcsec of the fault occurring.
A short circuit to ground may have different undesirable effects depending on the location of the short with respect to the piezoelectric element and the piezoelectric element driving circuitry. A short circuit at the positive terminal of the piezoelectric element, e.g. used as an actuator, will prevent it from charging. A short at the positive terminal of one piezoelectric element could also prevent the charging of others that are arranged in parallel with it.
A short to ground at the negative terminal of a piezoelectric element could cause the piezoelectric element to be improperly charged when that actuator has not been selected for charging. For example, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention the selector switch for charging a particular actuator is connected in series with the negative terminal of the piezoelectric element. Shorting out that selector switch would cause the to piezoelectric element be continually charged, even when another piezoelectric element has been selected for charging. A possible consequence of such unplanned charging is the unintentional injection of fuel; a situation which is extremely undesirable.
As a result of a short circuit from a piezoelectric element to chassis ground, electrical current will be diverted from portions of piezoelectric element driving circuitry. However, electrical current will continue to flow in other parts of the piezoelectric element driving circuitry where current would normally be expected to flow.
The present invention examines current flow in different parts of the piezoelectric element driving circuitry to detect a short circuit to chassis ground. The present invention detects a short circuit within the piezoelectric element charging and discharging cycle when current would normally be expected to be flowing through particular branches in the piezoelectric element driving circuitry. A short circuit, however, would cause current to be diverted from one of the branches. The abnormal disparity in the current in the two locations is detected by the present invention and an error signal indicating a short circuit is generated.
For example, during the charging cycle when the charging switch is closed current flows through both, a shunt in the voltage source buffer circuit and through a shunt connected in series at the negative terminal of the piezoelectric element. During that cycle, a current detecting circuit is in place to see whether the expected current is flowing in both locations. If current is flowing in the voltage supply buffer shunt resistor, but not the piezoelectric branch shunt resistor, a short circuit is detected and an error message is generated. To detect whether current is flowing normally at both locations in the circuit, a current signal from measuring points corresponding to the respective shunts is received by a comparator circuit. The comparator circuit outputs a signal to a logic circuit representing the difference between the current flows at the two shunts. If the difference in the two current flows is greater than a predetermined maximum then the logic circuit generates an appropriate error signal.
Advantageous developments of the present invention are evident from the dependent claims, the description below, and the figures.


A bone fastener including an expandable member having an axial channel and an elongated element insertable into the axial channel is described. The expandable member is configured to be insertible into a bore drilled in bone. The distal end of the expandable member also may include a structure for axially releasing the expandable member from an emplacement device that places the expandable member into a bone opening. In one embodiment, the structure for axially releasing includes a frangible membrane capable of being severed from the expandable member during emplacement of the expandable member in a bone opening.. A rivet for coupling an object to bone for use with an expandable member is also described. The distal end of the elongated element is shaped into a radially projecting portion adapted for engagement with a washer that contacts the object to be coupled. The washer, having upper and lower surfaces and a bore defined between the surfaces, is disposed around a portion of the shaft. The elongated element is adapted for movement independent of the washer since the radial projection of the element has a different radius of curvature than the washer.. An apparatus for use within an endoscope is described. The apparatus includes an elongated, substantially hollow holding means for emplacing a bone fastener of the invention in a bone opening. The expandable member includes a structure for axially releasing the expandable member from the holding means. A method of attaching soft tissue to bone is also described. The invention also includes a surgical fastener kit.

A variety of techniques are available for affixing objects such as soft tissue to bone. The oldest technique utilizes thread passed through the bone and the tissue to sew the tissue down to the bone. Many sizes, shapes and types of suture and suture needles are available to accomplish this task. Today, this method is still used for repair of tendons and ligaments in older osteoarthritic patients, although passing a suture through bone is generally difficult and tedious.
Soft tissue repairs also have been accomplished with metal screws or staples that attach soft tissue to bone. Metal screws and/or staples are, however, subject to corrosion and consequent loss of structure. Moreover, the presence of metal in an anatomical site can interfere with imaging and diagnostic or therapeutic treatments near the site. For example, any metal implants may have to be removed by surgery prior to magnetic resonance imaging. Patient sensitivity to nickel ions and stainless steel implants has fueled a growing controversy regarding the use of materials containing high quantities of nickel including nickel-titanium alloys such as Nitinol. Also, it is almost impossible to adjust the compression exerted by screws and staples on soft tissue. Thus, these devices are not fully satisfactory for soft tissue repair.
Other devices employ a suture anchor installation affixed to an arc of wire or a plurality of barbs disposed on an outer surface of the suture anchor body. The barbs or arc of wire are set by applying traction to the suture. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to position the anchor at a precise location within a bone if an anchor is being drawn upwards in a bone hole by applying tension to a suture. Furthermore, many of the fastening devices require some type of impact or impulse to set the fastener in position. Impact emplacement or setting of bone/suture anchors may result in injury to the patient as well as placing unnecessary strain on the bone/suture fastener itself.