A random code generator includes a memory cell, two write buffers and two sensing circuits. The memory cell includes a first program path between a first source line and a first bit line, a second program path between the first source line and a second bit line, a first read path between a second source line and a third bit line, and a second read path between a third source line and a fourth bit line. The two write buffers are connected with the first bit line and the second bit line, respectively. The two sensing circuits are connected with the third bit line and the fourth bit line, respectively. The two sensing circuits generate a first output signal and the second output signal to the corresponding write buffers according to the read currents in the corresponding read paths.

Generally, the non-volatile memories are divided into a one-time programmable memory (also referred as an OTP memory) and a multi-time programmable memory (also referred as MTP memory). The OTP memory comprises plural OTP memory cells. The MTP memory comprises plural MTP memory cells. Moreover, the OTP memory cell or the MTP memory cell with a floating gate transistor has been provided.
For example, an OTP memory cell and a MTP memory cell with floating gate transistors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,941,167. FIG. 1A is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating an OTP memory cell with a floating gate transistor. FIG. 1B schematically illustrates bias voltages for performing associated operations on the OTP memory cell as shown in FIG. 1A.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the OTP memory cell 100 comprises a select transistor Ms and a floating gate transistor Mf. A first terminal of the select transistor Ms is connected with a source line SL. A control terminal of the select transistor Ms is connected with a word line WL. A first terminal of the floating gate transistor Mf is connected with a second terminal of the select transistor Ms. A second terminal of the floating gate transistor Mf is connected with a bit line BL. A program path and a read path are connected between the source line SL and the bit line BL. By providing proper bias voltages to the word line WL, the source line SL and the bit line BL, a program operation or a read operation is selectively performed on the floating gate transistor Mf of the OTP memory cell 100.
Please refer to FIG. 1B. For performing the program operation (PGM), a program voltage Vpp is provided to the source line SL, and a ground voltage (0V) is provided to the word line WL and the bit line BL. For example, the program voltage Vpp is 8V.
When the select transistor Ms is turned on, the program path between the source line SL and the bit line BL generates a program current. Moreover, electrons are injected into the floating gate of the floating gate transistor Mf through a channel region of the floating gate transistor Mf. Consequently, the program operation is completed.
For performing a read operation (READ), a read voltage Vr is provided to the source line SL, and the ground voltage (0V) is provided to the word line WL and the bit line BL. For example, the read voltage Vr is 3.0V.
When the select transistor Ms is turned on, the read path between the source line SL and the bit line BL generates a read current. The magnitude of the read current is dependent on the amount of electrons stored in the floating gate of the floating gate transistor Mf. For example, if no electrons are stored in the floating gate, the read current is very low (e.g., nearly zero). Whereas, if electrons are stored in the floating gate, the read current is higher. According to the magnitude of the read current flowing through the bit line BL, the storage state of the OTP memory cell 100 is determined.
For example, a sense amplifier (not shown) is connected with the bit line BL to receive the read current. Moreover, the sense amplifier further receives a reference current. If the magnitude of the read current is lower than the reference current, the sense amplifier judges that the floating gate transistor Mf of the OTP memory cell 100 is in the first storage state. Whereas, if the magnitude of the read current is higher than the reference current, the sense amplifier judges that the floating gate transistor Mf of the OTP memory cell 100 is in the second storage state.
FIG. 2A is a schematic circuit diagram illustrating a MTP memory cell with a floating gate transistor. FIG. 2B schematically illustrates bias voltages for performing associated operations on the MTP memory cell as shown in FIG. 2A.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the MTP memory cell 200 comprises a select transistor Ms, a floating gate transistor Mf and a capacitor Ce. A first terminal of the select transistor Ms is connected with a source line SL. A control terminal of the select transistor Ms is connected with a word line WL. A first terminal of the floating gate transistor Mf is connected with a second terminal of the select transistor Ms. A second terminal of the floating gate transistor Mf is connected with a bit line BL. The capacitor Ce is connected between a floating gate of the floating gate transistor Mf and an erase line EL. A program path and a read path are connected between the source line SL and the bit line BL. An erase path is connected between the floating gate and the erase line EL.
Please refer to FIG. 2B. For performing the program operation (PGM), a program voltage Vpp is provided to the source line SL, and a ground voltage (0V) is provided to the word line WL, the bit line BL and the erase line EL. For example, the program voltage Vpp is 8V.
When the select transistor Ms is turned on, the program path between the source line SL and the bit line BL generates a program current. Moreover, electrons are injected into the floating gate of the floating gate transistor Mf through a channel region of the floating gate transistor Mf. Consequently, the program operation is completed.
For performing a read operation (READ), a read voltage Vr is provided to the source line SL, and the ground voltage (0V) is provided to the word line WL and the bit line BL. For example, the read voltage Vr is 3.0V
When the select transistor Ms is turned on, the read path between the source line SL and the bit line BL generates a read current. The magnitude of the read current and the storage state of the MTP memory cell 200 are dependent on the amount of electrons stored in the floating gate of the floating gate transistor Mf. Similarly, a sense amplifier (not shown) is connected with the bit line BL to receive the read current. According to the magnitude of the read current, the sense amplifier judges whether the floating gate transistor Mf of the floating gate transistor Mf is in a first storage state or a second storage state.
For performing an erase operation (ERS), the ground voltage (0V) is provided to the source line SL, the word line WL and the bit line BL, and an erase voltage Vee is provided to the erase line EL. For example, the erase voltage Vee is 12.0V.
Meanwhile, the electrons stored in the floating gate are ejected to the erase line EL through the erase line EL. That is, the electrons stored in the floating gate are ejected to the erase line EL through the capacitor Ce and departed from the floating gate transistor Mf.
A physically unclonable function (PUF) technology is a novel method for protecting the data of a semiconductor chip. That is, the use of the PUF technology can prevent the data of the semiconductor chip from being stolen. In accordance with the PUF technology, the semiconductor chip is capable of providing a random code. This random code is used as a unique identity code (ID code) of the semiconductor chip to achieve the protecting function.
Generally, the PUF technology acquires the unique random code of the semiconductor chip according to the manufacturing variation of the semiconductor chip. This manufacturing variation includes the semiconductor process variation. That is, even if the PUF semiconductor chip is produced by a precise manufacturing process, the random code cannot be duplicated. Consequently, the PUF semiconductor chip is suitably used in the applications with high security requirements.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 9,613,714 disclosed a random code generator with an antifuse transistor type memory cell. The storage state of the antifuse transistor type memory cell is used for a random code. The present invention provides a random code generator with another type memory cell.

Random code generator with floating gate transistor type memory cell


The present invention regards an aerial vehicle harpoon device for securing an aerial vehicle (31, 55) to a grid (9) of a landing site, the aerial vehicle (31, 55) comprises an undercarriage (11) having a supporting surface (13) for supporting the aerial vehicle (31, 55) when being in contact with the ground (15), the harpoon device (1) further comprises a securing element (4) arranged adjacent the supporting surface (13). The harpoon device (1) further comprises a resilient actuating device (23) which is adapted to extend the securing element (4) beyond the supporting surface (13) in an unloaded state, and which in a loaded state is compressed by the weight of the aerial vehicle (31, 55) when contacting the ground (15) so that the securing element (4) retracts and the supporting surface (13) contacts the ground (15).

1. Related Field
The present invention relates to a hold-down harpoon device according to the preamble of claim 1.
The invention can be applied in aircraft industry, for UAV manufacture, or helicopter manufacture et., but is not limited to these.
2. Description of Related Art
Aerial vehicles, such as remotely piloted aircrafts and helicopters, or so called unmanned aerial vehicles UAV, or manned VTOL aircrafts or helicopters etc., are for certain applications equipped with capturing and/or securing devices for securing the vehicle to a platform grid.
Efforts have been made to improve known devices. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,540 shows a device having a probe with engagement wings for securing the aircraft to a landing platform mesh, wherein the wings engage the mesh. The probe has a sufficient length to pass through the aperture of the mesh or grid, so that the wings can engage the mesh. In GB 923 864 is disclosed an aircraft ground handling device for securing an aircraft to a platform by means of a harpoon device.
It is desirable to provide an aerial vehicle with an undercarriage and a harpoon device, which harpoon device and undercarriage are not bulky for providing sufficient space under the aerial vehicle to be occupied by various equipments, such as antennas, weapons etc.
It is also desirable to provide an integrated undercarriage and harpoon device, which has as low weight as possible and which does not comprise superfluous operating mechanisms.
An object is to design an undercarriage and harpoon device of an aerial vehicle, which harpoon device provides for a secure landing in case of emergency and energy supply failure of the aerial vehicle.
A further object is also to eliminate drawbacks of known techniques, develop them and improve the prior art harpoon devices for aerial vehicles.


An aluminum alloy foil has a composition containing 1.0% to 1.8% by mass of Fe, 0.01% to 0.10% by mass of Si, 0.005% to 0.05% by mass of Cu, and Mn regulated to be 0.01% by mass or less, with the balance Al and incidental impurities, wherein with regard to crystal grains surrounded by high inclination angle grain boundaries which are grain boundaries having a misorientation of 150 or more in analysis of crystal orientation per unit area using electron backscatter diffraction, an average grain size of the crystal grains is 5 m or less, and a maximum grain size of the crystal grains/the average grain size of the crystal grains <3.0, and when a thickness of the foil is 30 m, elongations in directions making 15, 450 and 90 with respect to a rolling direction are 25% or more respectively.

Aluminum alloy foils used in packaging materials for food, lithium ion batteries and the like are required to have high elongation because such aluminum alloy foils are formed by applied with large deformation by press forming or the like. By way of example, flexible foils made of alloys of JIS A 1000 type such as those referred to as 1N30, or flexible foils made of alloys of JIS A 8000 type such as those referred to as 8079 or 8021 is conventionally used as materials having high elongation.
In most cases, an aluminum alloy foil is subjected to deformation in a plurality of directions due to so-called bulging, instead of being subjected to deformation in one direction. As a result, with regard to elongation properties of such an aluminum alloy foil, elongation in a rolling direction typically used as an elongation value, and in addition, elongations in directions making 45° and 90° with respect to a rolling direction are required to be high. Recently, foils as packaging materials are becoming thinner, for example, in the field of packaging materials for batteries. Therefore, there is a need for an aluminum alloy foil having high elongation, even when the thickness of the aluminum alloy foil is small.
For the purpose of achieving an aluminum alloy foil having high elongation, it has been proposed to control crystal grains within the alloy.
By way of example, in Patent Literature 1, as a result of the fact that the number density of an intermetallic compound having an average grain size of 20 μm or less and an equivalent circle diameter of 1.0 to 5.0 μm is set to greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the intermetallic compound serves as an nucleation site in recrystallization to achieve smaller grain size after the final annealing.
In Patent Literature 2, an aluminum alloy foil is proposed, in which a boundary having a misorientation of 5° or more in analysis of crystal orientation using electron backscattering diffraction pattern (EBSD) is defined as a grain boundary, and with regard to crystal grains contained within the grain boundary, an average value D of the crystal grains is set to 12 μm or less, and the area fraction of the crystal grains having a grain size of more than 20 μm is set to 30% or less.
In Patent Literature 3, the average grain size and the average grain size of subgrains are defined to be less than or equal to a predetermined value, and in addition, the dispersion density of an Al—Fe compound is defined to be greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Aluminum alloy foil, and method for producing aluminum alloy foil


A music system is constructed by a transmitter for transmitting performance information and a receiver for receiving the performance information so as to reproduce music performance. In the transmitter, a first packet encoder packetizes the performance information so as to sequentially form a primary packet of the performance information. A second packet encoder packetizes state information so as to form a secondary packet of the state information in correspondence with the primary packet. The state information indicates a proper operation state of a channel defined by the protocol of Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A packet multiplexer transmits the primary packet together with the secondary packet by multiplexing so as to ensure proper reproduction of the music performance by means of a channel provided in the receiver. In the receiver, a packet demultiplexer separates the primary packet and the secondary packet from each other. A first packet decoder has the channel of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface and responds to the separated primary packet for updating an current operation state of the channel so as to reproduce the music performance. A second packet decoder compares the updated current operation state with the proper operation state indicated by the separated secondary packet, and operates if the updated current operation state is different than the proper operation state for rewriting the current operation state according to the state information so as to properly reproduce the music performance according to the performance information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method of transmitting music performance information based on MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) protocol through a communication satellite or Internet.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, various attempts have been made for real-time transmission of music performance information composed of MIDI messages in a digital broadcasting system based on the Internet or the communication satellite (CS). The digital broadcasting of this type requires a protocol in taking account of a transfer error. MIDI is designed with special emphasis placed on the real-time capability. Therefore, use of MIDI in a great transfer error rate environment causes many problems. Especially, a serious problem is that a music note remains sounded unintentionally due to dropout or missing of note-on information during transfer of the music performance information. Action that can be taken is to mute all sounds upon detection of a data drop and to restart sounding upon reception of new note-on information. However, this measure frequently causes music interruptions in an environment prone to transfer error, leading to degraded service.
In the broadcasting service for transmitting music performance information, it is desired that music performance information can be reproduced from a midpoint of a music piece. In MIDI, timbre setting information and sound source control information are transmitted at the beginning of the music piece. Therefore, starting reproduction of the music piece after transmission of these pieces of information may result in the reproduction of a sound different from intended condition. In MIDI, besides the past state of timbre information, the past state of control change information of a sustain pedal, for example, affects current music reproduction. Therefore, it is necessary for the halfway reproduction to take measures against this problem.
Further, the physical transfer rate of MIDI is 31.25 kbps. The substantial data rate of music performance information is often far lower than the physical transfer rate. In an environment of a limited transmission band, data rate reduction is also an important point. Therefore, it is necessary for the music performance information transmitting system to flexibly cope with any environment in which the transmission band varies real-time like the Internet.
Thus, the conventional music performance information transmitting system has the following three problems: (1) reproduction of music performance is seriously affected in an environment suffering from a high transfer error rate; (2) reception of music performance information from a midpoint in a music stream hinders reproduction of the music performance; and (3) no transmission can be made at a rate capable of clearing a predetermined transfer bit rate.

Music system of transmitting performance information with state information


A cutting chain for cutting concrete and other similar materials having wear and stretch resistant features. In one embodiment, the cutting chain can include chain links having a debris trap for hindering the entry of debris onto bearing surfaces. In one embodiment, side links and a center link can have cooperating members forming a maze-like debris trap and can include a lubricant and/or other barrier material. In a particular arrangement, side links can have annular ribs which can be partially received in annular grooves on a center link to create the maze-like debris trap. In another embodiment, the cutting chain can include chain links having anti-rotation structures to hinder rotation of the fastener relative to the side links. In a particular arrangement, side links can have a protrusion or slot for cooperating with a complementary mating slot or protrusion on the fastener. In another particular arrangement, the side links can have ridges in the fastener receive hole for penetrating the shaft of the fastener to resist rotation thereof.

The present disclosure is directed generally to cutting chains and more particularly to cutting chains for chain saws used to cut concrete and other similar material. Even more specifically, the disclosure is directed to cutting chains having anti-rotation members to resist rotation of the fastener relative to the outer links of the chain which can reduce wear and stretching of the cutting chain. The disclosure is also directed to cutting chains having side link to center drive link interfaces which inhibit entry of cutting debris, and to cutting chains having both anti-rotation members and center link and side link interfaces which inhibit entry of debris.
Concrete cutting chains operate under harsh conditions which can cause rapid deterioration of the chain. The concrete cutting process produces a large amount of very fine and abrasive particles and debris. Water is typically used to flush the debris away and to cool the saw and cutting surface. Even with water flushing, debris and water containing debris manages to enter the linkages of the cutting chain.
Debris entering the bearing surfaces where the links of the chain pivot relative to each other results in friction producing wear. The friction created around the bearing surfaces causes the fasteners, which connect the side links of the chain to center drive links, to rotate relative the side links. This rotation can create its own frictional forces which can result in wearing and stretching of the side links of the chain. Stretching increases the distance between each center drive link preventing the teeth of the drive sprocket of the saw from properly engaging the center drive links. Improper engagement of the sprocket with the chain can create additional wearing and eventual failure of the chain.


Systems and methods are provided for congestion notification in mixed-fabric InfiniBand networks. In one aspect, a system and apparatus is provided wherein a receiving endpoint receives, from a sending endpoint, InfiniBand messages over a mixed-fabric network. The mixed-fabric network may include an InfiniBand transport layer and a non-InfiniBand messaging fabric. The non-InfiniBand massaging fabric may be any type of non-InfiniBand data-link-layer and network-layer network (e.g. Ethernet, IP). For example, the receiving endpoint may receive a non-InfiniBand protocol data unit (PDU) that contains at least a part of a first InfiniBand PDU as payload. The receiving endpoint may extract signaling from the received non-InfiniBand PDU that indicates whether congestion has been detected in the non-InfiniBand layers of the mixed-fabric network. The receiving endpoint may include the same or similar signaling in the header portion of a second InfiniBand PDU, and transmit the second InfiniBand PDU to the sending endpoint.

The InfiniBand Architecture (IBA) is an industry standard for inter-computer communication specified by the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA). It emerged in 1999 as the joining of two competing proposals known as Next Generation I/O and Future Generation I/O. The InfiniBand Architecture provides high levels of reliability, performance, and scalability.
The InfiniBand Architecture spans several layers of the OSI model. It includes a physical layer, data-link layer, network layer, transport layer, and upper layers. The physical InfiniBand layer defines both the electrical and mechanical aspects of the InfiniBand Architecture including, cables, receptacles, and hot swap characteristics. The link layer encompasses packet layout, point-to-point link operations and switching within subnets and the network layer handles the routing of packets between subnets.
The transport layer may be responsible for in-order packet delivery, partitioning, channel multiplexing, data segmentation and reassembly. In performing its functions, the transport layer may provide several services such as Reliable Connection (RC), Unreliable Connection (UC), Reliable Datagram (RD), Unreliable Datagram (UD), and Raw. In pure InfiniBand networks, the transport services may operate over an InfiniBand data-link fabric. However, when InfiniBand data-link fabric is not available, mixed-fabric networks may be formed where InfiniBand transport services operate atop the network and/or data link layers of non-InfiniBand networks. In that regard, the InfiniBand transport services may utilize the resources of ubiquitous network infrastructure like that of Ethernet and/or Internet Protocol (IP) networks.

Explicit congestion notification in mixed fabric networks


A photoelectric element 1 includes a first electrode, an electron transport layer supporting a photosensitizer, a hole transport layer, and a second electrode, and these components are stacked in the above order. The electron transport layer is formed of an organic compound produced by electrolytic polymerization of a precursor having, within one molecule thereof, two or more moieties each having a structure represented by the following structural formula (1). The photoelectric element 1 includes a gel layer composed of the organic compound and an electrolyte solution infiltrated into the organic compound.

In recent years, an electron transport layer for transporting electrons has been becoming more important in a photoelectric element that converts light into electrical energy, such as a power generating device. The electron transport layer is required to have a high electron transport property. In addition, in the electron transport layer, it is also important that an interface at which charge separation occurs (hereinafter, referred to as reactive interface) is sufficiently wide.
Such electron transport layers have been hitherto formed of metals, organic semiconductors, inorganic semiconductors, conductive polymers, conductive carbon, and the like.
For example, an electron transport layer has been proposed which is formed of an organic substance for which electrons are carriers, such as a fullerene, a perylene derivative, a polyphenylenevinylene derivative, and pentacene. Thus, the electron transport capability of the electron transport layer has been improved, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the photoelectric element has been improved (see Non Patent Literature 1 for the fullerene, see Non Patent Literature 2 for the perylene derivative, see Non Patent Literature 3 for the polyphenylenevinylene derivative, and see Non Patent Literature 4 for pentacene).
In addition, it has been reported that in a molecular device-type solar cell, a structure in which an electron-donating molecule (donor) and an electron-accepting molecule (acceptor) are chemically bonded to each other is formed as a thin film on a substrate (see Non Patent Literature 5).
In the electron transport layer reported in each Non Patent Literature described above, both improvement of the electron transport performance and sufficient widening of the reactive interface are not achieved at the same time.
For example, in a photoelectric element that includes an organic-type electron transport layer formed of a fullerene or the like, recombination of charge easily occurs after charge separation. Thus, the conversion efficiency is not sufficient. In a photoelectric element that includes an inorganic-type electron transport layer formed of titanium oxide or the like, a sufficiently wide reactive interface is not formed, and an electron conductive potential which affects an open-circuit voltage is determined uniquely by the constituent elements of the electron transport layer. Thus, the conversion efficiency is not sufficient.
Furthermore, a fullerene or the like for forming an organic-type electron transport layer has poor stability as a material due to its low molecular weight, and also has relatively high solubility to a solvent. Therefore, when an electron transport layer is formed of a fullerene or the like, flexibility in device designing is decreased.

Photoelectric element, process for producing photoelectric element, and photosensitizer

Abstract: (in structural formula (1), M is a cyano group, a fluoro group, a chloro group, or a bromo group, and A− is a counter-anion)


An RFID tag includes a tag-type identifier. This tag-type identifier can represent data encoder-relevant tag-type information and/or printer-relevant tag-type information as desired. This identifier can comprise an optical or electronic code such as a numeric, binary, or hexadecimal code. This code can be stored within the RFID tag's integrated circuit (for example, within the integrated circuit's stored EPC field). These teachings also provide for recovering from an unassigned RFID tag its tag-type identifier and using that tag-type identifier to facilitate automatically processing the RFID tag when assigning the RFID tag to a corresponding item. This can comprise utilizing the tag-type identifier to determine corresponding assignment-facilitation information to use when assigning the RFID tag. Examples in these regards, include, for example, an RFID tag encoder power setting or position, a printer setting, or a label layout.

RFID tags are known in the art. RFID tags typically include small circuits that are configured to respond to a radio-frequency (RF) signal with a corresponding data transmission. Some RFID tags are self-powered while others are passive in that they rely upon the received RF signal for their operating power (and some RFID tags are a hybrid of these two approaches). RFID tags can and do assume a wide variety of physical form factors as well a variety of circuit components and architecture. These variations reflect, for example, the need to best accommodate a wide variety of items to be tagged as well as anecdotal manufacturer's preferences in these regards.
Many times the RFID tag's data includes information, such as an identifier, that is unique (at least to some extent) to that particular responding RFID tag. The Electronic Product Code (EPC) as managed by EPCGlobal, Inc., for example, represents one such effort in these regards. EPC-based RFID tags each have an utterly unique serial number (within the EPC system) to thereby uniquely identify each tag and, by association, each item correlated on a one-to-one basis with such tags. (The corresponding document entitled EPC Radio-Frequency Identity Protocols Class-1 Generation-2 UHF RFID Protocol for Communications at 860 MHz-960 MHz Version 1.0.9 (often referred to as "EPC GEN2") is hereby fully incorporated herein by this reference.)
Nascent, unassigned RFID tags are often provided to an end user (such as a manufacturer or retailer) in a bulk format. This can comprise, for example, providing hundreds or even thousands of unassigned RFID tags in a continuous strip in a roll. In this case the end user singulates individual, assigned RFID tags as desired and applies them to a corresponding item being tagged.
Assigning an unassigned RFID tag, in turn, can comprise at least encoding the RFID tag with a unique identifier such as the aforementioned EPC. In many cases this assignment process can also include printing visual content on the RFID tag. This visual content can comprise, for example, text, images, optical codes (such as the well-known universal product code), and so forth as relates to the tagged item, the end user, or virtually any other point of context that one may wish.
As noted above, however, RFID tags vary widely from one another with respect to their physical and electrical types. These differences can lead to problems during the encoding and/or printing stages of the assignment process. Executing the wrong print file, for example, can result in producing assigned RFID tags that are unsuitable for their intended purpose. Even worse, configuring an RFID tag encoder improperly can not only result in failing to encode a given RFID tag but can even result in improperly encoding other RFID tags besides a target RFID tag. In many cases there is little information available to help an attendant understand when an erroneous assignment activity is staged to occur.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.

Method and apparatus pertaining to RFID tag tag-type identifiers


An AI apparatus and an operating method are provided, the AI apparatus includes a communication interface to receive 3D sensor data and bumper sensor data from a first cleaner, a processor to generate surrounding situation map data based on the 3D sensor data and the bumper sensor data, and a learning processor to generate learning data by labeling area classification data for representing whether the surrounding situation map data corresponds to the stuck area, and to train a stuck area classification model based on the learning data. The processor transmits the trained stuck area classification model to a second cleaner through the communication interface.

The present disclosure relates to an artificial intelligence (AI) apparatus capable of sharing information of a stuck area, and a method for the same.
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to one field of computer engineering and information technology of studying a method for making a computer think, learn, and do self-improvement, which is achieved based on human intelligence, and means that a computer emulates an intelligent behavior of the human.
AI is largely related directly and indirectly to other fields of a computer science rather than existing itself. In particular, AI elements have been modernly introduced in various fields of information technology, and there has been an active attempt to use AI to overcome problems of the fields.
Research has been actively conducted into technology of recognizing and learning a surrounding situation using AI and providing information desired by a user in the desired form or performing an operation or function desired by the user.
An electronic device for providing such various operations and functions is referred to as an AI device.
Meanwhile, the robot cleaner may clean while traveling by itself.
However, when cleaning, the robot cleaner may not move due to the layout of furniture or a building structure.
Accordingly, there is increasingly required preventing a situation that the robot cleaner may not move.

Artificial intelligence apparatus for sharing information of stuck area and method for the same


A character forming apparatus includes (1) a character data storage unit for storing character data of each character pattern, the character data including a character code and the like, (2) a radical pattern data storage unit for storing a radical pattern and the like, (3) an input device for inputting the character code and a character size, (4) character data retrieving unit for retrieving character data corresponding to the inputted character code, (5) a character data coordinate changing unit for changing coordinates in accordance with the inputted character size, (6) a radical restoring unit for restoring a radical pattern, (7) a figure pattern restoring unit for changing the figure pattern and restoring it, (8) a developing unit for developing the restored character data into a dot pattern, and (9) an output device for outputting the dot pattern.

Recently a demand for forming characters with higher quality and printing or displaying them with the use of a character forming apparatus has been growing, and such a character forming apparatus has been required to have an outline font with which character output with high quality can be realized, instead of the conventional bit map font.
Such outline font is stored in a font ROM in a system, as font data having a plurality of coordinates obtained by sampling outlines of characters. The coordinates are read out as the need arises, and the coordinates are changed in accordance with the size and style of the character. Then, by painting over the inside of the outline, a character pattern is formed. In comparison with the conventional character formation with the use of the bit map font, this method has advantages such as a higher degree of freedom of character patterns, with which characters of high quality can be formed even in the case where various sizes of characters are formed. However, since coordinates of control points increase, the data quantity of the font data drastically expands. Besides, a longer period of time is required for conversion to bit map, thereby leading to a problem that the processing speed lowers.
Incidentally, the character pattern is formed by combining various stroke patterns, and likewise a Chinese character is formed by combining various radicals. Therefore, by restoring previously stored specific radical patterns so that a character thus formed is well-balanced, and by synthesizing data on the radical patterns as font data, it is possible to reduce types of stroke patterns and to form characters at a high speed.
However, in order to form one character pattern, it is necessary to combine several basic patterns so as to form each radical pattern. In this case, radical patterns having simple shapes tend to cause a character formed to be badly balanced, thereby resulting in that the character formed by combining the radicals has lower quality. In the case where there are many basic patterns, this causes not only the data capacity to expand, but also the period of time required for extracting basic patterns and synthesizing font data to increase.
Furthermore, in the character pattern forming method by referring to codes of figure elements constituting the character, applying an enlarging or reducing operation to data of the figure elements in accordance with the character size, and synthesizing the data, such method is suitable for forming character patterns, but it is not designed so as to cope with minute changes such as changes with respect to each stroke. As a result, in forming a certain radical pattern, a pattern having the same shape is always restored as an element pattern, and subtle differences in the radical included in the characters cannot appear.


The object of the present invention is a drive unit for a motor vehicle component with an electromotor (5) and a rotatable output element (7). Furthermore, a blocking element (9), which can be acted on by an actuator (10), is provided for interacting with a protrusion (15) on the output element (7). According to the invention, the protrusion (15) detaches the blocking element (9) from a stop (17) at the start of a rotational movement of the output element (7). Thus, the blocking element (9) is transferred into a blocking position with the aid of the actuator (10) in which the blocking element (9) blocks a rotation of the output element (7) beyond a specified point.

Drive units for motor vehicle components are known in diverse compositions and are used in practice millionfold. Such drive units are used in particular with so-called electrolatches, i.e. motor vehicle door latches comprising an electromotor drive for an opening of the locking mechanism by lifting a pawl as a component of the locking mechanism. Such drive units are called electrical opening drives in this context.
The class-specific state of the art according to DE 102 58 645 B4 describes a motor vehicle door latch with several functional units. The pertaining latch mechanism in this context possesses an adjustable drive which can travel into a blocking and a non-blocking position. The stop in the blocking position can interact directly with the drive of one of the functional units. To this end, the stop possesses a stop surface corresponding to an engagement element and is also pre-tensioned into a blocking position with spring force. The spring generating spring force functions as an actuator in the above sense in this case.
In the further state of the art according to DE 10 2004 027 420 A1 a motorized motor vehicle component is described which is equipped with a motor, a gearbox and a component which can be adjusted with the aid of the drive. Furthermore, an adjustable blocking element is provided for which can be brought into blocking engagement with the drive.
Finally, DE 199 48 052 A1 relates to a door latch with an opening aid. To this end, a revolving driving pin driven by a motor is provided for which takes along the pawl on its track when the drive is switched on and transfers it into a position releasing the catch. The driving pin subsequently runs against a stop. The stop is arranged on a blocking lever accommodated separately from the pawl. The blocking lever is transferred into its blocking position by the pawl during its relocation into the position releasing the catch.
This state of the art has proven itself. However, in the case of electromotorized opening drives for the locking mechanism of motor vehicle door latches, often in practice oscillations or uncontrolled movements of the drive or the drive unit occur upon or following the opening movement. Said movements are attributable, for example, to elasticities in the components typically made of plastic. Unusual noise evolutions or in certain circumstances indifferent functional states are associated with this. The invention aims to prevent such movements.

Single rotation release gear blocking lever


A guiding mechanism for loads on the loading floor of an aircraft has two separate guide elements tiltably mounted in a support frame. The frame with its guide elements is arranged so that the longitudinal frame axis extends substantially perpendicularly to the freight moving direction on the loading floor. Each guide element is equipped with guide rollers for guiding a vertical edge of a pallet and with a latching hook for guiding a horizontal edge of a pallet. The guide hooks prevent a tilting of a pallet. The guide elements are journalled in the frame, so that one of the guide elements is tiltable into the frame with its guide surface facing downwardly, while the other guide element is tiltable into the frame so that its guide surface faces substantially upwardly. Further, one of the two guide elements is equipped with a roll-over bail which tilts the respective guide element into the frame when a load rolls over the bail. Thus, a large pallet moves one of the guide elements out of the way, whereby the large pallet is guided by the other guide element.

Such devices are installed particularly in parallel to the inward movement direction of a pallet or the like on the loading floor of an aircraft in the area next to the loading gate. These devices assure a defined loading movement of loads carrying pallets or containers in the cargo hold of an aircraft. In order to assure a proper guiding even if pallets or freight containers of different sizes are being loaded, it is known to arrange suitable guide elements in the area of the loading floor. It is also possible to use a plurality of guide elements next to each other or one behind the other and to use that set of guiding elements which is suitable for a particular load size. The other set of guide elements is then either recessed in the loading floor or altogether removed for the time being.
The just described operation is undesirable because it requires substantial man-hours. Besides, there is the problem that the guide elements cannot be spaced from one another with a sufficiently small spacing between two neighboring guide elements. Thus, the available loading space or loading area may not be used most efficiently. However, the just mentioned considerations have a substantial influence on achieving minimal loading and unloading times, as well as reducing freight costs.

Apparatus for guiding different size pallets, especially on the loading floor of an aircraft


A semiconductor structure (100) includes a first substrate (110) having a first semiconductor device (112) formed therein, a second substrate (120) having a second device (122) formed therein and vertically-integrated above the first substrate (110), and a thermal isolation gap (130) disposed between the first device (112) and the second device (122). The thermal isolation gap (130) may be formed, for example, using an etched dielectric layer formed on first substrate (110), using an etched cavity in the second substrate (120), or by including a bonding layer (140) that has a gap or void incorporated therein.

Semiconductor devices continue to increase in size and power-density, resulting in a number of challenges for system designers. One of the primary challenges relates to microelectronic device cooling—i.e., how to efficiently remove heat generated by the device during operation. These heat transfer challenges are even more severe in vertically-intergrated devices—i.e., components that consist of multiple stacked layers substrates and devices. In many cases, the vertically-integrated devices are only microns or tens of microns away from each other in the stack.
When two or more devices are stacked vertically (i.e., in the z-direction), the heat generated by power devices within the stack will affect other devices within the stack, as heat may be conducted in the z-direction, not just along the x-y plane (as is the case with traditional devices.) This causes significant temperature increases in the devices located above the heat generating devices, resulting in degraded electrical characteristics and lower reliability.
Accordingly, there is a need for methods that improve heat transfer in vertically-intergrated devices by overcoming these and other shortcomings of the prior art. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Methods and apparatus for thermal isolation in vertically-integrated semiconductor devices


Conditional deferred queuing may be provided. Upon receiving a message, one or more throttle conditions associated with the message may be identified. A lock associated with the throttle condition may be created on the message until the throttle condition is satisfied. Then, the lock on the message may be removed and the message may be delivered.

Conditional deferred queuing may provide a capability for delaying message processing according to an established set of rules and/or priorities. In conventional systems, a message may go through a series of queues and processing stages. Each processing block may take a message from the queue, perform an operation on the message, and requeue the message for further processing and/or delivery. In some situations, the processing may need to be delayed, such as when a concurrency limit is exceeded and/or a needed resource is unavailable. With conventional systems, predicting the need to delay processing of the message may be difficult or impossible, so message processing may be delayed for a fixed amount of time. This may lead to idle resources if the fixed delay is too long, or wasted resources if the fixed delay is too short.


A discharge circuit, an image forming apparatus having the discharge circuit, and a power-supply unit are disclosed to minimize a standby power generated in a standby mode and improve a discharging speed of a capacitor charged with electricity by the AC power in a power off mode. The discharge circuit connected between AC power input lines receiving an AC power includes a first resistor and a first switch element connected in series between the AC power lines, and a second resistor and a second switch element which are connected in series between the AC power lines, turn off the first switching element upon receiving an electric current during supply of the AC power, and turn on the first switching element in response to cutoff of the AC power to discharge the first capacitor.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present general inventive concept relate to a discharging circuit, an electronic apparatus or an image forming apparatus having the discharging circuit, and a power supply unit to reduce a standby power.
2. Description of the Related Art
For energy saving from the viewpoint of the protection of the environment, standby power restriction of electronic appliances has been strongly carried out not only by domestic stages but also by American (EPA 1.2) and European (ErP Stage 2) stages. In order to overcome the above-mentioned standby power restriction problem, various efforts for reducing standby power of electronic appliances have been conducted.
An electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter for eliminating noise may be installed at an input terminal of the power supply apparatus (for example, SMPS). Charges of X-capacitor installed at the EMI filter may flow in a metal terminal of a plug when the plug is turned off, causing a safety problem. Therefore, a discharge resistor for discharging electric charges charged in the X-capacitor may be useable to resolve the above problem. However, since a power loss occurs in a standby mode due to the discharge resistor, this is a retrograde step for efforts to reduce standby power of electronic appliances, such that a countermeasure against the above-mentioned problem is needed.

Discharging circuit, image forming apparatus having the discharging circuit, and power supply unit


An elevationally adjustable folding stage has a frame which folds along a center of the stage from a storage position to a use position. Stage panels form a stage surface and are reversible and interchangeable. The stage may also support additional panels between stages extending therefrom to form an extended stage surface. The stage has a roller assembly which lifts the stage up so that rollers engage the floor for rolling between storage and use locations. Connectors between the frame and the stage offer quick connection without additional pieces. Connectors also provide for inserting risers to raise the height of one panel of the stage relative to the other. In addition to the risers, multi-panel supporting bases may be used to support the panels extending from the edges of the stage between stages. The panels between the stages may be stored on the stage while in the use or folded position by hook members which rotate from a storage to a use position to retain the additional panels. Folding of the stage is assisted by a spring folding assist member which prevents closing of the stage and assists in the initial opening of the stage toward the folded position. Accidental folding of the stage is also prevented by a locking linkage and a spacing linkage which lock the stage in the use position to prevent accidental folding and also to maintain the stage in the use position when elevationally adjusting the stage panels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of mobile elevationally-adjustable folding stages which also support panels placed between stages for an extended stage surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Folding stages are used for a variety of purposes to provide a temporary raised platform for use in schools, hotels, convention centers and other institutions wherein multiple use facilities require the capability of setting up temporary stages. Such stages are made up of individual stage structures which are positioned adjacent each other to form an extended stage surface or are positioned to support bridge panels between the stages to form an extended stage surface. When not in use, the individual stage structures may be folded to compact dimensions and stored along with the bridge panels. The stages typically have two stage surface members hinged together to provide for folding action, and have legs which either fold out of the way or remain vertical while the stage panels fold.
An example of such a folding stage is shown in U.S Pat. No. 4,949,649 to Terres et al. Although the stage shown in the Terres patent is very successful in providing efficient and useful folding stages, further improvements are still possible, particularly with regard to stages having expandable areas which also fold for storage. Folding stages require a lock so that the stage panels remain securely in place forming a continuous stage surface and so that the stages do not fold inadvertently. The center lock of the Terres patent requires a relatively complicated mechanism which is spring loaded and aligns between the two panels of the folding stage. The present invention provides for locking of the two sides of the stage at an accessible location with an inexpensive simple mechanism.
Previous folding stages have heretofore not provided for satisfactorily supporting bridging panels between the frameworks of the stages to form an extended stage surface. Extensible area stages have not provided for folding of the frameworks of each stage. In addition, there has been no storage for the bridging panels on the stages having a framework.
Portable stages often have wheel assemblies which can be pivoted about a frame member into engagement with the floor to lift the supporting legs off the floor so that the stage will roll. However the wheel assemblies are located near the ground with handles for rotating the wheel assemblies between positions also located near the ground. Actuation of the low handles requires bending over by workers attempting to engage or release the legs. The accessibility is limited as the handle is typically underneath the stage surface so that in addition to bending over, the worker must move underneath the stage panels to move the wheel assemblies between positions. Therefore, it is advantageous to provide wheel assemblies which provide a mechanical advantage and also provide for engaging and disengaging the wheels with the handle easily accessed in all positions.
Although prior folding stages are elevationally adjustable, prior stages have not provided for adjusting the height of one panel as a folding stage relative to the other panel. Such adjustment would provide for forming choral riser-type formations with a single folding stage.
Methods for attaching panels to the framework so that the panels may be easily attached or may be reversed heretofore have required connectors inserting through passages in the panels and which had loose separate top portions which were detachable from the stage and could be lost or misplaced. The connectors also require a groove in the stage panel passage to engage the connector for locking the panel into position.
It may be seen then, that there is a need for a folding stage which provides for reversible panels which are secured in an improved manner with no extra loose parts. It can also be seen that a stage is required which has easy access for locking and unlocking a stage into position and for engaging wheel assemblies. Storing and handling of stage panels supported between stage frames must be stored in an easy, economical fashion on the existing frameworks. Folding stages should also have the ability to adjust the height of one stage panel relative to an adjacent stage panel so that choral riser configurations may be achieved. The present invention addresses these as well as other problems associated with folding stages.


A femoral distractor includes a top post for positioning under a patient's knee and a bottom pin for fixed attachment to a hospital bed rail. A vertical rod extends between the top post and horizontal bottom pin to move the knee joint in the vertical direction upon operation of a trigger assembly.

Devices such as described within U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,338 entitled "Apparatus for Knee Prosthesis" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,350 entitled "Femoral Distractor for Use in Knee Surgery" are currently available for assisting a surgeon in knee surgery by employing means for insertion within the knee joint to retract or distract the femur from the tibia.
The use of such sterile pins, rods, or sterile spreaders and the like to provide insertion requires considerable time and effort to insure insertion in a precise and antiseptic manner within the joint space and thereby create enough space for instruments and implantable devices.
It would be highly advantageous to be able retract or distract the femur from the tibia during such knee surgery without having to insert any pins, rods, or sterile spreaders into the joint space thereby obscuring vision and occupying instrument space.
On purpose of the instant invention is to describe a simple and effective approach to femur distraction during knee surgery that is performed external to the knee joint, per se, for increasing surgical vision and surgical space when preparing to implant a prosthetic device.

Non-invasive femoral distractor for use in knee surgery


In a method or producing haloalkenone ethers by addition of a carboxylic acid halide to a vinyl ether and subsequent elimination of hydrogen halide, the improvement comprising carrying out the reaction in the absence of a base and/or in the presence of a stabilizer for the resulting alkenone, whereby higher yields of the desired alkenone product can be obtained.

The present invention relates to a simplified method for preparing halogenated alkenone ethers.
Halogenated alkenone ethers, such as 4-ethoxy-1,1,1-trifluoro-3-butenone, are building blocks in chemical synthesis, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,174 (=EP 744,400). They may be prepared by reacting an acid chloride with a vinyl ether in the presence of a base, as described in the aforementioned U.S. patent. For this reaction, the base may also be used in excess as a solvent. It is known, for example, from N. D. Field and D. H. Lorenz, High Polymer, 1970, page 394 that the reaction of phosgene with vinyl ethers in the absence of a base leads to polymerization.


Electronics cabinets stabilize electronic devices in vehicles. The electronics cabinet removably attaches to the vehicle seat frames via seat attachment holes in the bottom end of the legs. A pair of front stabilizers fitted onto the front of the bottom end of the legs and a rear stabilizer supporting the rear of the bottom end of the legs further contribute to the stability of the electronics cabinet. A top shelf and a middle shelf are provided to support electronic devices and other items. The back of the electronics cabinet has a wire exit hole to facilitate connecting devices within the cabinet to the vehicle and/or devices on top of the cabinet. A door of the roll-up type may be present to secure items within the interior of the cabinet. A retainer and front restraint may be present to secure items to the top of the cabinet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronics cabinet for use in connection with vehicles. The electronics cabinet has particular utility in connection with stabilizing electronic devices in vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electronics cabinets are desirable for stabilizing electronic devices in vehicles. On long trips, particularly with children, it is desirable to have a form of entertainment available. While vehicles are increasingly being built with video display systems, such systems are expensive and are limited to use within the vehicle. Furthermore, such video display systems are rarely customizable. Electronics cabinets provide a convenient and secure means for mounting a television, VCR, DVD player, and/or video gaming system within a vehicle to entertain the passengers. By using an electronics cabinet, the user determines exactly what types of electronic equipment will be available. Also, because the electronic equipment is not permanently mounted in the vehicle, it can be removed for use in other environments.
The use of television holding devices is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,429 to Pesce discloses a television holding device. However, the Pesce '429 patent does not have a door, and has further drawbacks of lacking rectangular front stabilizers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,189 to Landy discloses a media mounting device for motor vehicles that includes a wedge shaped stand portion of light-weight material to support an electronic device. However, the Landy '189 patent does not have a door, and additionally does not have rectangular front stabilizers.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,371,138 to Roberts discloses a device for mounting equipment in vehicles that utilizes the transmission housing hump in the front portion of rear wheel drive vehicles as a base. However, the Roberts '138 patent does not have a door, and also lacks rectangular front stabilizers.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,599 to Gray discloses a mechanized floor console that includes a module receptacle and a plurality of interchangeable storage and appliance modules designed to fit within the module receptacle. However, the Gray '599 patent does not have a door, and also does not have rectangular front stabilizers.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 379,616 to Hellhake et al. discloses a vehicle cabinet that has two doors. However, the Hellhake et al. '616 patent does not have a roll-up door, and further lacks rectangular front stabilizers.
www.JCWhitney.com discloses a TV Tote™ portable TV/VCR carrying case that has a fold-out shelf. However, the www.JCWhitney.com invention does not have a roll-up door, and also does not have rectangular front stabilizers.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,160 to Landry discloses a vehicle console that has a housing including an upper compartment with mounting portions for mounting a video unit in an inclined orientation. However, the Landry '160 patent does not have a roll-up door, and has the additional deficiency of lacking rectangular front stabilizers.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe an electronics cabinet that allows stabilizing electronic devices in vehicles. The above patents make no provision for rectangular front stabilizers or a roll-up door.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved electronics cabinet that can be used for stabilizing electronic devices in vehicles. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the electronics cabinet according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of stabilizing electronic devices in vehicles.


A clock signal generating device of the present invention has an active and a spare clock selecting circuit. The two clock selecting circuits each includes a selector for selecting one of a plurality of outside timing signals and outputting it as an inside clock signal under the control of a controller. A PLL (Phase Locked Loop) circuit is commonly connected to the outputs of the active and spare selecting circuits. The PLL circuit reduces the influence of switching between the active and spare selecting circuits and switching between the outside timing signals. The PLL circuit includes a hold-over circuit for temporarily holding, in response to a control signal fed from the controller, a signal output from the selecting circuit.

The present invention relates to a clock signal generating device and, more particularly, to a clock signal generating device having a redundant configuration.
There has been extensively used a clock signal generating device capable of generating a clock signal for use in a utility apparatus in synchronism with a timing signal fed from the outside of the apparatus. This kind of device is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-83238 (document 1) or No. 4-57536 (document 2). The devices taught in documents 1 and 2, however, have a problem that when an active and spare scheme is adopted, the system becomes sophisticated and expensive, as will be described specifically later.

Clock signal generating device having a redundant configuration


A root feeder for dispensing a hydro-fertilizer solution is provided. The head of the feeder includes a dual handle body formed integrally with a fertilizer mixing bowl. A back-flow preventer valve and a manual cut-off valve are connected in series inside the hollow body of one of the handles providing flow control of the water. A stepped bore is provided in which the valves are securely seated and sealed. A cap on the end of the handle includes an integral sleeve to provide additional support for the valves. The flow path for the water is through the sleeve and the valves directly into the mixing bowl. The back-flow preventer valve is sealed by an O-ring in the bore and is positioned adjacent the bowl so that full sealing force around the valve is obtained and prevention of back-flow is assured. A flow plate and elastomer diaphragm form the back-flow preventer valve; whereas, the cut-off valve is a ball type. The sleeve formed on the cap retains the ball in position in the cut-off valve and secures the position of the valves in the bore. The cap is retained by a snap action connection on the sleeve and at least one resilient prong with a hook that seats in an aperture in the handle.

The value of providing a hydro-fertilizer solution directly to the roots of a tree or other living plant is well known. Horticulturists recommend this method of feeding since the nutrients are directed to a position immediately adjacent to where they are needed. The nutrients are not lost on the surface around the plant, and particularly in compacted and/or clay soils this is the only efficient method available to assure vigorous growth.
Over the years, there have been several proposals for making a root feeder that carries out the function in the most efficient manner. One of the most successful designs in the past is represented by the ROSS root feeder, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,539. Over the years, there have been several improvements to this basic tool, including improvements to the nozzle portion at the end of the feeder tube, as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,218. Both of these prior patents are owned by the present assignee
Other designs have appeared including a dual handle model as represented by the Shirley U.S. Pat. No. 4,432,291. The apparent improvement provided by the '291 patent involves an arrangement for dividing the flow into two paths, one for a hydro-fertilizer solution and another for pure water. A simple cut-off and dividing valve is provided for flow control.
Another proposal for modification of the nozzle at the tip of the feeder tube is illustrated in the Platz U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,804. This arrangement involves positioning of annular O-rings and/or annular diaphragm members around the outlet orifices of the nozzle tip, along with a check valve at this point in the flow path to prevent debris from entering the system.
While some of the predecessor root feeders have included a provision for preventing back flow, such as where there is a sudden break in a water line of the municipal system in the vicinity of the site of use, I have discovered an inherent problem in complying with the governmental regulations regarding back-flow prevention. By incorporating the back-flow prevention valve within the hose attachment coupling, under certain conditions during back-flow of the hydro-fertilizer solution, proper release of the solution directly to outside of feeder and onto the ground may not occur. In turn, due to the suction force or siphoning action causing the back flow, the full sealing force of the diaphragm in the back-flow preventer valve may not be realized. In particular, the central bulb of the diaphragm defining the flow path may collapse and be distorted resulting in the possibility of defeating the sealing function of the diaphragm. This can result in some of the hydro-fertilizer solution to leak and be drawn back past the hose attachment coupling and into the municipal water supply. An arrangement that prevents this from happening and that complies fully with the regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the strict California regulations, is thus needed.
In the past, very little innovative thinking has gone into improving the structure of the valving arrangement for providing basic flow control including back-flow prevention. Typically, a separate cut-off valve positioned next to the fertilizer mixing bowl and a back-flow preventer valve incorporated into the hose attachment coupling are used. As far as I am aware, there has not been any attempt to integrate the valving arrangement by the designers, or to give consideration to proper positioning of the valves in the flow path, thus typically leading to a generally less efficient feeder, as well as one that is more expensive and difficult to assemble. Thus, there is a need in the art for improvement in the valving arrangement that defines the flow path of the water between the hose attachment coupling and the mixing bowl of the feeder.


A data processing terminal sends control commands to an external device to control the external device. The data processing terminal has a control command sending unit and an external device determining unit. The control command sending unit is used to send a control command to the external device. The external device determining unit is used to determine a type of the external device according to a response returned by the external device in response to the control command. Therefore, the data processing terminal is capable of determining the type of an external device such as a bar code reader connected thereto and of converting a control command in a predetermined format into one in another format, so that the data processing terminal can employ a single program to control bar code readers which use different command systems.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing terminal, and more particularly, to a hand-held data processing terminal to be connected to an optional external device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, hand-held data processing terminals have been used to collect data at the point of generation of the data, to order commodities and to manage stocks. The terminals are used in various industries, such as the distribution, manufacturing, power, gas, and water industries, to enable operators to enter and process data at a point of generation of the data that may be outdoors or indoors.
The data collected by the terminals are transferred to a personal computer or a server, which analyzes and processes the data, to make decisions on business plans and customer service.
One of the data input techniques usually adopted by the terminals is to read bar codes. Compared with manually entering data through a keyboard, reading bar codes is simple and fast and involves less errors.
The bar codes are read by a pen scanner, a touch scanner, or a laser scanner connected to the terminal, and bar code data are transferred to the terminal.
By the way, control command systems for bar code readers, including pen scanners, touch scanners, and laser scanners, differ from one another depending on their types. If a control command system in a given hand-held data processing terminal is entirely different from that of the bar code reader connected to the terminal, the bar code reader may not work. Moreover, if the command system in the terminal is connected to the wrong bar code reader, it may damage the bar code reader.
This trouble will not happen if all bar code readers employ the same command system. This, however, is not practical because it costs a large amount of money to remodel bar code readers. It is more economical to use marketed bar code readers. The problems of the related art will be explained in detail later.

Data processing terminal which determines a type of an external device


Methods and apparatuses are described for wireless communications coexistence. In one aspect, a first device may detect an interference produced by a second device co-located with the first device. The first device may communicate with an access point (AP) using a free or open band and the second device may communicate with a cellular network (e.g., LTE network). In response to the detected interference, a message may be transmitted to the AP from the first device with information for the AP to determine whether to switch to a different channel in the open band to communicate with the first device. The AP may receive such a message from each terminal in at least a subset of associated terminals. The AP may determine, from the messages received, to switch to the different channel in the open band and may transmit a message to the associated terminals indicating the switch.

Wireless communications networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources.
A wireless communication network may include a number of network devices such as access points (APs) and/or base stations or Node-Bs that can support communication for a number of wireless devices. A wireless device, or wireless terminal, may communicate with a network device bi-directionally. For example, in cellular networks, a wireless device (e.g., a user equipment or UE) may communicate with a base station via downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the wireless device, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the wireless device to the base station. A similar form of communication may occur between a wireless device (e.g., station or STA) and an AP in a wireless local area network (WLAN or Wi-Fi network).
Many wireless devices are now equipped with multiple radios or modems. In one example, one of the radios may be an open or free band radio used for WLANs or Wi-Fi networks and another radio may be a radio used for cellular networks. In the past, cellular networks (e.g., Global Systems for Mobile Communications or GSM ("2G"), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access or UTRA ("3G")) used frequency bands that were sufficiently separate from the bands used by WLANs and Wi-Fi networks that interference between co-located radios in a wireless device was not a concern. With the deployment of long term evolution (LTE), however, interference may take place between LTE and Wi-Fi co-located radios because the frequency bands at which LTE operates may be close to or may overlap the frequency bands used by Wi-Fi. Mechanisms may therefore be needed to allow for effective coexistence of LTE and Wi-Fi radios by mitigating or removing the impact that such interference may have on the performance of the wireless device.

Reverse channel switch request from stations to access points for LTE/Wi-Fi coexistence


An adjustment value obtaining unit obtains an adjustment value for a first scanning speed before a pattern forming unit forms adjustment patterns for a second scanning speed, the pattern forming unit forms adjustment patterns by scanning with a print head at the second scanning speed with a shift amount based on an adjustment value obtained for the first scanning speed, and the adjustment value obtaining unit obtains an adjustment value for the second scanning speed based on the adjustment patterns formed by scanning with the print head at the second scanning speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a method for adjusting a printing position, and more particularly to a technique of adjusting the printing position of dots printed by scanning with a print head.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a printing apparatus, for example, in a case where printing is performed by bidirectional scanning in which a print head reciprocates in two directions, dots printed by forward and backward scan may be shifted from each other. To correct such a printing position error in the printing position of dots, it is known to perform processing for adjusting printing position in the scanning with the print head (hereinafter also referred to as "registration processing"). The registration processing is also performed, for example, to correct a printing position error in printing dots with print heads that perform printing by use of different colors.
In the process of obtaining an adjustment value used for adjusting a printing position in the registration processing, a plurality of patterns (hereinafter also referred to as "adjustment patterns") are printed at different print timings. For example, in the case of bidirectional printing, with respect to a pattern printed by a forward scan, which serves as a reference pattern, a pattern is printed by a backward scan at a print timing shifted by a predetermined amount. A plurality of such a forward-backward pattern is printed with timings variously shifted by the predetermined amount. From the plurality of patterns, a pattern showing the smallest printing position error in the forward and backward scan printing is selected, and its predetermined shift amount is set as an adjustment value.
Some printing apparatuses can perform printing in a plurality of print modes that differ in a scanning speed, such as a print mode in which scanning is performed at a relatively high speed for a high print speed, a print mode in which scanning is performed at a relatively low speed for a high image quality, and the like. In a case where such printing apparatuses perform the registration processing, it is preferable to obtain an adjustment value for each scanning speed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-291470(1999) discloses printing an adjustment pattern for each scanning speed and obtaining an adjustment value for each scanning speed based on a result obtained by reading the adjustment pattern. This allows appropriate registration processing according to the scanning speed in a case where the scanning speed varies depending on the print mode or the like.
However, a variation or a change in an ejection speed of the print head or a distance between the print head and a print medium may have an influence on the registration, and the influence level depends on the scanning speed. More specifically, the greater the scanning speed, the greater the adjustment value required to adjust a printing position which changes according to the variation or the like. In this case, the registration technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H11-291470(1999) may cause a problem that an appropriate adjustment value for eliminating a printing position error in the printing position goes beyond the range of the shift amount corresponding to the printed adjustment pattern. As a result, depending on the scanning speed, the obtained adjustment value may not be appropriate and the printing position may not be adjusted properly. To solve this problem, one may think of obtaining an appropriate adjustment value by extending the range of a shift amount as the scanning speed increases. In this case, it is required to print more adjustment patterns according to the extended range of the shift amount, and accordingly the load of the processing increases.

Printing apparatus and method for adjusting printing position


Provided is a digital-analog converter circuit that enables, for example, securing an improved accurate analog signal voltage and preventing increase in the circuit size. A first node of each individual unit is connected to a middle node of a one-order higher unit than a unit having that first node. A second node of the each individual unit is connected to one of the first and second nodes provided in the one-order higher unit than the unit having that second node, the one being on the side connected to a resister section set to an impedance value 2Z. A hierarchical structure can be formed in which an opponent connection point of the second node is selected by a hierarchy switch section, whereby the each individual unit is parallel connected to the resister section provided in the one-order higher unit and set to the impedance value 2Z. In correspondence to an input first-order bit signal (D0), an analog signal voltage (AV) corresponding to an output code (1) of digital data is output from a lowest-order bit unit (LU). In this manner, the D-A conversion operation is performed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to digital-analog converter circuits. More specifically, the invention relates to a digital-analog converter circuit that is capable of obtaining a highly accurate analog signal and that is immune to the influence of device fluctuations.
2. Description of Related Art
As an example of conventional techniques on digital-analog converter circuits, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-154937 discloses a digital-analog converter circuit using an 8-bit ladder R-2R resistance network that produces an output with a combined voltage having a binary rate corresponding to a digital input signal. FIG. 21 shows a three-bit digital-analog converter circuit using an 8-bit ladder R-2R resistance network similar to the above. Digital signals D0 to D2 are input to a decoder section 100, wherein D0 represents a lowest-order bit and D2 represents a highest-order bit. In the decoder section 100, the connection to a high-level reference voltage AVD and a low-level reference voltage AVS is switched corresponding to the digital signals D0 to D2. An analog signal voltage AV, which is in the form of a converted analog signal, is output from an output terminal AOUT. Additionally, the relation between the output code of the digital signal and the analog signal voltage AV is shown in FIG. 22A. As is shown in FIG. 22A, the analog signal voltage AV, converted into the analog signal, is output in proportion to the output code.


Messages can be exchanged between two callers with ease by using an automatic telephone answering apparatus without calling the automatic telephone answering apparatus repeatedly. An automatic telephone answering apparatus which can automatically answer an incoming call includes a recording/reproducing unit (6) for recording an incoming call which the apparatus automatically answers, a call sound identifying circuit (8) for identifying a call sound contained in the incoming call signal, an identifying circuit (7) for identifying a predetermined control signal contained in the incoming call signal, and a flash switch (9) for temporarily opening a telephone line when the identifying circuits (7), (8) identify the call sound or the predetermined control signal. When the flash switch (9) temporarily opens the telephone line on the basis of identified results supplied thereto from the identifying circuits (7) and (8), the recording/reproducing unit (6) reproduces the incoming call signal recorded last. After the recording/reproducing unit (6) has reproduced the incoming call signal recorded last, the recording/reproducing unit (6) records an incoming call signal until the control signal identifying circuit (7) identifies the predetermined control signal.

The present invention relates to automatic telephone answering apparatus and, particularly to an automatic telephone answering apparatus having a private message function and a call waiting function.
A variety of automatic telephone answering apparatus are developed so far to be able to automatically answer an incoming call during the user's absence.
This type of automatic telephone answering apparatus includes a recording unit composed of a tape recorder or a semiconductor memory to record an audio message. The recording unit of the automatic telephone answering apparatus is able to automatically send an outgoing message (hereinafter simply referred to as "OGM") so as to answer an incoming call and is able to record an incoming message (hereinafter simply referred to as "ICM") during the user's absence.
On the other hand, some automatic telephone answering apparatus have a function called a remote playback function to enable the owner to hear an ICM from the place where the owner has gone. Specifically, when the automatic telephone answering apparatus receives an incoming call during the owner's absence under the condition that an ICM was already recorded in the recording unit of the automatic telephone answering apparatus, if a predetermined control signal based on a DTMF (dual-tone multifrequency) signal is transmitted from an incoming call signal to the automatic telephone answering apparatus, then the automatic telephone answering apparatus can reproduce the ICM recorded on the recording unit.
Further, automatic telephone answering apparatus having a private message function also are commercially available on the market. The private message function is one of applications of the above-mentioned remote playback function.
According to the private message function, the owner of the automatic telephone answering apparatus prepares and records a private message for particular person (e.g., family, friend or secretary) on the automatic telephone answering apparatus. When the owner records a private message at home, the owner can record a private message on a tape at its particular position or in a semiconductor memory at its particular area from a microphone incorporated in the automatic telephone answering apparatus by depressing a private message recording button. If the owner wishes to record a private message from the place where the owner has gone, the owner is able to do the above recording by controlling the automatic telephone answering apparatus with a previously-set recording password (e.g., 2-digit input entered by keys) transmitted to the automatic telephone answering apparatus through a telephone line.
The owner of this automatic telephone answering apparatus sets a private message reproducing password (e.g., different 2-digit input entered by keys) on behalf of only the above particular person. When the private message reproducing password is input to the automatic telephone answering apparatus, only the particular position on the tape or the particular area of the semiconductor memory is reproduced with the result that only the private message that has been prepared for the particular person can be reproduced. Therefore, even when a number of ICMs for the owner are recorded on the automatic telephone answering apparatus, the ICMs cannot be reproduced by other person so long as other person does not learn the private message reproducing password. Thus, the ICMs can be protected. Moreover, if the particular person learns the private message recording password from the owner, then the particular person can leave an answering private message for the owner by sending a control signal to the automatic telephone answering apparatus so as to rewrite the private message. With this private message function, the owner and the particular person can communicate with each other from the places where they have gone by the automatic telephone answering apparatus.
However, after the owner has left the private message to the particular person by using the private message function from the place where the owner had gone, if the particular person wishes to answer the owner's private message, then the owner has to call the automatic telephone answering apparatus one more time in order to hear the recorded particular person's private message. Thus, the owner and the particular person have to make a call many time.


A remote control drive kit for attachment to the hopper of a swing auger for driving movement of the hopper relative to the main auger includes a first drive assembly mounted on the base wall of the hopper adjacent a front edge and a second drive assembly mounted on the base wall adjacent a rear edge. Each drive assembly is mounted approximately midway across the base wall and includes a pair of drive wheels and a separate motor and is carried on a bracket arrangement which allows adjustment in a direction toward and away form the edge to accommodate different types of hopper.

Swing augers have been in use for years. Conventional swing augers are attachable to main auger which is well known in the art. One of the main problems with conventional swing augers is that they are heavy and difficult to manually manipulate. The swing auger includes an auger tube pivoted at the upper end to the main auger with a hopper at the lower end of the swing auger tube.
Recently, hydraulically powered swing augers such as the MK POWER SWING manufactured by WESTFIELD in Rosenort, Manitoba utilize hydraulic power from the tractor to drive an auxiliary wheel or wheels attached to the swing auger tube at a position just upward from the hopper. One of the problems with the hydraulically powered swing augers is that they require the tractor to be in operation to provide hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic motor. Another problem with hydraulically powered swing augers is that they require the user to manipulate a valve near the swing auger requiring the user to leave the tractor to move the swing auger. A similar arrangement is sold by a competitor Mayrath as a hydraulic drive kit for a swing away auger.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for efficiently manipulating a position of a swing auger. Conventional swing augers require the user to manually manipulate the swing auger into the desired positions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,191,889 ((Heley) issued Mar. 20, 2007 is disclosed a remote controlled swing auger system for efficiently manipulating a position of a swing auger. The remote controlled swing auger system includes a swing auger connectable to a main auger, a swing hopper connected to the swing auger, a plurality of front wheels and a plurality of rear wheels rotatably attached to the swing hopper, a drive motor mechanically connected to the front wheels, a control unit in communication with the drive motor, and at least one controller in communication with the control unit. The controller may be comprised of a manual controller and/or a remote controller. The user is able to pivot the swing hopper with respect to a main auger by using the remote controller while in the tractor or in a remote location away from the augers.


A process for producing a fixing roller comprising coating a fluorine resin dispersion onto a core by using a transfer coating apparatus comprising a transfer roller equipped with a fluorine resin dispersion temperature controller, a coating pan containing a fluorine resin dispersion, a driving system for revolving the core, and a core carrying mechanism for shifting the core, in which the core is brought close to the transfer roller at a gap allowing the core to pick up the fluorine resin dispersion having been picked up from the coating pan onto the transfer roller, and after a prescribed amount of the fluorine resin dispersion is transferred onto the core, the gap between the core and the transfer roller is widened by shifting the core away from the transfer roller thereby to separate the core from the transfer roller, the coating apparatus further comprising a thin plate on both sides of the transfer roller for preventing the fluorine resin dispersion in contact with both ends of an effective coating width of the core from migrating to the inside of the effective coating width while the gap is widened.

A fixing part of copying machines, etc. usually has the system shown in FIG. 8 from the standpoint of safety and economy, in which paper 33 having thereon toner image 32 is passed between fixing hot roller 30 and fixing pressure roller 31 whereby the toner image is fixed on the paper as fixed image 40 by applying heat (usually 170.degree. to 200.degree. C.) and pressure.
Fixing hot roller 30 used in this fixing system is generally composed of a base made of metals (e.g., aluminum), ceramics or heat-resistant plastics, i.e., roller core 34, having coated thereon a fluorine resin to a thickness of several dozens of microns to form release coat 35. In FIG. 8, numeral 36 denotes a core of pressure roller 31, 37 denotes a core of pressure roller 31, 38 and 39 each denotes a scraper, and 41 denotes a heater.
Where the fluorine resin coat on a cylindrical core, such as a core of a fixing roller, is formed by spray coating or electrostatic coating of a resin dispersion followed by baking, the baked resin coat has large roughness so that surface finishing by polishing is needed. In some cases, the baked and polished coat must be re-baked to remove the scratches caused by polishing.
On the other hand, the fluorine resin coat can also be formed by transfer coating in which a resin dispersion in a coating pan is once picked up with a transfer roller and the transfer roller having the resin dispersion thereon is brought close to a core to transfer the resin dispersion to the core. According to the transfer coating system, since the baked resin coat has a uniform and smooth surface free from waviness, there is no need to polish and re-bake the baked coat. However, when the transfer of the fluorine resin dispersion from the transfer roller to the core is cut off, a part of the coat has a larger coating build-up, making it difficult to obtain a uniform coat thickness over the entire coated area. The difference in coat thickness between such a build-up part and the rest sometimes reaches 30 .mu.m or more. This being the case, the resulting resin-coated roller, when used as a fixing roller of a copying machine, causes copying disorders, such as poor fixing of a toner image and wrinkles of copying paper, or problems of appearance, such as a difference in color density between the part having a larger coating build-up and the part of smaller coating build-up or development of streaks.


A pocket structure in an automotive seat, wherein a back board is provided at the rear side of seat back, which has a lower half area recessed inwardly of the seat back to define a storage spacing therein, and a pocket board is provided to cover such spacing via a leaf spring so as to define a packet backside of the seat back.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pocket structure in an automotive seat, and particularly relates to a pocket provided at the rear side of a seat cushion of the seat for accommodating therein some articles.
2. Description of Prior Art
In some of automotive seats, the seat back thereof is provided at its back side with a pocket for accommodating magazines, maps or other articles therein. In most instances, such pocket is fabricatted in a net form whose both sides and lower end are fixed to a back board of the seat back, with an entry opening being thus defined at the upper end of the net pocket. The edge of the entry opening is elastically formed by use of a rubber band in general to normally place the opening in a closed state.
However, this typical net-type pocket has been found defective in that a small article will be dropped out through a net mesh and the net pocket itself are expandable outwardly with a great amount of articles accommodated therein, which will impair its outer aesthetic appearance.
Solution has been attempted to this problem from the Japanese Patent Appln. No. 58-199780 in which the pocket in question is formed, using a plate material, into a U-shaped configuration in section having a pair of lateral vertical sections formed at both sides of a flat section, and downwardly projected section formed at the lower end of the flat section.
In this prior art, a backboard of seat back is formed with two spaced-apart slits into which those two lateral vertical sections of pocket are respectively inserted, and further with a lower slit in which is inserted the downwardly projected section of pocket. A spring is provided to bias the pocket in a direction towards the back board so that the pocket is normally kept to be rotated about its downwardly projected section into a closed state. Thus, to push the upper edge of the pocket, using a finger, against such biasing force of spring will cause the pocket to rotate away from the backboard into an opened state, thereby defining a spacing between the backboard and inner wall of pocket for accommodating therein an article. This is certainly advantageous in preventing any small article against dropping out of the pocket, by virtue of the spring acting to retain the article between the backboard and pocket, positively, but the formation of those slits and spacing behind the backboard within the seat back results in a complicated structure of pocket, and making troublesome its design and assemblage.
As another solution, a pocket arrangement wherein the lower part of backboard is formed with a recessed section to define a spacing for accommodation of articles in conjunction with the pocket, has been proposed in the Japanese U.M. Laid-Open Pb. No. 3-24948. However, the pocket itself is merely at its lateral sides sewn to the backboard to provide an entry opening at the upper edge of pocket, into which article may be accommodated. As a result, the pocket are not movable to widen its entry opening and a bigger article can not be accommodated in the pocket.