A method for manufacturing a vertical Schottky diode with a guard ring on a lightly-doped N-type silicon carbide layer, including forming a P-type epitaxial layer on the N-type layer; implanting N-type dopants in areas of the P-type epitaxial layer to neutralize in these areas, across the entire thickness of the epitaxial layer, the P-type dopants to form N-type regions, of dopant concentration lower than that of the epitaxial layer, and delimiting a P-type guard ring; forming on the external periphery of the component an insulating layer partially covering the guard ring; and forming a Schottky contact with the N-type region internal to the guard ring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a Schottky diode on a silicon carbide substrate.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In the field of semiconductor components, the material mainly used currently is silicon. To have very high breakdown voltages, silicon carbide is preferable since silicon carbide can stand voltages per thickness unit approximately 10 times higher than silicon.
However, in the present state of the art, currently-used manufacturing processes to form silicon-based components cannot be transposed to form silicon carbide (SiC) based components. In particular, it is currently not possible, in practice, to perform implantations and diffusions of P-type dopants in N-type doped silicon carbide, noting that the P-type dopant currently used for silicon carbide is aluminum and the N-type dopant is nitrogen. Indeed, a diffusion anneal of an implantation of a P-type dopant would require temperatures on the order of 1700° C., which poses serious technological problems.
The elementary structure of a Schottky diode is illustrated in FIG. 1. This diode is formed from a heavily-doped N-type substrate 10 on which is formed an N-type epitaxial layer 11 properly doped to have the desired breakdown voltage. On this epitaxial layer N is deposited silicon oxide 12 delimiting a window in which the Schottky contact is desired to be established by means of an appropriate metallization 13. The rear surface of the component is coated with a metallization 14.
Such a structure has a very poor breakdown voltage. Indeed, the equipotential surfaces tend to curve up to rise to the surface at the periphery of the contact area, which results, especially in the curvature areas of the equipotential surfaces, in very high values of the field which limit the possible reverse breakdown voltage. To avoid this disadvantage, the structure shown in FIG. 2, in which a peripheral P-type ring 15 is formed by implantation-diffusion at the periphery of the active area of the Schottky diode, is conventionally used for silicon-based components. As a result, the equipotential surfaces must pass in volume under the P regions and thus exhibit a smaller curvature. The dopant concentration of the P-type ring must be higher than that of the epitaxial layer to sufficiently push back the equipotential surfaces in this epitaxial layer. The breakdown voltage of the diode is thereby considerably improved. As an example, with an epitaxial layer of a doping level of 1016 at./cm3, the breakdown voltage will be on the order of 10 V with no guard ring and on the order of 50 V with a guard ring.
However, as indicated previously, the forming of such a P-type guard ring is not easily implementable by implantation/diffusion in a structure formed on a silicon carbide substrate. In this case, the simple structure illustrated in FIG. 1 is not desirable either for the same reasons as in the case of a silicon substrate.

Method for forming a schottky diode on a silicon carbide substrate


A transfer belt including an adjustable waist belt and a harness strap, both of which are constructed of a pliant material. In one embodiment, the adjustable waist belt includes a first end terminating in a belt buckle having a slot through which a second end of the adjustable waist belt is extended. The harness strap of the belt is affixed proximal the first and second end of the waist belt. In other embodiments, a length adjuster is provided, handles may be positioned at the rear of the belt, and/or the belt buckle may be located to one side, beyond the front of the belt portion connecting the ends of the harness. To ensure correct placement of the transfer belt on a wearer, the outer surface of the waist belt and the harness strap are of one uniform color, while the inner surface of the waist belt and harness strap are of another uniform color. The harness strap is fitted by the user below the wearer's gluteals, and the adjustable waist belt is tightly secured by the user around the wearer's waist. The weight of the wearer can then be shifted by the user by pulling upward on the top portions of the harness strap affixed to the adjustable waist belt, to handles in the front at the harness ends, or to handles affixed to the rear of the belt.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to devices for moving ambulation-impaired individuals, more particularly, to a transfer belt including an adjustable waist belt and a harness strap, which is adapted to be positioned under the gluteals of an individual, thereby increasing the ability of an assistant to support the individual while lifting.
2. Description of related art
In health care settings, moving an individual who is ambulation-impaired, incapable of self-movement or restricted to limited movement due to age, illness, physical disability, and the like, is a difficult and strenuous process for an assistant. Typical situations include moving the individual from a bed to a wheelchair, wheelchair to toilet, etc. Likewise, it is an uncomfortable and disconcerting process for the individual being moved.
Traditionally, a belt comprising a single adjustable strap, which is secured around a patient's waist, has been used to transfer such patients. This type of belt will often become displaced from a patient's waist during the transferrer process, thereby complicating the process and potentially injuring the patient. Another complication of the standard belt is the difficulty a transferrer has in finding a secure hold on the belt in order to accomplish a quick and steady transfer of the patient.
It would be useful, therefore, to have a transfer belt that would ensure correct and proper positioning around a patient's waist throughout the entire transfer process and to have a transfer belt equipped with conveniently located and easily graspable handles.
Examples of devices attempting to remedy some of these aforementioned difficulties can be seen in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,560 issued to Lundelius; U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,098 issued to Jalalian; U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,657 issued to Butterfield; U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,495 issued to Butterfield; U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,324 issued to Butterfield; and U.S. Patent No. 5,397,171 issued to Leach.
Examples of lifting devices including handles to aid in their use can be seen in the Butterfield patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,657 discloses a harness comprising an adjustable body belt provided with a pair of side handles, to be fitted around an individual's upper body, encircling the torso and arms, and an elongated shoulder strap. The elongated shoulder strap, which is attached to the adjustable body belt, terminates in a large handle.
A moving harness employed by a user for moving or guiding the position of a human wearer is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,495. The moving harness comprises first and second body belts, each body strap having two handles, and a central strap attached to the first and second body straps, which includes a handle at either end. U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,324 teaches a patient lifting harness having an adjustable body belt attached to a shoulder strap provided with a large handle. The belt is fitted around the patient's upper body, encircling the torso and arms.
The patents to Luzenske (U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,418), Jalalian and Lundelius all share general structural aspects of the present invention, but each teaches away from and is not specifically adapted to aid in short distance physical transfer of a patient by supporting only the torso and upper legs, just beneath the glutei maximi. In Lundelius' patent, a restraining device is shown having a waist belt through which a harness strap passes, with a lower portion to be positioned in the crotch area of a wearer and a bifurcated upper portion to be positioned around a wearer's neck. Jalalian's patented device provides an orthotic pelvic belt equipped with a waistband, which can be adjusted by means of a belt buckle in conjunction with a plurality of holes, and a pair of grips on the rear of the waistband. The patent issued to Luzenske discloses a girdle-like safety device, formed by a flexible panel having a T-shaped configuration, to be worn around a user's waist. This configuration, which includes a plurality of handles, presents a pair of opposed arms that are secured about the waist of a user to form a band, and a single connecting element that extends front to rear under the crotch and is joined to the band.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,171 shows an assistance harness which solves several of the complications arising from the use of a standard belt. The apparatus comprises a belt to encircle the waist of a patient, a belt handle means on the rear section of the belt and a shoulder harness means securely attached to the belt. Although these aspects aid in a more comfortable and secure transfer of a patient, the complicated design of the apparatus and extraneous features, that allow the apparatus to be attached to a wheelchair, render the apparatus difficult to use and time consuming to employ.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


In general, techniques are described for facilitating usage monitoring control in mobile networks. A mobile gateway comprising one or more processors and a memory may be configured to perform the techniques. The one or more processors may be configured to establish a session by which a mobile device is to access a service of a mobile access network, and in response to receiving an incomplete indication to activate usage monitoring with respect to the service provided via the session, configuring the usage monitoring without activating the usage monitoring. The memory may be configured to store the usage monitoring configuration.

A cellular radio access network is a collection of cells that each includes at least one base station capable of transmitting and relaying signals to subscribers' wireless devices. A "cell" generally denotes a distinct area of a mobile network that utilizes a particular frequency or range of frequencies for transmission of data. A typical base station is a tower to which are affixed a number of antennas that transmit and receive the data over the particular frequency. Wireless devices, such as cellular or mobile phones, smart phones, camera phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and laptop computers, may initiate or otherwise transmit a signal at the designated frequency to the base station to initiate a call or data session and begin transmitting data.
Mobile networks convert cellular signals, e.g., Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signals, Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signals or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signals, received at a base station from wireless devices into Internet protocol (IP) packets for transmission within packet-based networks. A number of standards have been proposed to facilitate this conversion and transmission of cellular signals to IP packets, such as a general packet radio service (GPRS) standardized by the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Association, an evolution of UMTS referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE), mobile IP standardized by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), as well as other standards proposed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GGP/2) and the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) forum.
A typical mobile service provider network, or "mobile network," includes a core packet-switched network, a transport network, and one or more radio access networks. The core packet-switched network for the mobile network establishes logical connections, known as bearers, among the many service nodes on a path between a wireless device, attached to one of the radio access networks, and a packet data network (PDN). The service nodes then utilize the bearers to transport subscriber traffic exchanged between the wireless device and the PDN, which may include, for example, the Internet, an enterprise intranet, a layer 3 VPN, and a service provider's private network. Various PDNs provide a variety of packet-based data services to wireless devices to enable the wireless devices to exchange service data with application or other servers of the PDNs. In addition, while primarily described with respect to service providers and mobile service provider networks, a mobile network may be deployed by many different types of entities, including enterprises and government agencies. Accordingly, the term "mobile network" may be used herein to encompass many different types of cellular network architectures and operators.
Mobile networks perform detailed and accurate monitoring of service usage so that proper charging information can be generated for potentially millions of customers in order to provide revenue for the service providers. In general, there are three distinct aspects to the process that translates service use into a bill for services—charging, rating and billing. Charging gathers statistics regarding service usage for each customer. Rating is the process of determining how much each service used costs each particular customer according to the service contract. Billing is the process of generated a customer's invoice for services.
The mobile network gateway anchors subscriber sessions and executes network access control functions including charging control (also known as Policy and Charging Enforcement Function for 3GPP networks or the initialism PCEF), which refers to the process of associating packets that belong to a service data flow to a charging key and applying online charging and/or offline charging, as appropriate (where a charging key includes information used by the charging online and offline charging servers for rating purposes). Accordingly, the mobile network gateway collects charging information related to the external data network usage and to network resource usage, such as the amount of data categorized by quality of service (QoS), the user protocols, and the usage of the packet data protocol (PDP) address.
A mobile network gateway typically cooperates with online and offline charging server to perform the charging and rating processes in order to generate the charging information. In general, offline charging denotes a charging mechanism in which charging information does not affect, in real-time, the service(s) rendered. The network reports resource usage to the billing domains after the resource usage has occurred. By contrast, online charging can affect, in real-time, the service(s) rendered and therefore requires a direct interaction between the mobile network gateway and the online charging server for subscriber session and/or service(s) control. An online charging server typically maintains subscriber accounts that may be queried prior to granting permission to use requested network resources.
In the 3GPP TS 29.212 standard, there are a number of different ways by which to activate or otherwise enable usage monitoring for purposes of policy and charging control. Likewise, the 3GPP TS 29.212 standard provides a number of different ways by which to deactivate or otherwise disable usage monitoring. Additional information regarding charging control and management is found in "3GPP TS 29.212," 3rd Generation Partnership Project, Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals, Policy and Charging Control (PCC); Reference points (Release 12), December, 2013; "3GPP TS 32.299," 3rd Generation Partnership Project, Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects, Diameter charging applications (Release 11), December, 2012; "3GPP TS 32.240," 3rd Generation Partnership Project, Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects, Charging architecture and principles (Release 12), March, 2013; and "Diameter Credit-Control Application," Request for Comments 4006, Internet Engineering Task Force, Network Working Group, August 2005; each of which being incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. However, discrepancies exist in various usage monitoring activation and deactivation scenarios that may result in mobile session disruptions and/or inaccurate usage monitoring.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Usage monitoring control for mobile networks


An interface for use in a telephone communication system provides for connection of a telephone switch to an IP network, allowing data signals between the telephone switch and a VMS to be transmitted by the IP network. In addition to transmission of the signals over an IP network, the interface can be configured to provide additional functionality including translation of the message protocol; connection of the interface to a network operations center; verification of message accuracy and completeness; acknowledgment of the receipt of a message; activation/deactivation of a message waiting indicator; connection to an SS7 network; back-up transmission between the IP network and the switch; and proxy/redirect of voice signals.

This invention is generally directed to an improved interface for use in connection with a telecommunication system. A telecommunication system often includes a telephone switching system and an adjunct processor such as a voice messaging system (VMS).
The telephone switching system processes messages from multiple telephones and their users. These messages are often further processed and stored in the VMS.
Messages in the telecommunication system are comprised of a voice and a data message component. The voice component relates to the voice message which has been recorded and the data component identifies information, such as, where the call originated, the destination of the call, and the time of the call. The data component of the message can also include, for example, signaling to turn off or on a light on the telephone to indicate whether messages directed to the user are waiting for delivery in the VMS.
A problem which is often encountered in a telecommunication system is that the telephone switching system utilizes a different protocol than the adjunct processor. A protocol is a set of rules governing the format of data which is exchanged between microprocessors. Two types of protocols, for example, are Application Processor Interface (API) and Simplified Message Service Interface (SMSI). In order for data messages to be forwarded from the telephone switch to the adjunct processor, the microprocessor within the adjunct processor must recognize the protocol of the data messages from the telephone switch. Likewise, in order for data messages to be forwarded from the adjunct processor to the telephone switch, the microprocessor within the telephone switch must recognize the protocol of the data messages from the adjunct processor. Often however, telecommunication switches and adjunct processors do not utilize the same protocol. For example, many switches operate using API protocol and many VMS operate using SMSI protocol. In order for the VMS and the telecommunication switch to operate together an interface (or protocol converter) is needed to convert the API protocol messages delivered from the switch to SMSI protocol. Once the data is formatted in SMSI protocol, the data can be utilized by the VMS. Similarly, the data delivered from the VMS is converted from SMSI protocol to API protocol so that it may be utilized by the switch.
In the past, interfaces have been used to accomplish the translation of data messages between telephone switches and VMS. A number of problems, however, have been encountered when these interfaces are implemented. First, the number of messages which can be transmitted between the switch and the VMS is limited by the capacity of the interface. Another problem is the failure of the transmission link provided by the interface. Because all messages to be processed by the VMS must be transmitted through the interface's single link, if the link fails, no messages can be delivered to the VMS. Moreover, when links fail it is often difficult to determine the cause of the failure.
Previously the problems of link failure have been solved by connecting an additional interface between the telephone switch and the VMS. The use of a second interface, however, doubles the cost of the system and the space required for housing the system. Additionally, although additional capacity is provided by the second interface, this additional capacity is often unnecessary. In many situations, the capacity provided by a single interface is sufficient to meet the demands of the system. The problem rather lies in failure of the link provided by the interface and the inability of the interface to process and translate data messages upon failure of the link.
A telephone system 100 which provides connection between a number of switches 102 and a VMS 104 is shown in FIG. 5. Two connections are provided between each switch 102 and the VMS 104 to carry the communication signals between the switches 102 and the VMS 104. A first connection carries the voice portion 106 of the communication signal and the second connection carries a data portion 108 of the signal. The voice portion 106 of the signal is carried directly over the first connection from the switch 102 to the VMS 104 and vice versa. The data portion 108 of the signal typically includes a message waiting indicator (MWI) portion, for example, which provides an instruction from the VMS 104 to turn on/off a light on a telephone 110 in communication with the switch 102 and provides an indication as to whether the user has messages waiting at the VMS 104. As discussed above, because the protocol of the switch 102 is often different than the protocol used by the VMS 104, a translator or interface 112, translates the data from the protocol used by the VMS 104 to the protocol used by the switch 102 and vice versa to provide communication between the VMS 104 and the switch 102.
Modems 114 are used to transmit the data signals 108 between the interface 112 and the VMS 104. Once the connection is obtained with a modem 114, the data is streamed from point-to-point along the circuit. Thus, several connections are provided in order to carry the data signals 108 between the switch 102 and the VMS 104. These connections are subject to breakage and failure and the reasons for failure may be difficult to determine. Often it is necessary for an individual to inspect the various connections to determine the cause of failure. Any number of occurrences can cause failure of the numerous connections. For example, a cable may be broken during a digging operation or a modem may fail. Any of these failures prevent the data from being transmitted along the points and therefore between the switch 102 and the VMS 104.
The present invention provides an improved interface which overcomes the problems presented in the prior art and which provides additional advantages over the prior art, such advantages will become clear upon a reading of the attached specification in combination with a study of the drawings.

Interface for providing connection of a switch and a VMS using an IP network


A paint tray accessory and assembly provides a membrane cover for use with a paint tray and paint roller of conventional manufacture. The membrane cover comprises a first frame member, a second frame member and a fluid regulating membrane. The membrane is flexible and stretchable which provides means for more evenly coating the sleeve of a paint roller during use of the assembly. The membrane also provides a tractive surface for the paint roller sleeve. The frame members are configured to retain the membrane within the frame members and to protect the membrane during use. The first frame member is intended to remain in position while the second frame member is flexibly rotatable relative to the first frame member at the points of certain “breaks” between the two frame members, also considered a “hinged” point.

Paint has long been applied as a surface coating, used primarily for protective and decorative purposes. Paint typically starts out as a liquid composition that comprises different pigments, binders and solvents. Paint can be applied to a surface manually by a user, or a "painter," using a roller, a brush, or any number of other specialized paint-applying devices, rollers being the preferred device for applying paint to relatively large surface areas. Once applied to a surface, the paint solvent evaporates or disintegrates, leaving the pigment and binder to dry to a solid film.
In a liquid state, all paint displays a quality known as "viscosity." Viscosity is described as the thickness of the paint and is a quality that is attributable to the nature of the solvent used. Generally speaking, the higher the viscosity, the thicker the paint is. Viscosity is a property in both alkyd and latex paints that resists flow and movement by force. The solvent used in the paint composition adjusts the paint's viscosity, such as mineral spirits in alkyds and water in latex paint. Paint is also known to be a "shear thinning" fluid. That is, it displays decreasing viscosity with increasing shear rate. Accordingly, and during application to a surface, the shear created by a paint brush or paint roller allows the paint to thin and wet out the surface evenly. Once applied, paints typically regain their higher viscosity which assists in the avoidance of drips and runs.
As alluded to above, it is well known in the art of surface painting that large surface areas can be painted using a paint roller. This is particularly true when applying paint to the interior surfaces of a dwelling, such as walls and ceilings. The typical paint roller comprises an absorbent sleeve portion, a sleeve support frame and a handle. The sleeve portion, is usually a cylindrical core having a covering, such as a pile fabric or foam rubber, and is removable from the sleeve support frame. In view of the unique configuration of the typical paint roller, paint pans or trays have also been devised as complementary paint reservoirs to allow for the absorbent sleeve of the paint roller to be "loaded" with paint prior to application.
One of the problems with paint pans or trays of current manufacture, however, is that they are capable of holding only about one quart of paint. They are also prone to paint splashes and spills. In the experience of this inventor, such paint trays also have a tendency to load the paint roller unevenly and are very tedious to work with. One of the reasons for this is that such paint trays require the painter to "even out" the paint on the roller by running it back and forth along the ramped portion of the tray before applying it to the wall (or other like surface).
Paint trays of current manufacture also tend to load the roller with paint heavier on along one side of the cylindrically-shaped roller sleeve, thereby causing uneven application and causing the painter to work the paint out on the wall. In other words, the common paint tray does not allow for an even application of paint to the roller without considerable effort and technique on the part of the painter. In the experience of this inventor, a significant amount of the time involved in the painting process is spent "loading" the roller with paint and then working out an even coating of paint on the wall, a substantial reason for seeking an improvement in the existing art.
Other shortcomings of such paint trays include the fact that they are subject to the collection of foreign debris, such as old plaster, paint, insects, etc., within the tray. This type of debris ultimately shows up on the wall while painting, thereby causing the painter to stop and take the time to remove them, which also disturbs the coating of paint that has been applied to the wall. The common paint tray simply does not filter out any foreign debris, including debris that might reside within a can of old paint that is poured into the tray.
Paint trays of current manufacture also allow the paint to "skin up," or dry during the painting process, thereby causing the paint to thicken or leave lumps of paint remaining on the wall. They also allow the paint to dry and "cake up" on the sides of the tray, thereby making cleanup very difficult. The practical result of this is that the paint tray cannot be left full for any extended period of time without drying and becoming hard to work with. Another shortcoming of paint trays of current manufacture is that they do not allow for any place to rest or support a brush, roller, or other paint applicator when not in use other than within the pool of paint, thereby causing the applicator to become paint-soaked and sloppy.
The foregoing general paint tray arrangement is still widely used today but has been modified in recent years. For example, one configuration and construction that was devised by this inventor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,225 and entitled "Paint Edger With Improved Pad And Precision Positioning Adjustment." While the paint tray made in accordance with that concept is an improvement over the prior art, the paint tray configuration of the present invention is a substantial further improvement in that same art.
For example, the paint tray accessory and assembly of the present invention will allow a common paint tray to hold up to a gallon of paint, which is four times as much as most common trays. The device of the present invention resists splashing, slopping and spilling. It precisely loads the roller with just the right amount of paint for a smooth and even application. One key concept is that the present assembly loads the roller heavier in the center of the roller and gradually lighter towards its outside edges, thus eliminating the usual thick ridges of paint and paint build-up on the wall. It also loads the roller evenly with quick strokes across the paint tray accessory and is immediately ready for application of the paint to a wall. In this fashion, the device of the present invention transfers a smooth, even coat of paint with just one or two passes across the accessory, thereby substantially reducing painting time. In the experience of this inventor, less time is spent loading the roller and no time is wasted working out the paint on the wall. In short, the device of the present invention allows rollers, brushes and pads to be loaded quickly and evenly with no excess paint to be removed from them.
The device of the present invention utilizes a fluid regulating membrane that is disposed within an accessory element that keeps the paint in the paint tray from drying up while it is being used which results in a consistent paint job from start to finish. This element keeps the paint wet, thereby making cleanup very fast and easy. It also allows for any applicator to be set down atop the membrane without the applicator becoming soaked and sloppy.
Additionally, no time is wasted picking off foreign debris because the device of the present invention allows the painter to see and remove the debris before it gets into the paint or gets on the wall. The accessory also filters out any foreign debris in the paint itself, such as scum, hardened paint chips, and the like, leaving such debris at the bottom of the tray and such debris to be discarded after the paint job is finished.
It is also desirable that the improved assembly be used as an item that can be made available alternatively as either an originally-manufactured product or as an after-market product.


A fastener and an associated fastening method are provided to securely join at least two structural elements to form a structural assembly. Although the fastener can join a variety of different types of structural elements, the fastener is particularly well adapted to join composite panels, superplastically-formed/diffusion-bonded panels, honeycomb panels and hollow core panels since the fastener can securely join these structural elements without crushing or otherwise damaging the structural assembly. The fastener can also be mounted in blind installations, while providing a relatively smooth head following installation. In addition, the fastener can securely join structural elements while tolerating variations in the thicknesses of the structural elements.

Structures requiring high strength-to-weight ratios, such as aircraft and spacecraft wing, tail, and fuselage assemblies, have traditionally been constructed primarily with monolithic metallic materials, such as aluminum-alloy sheets and plates. A current trend is to make such structures from individually designed elements that are engineered to have the required structural properties with reduced weight. Some examples of such individually designed elements include composite materials made of carbon or other fibers in a cured polymeric matrix. For structures subjected to higher temperatures, these individually designed elements include hollow superplastically-formed/diffusion-bonded (SPF/DB) titanium-alloy structures and hollow, metallic honeycomb structures. These structural elements are specifically engineered to take advantage of both the structural characteristics arising from the arrangement of the various components following assembly and also the mechanical and physical properties of the materials that form the various structural elements.
As with more conventional structures, these advanced structural elements must be joined to each other and to other structures to form the resulting assembly, such as an aircraft or spacecraft wing, tail or fuselage assembly. For some low-temperature applications, adhesives can sometimes be used. It has been found to be difficult, however, to join many advanced structures with conventional fasteners since the clamping force applied by the fastener must be carefully limited. For other low-temperature applications as well as high-temperature applications, fasteners such as rivets, bolts, clips, and the like are used to join the various structural elements.
Conventional fasteners usually rely upon the application of compressive preloads to hold the fastened structures together. Advanced structures, such as hollow SPF/DB or honeycomb structures having a porous or low-density structural core sandwiched between face sheets, may be crushed, however, by the application of excessively high compressive fastening preloads, thereby altering the resulting shape of the assembly in a manner that is generally unsuitable for the intended application.
There have been proposed various advanced fasteners for use with the advanced structures to limit the compressive preloads applied by the fastener to the resulting assembly. Although these advanced fasteners have met with varying degrees of success, each of these proposed fasteners have been found to be deficient or limited in some respect.
For example, Hi-Lok type fastener collars have been developed by Hi-Shear Corporation that include torque limiting features for protecting the structural elements from excessive compressive preloads. As known to those skilled in the art, a Hi-Lok type fastener includes a threaded pin that is driven through a pair of aligned holes that have previously been formed in the structural elements to be joined. The pin of the Hi-Lok type fastener is sized to be interference-fit within the holes. A Hi-Lok type fastener also includes a nut or collar installed from the opposite or back side of the resulting assembly. According to some designs, the frangible collar of a Hi-Lok type fastener includes a drive section to which torque is applied to advance the collar upon the threaded end portion of the pin. Upon achieving the prescribed seating torque, the drive section of the collar shears from the remainder of the collar to prevent further torque from being applied to the resulting assembly. As described, however, a Hi-Lok type fastener requires access to the back side of the resulting structure in order to tighten the collar upon the threaded end portion of the pin. In many instances, however, the back side of the resulting structure is blind, that is the back side of the resulting structure will be inaccessible, at least during the latter stages of assembly at which time the fastener is to be installed. As such, a Hi-Lok type fastener is unsuited for the assembly of structural elements having a blind side.
In addition, advanced structures often do not have precisely reproducible thickness due to the processes by which the structures are fabricated, However, the advanced fasteners that are available do not account for the variations in thickness that may be found in such advanced structures. As such, the advanced fasteners must therefore be individually tailored to compensate for the variations in thickness of each one of the structures. As will be readily appreciated, this individual tailoring of the fasteners is a time-consuming, and expensive process.
Therefore, there is a need for an advanced fastener for joining advanced structures that are susceptible to crushing damage in a manner which achieves acceptable fastening performance without damaging the structure. In addition, there is a need for an advanced fastener which can be installed in blind applications and which has a relatively smooth head following installation. There is also need for an advanced fastener that securely joins structural elements which permits variations in the thickness of structural elements.

Torque- and preload-controlled fastener and associated method of fastening


The invention provides an anti-human IL-23R antibody having excellent activity and/or cross-reactivity compared to conventional IL-23R antibodies and methods of using the same for treating or preventing various diseases in which human IL-23R is involved in the pathogenesis of the diseases.

Interleukin-23 (also referred to as IL-23) is a cytokine produced by dendritic cells and the like, and is a heterodimeric cytokine consisting of two subunits, i.e., a p19 subunit which is a component specific for IL-23 and the p40 subunit which is also a component of IL-12 (non-patent document 1). IL-23 binds to the IL-23 receptor (also referred to as IL-23R) to transduce signals into cells (non-patent document 2). IL-23R is a heterodimeric receptor consisting of an IL-23R subunit and the IL-12Rβ1 subunit which is also a component of the IL-12 receptor. Also, it is known that the IL-12 receptor is a complex of an IL-12Rβ1 subunit and an IL-12Rβ2 subunit, and that IL-23 does not bind to the IL-12 receptor (non-patent document 1).
It is known that IL-23 is deeply involved in diseases, including psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) such as Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Behcet's disease and uveitis. Psoriasis is a chronic skin keratinization disorder and an increase in IL-23 expression in the skin of psoriasis patients has been observed (non-patent document 3).
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic recurrent disease, which is represented by Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC), and causes deterioration in the function or structure of the digestive tract. It is known that lamina propria macrophages in the inflammatory sites of the intestinal tract of CD patients actively produce IL-23 (non-patent document 4), and it is considered that the lamina propria macrophages induce cytokines, including IL-21, IL-22 and IL-17, from immune cells and the like, to contribute to the inflammatory pathology of IBD (non-patent document 5).
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) causes various symptoms to occur at various places over the entire body because of immune system stimulation, thus simultaneously or successively causing symptoms thought to be related to inflammation, including fever and systemic illness, as well as various symptoms which occur in joints, skin, intestinal organs, etc. It was reported that there is a positive correlation between the pathology of SLE and the number of IL-23R-positive T lymphocytes (non-patent document 6). Also, it is known that IL-23 in the blood of SLE patients is significantly higher than that in normal persons (non-patent document 7). This suggests that IL-23 is involved in SLE.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes lesions mainly in the vertebra and sacroiliac joints. It is known that IL-23 in the blood of AS patients is significantly higher than that in normal persons, suggesting that IL-23 is involved in the pathology of AS (non-patent document 8).
Behcet's disease is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by inflammation of the blood vessels of varying sizes, that is, vasculitis, and it is thought that an abnormality of the immune system and the activation of neutrophils are involved in the pathology. This recurrent abnormality in blood vessels can last for several days to several months, and can reoccur several times a year. In patients with Behcet's disease, IL-23 is significantly correlated with the activity of the disease, and the stimulation of IL-23 expression is observed in the serum of patients having uveitis, whose pathology is relating to that of Behcet's disease (non-patient document 9), suggesting that IL-23 is involved in this pathology.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes deformation of joints and intense pain. IL-23 increases in the synovia and serum of RA patients (non-patient document 10), and the level of IL-23 in the serum of patients administered with a TNF blocker that is a drug for treating RA correlates with the degree of the pathology (non-patent document 11). Also, an anti-IL-23R antibody in the synovial membrane of RA patients inhibits the production of TNF-α and IL-6 (non-patent document 12), suggesting that IL-23 is involved in the pathology.
Thus, when a monoclonal antibody that has an activity of binding specifically to the IL-23 receptor to inhibit various actions of IL-23 can be developed, it is expected to be useful for the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of various diseases in which IL-23 is involved in disease pathology.
Antibodies that have been studied to date and which have been reported to exhibit the effect of inhibiting the function of the human IL-23 receptor include the mouse monoclonal antibody m20D7 (patent document 1) or its humanized monoclonal antibody hum20D7 (patent document 1), the rat monoclonal antibody 8B10 (patent document 1) or its humanized monoclonal antibody (patent document 2). Among them, hum20D7 has been reviewed in the most detail, and the effect thereof on actual cell responses became clear from the results of experiments based on the inhibition of signaling of Kit 225 cells that are established cultured cells expressing the IL-23 receptor.
However, conventional antibodies do not appear to have a sufficient neutralizing activity for IL-23 signaling in cells from the viewpoint of effectiveness.
Main factors that determine the effective dosage of an antibody drug include antibody activity to inhibit ligand-receptor binding and the amount of antigen present in the body. An increase in the activity of an antibody to inhibit the binding appears to be a very beneficial improvement that leads to a decrease in the dosage of the antibody, resulting in a decrease in the financial burden or medical expenses of patients. Also, even if an antibody has a high binding activity for an antigen (a ligand, a receptor, etc.), this does not mean that the antibody can highly exhibit the desired neutralizing activity. This is because the antibody should occupy a suitable site in an antigen in order for the antibody to strongly inhibit the ligand-receptor binding. In other words, the strength of the neutralizing activity of the antibody is important when evaluating the effect of the antibody drug.
Also, the safety evaluation using animals is very important in the development of medical drugs. The international guideline ICH-S6 related to the development of medical drugs includes the following description: "Safety evaluation programs should normally include two relevant species. However, in certain justified cases one relevant species may suffice (e.g., when only one relevant species can be identified or where the biological activity of the biopharmaceutical is well understood).". As described above, in the development of medical drugs, testing on one or more kinds of animal species other than humans is required; however, in order to carry out a test on animal species when developing an antibody drug, the antibody is required to have cross-reactivity with antigens derived from animal species other than humans. However, it is generally not easy to obtain a monoclonal antibody that has high selectivity and maintains high activity while displaying species cross-reactivity.
Therefore, obtaining a anti-human IL-23 receptor antibody which has strong neutralizing activity compared to conventional antibodies and shows species cross-reactivity is required for use in the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of various diseases by administering the antibody to humans.


A method of setting an equalizer so as to enlarge a sound field in reproducing an audio file and a method of reproducing an audio file thereby, includes: dividing an input audio file into segments with a predetermined time length; extracting an audio feature value for each segment; determining equalizer information for reproducing each segment by the use of the extracted feature value; and determining an equalizer sequence for the audio file by the use of the determined equalizer information of each segment. Since the equalizer setting information can be automatically changed without user manipulation, the user can listen to an audio file of which the sound field is dynamically enlarged.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to setting an equalizer for an audio file, and more particularly, to a method of setting an automatically adjustable equalizer so as to enlarge a sound field in reproducing an audio file and a method of reproducing an audio file thereby.
2. Description of the Related Art
An equalizer is a device for enlarging a sound field according to features of the music by amplifying a specified value in a frequency domain. Generally, equalizers modify an audio file by dividing an audio band into sub-bands. The equalizers are classified into graphic equalizers and parametric equalizers based on their structure. Operations of both kinds of equalizer are set by three parameters, which are mean frequency, bandwidth, and a level variation. In a graphic equalizer, mean frequency and bandwidth are fixed and only the level can be adjusted. The graphic equalizer has been used widely in audio file players such as MP3 players. In a parametric equalizer, the three parameters can be adjusted independently, so manual adjustment is difficult.
The most general method of setting an equalizer is by manually setting the equalizer setting information. FIG. 1 shows a conventional window for manually setting equalizer information. Referring to FIG. 1, when an equalizer setting menu (EQ) 112 is selected in an audio file player 110, a pre-set graphic equalizer setting window 130 is displayed. A user can adjust a level with respect to each frequency by moving a tab 132. However, since this operation has to be performed for each piece of music, it is troublesome. In addition, it is difficult for a user to adequately set an equalizer without knowledge of the music.
Another general method of setting an equalizer involves selecting equalizer setting information in a pre-set equalizer list, as shown in FIG. 2. A user selects a corresponding menu "PRESETS" 134, and then selects one of the pre-set equalizer information settings, which is thought to be suitable for the piece of music to be listened to, thereby setting the equalizer. Although this method is more convenient than the method in FIG. 1, this method still requires user manipulation. The entire selection is reproduced based on the selected equalizer setting information, so bars and segments for which the equalizer setting information is not suitable may exist.
In Korean Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-82512, a method of reading genre information recorded in an audio file header and performing equalization corresponding to the genre when an audio file is reproduced is disclosed. In this case, although user manipulation is not needed, whole selections are reproduced by setting an equalizer by genre, so segments for which the setting of the equalizer is not suitable may exist.

Method of setting equalizer for audio file and method of reproducing audio file


An apparatus and method are provided to facilitate horse riding. The apparatus includes a line that defines an opening sized to receive a head of the horse. The apparatus also includes one or more tips operatively connected to the line and oriented inward from the line into the opening. Upon positioning the head of the horse through the opening the one or more tips are positioned to engage a body of the horse. The method includes providing the apparatus and passing, the opening defined by the line, over the head of the horse. The method also includes passing, the rein, through openings defined by rings that are operatively connected to the line. The method also includes actuating the line to engage the horse to facilitate movement of the horse.

FIG. 1A is an image that illustrates an example of different regions of a body of a horse. FIG. 1B is an image that illustrates an example of a conventional system 100 to facilitate communication between a horse and a rider. The system 100 includes a bridle 104 that is secured around the head of the horse, a bit 106 connected to the bridle 104 and secured within a mouth of the horse and a rein 102 that is secured to the bit 106 and is held by the rider. The rider pulls on one or both of the left or right reins 102 in order to communicate with the horse.

Yoke comprising contracting tips and method to facilitate communication between horse and rider


Methods of fabricating phase change memory elements include forming an insulating layer on a semiconductor substrate, forming a through hole penetrating the insulating layer, forming a lower electrode in the through hole and forming a recess having a sidewall comprising a portion of the insulating layer by selectively etching a surface of the lower electrode relative to the insulating layer. A phase change memory layer is formed on the lower electrode. The phase change memory layer has a portion confined by the recess and surrounded by the insulating layer. An upper electrode is formed on the phase change memory layer. Phase change memory elements are also provided.

A phase change memory element is a memory element for storing information using the characteristics of electric conductivity or a resistance difference between a crystalline phase and an amorphous phase of a specific phase change material. The phase change memory element forms a memory cell electrically connected to a transistor element or the like, formed on a semiconductor substrate for addressing and read/write operations of the device. In the memory element, information is stored using a conductivity difference in accordance with the phase change of a memory layer, and data is stored in the phase change memory element including a phase change region.
The phase change memory cell operates such that a current flowing through a transistor electrically heats a phase change region, and the structure of the phase change material is reversibly changed to a crystalline state or an amorphous state to store information. The stored information can be read by flowing a relatively low current through the phase change region and measuring the resistance of the phase change material.
In the formation of such a phase change memory element, one technical problem may be that power consumption may be excessively large because a phase change material may be required to be heated higher than its melting point for a write operation, particularly, a reset operation for changing a crystalline structure to an amorphous structure. Furthermore, another problem may result from the transistor element for operating the phase change memory element becoming smaller in size. In such a case, the power transferred to the phase change memory element through the transistor element may decrease.
In order to provide low power operation of the phase change memory element, the volume of the phase change region should be substantially minimized and the phase change region thermally insulated from its peripheral regions. Therefore, various types of device structures have been introduced for the low power operation of the phase change memory element, but there still exist many restrictions in the processes of fabricating semiconductor devices including the phase change memory elements. Particularly, with the high integration of phase change memory cell elements, many problems have been reported on the limits of a photo etching process for pattern formation and process restrictions related to an etch selectivity generated in the pattern formation.

Methods of fabricating phase change memory elements having a confined portion of phase change material on a recessed contact


An apparatus and method is presented to provide wide dynamic range measurements of the input phase to an interferometer using a phase generated carrier especially useful utilizing time multiplexing to demodulate a series of interferometers. A modulation drive output is provided by the invention and maintained under operation at the optimum amplitude by an internal feedback loop. The resulting highly stable system can be fabricated from an analog to digital converter, a digital signal processor, and a digital to analog converter making low cost open loop demodulators a reality.

The analog output of an interferometer represents the combined power of two distinct waves. In general the two waves will interfere resulting in an average power that depends upon the cosine of the phase shift .theta. between the two waves. The analog output V of a detector, which measures the combined power is given by: EQU V=P.sub.dc +P.sub.ac cos(.theta.)
where, P.sub.dc is an offset and P.sub.ac is the gain of the interferometer output. Optical interferometers are the most common devices having this analog output and many utilize fiber optics to guide light waves. In optical sensor applications, an external parameter will proportionally change the phase of one or both of the light waves and the resulting change in the analog output of the light detector of the interferometer is used to sense that parameter. Examples of parameters that can affect the phase of light waves are rotation, pressure and magnetic fields. If R is the input phase shift of the interferometer induced by the parameter and r the phase shift due to other causes, then the analog output is: EQU V=P.sub.dc +P.sub.ac cos(R+r)
This analog output V, must be used in some manner to measure the input phase R to build a useful sensor system. As it normally occurs, the analog output V is not very useful, because it is a nonlinear function of the input phase R, resulting in no output changes and sign ambiguities at many periodic operating points. Also, when R is to be measured with DC accuracy, the offset P.sub.dc obscures the result. Finally, changes in P.sub.dc or P.sub.ac within the bandwidth of R corrupt the measurement.
These well known limitations are the reasons that phase modulation is introduced into the system. One embodiment of the present invention is concerned with sinusoid phase modulations that are commonly known as "Phase Generated Carrier" or PGC approaches from "Homodyne Demodulation Scheme for Fiber Optic Sensors Using Phase Generated Carrier", IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Oct. 1982, QE-18, No 10, pp. 1647-1653; Dandridge et al. In such systems, a device is present in the interferometer that introduces a phase shift at a constant frequency resulting in an analog output of: EQU V(t)=P.sub.dc +P.sub.ac cos{R+M sin(t+W)}
where M is the modulation depth of the interferometer, W is the phase of the modulation of the interferometer and t is the linearly increasing time in units of radians. The modulation phase defined by the term: EQU M sin(t+W)
in the cosine argument is the result of a single frequency sinusoidal drive output applied to the interferometer. The way in which this drive output creates the modulation phase depends on the design of the interferometer. In rotation sensors commonly made out of Sagnac interferometers, the time difference of the sine drive output applied to a phase shifter inside the Sagnac loop gives the modulation. In time domain multiplexed acoustic sensors fabricated from Michelson interferometers, a sinusoidal variation of the light source current will induce wavelength changes which will cause the modulation phase given above. In the simplest modulator case, a fiber wrapped on a piezoelectric cylinder is placed in one arm of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer to transform its sinusoid drive into the modulation phase.
Most approaches to measuring the input phase R in the presence of a sine modulation work with the harmonic series of the analog output given by: ##EQU1## The simplest and most limited open loop interferometric demodulation approach using PGC modulation is where the analog output is mixed with a reference signal equivalent to the frequency used to perform the modulation and low pass filtered with a gain K to the bandwidth of the input phase R. The resulting analog output is: EQU V.sub.1 ={2K P.sub.ac cos(W.sub.1)J.sub.1 (M)}.multidot.sin R
which may be viewed as a scaling factor in the curly brackets multiplied by the sine of the input phase R. When R has an absolute value less than 0.2 radians, the small angle approximation of sin R=R is valid, resulting in a linear demodulated output over the range of .+-.0.2 radians. The terms that make up the scale factor in the brackets point out the possible demodulation errors which this simple approach shares with many other methods. The scale factor will change with variations in the interferometer optical gain Pac, the modulation depth M, the synchronous detection phase W and the filter gain K. In the real world applications, where thermal environments may vary by 100 degrees Celsius or more, it is not uncommon to find any one of these scaling terms to change by 10% or more.
Many of those familiar with the art are knowledgeable of these effects and can, through design processes, provide some mitigation of them. For example, two reference frequencies and two synchronous detection channels will add a quadrature output term as follows: EQU V.sub.2 ={2K P.sub.ac cos(W.sub.2) J.sub.2 (M)}.multidot.cos R
It is evident that, with quadrature measures of the phase, either analog or digital inverse trigonometric post processing may be utilized to determine R. The analog process will be limited in range to .+-..pi./2 radians; where a digital approach can go much further. If the quadrature terms are digitized, it is possible to implement a processing algorithm such as that defined in U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,240 in a process flow detailed in this patent's FIG. 7 (starting at the third step) which provides for an extremely large dynamic range, which is limited only by the constraint that the rate of change of phase not exceed .pi. radians per consecutive sample. This process initially determines R to within a quadrant or octant, and then using the polarity of the quadrature terms, determines R to within the unit circle, and then using previous sample phase information is able to use simple logic to track phase as it crosses fringe boundaries. This tracking capability is limited only to the bit length of the counter used to track fringe crossings. This design and others like it show promise for large dynamic ranges if implemented in a digital format, but its measurement performance still falls short in that it provides no means of correcting scaling error terms related to modulation depth control, synchronous detector phase errors, and cross channel processing gain variations.
It would be a great improvement to the art if the linear dynamic range of an open loop interferometric demodulator could be arbitrarily large (micro-radians to millions of radians or greater) while it implemented processes, which automatically control all critical scaling factors such that they are invariant. Additionally, such a demodulator should be able to work with many different types of two-beam interferometers, such as Sagnac, Mach-Zehnder, Michelson, Low Finesse Fabry Perot, and others, and be able to efficiently demodulate the multiplexed outputs of such sensors positioned in an array.
There are a number of open loop interferometric demodulation designs described or practiced in the art, which intend to overcome the described scaling errors as well as provide larger linear dynamic ranges. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,704,032 and 4,756,620 describe approaches which provide active compensation for amplitude scaling, but do not compensate the other scaling errors and additionally provide dynamic ranges less than 1 radian. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,637,722; 4,687,330; 4,707,136; 4,728,192; and 4,779,975 describe approaches and improvements which compensate for, or are immune to amplitude and phase errors. These implementations also extend dynamic range, but are limited to tens of radians or less. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,202,747; 5,289,259; 5,355,216; and 5,438,411 describe approaches and improvements which are immune to amplitude variations and to some degree, modulation depth and gain scaling variations. However these approaches are still subject to phase errors caused by band limited operation of square-law detectors and their associated electronic amplifiers. Additionally these approaches are limited in dynamic range to less than 100 radians. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,765,739; 4,776,700; 4,836,676; 5,127,732; and 5,289,257, describe approaches which compensate for, or are immune to modulation depth and amplitude variations and are also capable of operating over large dynamic ranges. However these approaches are still subject to synchronous detection phase offsets and variations (changes in W) and additionally cross-channel gain scaling variations. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,883,358 and 5,412,472 describe an approach which actively stabilizes field amplitude, modulation depth, and phase errors and is capable of operating over a large dynamic range. However this approach is still subject to cross channel gain scaling variations.
Although a number of the above referenced design techniques approach the desired high accuracy and large dynamic range design objective, the ones which come the closest require complex electronic circuitry. It would also be a great improvement to the art if an interferometric demodulator meeting the desired high accuracy with a large dynamic range be simple in design and implementation, and low cost in manufacture, which are traits inherent in the present invention.

Demodulator and method useful for multiplexed optical sensors


A wire harness includes a first electric wire for a 14V series circuit, a second electric wire for a 42V series circuit and an insulation sheet. The insulation sheet separates the first electric wire from the second electric wire and covers the first and second electric wires. A method for manufacturing the wire harness is as follows. After the first electric wire is put on a first end portion of a first surface of the insulation sheet, the insulation sheet is folded from the first end portion side so as to cover the first electric wire. Next, after the second electric wire is put on a second end portion of the first surface, the insulation sheet is folded from the second end portion side so as to cover the second electric wire and then bonded to a second surface of the insulation sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wire harness including therein both electric wires for a low-voltage circuit and electric wires for a high-voltage circuit, and to a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently has been developed an automobile in which loads in a 14 volts series and loads in a 42 volts series are mingled together. The automobile is mounted with a low-voltage power supply for 14V and a high-voltage power supply for 42V in the interior thereof. The high-voltage power supply is preferably connected to a motor generator, which is advantageous to fuel consumption. Therefore, it is necessary to provide two kinds of wire harnesses, namely a wire harness for electric wires used for the 42V series circuit and a wire harness for electric wires used for the 14V series circuit. However, it is difficult to lay two kinds of wire harnesses through different paths because the interior space of an automobile is limited.
In order to solve the above problem, a wire harness is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication 2003-100155. As shown in FIG. 1, a wire harness 50 is formed by winding a constraint tape 51 around the external circumference of a bunch of electric wires including therein electric wires W1 for the 14V series circuit and electric wires W2 for the 42V series circuit.
Since the electric wires W1 and the electric wires W2 are contained together in the wire harness 50, a creepage distance D1 has a small value, wherein the creepage distance D1 corresponding to the shortest distance between the electric wires W1 and the electric wires W2. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when openings 52 are formed on coating material of the electric wires W1 and the electric wires W2 due to collision of the vehicle, a leak current and/or an arc current will be generated within the wire harness 50. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a leak current and/or an arc current will be generated at exposed portions 54 where the coating material is peeled off in order to connect branch electric wires 53 to the electric wires W1 and the electric wires W2. The electric wires W1 are also influenced by electromagnetic noise generated in the electric wires W2.

Wire harness and method for manufacturing the same


A contact connector assembly, which is adapted to be used in a sensor-dispensing instrument that contains electrochemical test sensors, comprises at least four electrical contacts, a housing connector, a base connector and a moveable mechanism. The housing connector forms a housing opening that is adapted to receive the at least four electrical contacts. The base connector is coupled to the housing connector and forms a sensor-receiving opening. The base or housing connector is adapted to move between first and second positions. The moveable mechanism is coupled to the housing or base connector. The moveable mechanism is adapted to move the base or housing connector between the first and second positions. The housing and base connectors are adapted to be coupled in a first position such that they are adapted to hold one of the test sensors. The housing and base connectors are adapted to be coupled in a second position such that they allow the test sensor to be removed therefrom.

The quantitative determination of analytes in body fluids is of great importance in the diagnoses and maintenance of certain physiological abnormalities. For example, lactate, cholesterol and bilirubin should be monitored in certain individuals. In particular, determining glucose in body fluids is important to diabetic individuals who must frequently check the glucose level in their body fluids to regulate the glucose intake in their diets. While the remainder of the disclosure herein will be directed towards a contact connector assembly to assist in determining glucose, it is to be understood that it may be used for determining other analytes on selection of an appropriate enzyme.
The results of such tests can be used to determine what, if any, insulin or other medication needs to be administered. In one type of blood glucose testing system, test sensors are used to test a fluid such as a sample of blood.
A test sensor contains biosensing or reagent material that will react with blood glucose. The testing end of the sensor is adapted to be placed into the fluid being tested, for example, blood that has accumulated on a person's finger after the finger has been pricked. The fluid is drawn into a capillary channel that extends in the sensor from the testing end to the reagent material by capillary action so that a sufficient amount of fluid to be tested is drawn into the sensor. The fluid then chemically reacts with the reagent material in the sensor resulting in an electrical signal indicative of the glucose level in the fluid being tested is supplied to contact areas located near the rear or contact end of the sensor.
It would be desirable to have a contact connector assembly that would enable the sensor-dispensing instrument to be a simpler and more reliable mechanism.

Contact connector assembly for a sensor-dispensing instrument


Business forms are a special class of documents typically used to collect or distribute data; they represent a vast majority of the paperwork need to conduct business. The present invention provides a pattern recognition system that classifies digitized images of business forms according to a predefined set of templates. The process involves a training phase, during which images of the template forms are scanned, analyzed and stored in a data dictionary, and a recognition phase, during which images of actual forms are compared to the templates in the dictionary to determine their class membership. The invention provides the feature extraction and matching methods, as well as the organization of the form dictionary. The performance of the system was evaluated using a collection of computer generated test forms. The methodology for creating these forms, and the results of the evaluation are also described. Business forms are characterized by the presence of horizontal and vertical lines that delimit the useable space. The present invention identifies these so called regular lines in bi-level digital images to separate text from graphics before applying an optical character recognizer; or as a feature extractor in a form recognition system. The approach differs from existing vectorization, line extraction, and text-graphics separation methods, in that it focuses exclusively on the recognition of horizontal and vertical lines.

The present invention relates to a business form recognition system and method.
Business forms are a special class of documents typically used to collect or distribute data. Their use is widespread across industry and government, and their volume accounts for a very large portion of the paperwork needed to conduct business. The present invention is a form recognition mechanism that provides the basis for developing image processing systems capable of dealing with multiple form formats simultaneously.
The use of digital instruments to capture and manage document images has gained considerable acceptance during the last few years. A wide variety of systems capable of scanning, processing, displaying and storing these images are now commercially available. They range from stand-alone personal computers, with a simple scanner and few megabytes of secondary memory, to large networks of workstations and mainframes, with high-speed scanners and gigabytes of optical storage.
The majority of these so-called Document Image Management Systems (DIMS) are designed to process batches of homogeneous documents, e.g., canceled checks, insurance claims, or credit card vouchers. While this approach is satisfactory in today's very-large volume operations, it is likely that new applications will have to process groups of heterogeneous documents. This is believed to be particularly so if the use of DIMS reaches all areas of an organization including units such as the mail room, the production floor, or the personnel department, where there is not a predominant type of document, but rather an assortment of formats.

System and method for automatically classifying heterogeneous business forms


An aspect of the present disclosure relates to scanning reassigned data storage locations. In one example, a reassignment table is accessed to identify a deallocated data storage location and scan the deallocated data storage location for media defects.

The present disclosure relates generally to data storage systems, and more particularly, but not by limitation, to data reassignment in data storage systems.
Data storage systems are used in a variety of applications. Many different types of data storage systems exist, such as solid-state and non-solid state systems. Flash memory, random access memory (RAM), and dynamic random access memory (DRAM) are examples of solid-state memory devices. Further, magnetic and optical discs are examples of non-solid state memory devices.
Data storage systems can comprise one or more types of data storage media having a plurality of data storage locations. For example, a disc drive includes at least one rotating disc or storage medium for storage of digital information in a plurality of circular, concentric data tracks. The data tracks can be divided into a plurality of data storage locations, such as sectors or segments. Further, an exemplary solid-state memory comprises one or more semiconductor-based components for storing data. For instance, an exemplary flash memory device stores information in data storage locations comprising an array of memory cells made from floating-gate transistors, for example. The memory cells can include single-level cell (SLC) devices, where each cell stores only one bit of information, and/or multi-level cell (MLC) devices, where each cell stores more than one bit of information.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Scanning reassigned data storage locations


A carton having two opposed crush-lock ends, a flat bottom and opposed top with a substantially central opening which can accommodate receptacles having necks of varying diameters. The carton is designed to be shipped as a flat partially assembled blank which can be erected into a substantially rectangular box by pushing inwardly on the edges so the side panels of the box lock in substantially flat configuration. The top opening has outwardly radiating cut lines to define wedge shaped segments with an arcuate score line intersecting the segments whereby the segments can deflect and accommodate different sized receptacles.

This invention relates to containers, and more particularly, to stabilizer boxes with a substantially center top opening, which may be adjustable in size to stabilize in an upright position and give shock resistant support to objects, usually cylindrical, having a variety of sizes. In particular, the invention relates to an adjustable carrier for floral containers, adopted to hold the floral container and its contents in an upright position during transportation.
When cut flowers are sold at a flower shop, grocery store, or the like, they often are sold with a vase which often is tall and thin, such as a bud vase. When these containers are carried in a vehicle, there is great danger of tipping and spillage.
Other types of products may also require support during shipment, such as crystal or chinaware, candle holders, bottles of medicine, packaged drugs, etc. The present invention also is suitable for packaging such products.
Its use for shipping bud vases is typical of other products also. The vases may have many different shapes, but are typified by long slender upright configurations which are top heavy when filled and may have many different surfaces and diameters at their necks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,803 shows a formed box about a bud vase, wherein the box has curved openings which embrace the neck of the vase. U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,468 shows a box having a crush-lock bottom and hinged panels with curved ends which embrace the neck of a vase and are hinged downwardly to accommodate larger necks.


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that executes a transaction on a multi-threaded processor. The system starts by executing the transaction in a “transaction-pending mode,” which involves placing load-marks or store-marks on cache lines loaded from or stored to during transaction-pending mode and also buffers store operations in a store queue. Upon encountering a store queue overflow, the system continues to execute the transaction in a “store-queue-overflow mode,” which involves placing load-marks or store-marks on cache lines loaded from or stored to during store-queue-overflow mode and discards store data which does not fit into the store queue during store operations. Upon completing the transaction in the store-queue-overflow mode, the system re-executes the transaction in a “repeating-transaction mode,” which involves executing the instructions in the transaction non-speculatively, which allows the store operations to commit to the memory hierarchy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the design of computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique that facilitates performing very large transactions within a transactional memory system.
2. Related Art
A key problem in implementing transactional memory is the problem of buffering either the new or the old values of memory locations which are written to during the transaction. During the execution of a transaction, it is unknown whether or not the transaction will commit or fail (for example, due to resource limitations or memory conflicts). As a result, existing transactional memory designs buffer store values (in a store buffer or a cache) without overwriting copies of the old values. Alternatively, they can buffer the old values and prevent other threads from seeing the new values. In both alternatives the new values are not visible to other threads until the transaction commits, at which point the new values are made visible, or until the transaction fails, at which point the old values are restored.
For example, the UTM protocol proposed by Ananian et al. buffers the old values in a data structure stored in memory (see C. S. Ananian, K. Asanovi´c, B. Kuszmaul, C. Leiserson, and S. Lie, Unbounded Transactional Memory, Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on High-Performance Computer Architecture (HPCA '05), 2005). Similarly, the LogTM protocol proposed by Moore et al., buffers new values in a private cache, and when this cache overflows, buffers old values of the overflowed cache lines in a data structure stored in memory (see K. Moore, J. Bobba, M. Moravan, M. Hill & D. Wood, LogTM: Log-based Transactional Memory, 12th Annual International Symposium on High Performance Computer Architecture (HPCA-12), 2006). Moreover, the transactional memory protocol described in a pending U.S. patent application entitled "Facilitating Efficient Transactional Memory and Atomic Operations via Cache Line Marking," by the same inventors as the instant application, having Ser. No. 11/655,569, and filing date 18 Jan. 2007 buffers new values (i.e., values stored during a transaction) in a store queue.
Unfortunately, data structures such as store queues or buffers are necessarily bounded in size. Hence, requiring that all of a transaction's store operations fit into such a data structure limits the size of transactions that can be executed.
Hence, what is needed is a processor that supports transactional execution without the above-described limitations.

Method and apparatus for supporting very large transactions


A memory controller for controlling a memory, where the memory controller includes: a pad, coupled to the memory, for generating an output signal to the memory according to a signal value of the memory controller; a voltage pull-up device, coupled to the pad, comprising a first N type transistor and for pulling up a voltage level on the pad according to the signal value; and a voltage pull-down device, coupled to the pad, comprising a second N type transistor and for pulling down the voltage level on the pad according to the signal value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory controller, and particularly relates to an output signal driving circuit of the memory controller.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As CPU performance has greatly improved in recent years, memory bandwidth has become a serious restriction to a computer system's performance. Therefore, semiconductor and chip manufacturers have developed new memory standards and bus techniques to solve the memory bandwidth problem. For example, a memory standard known as DDR (Double data rate) has been developed, which comprises DDRI, DDRII standard, and the newest DDRIII standard.
However, while new memory interfacing standards can greatly increase memory data access amount, semiconductor manufacturers such as TSMC and UMC are having difficulty providing optimal ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) manufacturing processes that can make the most use out of these new memory standards. According to the DDR standard by JDEC, DDRI type memory conforms to the SSTL-25 standard, which prescribes an I/O port voltage of 2.5V; DDRII type memory conforms to the SSTL-18 standard, which prescribes an I/O port voltage of 1.8V; and DDRIII type memory conforms to the SSTL-15 standard, which prescribes an I/O port voltage of 1.5V.
That being the case, the ASIC process provided by the semiconductor manufacturers normally only distinguishes between two types of device: low voltage devices and high voltage devices. It should be noted that the major difference between the high voltage device and the low voltage device is the thickness of their gate oxide. The high voltage device has a thicker gate oxide layer than the low voltage device, and one major function of the high voltage device is to be applied in I/O circuitry. Taking a widely seen standard CMOS process as an example, for a 0.25 um, 0.18 um, 0.13 um, or even smaller-size process, the high voltage device is usually nominally applied with a supply voltage of 3.3V.
Generally speaking, conventionally when designing an output signal driving circuit of a memory controller, PMOS transistors are used as voltage pull-up device and NMOS transistors are used as voltage pull-down device, such that a voltage value on an I/O pad can be pulled up/down according to the operation of the memory controller. However, as described above, because a high-voltage device commonly used for I/O circuitry is optimally operable under a power supply voltage of 3.3V, if such a memory device is to be operated in conformity with DDRI (2.5V), DDRII (1.8V), or DDRIIII (1.5V) standard, the operation voltage becomes insufficiently large for the voltage pull-up device implemented by a PMOS transistor. In this case, the size of the PMOS transistor is usually increased, i.e., the device width increased, such that the ability for draining current of the PMOS transistor can be enhanced. Such a structural change will significantly increase the area of the I/O pad.

Memory controller and output signal driving circuit thereof


Piezoelectric elements each have a configuration in which a lower electrode film, a piezoelectric body layer, and an upper electrode film are stacked in order from a side relatively near to a displacement portion that defines a pressure chamber by tightly closing a portion of a pressure chamber space that forms the pressure chamber. The lower electrode film is provided individually for each pressure chamber. The upper electrode film covers the lower electrode film and the piezoelectric body layer, and is common to the piezoelectric elements. The ratio of a length (L) of a displacement portion-side opening of each pressure chamber space in a direction orthogonal to a pressure chamber space juxtaposition direction to a width (W) of the displacement portion-side opening in the pressure chamber space juxtaposition direction is greater than or equal to 4.3 and less than or equal to 6.0.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid by driving a piezoelectric element, and to a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid ejecting head. In particular, the invention relates to a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid from a nozzle by displacing a displacement portion that defines a portion of a pressure chamber by driving a piezoelectric element, and to a liquid ejecting apparatus.
2. Related Art
A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head and ejects various types of liquid from the liquid ejecting head. Such liquid ejecting apparatuses include, for example, image recording apparatuses, such as, ink jet printers, ink jet plotters, etc., and have also recently been applied to various kinds of production apparatuses by making use of the feature that enables the apparatus to accurately deposit very small amounts of liquid at predetermined positions. Examples of use of liquid ejecting apparatuses in production apparatuses include a display production apparatus for producing a color filter for a liquid crystal display or the like, an electrode forming apparatus for forming electrodes of an organic electro-luminescence (EL) display, a surface emitting display (SED), etc., and a chip production apparatus for producing a bio-chip (biochemical device). While a recording head for an image recording apparatus ejects liquid inks, a color material ejecting head for a display producing apparatus ejects solutions of color materials of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). Furthermore, an electrode material ejecting head for an electrode forming apparatus ejects an electrode material in a liquid state, and a bioorganic material ejecting head for a chip production apparatus ejects a solution of a bioorganic material.
The aforementioned liquid ejecting heads are constructed to introduce a liquid into a pressure chamber, and eject the liquid from a nozzle communicating with the pressure chamber by causing pressure fluctuation in the liquid in the pressure chamber. The space that forms the aforementioned pressure chamber is formed with high dimensional accuracy by performing anisotropic etching on a crystalline substrate of silicon or the like. Furthermore, a piezoelectric element is preferably used as a pressure generator that causes pressure fluctuation in the liquid in the pressure chamber. The piezoelectric elements vary in terms of configuration. For example, a piezoelectric element has a configuration in which a lower electrode film at a side nearer to the pressure chamber, a piezoelectric body layer of lead zirconium titanate (PZT), etc., and an upper electrode film are stacked by using a film formation technology (see, e.g., JP-A-2007-118193). One of the upper electrode and the lower electrode functions as individual electrodes that are provided individually for each of a plurality of pressure chambers, and the other electrode functions as a common electrode that is common to the pressure chambers. In a piezoelectric body film, portions sandwiched between the upper and lower electrodes are active portions that deform when voltage is applied between the upper and lower electrodes, and portions not sandwiched between the electrodes, that is, portions apart from both or one of the upper and lower electrodes, are non-active portions that do not deform when voltage is applied between the electrodes. An opening portion of each pressure chamber that is formed in a side thereof (the opposite side of the pressure chamber to a nozzle surface side) is closed by an elastic film that is made of, for example, SiO2, and that has flexibility. A piezoelectric element is formed on the elastic film, with an insulation film (made of, e.g., ZrO2) provided therebetween. The elastic film and the insulation film function as a vibration plate.
An evaluation index of the performance of a liquid ejecting head as described above is an index termed expelled volume. Expelled volume means the amount of change in the capacity of a pressure chamber (the volume of liquid expelled from the pressure chamber) that occurs when the piezoelectric element is driven by applying a predetermined drive voltage. By increasing the expelled volume, the liquid can be more efficiently ejected from the nozzle. The approximate size of the expelled volume can be found by multiplying the area of an upper opening of the space that forms a pressure chamber and that is at the opposite side of the space to the nozzle (alternatively, the area of a portion of the vibration plate that tightly closes the upper opening of the space, the portion being capable of being displaced according to the driving of the piezoelectric element (hereinafter, referred to as "displacement portion", as appropriate)) by the amount of displacement (stroke) of the piezoelectric element that occurs when a predetermined drive voltage is applied. In the case of a relatively large liquid ejecting head (e.g., a liquid ejecting head whose nozzle formation pitch (center-to-center distance between adjacent nozzles) is 1/180 inch or greater, a relatively large capacity of each of the pressure chambers and a relatively large area of each of the upper openings can be secured, so that, accordingly, a relatively large expelled volume can be secured. On the other hand, in a small liquid ejecting head with an increased density of nozzles (e.g., a liquid ejecting head whose nozzle opening pitch is 1/300 or less), the width of each pressure chamber (a dimension thereof in the direction in which pressure chambers are juxtaposed) is smaller than in a large liquid ejecting head. Therefore, with regard to such small liquid ejecting heads, increasing the length of each pressure chamber (a dimension thereof in a direction orthogonal to the pressure chamber juxtaposition direction) is conceivable in order to secure a larger capacity of each pressure chamber and a larger area of each upper opening.
However, if the ratio of the length to the width of each pressure chamber is excessively high, the ease of movement of each displacement portion is impeded, so that the expelled volume deteriorates. Furthermore, there is a problem that the greater the length of the pressure chambers, the greater the dimensions of the liquid ejecting head in planar directions (directions parallel to the nozzle surface). Moreover, even if the amount of displacement of the piezoelectric elements is increased by contriving an electrode structure of the piezoelectric elements or a piezoelectric body structure, there remains a problem that if the displacement portions are not easily movable, the capability of the piezoelectric elements is not fully utilized.

Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus


A sheet information output apparatus comprising an application member for applying external force to a sheet, a receiving member in opposition to the application member for receiving the external force, and an output unit for outputting a signal corresponding to the application of the external force. The receiving member has a depressed portion having a support portion for aerially supporting the sheet, a slope face provided inside the support portion and a bottom face. The smallest length of the supported sheet W, a depth from the support portion to the bottom face d, and a length of the application member in a direction of the smallest length at height d when the application member is brought into contact with the bottom face s satisfy [(W−s)/2>5d].

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet information output apparatus for gaining information as to a sheet material such as a paper sheet or a resin sheet by applying external force to the sheet material to detect a pressing force (impact force) through the sheet material. The present invention also relates to a sheet information output apparatus, a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus for conducting the prescribed output processing on the basis of gained information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, research and development on sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus for automatically distinguishing the kind of a sheet to be processed to adjust processing conditions have been progressed. Attending on this progress, there have been proposed sheet information output apparatus for gaining information as to a sheet material such as a paper sheet or a resin sheet by applying external force to the sheet material to detect a pressing force (impact force) through the sheet material.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-095447 discloses a sheet information output apparatus for metering a deflection quantity of a sheet material to distinguish the deflection stiffness thereof. In this apparatus, the sheet material is conveyed while both edges of the sheet material are held by conveying rollers and passed through a displacement gauge as it is, so as to detect the stiffness.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-026486 discloses a sheet information output apparatus for gaining physical information as to a sheet material such as a paper sheet or a resin sheet by applying external force (percussion) to the sheet material to detect a pressing force (impact force) through the sheet material. In this apparatus, an application member is arranged in opposition to a receiving member in which a shallow depression has been formed, and the application member caused to strike on the surface of the sheet material supported over the shallow depression. When the application member is impacted on the sheet material aerially supported by the edge of the depression, the sheet material is deflection-deformed and then received by the bottom face of the depression and compression-deformed. A piezoelectric sensor for detecting impact force is arranged in the receiving member, and physical information as to the sheet material is distinguished on the basis of output from the piezoelectric sensor.
In the sheet information output apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H05-095447, a displacement quantity of the sheet itself due to curling or deformation is added as an error, and waving or fluttering of the sheet during its conveyance becomes an error, so that a deflection quantity based on the stiffness of the sheet cannot be successfully separated, and so an error in distinguishing of the stiffness of the sheet becomes great.
In the sheet information output apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-026486, excessive bending is given to a sheet depending on the combination of the forms and sizes in the grooved portion and the application member to increase an error in the detection of resistance force of deflective deformation, so that there is a possibility that an error in distinguishing of the stiffness of the sheet may become great. In addition, excessive shearing force or frictional force is caused to act on the sheet according to the form of the grooved portion, so that there is a possibility that the sheet may be damaged, which is, for example, locally deforming the sheet, leaving scratch on the surface thereof or creasing the sheet.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet information output apparatus, by which a detection error of sheet information becomes little, little burden is imposed on a sheet to hardly damage the sheet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet information output apparatus, by which detection accuracy is not lowered even when a receiving member is changed with time by abrasion or the like.

Sheet information output apparatus, sheet processing apparatus and image forming apparatus


A system and method for improving T-matrix training for speaker recognition are provided. The method includes receiving an audio input, divisible into a plurality of audio frames, wherein at least a first audio frame includes an audio sample of a human speaker, the sample having a length above a first threshold; generating for each audio frame a feature vector; generating for a first plurality of feature vectors centered statistics of at least a zero order and a first order; generating a first i-vector, the first i-vector representing the human speaker; generating an optimized T-matrix training sequence computation, based on the first i-vector, an initialized T-matrix, the centered statistics, and a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) of a trained universal background model (UBM).

With an ever increasing use of voice technologies, speaker recognition and speech recognition are two fields of technology which are gaining rapid adoption due to various technological improvements. Various methods of voice recognition have been implemented in current devices, including Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM), which are models of probability distribution of continuous measurements in biometric systems, such as speaker or speech recognition systems. Typically, employing this modeling technique is resource intensive, requiring significant processor power and memory. While improvements to hardware have allowed for implementation of GMM in its current state, improving the efficiency of resource use would reduce computation time, memory usage, and the like, allowing for current devices to process more information faster without requiring additional hardware resources.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a solution that would overcome the challenges noted above.

Method for reduced computation of t-matrix training for speaker recognition