The present invention includes a cellular wireless re-use communication system. The communication system includes a base transceiver station cluster. The base transceiver station cluster includes a first plurality of base station transceivers and a plurality of common channel areas. Each common channel area includes a unique set of common assigned channels. Each common channel area further includes at least one subscriber unit. Each subscriber unit within the common channel area receives information signals from a second plurality of base station transceivers through one of the set of common assigned channels that correspond to the common channel area. The common assigned channel includes common transmission characteristics. The common transmission characteristic can include a transmission frequency, a transmission time or a transmission code. The second plurality of base station transceivers can be physically located within the same common channel area that a corresponding subscriber unit receiving information from the second plurality of base station transceivers is located. Alternatively, at least one of the second plurality of base station transceivers can be physically located outside of the common channel area that a corresponding subscriber unit receiving information from the second plurality of base station transceivers is located.

Wireless communication systems commonly include information carrying modulated carrier signals that are wirelessly transmitted from a transmission source to one or more receivers within an area or region.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art wireless cellular array system. The cellular array system of FIG. 1 includes clusters of cells with a base station transceiver at the center of each cell. A first cluster (high-lighted) includes a first base station transceiver 110, a second base station transceiver 120 and a third base station transceiver 130. The first base station transceiver 110 is included within a first cell, and includes sectors designated as 1, 2 and 3. The second base station transceiver 120 is included within a second cell, and includes sectors 4, 5 and 6. The third base station transceiver 120 is included within a third cell, and includes sectors 7, 8 and 9.
The sectors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 each include unique transmission channels. That is, the transmission characteristics of information signals from the base station transceivers 110, 120, 130 within each sector is unique from the transmission characteristics of the other sectors within the first cluster. For example, the transmission frequency in sector 1 can be at a first frequency, whereas the transmission frequencies of the other sectors include different transmission frequencies. The transmission channels can be uniquely defined by transmission frequency, transmission time, transmission code or any other transmission technique that includes independent transmission channels.
The prior art cellular array systems generally include clusters being repeated. Therefore, the transmission characteristics of each cluster are repeated. The process of repeating transmission frequencies by repeating clusters is generally termed frequency re-use.
A limitation of repeating transmission characteristics is that the cellular array system suffers from co-channel interference. Each cluster within the cellular array system includes the same set of transmission channels having common transmission characteristics as every other cluster within the cellular array system. Therefore, interference occurs between common transmission characteristic cells of different clusters, causing co-channel interference.
To optimize frequency spectrum allocations, frequency re-use cellular array systems repeat transmission frequencies from cluster to cluster. The amount of co-channel interference between cells of neighboring clusters determines how frequently the transmission frequencies can be re-used, and how close cells having common transmission characteristics can be located.
Receivers within a given sector of the prior art cellular array systems receive information signal from a corresponding base station transceiver. For example, a first receiver 140 within the first sector 1 generally receives only information signals from first base station transceiver 110. A second receiver 150 within the sixth sector 6 generally receives only information signals from the second base station transceiver 120. A third receiver 160 within the eighth sector 8 generally receives only information signals from the third base station transceiver 130.
The ability of wireless systems to transmit information between transmitters and receivers is made difficult by inherent characteristics of the propagation of the transmitted signals through the surrounding environment. The transmitted signals travel along multiple paths before reaching a receiving antenna. The transmitted signals experience different levels of attenuation and propagation delays due to terrain and signal reflections. The attenuation and propagation delays are dependent on the frequency of the transmitted signals. The result is a communication channel that exhibits fading and delay spread.
It is desirable to have an apparatus and method that provides a cellular wireless communication system that can provide enhanced information transmission capacity, minimize the effects of fading, while allowing for re-use of information carrying signals having common transmission characteristics.

Cellular wireless re-use structure that allows spatial multiplexing and diversity communication


An integrated circuit including a first circuit block having a power supply terminal for receiving a first power supply voltage and an output terminal for providing a first data signal is provided. The integrated circuit further includes a second circuit block having a power supply voltage terminal for receiving a second power supply voltage and an input terminal coupled to the output terminal of the first circuit block for receiving the first data signal. The integrated circuit further includes a first programmable delay block for adding a first delay time to the first data signal when one or both of the first or second power supply voltages is changed.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to integrated circuits, and more specifically, to an integrated circuit with a programmable delay and a method thereof.
2. Related Art
Typically, an integrated circuit may have several circuit blocks that may communicate with each other synchronously. Some circuit blocks may require a constant power, whereas other circuit blocks could function at a lower power and thus reduce overall power consumption associated with the integrated circuit. Thus, the integrated circuit may be architected, such that a group of circuit blocks have a constant voltage and another group of circuit blocks can operate at a reduced or a higher voltage using dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) techniques, for example. When a circuit block that supports DVFS communicates with a circuit block that does not support DVFS, a large clock skew may develop across the interface between the two blocks. This large clock skew may result in the violation of setup and hold time requirements associated with sequential elements of the circuit blocks. In addition to clock skew, data path delay shifts due to DVFS may exacerbate the potential for hold time failures for timing paths which cross blocks.
Additionally, when all of the circuit blocks of an integrated circuit are operated at a reduced voltage or a higher voltage increased clock skews can be introduced. Accordingly, there is a need for an integrated circuit with programmable delay and a method thereof.

Integrated circuit with a programmable delay and a method thereof


A detachable self-contained door cover assembly (105) includes a housing (101) with an integral socket (160), a hinge member (140) having a rotation track (153), and a door cover (120) having an integral hinge shaft (123). The hinge shaft (123) engages the rotation track (153) to rotatably couple the door cover (120) to the hinge member (140) about an axis of rotation extending through the hinge shaft (123) and the rotation track (153). The hinge member (140) is attached to the socket (160), and is detachable when a force exceeding a threshold value is applied to the hinge member (140), thereby disengaging the hinge member (140) from the socket (160) without substantial damage to the hinge member (140) or to the housing (101).

Door cover assemblies used to cover the controls on electronic devices have become popular in recent years. Increasingly seen on video cameras, stereo equipment and personal electronic devices, the door covers serve to protect electronic controls from accidental engagement, and also often serve to provide a smaller and more attractive electronic device package. For similar reasons, this concept has been gaining popularity in the design of hand-held communication devices. Existing applications include cordless telephones and portable cellular radio telephones which use a folding arrangement allowing these devices to be more compact. In some of these devices, the door cover "flips" open to activate the device, and also functions as a mouthpiece for the user. Other functionality can be built into the door cover ("flip door").
In one typical design, the flip door is attached to the main housing of a hand-held communication device using a hinge mechanism attached to the body of the main housing. The flip door is repeatedly opened and closed during normal use, and hence over time, the resultant stress on the hinge can lead to failure of the hinge mechanism. Additionally, a large force exerted on the flip door may cause damage to the hinge mechanism, and possibly to the main housing. For assemblies using the typical design, the device must be at least partially disassembled to repair or replace the damaged door cover assembly. If the device housing is damaged, a more extensive, and usually more expensive, operation will be needed to repair the device. The difficulty and cost of repairs, and the potential damage to the device housing when excess force is applied to the door cover, are all deficiencies which exist with present door cover assembly designs.
Another deficiency with current door cover assembly designs is the number of factory operations or steps required to complete the assembly. Reducing the number of assembly steps and minimizing the number of parts used are important contributions to reducing costs and increasing efficiencies of most manufacturing operations. Assemblies which achieve these objectives are in constant demand in the art.
Therefore, a new door cover assembly is required which is simpler to assemble, easier to repair or replace, and which aids in protecting the device housing to which it is attached.


An apparatus and method for driving a semiconductor switching element. The apparatus is configured to monitor at least one state variable of the semiconductor switching element, to switch off the semiconductor switching element in at least two stages, and to receive both a first parameter and a second parameter, the first and second parameters affecting how the state is monitored. The apparatus is further configured to receive both a third parameter and a fourth parameter, the third and fourth parameters affecting a two-stage switching-off operation of the semiconductor switching element.

An insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is a type of semiconductor power switching element that has been used to an increasing extent for a relatively long time in power electronics, since it combines features of a bipolar transistor (good on-state behavior, high reverse voltage) and features of a field-effect transistor (FET) (virtually power-free driving). A certain amount of robustness to short circuits is also obtained, since the IGBT limits load current. IGBT power switches are often used in the high-power range since they typically have a high reverse voltage of, for example, 6.6 kV, and may switch high currents, for example up to 3 kA.
An IGBT power switch typically involves intelligent driving and reliable operating point monitoring to realize the full performance potential and to simultaneously ensure reliable switching operation. The driver circuit for driving the IGBT should be able to switch the IGBT on and off without destruction in each operating state defined in a data sheet, for example, destruction being possible during a bridge or load short circuit.
It is generally known that an IGBT can be protected from states which are dangerous for the IGBT, for example an overcurrent or short circuit, using desaturation monitoring and a two-stage switching-off operation.
In this case, the collector-emitter voltage Vce, which is an indicator of overloading, is measured during the switching-on phase of the IGBT. If an overcurrent occurs, the collector-emitter voltage Vce rises above a value Vcesat which is known, for example, from a data sheet for the IGBT. The rise can be detected by a comparator. However, due to varying switching-on inertia of different IGBTs, the comparator is not activated until after a particular interval of time, i.e., there is a delay between the switching-on moment of the IGBT and the activation of the comparator.
In order to be able to use a driver circuit for desaturation monitoring for a plurality of different types of IGBTs, the delay and the voltage threshold of the collector-emitter voltage Vce are set separately from one another in order to make optimum use of the respective type of IGBT.
However, this means that setting the delay and the collector-emitter voltage Vce independently of one another would involve using two pins of a package at which the parameters can be set independently of one another with the aid of external voltages and corresponding components. These additional two pins are not readily available in modern standardized 16-pin IC packages if yet further monitoring functions which can be set are intended to be implemented in the driver circuit. Even if packages having a sufficiently large number of free pins are available, the manner in which the delay and collector-emitter voltage are set results in an increase in the complexity and costs of the IGBT.
Furthermore, desaturation monitoring is already used in bipolar power transistors in order to protect against an overcurrent and/or short-circuit current, but a plurality of drive modules are also used.
In addition, it is advisable to switch off the IGBT in a "soft" manner as it were, that is to say in a plurality of stages, since, in the event of overloading or a short circuit, the IGBT may be destroyed by the production of a large collector-emitter overvoltage during the rapid switching-off operation. The operation of switching off an IGBT or a metal-oxide-semiconductor FET (MOSFET) in a plurality of stages is known from more modern drivers, for example the TD350 driver marketed by STMicroeletronics.
In this case, the voltage threshold of a first switching-off stage and an interval of time, in which the voltage threshold is kept at a particular voltage level, are used to switch off the IGBT in a "soft" manner, the values for the voltage threshold and the corresponding interval of time, in which the voltage threshold is kept constant, depending to a very significant extent on the design of the power inverter and varying for different types of IGBTs.
In this case, the voltage threshold and the interval of time are usually also set using two separate pins, which is again associated with increased complexity and higher costs since the standardized 16-pin IC packages cannot be readily used.

Driver circuit for a semiconductor power switching element


Disclosed is a water disintegratable sheet of which fibers are hydroentangled about each other. The water disintegratable sheet includes: at least one kind of primary fibers having a fiber length of at most 10 millimeter; and bast/leaf fibers having a Canadian Standard freeness value of at most 600 milliliter and a fiber length of at most 10 millimeter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water disintegratable sheet of which fibers can be dispersed in a large amount of water, more particularly, relates to a water disintegratable sheet which can offer a good balance of strength and water disintegratability.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is preferred that wet sheets for wiping a discharging part of a human body and wet wipers for cleaning a toilet are disintegratable in water. In absorbent articles such as sanitary napkin, panty liner and disposable diaper, it is also preferred that a topsheet covering a top surface of an absorbent layer and a backsheet covering a bottom surface of the absorbent layer are disintegratable in water. In addition, packaging sheets for packaging such absorbent articles are also preferably disintegratable in water.
If these sheets are disintegratable in water, they can be disposed of in a flush toilet after use. Such water disintegratable sheet disposed of in a flush toilet is immersed in a large amount of water in a flush toilet or a septic tank, and constituent fibers of the water disintegratable sheet are dispersed in water, thereby preventing the sheet from floating and remaining in a septic tank.
In such water disintegratable sheet, dry strength should be excellent as well as wet strength should be increased to some extent. When put in a large amount of water, on the other hand, the constituent fibers should be rapidly dispersed.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H9-228214 (1997/228214) discloses a water disintegratable nonwoven fabric, which is produced by blending pulp with regenerated cellulose fibers having a fiber length of 4 to 20 mm, forming a web on a wire belt of a paper machine, and entangling the fibers about each other through a water-jet treatment. In this water disintegratable nonwoven fabric, the wet strength is increased by entangling the long regenerated cellulose fibers about each other through the water-jet treatment, as well as the dry strength is increased by entangling pulp about each other and about the regenerated cellulose fibers. On the other hand, when the sheet formed by entangling the fibers is immersed in a large amount of water, the fiber entanglement is loosened so that the sheet can be disintegrated in water. It is also disclosed that fibrillated pulp may also be used for increasing the strength of the water disintegratable nonwoven fabric.
The water disintegratable nonwoven fabric disclosed in the above-mentioned Publication is intended to obtain the sheet strength and the water disintegratability by entanglement of the regenerated cellulose fibers and pulp. In such fiber entangled nonwoven fabric, however, it is difficult to improve both the sheet strength and the water disintegratability. For example, if long regenerated cellulose fibers having a fiber length of about 20 mm are used, the fibers are excessively entangled through the water-jet treatment, deteriorating the water disintegratability. Conversely, if short regenerated cellulose fibers having a fiber length of about 4 mm are used, the fibers cannot be sufficiently entangled, deteriorating the sheet strength.
The above-mentioned Publication also discloses the use of fibrillated pulp for increasing the strength of the nonwoven fabric. However, pulp is as short as 4 mm or less, and it will be cut into small short pieces when fibrillated by beating. The fibrillated pulp thus cut into small short pieces cannot sufficiently bind the regenerated cellulose fibers and pulp, because it is too small and short.
In addition, since beaten pulp is too small and short, it easily drops out of a fibrous web during the web formation or the water-jet treatment, thereby deteriorating the yield. On the other hand, if the fibrillated pulp thus cut into small short pieces is agglomerated in the fibrous web, the dispersibility of the regenerated cellulose fibers is deteriorated, thereby making it difficult to form a nonwoven fabric in which fibers are uniformly distributed.

Water-disintegratable sheet and manufacturing method thereof


Oscillating mechanisms with side brushes are presented including: a base assembly, the base assembly including, a base plate, a rotating axle extending perpendicularly from the base plate, at least one arm coupled with the rotating axle, a slot along a path of the at least one arm, and a first anchor positioned along a proximal end of the slot; and a brush assembly slidingly coupled with the base assembly, the brush assembly including, a hub slidingly coupled with the base plate along the slot, a side brush coupled with the hub, the side brush extending outwardly from the base assembly, a second anchor positioned along the hub, and a return spring coupled with the first anchor and the second anchor. In some embodiments, mechanisms further include: at least two arms coupled with the rotating axle, the at least two arms positioned at least 90 degrees apart from each other.

During operation, robotic floor-cleaning devices may encounter obstructions that prevent the devices from properly completing their task. For example, side brushes generally extend beyond the body of the robotic vacuum to reach areas otherwise inaccessible by the main side brush. Because of this extension, the side brushes may be vulnerable to interaction with obstructions on the working surface. Conventional side brushes are configured as spinning side brushes. As such, conventionally spinning side brushes may tend to draw in obstructions, such as by wrapping up electrical cords or wires around the side brush. In addition to presenting a potentially hazardous condition, removing obstructions may require human intervention thereby reducing the level of autonomy of the robotic vacuum. As such, oscillating side brushes are presented herein.

Oscillating side brush for mobile robotic vacuum


The present disclosure relates to an authentication method and an authentication device for a wireless router. The authentication method may first generate a corresponding 2-dimensional barcode with BSSID and PIN codes of the wireless router. The authentication method may scan the 2-dimensional barcode and may resolve the scanned 2-dimensional barcode to corresponding BSSID and PIN codes. The authentication method may correlate the corresponding wireless router according to the BSSID, may activate a WPS process of the wireless router, and may access a network provided by the wireless router via the PIN code. Thereby, a user can access a wireless router and may go online by using a mobile terminal to scan a 2-dimensional barcode. As a result, the mobile terminal can be conveniently and quickly connected to a wireless router, which may greatly reduce the user's operations and results in great convenience for users.

Currently, when a cell phone is used to access a wireless router, existing authentication methods, such as WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), requires provision of information, such as SSID (Service Set Identifier), encryption modes and secret keys. Even for a relatively advanced WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), authentication can only be completed by inputting a PIN (Personal Identification Number) code or via button operations on an accessing terminal. As a result, a user has to look for a SSID, and has to perform operations, such as password input, which is time consuming and inconvenient. Moreover, when a configuration of a wireless router is changed, a user must re-configure access information of an associated cell phone, which results in great inconvenience for the user.
Therefore, the prior art needs to be improved and developed.

Authentication method and authentication device for wireless router

HUIZHOU TCL MOBILE COMMUNICATION CO., LTD.


Various embodiments comprise systems, methods, and apparatus for processing a received video stream according to an embodiment comprises: identifying a number of repeated video frames within a sequence of N video frames within the video stream; determining, using a video frame quality assessment mechanism adapted to use repeated frames information, a motion adapted video quality metric (VQM) of the sequence of N video frames; and generating an alarm in response to the motion adapted VQM being less than a threshold level.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Video streams associated with video conferencing platforms/servers (e.g., WebEx, Zoom, MS Teams, and the like) receive participant video streams via respective uplinks, and combine/transcode the received participant video streams for transmission to the participants via one or more downlinks. Local (participant) processing of received video stream(s) may be employed by a video conferencing client instantiated at a recipient's device, such as a mobile phone, laptop, and the like. Such local processing may comprise local selection of views of other participant, view formatting, and the like. Network congestion may cause video packets to be discarded. It is important to understand the effect of network congestion within video conferencing systems and the like so as to manage network operations as well as consumer expectations associated applications depending on such network operations.

Full reference video quality measurements of video conferencing over the congested networks


Apparatus for pasteurizing and/or sterilizing foodstuffs. In one representative embodiment, an apparatus for pasteurizing or sterilizing a packaged foodstuff includes at least one cavity in which the foodstuff to be pasteurized or sterilized is positioned. The cavity is configured such that, as microwave energy radiates into the cavity, the cavity operates as a single-mode cavity for sterilizing or pasteurizing the foodstuff. In another embodiment, methods are provided for optimizing a microwave system for sterilizing or pasteurizing a foodstuff.

In food processing, foodstuffs can be pasteurized and/or sterilized to reduce the occurrence of food-borne diseases caused by harmful microorganisms. Pasteurization involves heating foodstuffs to a temperature, typically between 80° C. to 100° C., sufficient to kill certain pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms. In sterilization, foodstuffs are heated to a higher temperature, typically between 100° C. to 140° C., to ensure elimination of more resistant microorganisms. Sterilization allows normally perishable foodstuffs to be stored at room temperature for extended periods of time. Sterilized foodstuffs distributed for long-term preservation at room temperature are known as "shelf-stable" foods.
Traditional methods for pasteurizing and sterilizing foodstuffs involve the use of conventional heating processes (i.e., heating via the transfer of thermal energy from a high-temperature medium to a low-temperature substance), such as heating foodstuffs with hot air, hot water, or vapor. More recently, microwave heating has been employed for pasteurizing and sterilizing foodstuffs. Microwave heating is advantageous in that pasteurization and/or sterilization can be achieved in a much shorter time than is possible by conventional heating processes. By decreasing sterilization time, foodstuffs generally taste better and nutrient retention is improved. In addition, microwave systems typically are more energy-efficient than conventional heating systems.
However, attempts at commercializing microwave pasteurization and sterilization processes have had limited success. Some reasons for the lack of success in commercial operation are complexity, expense, non-uniformity of heating, and inability to ensure sterilization of the entire package. Thus, a need exists for new apparatus for pasteurizing and/or sterilizing foodstuffs, and methods for their use.

Apparatus and method for heating objects with microwaves

Washington State University Research Foundation


A method of forming a high surface area transparent conducting electrode is provided that includes depositing a transparent conducting thin film on a conductive substrate, where the transparent conducting thin film includes transparent conductive particles and a solution-based transparent conducting adhesive layer which serves to coat and bind together the transparent conducting particles, and heat treating the transparent conducting adhesion layer on the conductive substrate, where an increased surface area transparent conducting electrode is formed.

A major hurdle towards the implementation of nanomaterials in practical electronic and optoelectronic device architectures is the tradeoff between the need to minimize charge transport lengths (electronic and/or ionic) vs. the need to achieve high mass loadings of active material per geometric device area (to obtain high capacity or high optical density). Controlling the micro and nanoscale structure of a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) electrode could yield an excellent platform for modern and future optoelectronic devices by combining large interfacial areas and high loading of active material with short charge transport distances and desirable light management characteristics. These are key features for boosting the performance of many devices including electrochemical sensors, catalysts, supercapacitors, batteries, photovoltaics (PV) and photoelectrodes. When used as a support for electrocatalyst and photoelectrode materials (e.g. for solar fuel synthesis), large-pore transparent conductive high surface area electrodes (HSEs) can be an enabling technology at both the fundamental and applied research levels. In electrocatalytic applications, large interfacial areas permit more efficient charge transfer by lowering local current densities which minimizes overpotential losses, while larger pores minimize mass transport losses that would otherwise arise from the extensive tortuosity that is characteristic of typical high surface area architectures. The latter is particularly important in applications where device efficiency is coupled to mass transport of liquid or gas phase species, thus necessitating the ability to tune and optimize HSE pore sizes to enable facile diffusion of reactants and products (such as gas bubbles) throughout the structure. Achieving an optimized structure enables higher turnover frequencies per geometric electrode area, resulting in more efficient product generation or more sensitive screening. In optoelectronic applications, the benefits of HSEs are two-fold: (1) increased loading of active materials such as thin film absorbers allows for increased device optical density while maintaining short minority carrier path lengths through the absorber and (2) texturing of the surface imparts more efficient light management than in a comparable planar device. Together, these benefits can potentially enable higher overall device efficiency.
HSEs, including those made of ITO, are characterized by three fundamental performance metrics which must be maximized simultaneously: (1) surface area, where the figure of merit is roughness factor (RF), (2) visible transparency and light management within the active layer, and (3) electrical conductivity. Additional desirable properties include mechanical strength (cohesion and adhesion), chemical and electrochemical stability, thermal stability and a facile synthesis amenable to large area fabrication. Historically, research directions for TCO films, including ITO, focused on creating dense, highly transparent planar films for commercial applications in consumer electronics, thermal glass coatings and other areas in which structured, light scattering films such as the HSE described here would be undesirable. The shifting of recent work towards structured films reflects a growing need for new materials systems related to high surface area TCO electrodes. Nevertheless, current literature covering structured TCO HSE materials is limited.
The structured ITO can be divided into two types of syntheses: (1) with or (2) without the use of templating/structure-directing agents. One of the most crystalline and highest electronic quality material reported among structured ITO films was prepared free of such agents but employed a costly high vacuum electron-beam synthesis step. Other examples of template-free structured ITO films include free-standing fibrous mats which may exhibit fairly high surface area but require further processing for incorporation into planar devices, as well as fiber networks. The majority of high surface area ITO syntheses require the addition (and inevitable removal) of templating/structure-directing agents, which can add significant cost and complexity that may limit the feasibility of large scale manufacturing. These include the use of (block co-)polymers, polymer spheres or binders, and densifying agents to produce structured ITO thin films and powders with periodic arrays of pores having either mesoscale (2-50 nm) or macroscale (>50 nm) diameters, as well as disordered ITO particle aggregations. The only report of an ITO electrode with a quantified surface area is an ordered mesoporous ITO thin film with ˜10 nm pore diameters and a roughness factor of 45±3. This film has also demonstrated efficacy as an electrode, and thus represents the highest-performance high surface area ITO electrode to date.
What is needed is a method of fabricating transparent conducting HSE's with tunable roughness factors and adjustable pore sizes from the nanometer to micron scale using a low-cost and reduced complexity process that does not use templating.

Method of forming macro-structured high surface area transparent conductive oxide electrodes

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


The routing information is extracted from a received message at a border between a first network and a second network, and at least one invalid entry is added to first-network entries of the routing information which relate to a routing path of the message within the first network. The at least one invalid entry and the first-network entries are encrypted by using an own token at least for each of the first-network entries. As an alternative, a tokenized second-network entry extracted from the routing information and relating to the routing path of the message within the second network is decrypted, and its content is reversed. In both cases, the routing information is replaced by the processed routing information and the message is forwarded to the second network. This allows to preserve the order of routing entries and to hide the amount of switches that have been traversed in the home network.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for processing a routing information in a packet data network, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) provided on top of a packet data network to offer voice and multimedia services e.g. for third generation mobile devices, or any other IP-based network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) as defined in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) specification RFC 3261, provides an emerging standard for setting up multimedia sessions on the Internet. Its basic capabilities are setup modification and tear down of any communication session, so it is a signaling protocol. SIP also provides personal mobility, meaning that a consumer is reachable via a single address regardless of its current point of attachment to the network.
In order to support multimedia services, seamless mobility and efficient multiparty conferencing, the IP layer has been enhanced. Mobile IP allows terminals to move freely between different mobile networks.
SIP is used to establish, modify and terminate sessions as well as send and receive transactions. It provides personal mobility by allowing a user to dynamically register to the network with his communication address, i.e. SIP URI (Uniform Resource Indicator). A session is usually a number of Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP) streams to be exchanged. Normally, a session is a combination of speech, audio and video streams, but it may also contain shared applications. A basic SIP network is composed of four types of elements i.e. User Agents (UA), Proxy Servers, Redirect Servers and Registrar Servers. User Agents typically reside in endpoints such as IP phones, personal computers or mobile devices. They initiate requests and provide responses. Usually, UAs also have an interface to media handling and to the actual application software providing the user interface. Proxy servers are intermediaries, which receive and forward requests providing them with, e.g., routing or other services. Redirect servers simply respond to a request by asking its originator to redirect it to a new address. Registrar servers keep track on the actual points of contact of the consumers by accepting registrations from the UAs. Registrar servers and the SIP registration procedure in general provide user mobility as the consumer is able to be reachable from any location via a single address. In this sense, they resemble Home Location Register (HLR) functionality in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) networks. Each consumer is part of a domain and each domain runs at least one registrar server, which knows the location of its consumers if the are registered.
SIP uses an address format common to Internet Mail, i.e. "user@domain". The domain part is used to find the correct domain for the consumer and the user part is used to distinguish between individual consumers within a domain. SIP includes request and response messages comprising header fields, e.g. for defining where the request is to be sent next, the recipient address, the sender address etc. Furthermore, a SIP message may contain a payload portion for transmitting subscriber or service specific information.
Currently, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is specifying IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) e.g. in its specification TS 23.228 as an access independent subsystem which can be used in connection with different networks. IMS uses SIP for session initiation. Basically IMS is just an instance of a SIP network. It has a number of proxies and a registrar. The UA is situated in the terminal device or user equipment (UE). When two devices establish a session they talk to each other via Call State Control Function or Call Session Control Function (CSCF) elements. The UE is connected to a Proxy-CSCF (P-CSCF) arranged in a visited domain of the UE and providing basic IP connectivity and mobile management below it. The UE uses SIP to communicate with the P-CSCF which is similar to a SIP proxy server. In such a case, the consumer or subscriber of the UE is roaming in the visited domain where the P-CSCF is located. The role of the P-CSCF is to provide emergency call and other such services requiring specific knowledge of the visited domain. In case the consumer or subscriber is not roaming the UE is connected to a P-CSCF located in the home domain. Instead of radio access network also alternative access networks may be used. Instead of mobile or cellular terminal device also other kind of terminals may be used, especially in alternative access networks.
Furthermore, an S-CSCF is always located in the subscriber's or consumer's home domain and takes the role of the SIP registrar and proxy servers, so that the UE can be registered at the S-CSCF using SIP via the P-CSCF. Furthermore, an I-CSCF is provided as another SIP proxy server responsible mainly for finding the correct S-CSCF for a given subscriber or consumer. The S-CSCFs can be dynamically allocated per registration in order to achieve efficient load balancing and error residency. An Application Server (AS) is provided as a SIP element dealing with the services provided to the UE. Separate ASs can be provided for different purposes. Finally, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) is arranged for profile management and authentication.
In IMS, subsequent SIP messages follow the path recorded into a Record-Route header of the initial request, while interrogating network nodes may drop themselves out and other network elements stay on path. On the other hand, proxy servers in the middle may ask to remain on the signaling path for the duration of the call. This might be useful if the proxy offers some services to the call.
Topology Hiding, also known as Network or Configuration Hiding, allows an operator to hide the names and amount of the operator's SIP servers to another operator. Furthermore it hides the topology of the network. Topology Hiding is specified within the IMS (see e.g. 3GPP specification TS 23.228). Currently, a solution for it is described in the 3GPP specification TS 24.229, but this solution may lead to routing errors. Topology hiding can be applied by none, only one or both home networks, it cannot be applied by a visited network. The present invention applies to any case where at least one of the home networks applies topology hiding.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary IMS network architecture in which the present invention can be implemented. The SIP Proxies in the IMS are called CSCF, and for the discussed problem underlying the present invention the following CSCF types of FIG. 1 are of relevancy. A P-CSCF-A 20 is a SIP outbound proxy to which the mobile station UE-A 10 of User A is attached in its currently visited domain 70. Furthermore, an I-CSCF-A1 30 is provided as the I-CSCF between the P-CSCF-A 20 and an S-CSCF-A 40, and acts as a topology hiding gateway (THIG). The S-CSCF-A 40 is the SIP Proxy providing services, provided for example by an AS1 60 or other ASs (not shown), for User A in A's home network 72. Additionally, another I-CSCF-A2 34 is provided as the I-CSCF used by the S-CSCF-A 40 as the outgoing THIG when sending messages to the home network 82 of User B having a mobile station UE-B 12. The I-CSCF-A2 34 can also be the incoming THIG for messages from User B's home network 82. A further I-CSCF-B1 32 is arranged as the I-CSCF used by an S-CSCF-B 42 as the outgoing THIG when sending messages to the home network 72 of User A. The I-CSCF-B1 32 can also be the incoming THIG for messages from User A's home network 72. The S-CSCF-B 42 is the SIP Proxy providing services for User B in B's home network 82. Another I-CSCF-B2 is the I-CSCF between the S-CSCF-B 42 and a P-CSCF-B 22, and acts as a THIG. The P-CSCF-B 22 is the SIP outbound proxy to which the mobile station UE-B 12 of User B is attached in its visited network 80. I-CSCF and THIG functionalities may be implemented separately. They also may be named and/or combined with other functionalities differently when used in SIP or other types of networks based e.g. on the specification of 3GPP2 or IETF.
All SIP signaling within the IMS goes at least through these four SIP Proxies in the above listed order, whenever topology hiding is applied in both home networks.
It is to be noted here, that in the following "THIG" may be omitted in the notation "I-CSCF(THIG)" and "I-CSCF/THIG" for the sake of brevity. The latter case notation denotes the same as the corresponding former case notation, e.g., I-CSCF-B1(THIG) and I-CSCF-B1/THIG may be referred simply with i-cscf-b1.
In the following, the conventional mechanism for network hiding is described and a sequencing problem of Route headers is shown.
The current solution described in the 3GPP specification TS 24.229 works roughly in the following way:                all SIP messages (requests and responses) sent outside a users home network (either to the home network of the other user or the visited network of the served user) must traverse an I-CSCF/THIG in the users home network before leaving it;        the I-CSCF/THIG finds out all SIP URIs that were added by the home network to Via, Route, Record-Route, Path, Service-Route or any other header;        the I-CSCF/THIG applies an internal encryption mechanism and generates an encrypted name and/or address information which is called "token".
For example, the following header can be sent outside of User A's home network 72 and is received (e.g. in an INVITE request) by I-CSCF-A2 34 (indentions and line breaks as well as omission of branch parameter are just there for better readability):    [I] Via: SIP/2.0/UDP s-cscf-a.home1.net,            SIP/2.0/UDP i-cscf-a1.home1.net,        SIP/2.0/UDP p-cscf-a.visited1.net,        SIP/2.0/UDP [5555::aaa:bbb:ccc:ddd]
The I-CSCF-A2 34 now selects the entries belonging to its home network, which are:                SIP/2.0/UDP s-cscf-a.home1.net        SIP/2.0/UDP i-cscf-a1.home1.netand hides them by generating a token (e.g. "1987klwkmlkmva98u4q5") by whatever local encryption mechanism. For better readability the token is further on represented by the following string:        Token(SIP/2.0/UDP s-cscf-a.home1.net,                    SIP/2.0/UDP i-cscf-a1.home1.net)
The I-CSCF-A2 34 then forms a valid SIP Via header entry from the token and adds the tokenized-by tag:                SIP/2.0/UDP Token(SIP/2.0/UDP s-cscf-a.home1.net,                    SIP/2.0/UDPi-cscf-a1.home1.net)@home1.net;            tokenized-by=home1.netinserts it to the Via header and adds its own address:                            [II] Via: SIP/2.0/UDP i-cscf-a2.home1.net,            SIP/2.0/UDP Token(SIP/2.0/UDP s-cscf-a.home1.net,                    SIP/2.0/UDPi-cscf-1.home1.net)@home1.net;            tokenized-by=home1.net,                        SIP/2.0/UDP p-cscf-a.visited1.net,        SIP/2.0/UDP [5555::aaa:bbb:ccc:ddd]
The request traverses the other SIP-elements, until it reaches the end user, which sends back a response. The response to the request is routed based on the Via-header, so the response at one point hits I-CSCF-A2 34, showing exactly the same entry as shown in [II]. In order to be able to route inside the home network 72, the I-CSCF-A2 34 selects all the entries which are indicated as "tokenized-by=home1.net" and decrypts them. Afterwards the Via-header looks again as in [I] and can be routed. Here there is no problem.
In the case of the Record-Route header, the same mechanism is applied, but it creates a problem.
User A sends a request to User B, the CSCFs put themselves into the Record-Route header, of which both users, when sending further requests that are related to this dialog (e.g. PRACK, UPDATE, BYE) form the Route header. User B sends back the Route header in the response to User A, so both have then the same route set.
However, when creating the Route for a new request, User A obtains a reversed order of the Record-Route header after decryption. It is noted that the request was sent to an application server (AS) of the network operator in home1.net and returned to the same S-CSCF, according to the conventional IMS service-procedures.
As an example, the Record-Route header as received in an INVITE request by User B might look as follows:    [III] Record-Route: p-cscf-b,            i-cscf-b2,        token(s-cscf-b,i-cscf-b1)@home2.net;tokenized-by=home2.net,        i-cscf-a2,        token (s-cscf-a,as1,s-cscf-a,i-cscf-a1)@home1.net;        tokenized-by=home1.net,        p-cscf-a
Hence, the sent order can be represented as: 1, 2, (3,4), 5, (6,7,8,9), 10, where each number represents a specific one of the above servers or nodes passed during the routing procedure, and the numbers in brackets indicate tokenized or encrypted routes.
The Record-Route header is returned to User A in the response to the initial request. User A now wants to send e.g. the PRACK or any subsequent request or any other request along the recorded route, therefore it creates the Route header by simply reversing the order of the Record-Route entries, in accordance with the normal SIP procedure. Consequently, the Route header can be expressed as follows:    [IV] Route: p-cscf-a,            token(s-cscf-a,as1,s-cscf-a,i-cscf-a1)@home1.net;        tokenized-by=home1.net        i-cscf-a2,        token(s-cscf-b,i-cscf-b1)@home2.net;tokenized-by=home2.net,        i-cscf-b2,        p-cscf-b
This routing order can be represented as: 10, (6,7,8,9), 5, (3,4), 2, 1.
The request will thus be sent to any I-CSCF in the home network, not to the I-CSCF-A1 30, which should be first on the route. This problem results from the fact that the entry of the I-CSCF-A1 30 has been maintained as encrypted by the I-CSCF-A2 34 when processing the initial request e.g. INVITE request.
However, this wrong order of entries within the tokens cannot be reversed by the UE, neither UE-A 10 nor UE-B 12, as the UE cannot look inside the token. When the first token is de-crypted, the entries will look like:    [V] Route: p-cscf-a,            s-cscf-a,        as1,        s-cscf-a,        i-cscf-a1,        i-cscf-a2,        ( . . . )which can be represented as: 10, 6, 7, 8, 9, 5, ( . . . ).
However, the correct routing order should look like:    [VI] Route: p-cscf-a,            i-cscf-a1,        s-cscf-a,        as1,        s-cscf-a,        i-cscf-a2,        token(s-cscf-b,i-cscf-b1)@home2.net,tokenized-by=home2.net,        i-cscf-b2,        p-cscf-b            which can be represented as: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 ( . . . ).
Hence, the user is not capable to reverse the entries within tokens as the UE is not capable to look inside the tokens. Furthermore the request may then be sent to any I-CSCF in the home network, not specifically to the one, which should be the first on the route.

Routing information processing for network hiding scheme


A foil bearing is used wherein the support for the foils are hydrostatically rather than mechanical spring supported. The bearing housing has a plurality of orifices for admitting hydrostatic fluid over the foils. The foils are then supported by the hydrostatic fluid. The hydrostatic foil bearing is stiffer, longer lasting, and easier to assemble than foil bearings with mechanical spring backings. Hydrostatically supported foil bearings also have variable spring rates depending on the pressure of the hydrostatic fluid, thus allowing the hydrostatic foil bearing to have adjustable capacity with speed. In addition the hydrostatic foil bearing damping between the rotor and housing is greater than foil bearings with mechanical spring backing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to foil bearings and more particularly to utilizing a hydrostatic backup support for the foil in the foil hydrostatic bearing instead of a mechanical spring.
2. Description of the Related Art
Foil hydrostatic bearings employ foils for contacting a journal at zero to low speed operation. On the other side of the foil there is a high spring rate, hydrostatic fluid film between the housing and the foil. In a conventional foil bearing there is a low spring rate mechanical spring that pushes on the foil, to center or position the journal. The compliance of the low spring rate mechanical spring supporting the foils circumferencially 360.degree. enables it to position the rotor relative to the housing to define a static position before operation is initiated. It also enables the bearing foil to conform to some extent to misaligned and thermally distorted shaft loads.
Typically a foil bearing is used in light, small machines that operate at high speed and are used to pump low density and low viscosity fluids such as air. High viscosity fluids produce a shear load to fail the foil attachment points. Foil bearings have a low load capacity due to the hydrodynamic characteristics of the fluid at relatively low pressure and fixed geometry (length and diameter). As machines become larger and the density of the fluids pumped increases, the side loads experienced by the bearings at off design conditions increases. If the loads exceed the capacity of the bearings the bearings will fail.
The low spring rate mechanical backup springs limit the amount of force that can be applied to the bearing before it fails.


A film segment with a novel shape for forming an eye protector and a method for using the film segment is described. The shaped film segment is used to form an improved eye protector with an increased field of vision and improved fit to the facial tissues adjacent the eye.

Intense visible light or radiation of shorter wavelength, i.e., between about 200 and about 400 nanometers (ultraviolet radiation), from the sun or from artificial light sources poses a significant risk of eye injury. The eye is particularly susceptible to damage from exposure to ultraviolet radiation because the damaging radiation cannot be sensed by the light receptors in the eye. Thus, ultraviolet (UV) radiation is invisible to the eye, and the injury is not apparent until after the damage is done. While the UV radiation component of sunlight can damage the eyes without proper precaution, the majority of cases of UV radiation eye damage arise from the use, or more appropriately the misuse, of artificial sunlamp products in the home or in commercial tanning salons. Responsive to that fact, federal regulations have been promulgated to specify safety standards for the manufacture and use of UV emitting products. One of those regulations (21 C.F.R. .sctn. 1040.20) requires that protective eyewear be provided and used with all UV emitting lamps. To comply with these regulations some lamp manufacturers and many tanning salon proprietors have been supplying customers with reusable goggle-type protective eyewear, which although functional to protect the eyes, are uncomfortable and not size-adjustable to fit each prospective user. Moreover, reusable protective eyewear presents certain sanitary problems--it can serve as a means for spreading communicable eye diseases of both microbial and viral origin. This fact, coupled with the prevalent fear of contracting certain viral infections, prompts many users of UV light emitting products to refuse to use appropriate protective eyewear. Reusable goggles, although available to the customer, are often simply not used.
Clearly the availability of a disposable, adjustable, and inexpensive eye protector for use with UV emitting devices and for use in other circumstances requiring temporary protection of the eye from potential eye irritants, would meet important public health and safety needs. Not only would such a device promote the use of appropriate eye protection at home and in the increasingly popular tanning salons, but it would also help to minimize the spread of disease possibly associated with reusable protective eyewear.
Several early inventors faced with the need for easy-to-use eye protectors developed and patented ocular patch-type protective eyewear in both disposable and reusable forms. See, for example, the eye protectors or eye shields disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,165,668; 2,283,752; 2,572,638; 3,068,863; and 2,527,947. While the patch-type eye protectors disclosed in those early patents function to protect the eyes from potential eye irritants and harmful radiation, none of them were designed (1) to selectively transmit at least a portion of visible light so that the user can "see" while wearing the protective eyewear; (2) to be shaped to conform to the facial tissue adjacent the eye; or (3) to allow for substantially unhindered eye lid movement when the eye protector is positioned over the eye.
More recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,739,002 and 4,701,962 (hereinafter referred to as the "'002 and '962 patents," respectively) disclosed disposable eyewear in which a conical eye protector is formed by overlapping and adhering portions of ovoid or circular film segments. Those film segments are formed to contain ultraviolet absorbing compounds, yet they allow sufficient visible light to pass through to enable the user to "see" while wearing this protective eyewear. The patented eyewear represented a significant advance in the field of protective eyewear because they were disposable, they allowed for some vision in use and they covered only the eye and the facial tissues adjacent to the eye.
The present invention is based on applicants' discovery that the film segments used for forming protective eyewear similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,002 can be formed to a novel shape that provides significant improvement in eyewear functionality. Eyewear formed from film segments in accordance with this invention (1) fit better to the facial tissue adjacent to the eye; (2) have an increased field of vision; (3) provide more room to open and close the eye; (4) cover less of the brow area adjacent to the eye; and (5) are more resistant to unintended damage during user manipulation of the segment to form the eyewear.
The improved film segments of this invention are formed to have a novel shape in plan view including a C-shaped edge segment and a W-shaped edge segment cooperating to define a peripheral edge. The general shape hereinafter is referred to as the "CW shape" and the shaped film segment is hereinafter referred to as "CW-shaped film segment". In one embodiment the film segment comprises a polymeric film having a radiation transmittance value of less than 1 for at least a portion of incident ultraviolet, visible or infrared radiation. A contact adhesive is applied to a locus of the segment including at least a portion of the peripheral edge defined by the W-shaped edge segment. The film segment is formed into an asymmetric conical shape by overlapping the portions of the film segment defined by the W-shaped edge segment. The adhesive at the locus of the W-shaped edge segment holds the overlapped portions in place and thus works to hold the segment in the conical eyewear shape. The eye protector is then located over the eye in an adhesively retained position. In practice, a pair of protectors are used, each one positioned to cover each eye.


The dental filling material for a permanent dental filling contains up to 87 percent by weight of a mixture of bioactive glass particles capable of forming a hydroxylapatite layer and conventional non-bioactive dental glass particles surrounded or embedded in a matrix material. The glass particles have an average particle size (d50) less than 50 μm. When the index of refraction of the glass particles at least approximately matches the index of refraction of the matrix material a particularly attractive appearance results when the resulting filling material is used to make a dental filling. When the bioactive glass particles contain fluoride, protection against further caries is provided. The invention also includes a method of making the dental filling material, the dental filling made with it and a binder for binding the dental filling to a tooth.

The invention relates to the production of aesthetic, permanent dental filling material that does not discolor and that counteracts the occurrence of secondary caries.
In tooth restorations, for aesthetic reasons, the goal is for the restored tooth region to be as effectively invisible as possible, so that it is visually indistinguishable from the natural tooth. Thus far, this has been done with composites, compomers and glass-ionomer cements, or with expensive porcelain or glass ceramic inlays, with variable results. However, such fillings have only inadequate durability and are quickly washed out. They also tend to discolor.
Bioactive glasses have already been known for long time and are described in summary fashion for instance by Larry L. Hench and John K. West in "Biological Applications of Bioactive Glasses", Life Chemistry Reports 1996, Vol. 13, pages 187–241, or in "An Introduction to Bioceramics", L. Hench and J. Wilson, Eds., World Scientific, New Jersey (1993). In contrast to conventional glasses, bioactive glasses are distinguished by being soluble in an aqueous medium and by forming a film of hydroxyl apatite on their surface. The most commonly used bioactive glasses are produced either as fusible glass, which then have a markedly lower proportion of SiO2 compared to normal window or bottle glasses, and a substantially higher proportion of sodium, or else are so-called sol-gel glasses, which in contrast to fusible glasses can contain a high proportion silicon oxide and a slight to completely absent amount of sodium.
The essential properties of bioactive glass are known to one skilled in the art and are described for instance in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,916. According to this reference, bioactive glass differs from conventional lime-sodium-silicate glasses in that it binds living tissue.
Such bioactive glasses are used for instance for healing bone damage, and in particular as synthetic bone transplant material. They are moreover successfully used for healing chronic wounds, especially with diabetic ulcers and in pressure sores and bedsores in geriatrics. For instance, John E. Rectenwald, Sean Lee and Lyle L. Moldawer et al. (Infection and Immunity, submitted for publication) have been able to demonstrate that in the mouse, bioactive glass displays an inflammatory effect which by stimulation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) activity with simultaneous inhibition of the inflammation-stimulating cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-1-alpha and IL-10, as well as MPO (myeloperoxidase) (see also 19th Annual Meeting, Surgical Infection Society 1999, Apr. 28 to May 1, 1999).
From E. Allen, et al. (Departments of Microbiology in Periodontology, Eastman Dental Institute), it is also known that a bioactive glass 45-S-5, which can be procured from Bioglas® U.S. Biomaterials, Alachua, Fla. 32615, USA and which has an antibacterial action. Such an action cannot be achieved with normal glass beads (window glass).

Use of bioactive glass in dental filling material


A method of managing short-range wireless communications settings applied at a vehicle includes detecting a plurality of short-range wireless communications settings used by an existing vehicle; storing the plurality of short-range wireless communications settings with a subscriber identity; detecting that a person associated with the subscriber identity has begun using a new vehicle; uploading the plurality of short-range wireless communications settings from the existing vehicle to the new vehicle; and applying the plurality of short-range wireless communications settings associated with the subscriber identity to the new vehicle.

Modern vehicles frequently provide wireless connections with wireless devices carried by vehicle occupants. When a vehicle occupant enters a vehicle with a wireless device, the vehicle can establish a short-range wireless communication link with the device. The short-range wireless communication link can allow the wireless device to communicate with and/or through the vehicle. These short-range wireless links are often created by authenticating the vehicle providing the wireless link, the wireless device accessing it, or both. In one example, the vehicle occupant can identify the vehicle broadcasting a short-range wireless link using the wireless device and select the vehicle identity. Also, the wireless device can be authenticated to the vehicle when the wireless device provides a password to gain access to the wireless link or network provided by the vehicle.
After these types of authentication occur, the vehicle occupant may not have to re-authenticate the wireless device with the vehicle again as the vehicle and wireless device can recognize each other when they come within a particular range. However, vehicle occupants may not exclusively use one vehicle. In that case, each new vehicle the vehicle occupant enters may ask to authenticate each wireless device in order to establish access to the short-range wireless link. Thus, it would be helpful for vehicle occupants to be able to enter new vehicles without re-authenticating wireless devices yet also maintain wireless security at the vehicle.

Managing wireless communication settings in a plurality of vehicles


Telephone number binding in a voice-over-Internet system is provided. One embodiment is a method for provisioning a customer voice-over-Internet device for voice-over-Internet service. One such method comprises: providing a customer voice-over-Internet device for communicating with an existing telephone line and a data network; providing a telephone number associated with the existing telephone line to a voice-over-Internet platform; and linking the existing telephone number to a unique identifier associated with the customer voice-over-Internet device.

Currently, there are a number of solutions that enable customers to place telephone calls over the Internet, rather than over the public-switched telephone network (PSTN). So-called Internet telephony services (e.g., voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP), voice-over-digital-subscriber-line (VoDSL), voice-over-asynchronous-transfer-mode (VoATM), etc.) have become much more prevalent as the number of broadband connections at residential locations has increased.
One of the earliest Internet telephony solutions is a "soft phone." A soft phone is computer software that may be installed on a typical personal computer. The computer software enables any computer device with a speaker and a microphone to place free Internet calls through an Internet service provider (ISP). Soft phones, however, suffer from various disadvantages and problems. For example, in many cases, soft phones only enable a user to make free Internet calls to other users that have installed the same or similar software on their computer. Furthermore, these software-based solutions offer no or limited calling to the PSTN.
Another Internet telephony solution employs service providers (e.g., Internet telephone service providers (ITSP)) that offer voice-over-Internet services to subscribers. An ITSP usually provides the subscribers with supporting hardware. The supporting hardware may comprise a stand-alone device manufactured by another company (e.g., a VoIP phone) that connects to the Internet. The supporting hardware, software, etc. may also be other equipment that functions as an interface between the customer's standard telephone and the PSTN and Internet connections. Typically, the ITSP sells or leases the hardware to the subscriber and charges the customer a subscription service (e.g., monthly service fee) for the services. In some cases, the potential subscriber may purchase the hardware from another entity and then request service from the ITSP.
ITSP solutions also have a number of disadvantages. Many customers have been slow to adopt this approach because they are unwilling to abandon the familiar expectations of their traditional phone service. Another major disadvantage is that the hardware provided by most ITSPs is difficult for some consumers to use, configure, etc.
In order to configure the hardware provided by the ITSP for communication with other devices, hardware, etc., a provisioning process is typically performed. In general, the provisioning process involves two steps: (1) establishing a terminating ID for the subscriber; and (2) provisioning the hardware with the information necessary to use the terminating ID to facilitate Internet telephony services. The purpose of the provisioning process is to enable the ITSP to associate the terminating ID with the hardware for a particular subscriber. For example, some ITSPs assign the terminating ID during an ordering/activation process with the subscriber. The terminating ID is typically a private number assigned by the service provider at sign-up and is usually specific to the ITSP. In other words, the ITSP defines the terminating ID and then associates the number with the subscriber's account.
After the terminating ID is established by the ITSP, the ITSP may provide the subscriber with basic information (e.g., username, password, IP addresses of gateway servers, etc.), and the subscriber is left with the task of configuring the hardware, software, etc. In some instances, the hardware may be pre-provisioned by the ITSP. For example, at the time of account creation, the hardware may be provisioned, bound to the account, and shipped to the subscriber. After the hardware is installed by subscriber, the hardware may register with an ITSP server, which recognizes the device by its association to the subscriber's account.
Despite the growth of Internet telephony services and products, however, there is still a need for improved voice-over-Internet solutions.

Telephone number binding in a voice-over-internet system


Liquid crystal display device preventing brightness reduction of a backlight even when a recess is formed in a lower frame accommodating the backlight and a light-emitting diode substrate mounted with a light-emitting diode is accommodated in the recess. A backlight includes a reflection member arranged on the back side of a light guide plate, and the light-emitting diode irradiating the light guide plate with illumination light from a side portion of the light guide plate. The recess protruding on the back side is formed in the lower frame for accommodating and arranging the light-emitting diode substrate mounted with the light-emitting diode therein. A part of an end portion of the reflection member protrudes into a space formed by the recess toward the light emitting diode. A holding member is arranged between the reflection member and the lower frame at least to hold the protruding region of the reflection member.

The liquid crystal display device has been used as a display device for many electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a digital still camera, a personal digital assistant, and a medical equipment. Such a liquid crystal display device includes a backlight irradiating the liquid crystal display panel with an illumination light. A typical structure of the backlight employs, for example, as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-98500, a configuration including a light guide plate and a reflection sheet on the back side of the liquid crystal display panel and arranged with a light-emitting diode serving as a light source on the side portion of the light guide plate.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display device equipped with a large backlight for a medical application and the like employs a configuration arranged with a light-emitting diode substrate 6 mounted with a light-emitting diode 7 on the side portion of the backlight. The liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 1 includes a liquid crystal display panel 1 accommodated in an upper frame 4 and fixed by a mold 3 via a cushion 2, and a backlight constituted by a light guide plate 9 accommodated in a lower frame 5 and irradiating the back side of the liquid crystal display panel 1 with the illumination light, an optical member 10 including a diffusion sheet, prism sheet, and the like for irradiating the liquid crystal display panel 1 uniformly with the light guided by the light guide plate 9, a reflection member 8, and a light-emitting diode 7 irradiating the light guide plate 9 with the illumination light from the side portion of the light guide plate 9, wherein the light-emitting diode 7 is mounted on the light-emitting diode substrate 6 and accommodate and arranged in a recess 12 protruding on the back side of the lower frame 5.
In the liquid crystal display device shown in FIG. 1, the light emitted from the light-emitting diode 7 enters through a side face of the light guide plate 9 and diffuses all over the light guide plate 9. The light about to exit from the back side of the light guide plate 9 is reflected by the reflection member 8 to be returned to the inside of the light guide plate 9, and the light exiting from the front side of the light guide plate 9 is controlled by the optical member 10 constituted by the diffusion sheet, the prism sheet, and the like to fall on the entire liquid crystal display panel 1 uniformly.
The lower frame 5 provided with the recess 12 for accommodating and arranging the light-emitting diode substrate 6 is generally formed of a light metal such as aluminum or a resin. To form the recess 12 in the lower frame 5, the U-shaped recess 12 as shown in FIG. 1 is formed by a mechanical bending process or the like. Due to the limited ability of the process, it is inevitable that the convex portion has a substantial width.
The light guide plate 9 and the reflection member 8 need to be arranged as close to the light-emitting diode 7 as possible to propagate and reflect the light emitted from the light-emitting diode 7 without a loss. Accordingly, the light guide plate 9 and the reflection member 8 in the proximity of the light-emitting diode 7 partially protrude in a space formed by the recess 12 toward the light-emitting diode 7.
As a result, the portion of the reflection member 8 protruding into the space formed by the recess 12 bows downward in the recess 12 over time due to its own weight, forming a gap in between with the light guide plate 9. When the gap is formed between the reflection member 8 and the light guide plate 9, as indicated by a dashed arrow in FIG. 1, a part of the light emitted from the light-emitting diode 7 and falling downward from the light guide plate 9 cannot be reflected upward by the reflection member 8 but diffused to the outside. Consequently, an availability of the light emitted from the light-emitting diode 7 reduces and the brightness lowers on the whole backlight or locally. Such a gap between the reflection member 8 and the light guide plate 9 is also generated by a deformation due to the stress applied when forming the recess 12 in the lower frame 5 or by a warpage of the lower frame 5 due to aging.
Another problem arising when the light-emitting diode 7 is used as the light source of the liquid crystal display device would be heating of the light-emitting diode 7. That is, the luminous efficiency of the light-emitting diode is typically between a few percent and twenty percent, with a large part of the remaining energy being converted into heat leading to heat generation. This heat generation may cause a characteristic degradation of the light-emitting diode and peripheral devices.


A drawer has two drawer side frames to each of which a pull-out rail of a drawer guide assembly is releasably fastened. Each pull-out rail has at its rear end a hook by means of which it is engageable in the drawer. The drawer is provided with catch elements which engage on each side in a recess of the pull-out rail and abut on a catch edge of the pull-out rail. Each drawer frame has a hook member which receives the front end of the pull-out rail. Further, a number of stop surfaces staggered in a direction inclined to the pull-out direction of the drawer are formed on the catch elements. One of these stop surfaces abuts on the catch edge.

The invention relates to a drawer with two drawer side frames to each of which a pull-out rail of a drawer guide assembly is releasably fastened. Each pull-out rail has at its rear end a hook by means of which the pull-out rail is engageable in the drawer. The drawer has catch elements which are resilient or acted upon by a spring and which engage in respective recesses of the respective pull-out rails and abut on catch edges thereof. Each drawer frame has a hook member receiving the front end of the respective pull-out rail.
The invention relates in particular to drawers with drawer guide assemblies having pull-out rails and supporting rails that are inseparable. In general, rollers or balls in such drawer guide assemblies are mounted in carriages.
The state of the art includes two types of drawer guide assemblies in which rollers thereof are not directly fastened to one of the rails, but rather are arranged in an individual carriage. Best known are so-called ball roller pull-out assemblies in which the transmission of load between the rails takes place by means of steel balls held in a carriage in the form of a ball cage. The other type of pull-out guide assembly, which has been introduced on the market lately, has cylindrical rollers of the type which normally are mounted directly at the rails. These rollers are, like the balls, held in a carriage which itself does not transmit forces.
Drawers and pull-out guide assemblies are known wherein it is possible to mount the full pull-out guide assembly including the pull-out rail or rails in the furniture body, and to engage the drawer with the pull-out rails subsequently. These arrangements allow easy disengaging of the drawer, for example for cleaning operations. Examples are shown in AT-PS 384 535 and in DE-GM 89 03 741.
To look the drawer on the pull-out rails, a resilient catch element of the drawer must engage in a recess of the pull-out rail. It is necessary for this purpose to align exactly the position of the recess in the rail and the position of the catch element on the drawer. In practice, inaccuracies occur frequently and prevent trouble-free engagement of the catch elements in the recesses of the pull-out rails. For example, the drawer guide assembly with supporting and pull-out rails may be mounted too far towards the front or towards the rear with respect to the depth of the article of furniture. This may be caused by a mounting error or by drilling errors in rows of holes which serve for mounting. In some cases, a buffer is mounted between the front of the drawer and the furniture body. The buffers usually have different heights so that the drawer extends into the furniture body to different extents.

Arrangement for removably mounting a drawer to pull-out rails of drawer guide assemblies


A system including a housing having an upper end in fluid communication with a source of pressurized fluid and a lower end releasably coupled to an expandable tubular. A piston is disposed within and sealingly engaged with the housing. An expansion cone is coupled to the piston and is operable to radially expand the expandable tubular as it moves longitudinally therethrough. A pressure chamber is disposed within the housing and defined by the piston and the expansion cone. A first pressure relief port is disposed within the housing and is operable to allow fluid communication between the pressure chamber and an annulus external to the housing. A second pressure relief port is disposed within the expansion cone and is operable to allow fluid communication between the pressure chamber and a portion of the expandable tubular below the expansion cone.

This disclosure relates generally to the construction, maintenance, and repair of wellbore tubular strings to facilitate hydrocarbon production or downhole fluid injection.
When an opening is formed in the sidewalls of an existing wellbore casing, whether through damage to the casing or because of an intentional perforation of the casing, it is often necessary to repair the opening in the existing wellbore casing. Conventional methods of repairing such openings can create unacceptable restrictions in the wellbore or fail to provide the necessary performance requirements once they are installed.
The principles of the present disclosure are directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations of the existing apparatus and processes for repairing openings in existing casing.


A tie down apparatus for a carrier having a storage compartment to carry a recreational vehicle comprises a cross bar, ends of the cross bar being supported by upstanding legs. The cross bar has one or more members extending therefrom that create a space to receive a portion of the recreational vehicle. One or more eyelets are mounted to the cross bar in association with one or more of the space-creating members. Each eyelet serves as an attachment point for a chain, rope, belt or the like to further secure the recreational vehicle in place on the trailer.

It is known in the prior art to secure motorcycles, quads, bicycles, snowmobiles, dune buggies or other similar type toys into the bed of a pick-up truck or a u-haul type trailer. Typically, these restraining devices utilize the front or side walls of the carrier or trailer in conjunction with straps, rope, chain or other similar items that connect with some form of a hook, latch, bar or ring to tie-down these toys for travel. The toy itself may be tied down or a trailer supporting the toy, e.g., a wave runner trailer may be tied down.
Present day trailer industry manufacturers build many different models and styles of trailers like enclosed cargo, utility and recreational travel trailers sometimes referred to as "toy haulers" or "sport trailers". Many of these trailers provide a rear or front ramp that drops down for loading and unloading of the toys inside the trailer. This adds additional weight and the distribution of this added weight to these types of trailers is an issue noted in the trailer manufacturers' "owners manual" as guidelines for the consumer. One example of a toy hauler is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,722,726 to Parmer, herein incorporated in its entirety by reference.
To restrain the toys found in the trailers, the prior art employs a variety of rings extending across metal recessed cups, which are usually flush mounted in the floor of the trailer. The rings interface with the free end of a strap, rope, chain or other similar type matter for securement purposes.
Another device employs a floor-mounted receiver that utilizes an aperture designed to receive the front or rear wheel of the toy that it is intended to secure, with the toy sliding into place.
Yet another prior art device employs a plunger, which, when aligned with an aperture in the track, permits the toys to be latched and held at that particular place.
The prior art devices discussed above are not without their problems though. Devices utilizing rings as the tie down or anchor that are mounted in the floor at fixed locations leave little flexibility to adjust for multiple toys to be secured. The angles sometimes needed to secure multiple toys require multiple rings for security and are only as good as the holding power of the straps, rope, chain or other like matter. Also, rings or ring-like devices do not create a front or rear tire stopping point or wall from which the wheels can be independently secured.
While the prior art floor mounted track may be adequate for multiple adjustments, it does not create a front or rear tire stopping point or wall from which the wheels can be independently secured. The track must also be maintained to remain free from sand, gravel and excessive dirt or rocks that may impede its ability to allow apertures that attach to the track to slide free for adequate adjustment.
Still another problem exists with conventional tie down or anchor devices or methods, which rely solely on straps, ropes, chains or other similar methods of securing the toys. These methods and devices have a tendency to loosen with excessive movement of the transporting vehicle. That is, the secured toys are held down by a strap or similar item and in part by the tension in the suspension of the secured toys themselves. Without a secondary position locking method and/or device in place, a loosened strap allows the toy to move freely about the towing vehicle and come into damaging contact with other toys or trailer/carrier components.
Therefore, a need exists for a novel arrangement that overcomes the deficiencies in the prior art discussed above. The present invention responds to this need by providing a secondary source of securing the toys for travel, as well as an integrated device that spreads the weight across a large amount of the trailer floor space to more adequately position the load for travel.


To reduce brightness variation by wiring resistance of an upper part transparent electrode in an organic luminescence element, a stripe-shape first auxiliary wiring 11 extending in a direction parallel to a signal line is formed on the upper part transparent electrode, by a precise mask vapor deposition method. Then, a stripe-shape second auxiliary wiring 12 extending in a direction parallel to a scanning line is formed by a precise mask vapor deposition method.

The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescence display device having reduced brightness variation and a method of manufacturing the same.
A self-luminous organic electroluminescence element (hereafter referred to as "an organic luminescence element") is expected as a flat-panel display device, or for lighting of a liquid crystal display device.
In general, an upper part transparent electrode of an organic luminescence element is used as a common electrode. Thus, a current of a whole panel flows through the upper part transparent electrode, and thereby each of luminescence elements produces luminescence. Therefore, in the case where a transparent conducive film having a high resistance is used as the upper part transparent electrode, variation of applied voltage is induced in a pixel composed of an organic luminescence element at the circumference part of the panel near a power source, and a pixel composed of an organic luminescence element at the central part of the panel, by wiring resistance of the upper part transparent electrode, resulting in generation of brightness variation.
In JP-A-2001-230086 and JP-A-2003-288994, there is described that, in an organic electroluminescence display device, an auxiliary wiring is formed mainly at the lower part of an upper part transparent electrode. In addition, it is also described that the auxiliary wiring is formed at the upper part of the upper part transparent electrode.

Organic electroluminescence display device and method of manufacturing the same


In some examples, a time-based equalizer can be configured to receive an input signal from a channel. The input signal can be distorted by previously received input signals transmitted over the channel. The time-based equalizer can be configured to compensate for distortions in the input signal caused by at least one previously received input signal to provide an ISI compensated input signal. The time-based equalizer can be configured to compensate for the distortions by edge time shifting respective edges of the input signal in time over a time interval for detecting the input signal to new edge time locations based on a feedback signal and edge movement signals. The feedback signal can be generated based on at least one previously received input signal.

Intersymbol Interference (ISI) is a major source of error in high speed communication applications. Equalizers can be applied to both transmitters and receivers of such links to reduce or eliminate the effect of ISI. Among these equalizers, DFEs can be used. A DFE stores and feeds back the decisions that the DFE has made for previously received bits and subtracts the ISI of these stored bits from a present signal characterizing a current received bit. In some examples, a DFE can be programmed to offset (e.g., undo or mitigate) an effect of a channel (e.g., a transmission line).


The present invention provides for a method and apparatus for hydrogen detection and dilution. The present invention uses an enclosure within which a variety of components of a fuel cell system are located and a ventilation stream to vent the enclosure which is induced by operation of a compressor that also is operable to supply the oxygen to the fuel cell system. The ventilation stream is directed through an outlet in the enclosure that contains a hydrogen sensor that is operable to both detect the presence of hydrogen and to consume hydrogen within the ventilation stream prior to being exhausted from the enclosure. The ventilation stream, alternatively, can be induced by operation of a fan driven by a motor which operates independently of the operation of the oxidant delivery system.

H2—O2(air) fuel cells are well known in the art and have been proposed as a power source for many applications both mobile and stationary. There are several types of H2—O2 fuel cells including acid-type, alkaline-type, molten-carbonate-type, and solid-oxide-type. A plurality of individual cells are commonly bundled together to form a fuel cell stack. In these fuel cells hydrogen is the anode reactant (i.e., fuel) and oxygen is the cathode reactant (i.e., oxidant). The oxygen can either be in a pure form (i.e., O2), or air (i.e., O2 mixed with N2). During the conversion of the anode reactant and cathode reactant to electrical energy, the fuel cell, regardless of the type, produces anode and cathode effluents that are exhausted from the fuel cell stack.
The fuel cell stack is typically part of a fuel cell system. The fuel cell system may include such things as a hydrogen storage device and hardware (i.e., injectors, piping, valves, sensors, etc.) associated with supplying the hydrogen to the fuel cell stack, a compressor or similar device and associated hardware for supplying the oxygen to the fuel cell stack, a coolant system and associated hardware to supply a coolant stream to the fuel cell stack, various sensors and meters, and a microprocessor or similar device operable to monitor and control the operation of the fuel cell stack and system. The fuel cell stack receives various fluid streams (i.e., a hydrogen-containing stream, an oxygen-containing stream and a coolant stream) that flow through a multitude of piping, sensors, valves and the like prior to and/or after flowing through the fuel cell stack. These various fluid steams may be separated by various membranes, gaskets and similar components. The close proximity of the fluid steams to one another and the multitude of hardware through which each stream flows represent potential sources from which hydrogen migrates and cross-contamination (i.e., an undesired mixing of two of more streams).
Such migration and cross-contamination are undesirable. To prevent migrating hydrogen from escaping the fuel cell system unimpeded, it is desirable to locate various components of the fuel cell system within an enclosure that functions to contain and direct the leaked hydrogen to a desired location or component. It is also desirable to be able to detect the presence of hydrogen in the enclosure so that a corrective action can be commenced.

Method and apparatus for hydrogen detection and dilution


Systems and methods are disclosed for performing PMD tests on a fiber span that is in service. For a fiber span transporting data signals in data channels of a data bandwidth, the following methods may be used for PMD tests. For a first method, a light system transmits test signals over test channels outside of the data bandwidth onto the fiber span. The test channels may have wavelengths longer or shorter than the data channels. The PMD measurement system receives the test signals and measures PMD on the fiber span. For a second method, a light system transmits test signals over available channels in the data bandwidth onto the fiber span. The data bandwidth may not be fully utilized for transporting data, so there are data channels available for PMD testing. The PMD measurement system receives the test signals and measures PMD on the fiber span.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of optical communication networks, and in particular, to systems and methods for performing Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) measurements on fiber spans that are in-service.
2. Statement of the Problem
Many communication companies use an optical network for transmitting data because of its high-bandwidth capacity. Fiber optic cables in the optical network reliably transport optical signals over long distances between a transmitter and a receiver. The fiber optic cables are comprised of transmission fiber, such as a single mode fiber (SMF). Over the length of SMF, the optical signals experience some degradation due to attenuation along the fiber. Fiber background loss in the fiber causes the attenuation, typically about 0.2 dB/km. The optical signals also degrade due to other limitations, such as Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD), chromatic dispersion, and nonlinear effects.
PMD is a dynamic pulse broadening phenomena. In a single mode fiber, optical pulses propagating down the fiber may separate into two orthogonal modes of polarization that travel at different speeds. The relative amplitudes of these two pulses are determined by the state of polarization of the input pulse relative to the fiber's input principal states of polarization (PSP). The separation into the two orthogonal modes may be caused by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors may result from fiber manufacturing processes, such as core ellipticity, or built-in asymmetric stresses. The extrinsic factors may be caused by stresses due to twisting, bending, and environmental effects, such as temperature and thermal gradients.
If the core of the fiber has a perfectly circular cross-section, then both modes travel at the same speed over the same distance. Otherwise, one mode travels slower than the other resulting in a difference in group velocities (an effect called birefringence). The difference in velocities between polarization modes is wavelength dependent and time dependent. The difference in propagation time, ατ, experienced by the two polarization modes at a given wavelength is referred to as the differential group delay (DGD) with units in picoseconds (ps). When the DGD in a fiber becomes excessively large, a receiver is unable to distinguish between a zero bit and a one bit, and bit errors occur eventually resulting in a PMD-induced outage.
When fiber spans are installed, PMD tests are sometimes performed on the fiber spans while the fiber spans are still dark (i.e., no data traffic). The fiber spans are tested one at a time. To test a fiber span, a light source is connected to one end of the fiber span and a PMD measurement system is connected to the other end of the fiber span. The light source is a broadband light source having a bandwidth of about 100 nm. The broadband light source then transmits light over the fiber span, in the 100 nm bandwidth, for receipt by the PMD measurement system. The PMD measurement system then records PMD measurements for the transmitted light.
A broadband light source is used to shorten the time needed for PMD tests. There is an inverse relationship between bandwidth and the test time needed to obtain accurate PMD measurements. As the bandwidth of the light source narrows, the test time increases. As the bandwidth of the light source widens, the test time decreases. For instance, for a 100 nm bandwidth light source, the test time may be five minutes. For a 30 nm bandwidth light source, the test time may be two hours. For a 1 nm bandwidth light source, the test time may be ninety days. Thus, current testing is done with a broadband light source to shorten test time.
One problem with currently using a broadband light source is that testing can only be performed on a dark fiber span. Testing with a broadband light source cannot be performed on a fiber span carrying data signals, as the bandwidth of the broadband light source overlaps the data bandwidth for transporting data signals. For instance, if the data bandwidth for a fiber span in service is the C-band (1530 nm to 1565 nm), and a broadband light source having a bandwidth between 1500 nm and 1600 nm is used, the bandwidth of the broadband light source would overlap with the data bandwidth to corrupt the data. If a fiber span is in-service, the network engineers would have to take the fiber span out of service to perform PMD tests, which is undesirable.
Restricting PMD testing to dark fibers presents problems for network engineers as they may need to perform PMD tests on fiber spans that are in service. For instance, some optical networks are installed to transport data at a data rate of 2.5 Gbps. PMD does not significantly affect 2.5 Gbps networks, so PMD tests probably were not performed on fiber spans in these networks before they were put in-service. If network engineers want to increase a 2.5 Gbps network to a 10 Gbps network or higher, such as a 40 Gbps, then PMD does become an issue at these higher data rates. Network engineers do not know how the networks will perform at the 10 Gbps or higher data rate as PMD tests were not performed on the fiber spans. In order to increase the data rate to 10 Gbps or higher, network engineers would have to perform PMD tests on the fiber spans or risk PMD-induced outages. As stated before, PMD tests would require taking the fiber spans out of service.
A problem remains to provide for efficient in-service PMD testing of fiber spans.

PMD measurements for an in-service fiber span