A demodulation system and method is used in a sensor system, such as a fi optic sensor system, that senses optical signals and modulates a phase generated carrier having a carrier frequency .omega..sub.c to form a modulated carrier. The modulated carrier is preferably undersampled at three times the carrier frequency (3.omega..sub.c), thereby maximizing the sensors' demodulated bandwidth relative to the sensors' sampling frequency. The undersampled, modulated carrier is orthogonally demodulated by multiplying the undersampled, modulated carrier by cos(.omega..sub.c (t.sub.o)) and sin(.omega..sub.c)(t.sub.o)) to extract even and odd harmonic components of the signal of interest. The even and odd harmonic components of the signal of interest are further demodulated by taking the square root of the sum of squares of the even and odd harmonic components, normalizing the even and odd harmonic components, and differentiating, cross-multiplying and differencing the normalized even and odd harmonic components to recover the signal of interest.

(1). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods of demodulation and in particular, to a demodulation system and method for demodulating an undersampled, modulated carrier signal to recover a signal of interest.
(2). Description of the Prior Art
In communication systems, modulation is commonly used to transmit information from an information source, such as a sensor system where information is detected, to an information destination, such as a receiver system where detected signals are received and processed. According to conventional modulation techniques, a signal of interest detected by a sensor modulates a carrier signal by modifying one or more characteristics of the carrier signal, such as amplitude, frequency or phase, to form a modulated carrier signal. The modulated carrier signal is then more easily transmitted over the appropriate communication channels to the destination or receiver system where the modulated carrier signal is demodulated to recover the signal of interest and determine the information.
One type of sensor system that employs modulation techniques includes fiber optic sensors, for example, as used in fiber optic interferometers for distance measurements. The fiber optic sensors detect or sense light signals that modulate the output phase of the sensor system or interferometer. The modulated carrier can then be photodetected and transmitted to a receiver system. In a system having an array of sensors, the signals are often multiplexed, for example, using time division multiplexing (TDM) and/or wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).
One type of modulation technique used in interferometers and other sensor systems uses phase generated carriers. The sensor's time varying phase signal (signal of interest) modulates the phase generated carriers to form a modulated carrier. Both the signal of interest and the phase generated carriers can be mathematically represented as a Bessel series of harmonically related terms. During modulation, the Bessel series of the signal of interest modulates the Bessel series of the phase generated carrier. The number of terms in the Bessel series of the resulting modulated carrier will be dependent upon the level of the measured or detected signal of interest. The harmonically related terms in the Bessel series of the modulated carrier represent both the measured or detected signal of interest and the carrier signal.
The homodyne receiver concept is typically used to demodulate the sensor information or signal of interest from an adjacent pair of modulated carriers. According to prior art demodulation techniques, a quadrature pair of modulated carriers must be multiplied by a local oscillator of the proper frequency, phase and amplitude. Matching the phase of the local oscillator with the phase of the modulated carrier is often tedious and inexact. If either the phase or amplitude are mismatched, the harmonic distortion of the demodulator will be increased.
Typical fiber optic sensor systems using phase generated carriers to transmit a detected or measured signal (i.e., signal of interest) to a receiver system have used a pair of quadrature carriers with frequencies of either .omega..sub.c and 2.omega..sub.c or 2.omega..sub.c and 3.omega..sub.c, where .omega..sub.c is the phase generated carrier frequency. In multiplexed sensor systems, the sensor sampling frequency f.sub.s must be selected to ensure that frequencies greater than f.sub.s /2 are not aliased into the band of interest below f.sub.s /2. Previous sampling frequencies were, therefore, greater than or equal to four times the frequency of the lowest frequency quadrature carrier. If carriers having a frequency of .omega..sub.c and 2.omega..sub.c are used, for example, a minimum sampling frequency of 4.omega..sub.c is required. Such a high sampling frequency often places great demands on the sampling circuitry.

Demodulation system and method for recovering a signal of interest from an undersampled, modulated carrier

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


In a method for activating an electric machine having a rotor, a stator winding having multiple phases and a rectifier having multiple half-bridges corresponding to the number of phases, which each have active switching elements, alternating current signals, which are phase-offset to one another by switching the switching elements, are applied to the phases in a first motor operating mode in which the rotor rotates above a limiting speed, and in a second motor operating mode, in which the rotor rotates below the limiting speed, constant direct-current signals are at least partially applied to the phases by switching the switching elements as a function of an instantaneous angle position of the rotor, the direct-current signals being selected in such a way that a current flow does not exceed a predefined maximum current absolute value through any of the phases.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and a method for activating an electric machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generators for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy in motor vehicles are known. Claw pole generators are usually used for this purpose. According to the related art, these are usually equipped with electrical excitation. Since claw pole generators generate polyphase current, for example, three-phase or five-phase current, rectifying is required for the typical DC voltage vehicle electrical systems of motor vehicles. The related art includes rectifiers based on semiconductor diodes or active rectifiers.
Generators which may also be used for starting the internal combustion engine are known ("starter generator", RSG). Such a starter generator is typically only operated as a motor at very low speeds, since the torque which may be generated decreases rapidly in the direction of increasing speeds.
Corresponding generators are known, for example, from the field of hybrid vehicles. The goal in this case is to assist the internal combustion engine at low speeds, at which it does not yet deliver its full torque (boost operation, turbo lag compensation).
To be able to provide the required power, such drives are typically operated at a voltage (for example, 48 V) which is significantly higher than the vehicle electrical system voltage (for example, 12 V) provided as standard in the vehicle. Vehicle electrical systems which include two or more voltage levels (for example, 12 V and 48 V) for this and other reasons are also referred to as "two-voltage vehicle electrical systems" or "multi-voltage vehicle electrical systems."
Terms such as "electric machine," (electric) drive," and "electric motor" are used synonymously hereafter. In each case, these are electric machines which may be operated at least sometimes as motors, optionally also as generators, and whose stator winding is commutated via a rectifier using currents (phase currents) according to a predefined activation pattern. A "stator winding" is understood as a system made up of multiple electrical coils. Such a stator winding is designed in the electric machine considered in the present case as a multiphase winding. In this multiphase winding, electrical coils are interconnected individually or in groups in the form of a star or triangle, for example. The number of the coils or also the number of multiple groups of identically connected coils corresponds to the phase number of the electric machine.
From a thermal aspect, the mentioned low speeds and in particular the standstill of the electric machine are particularly critical if the stator winding is further energized in this case. Since the phase currents only change slowly at low speeds and therefore possibly will still be at high levels for a longer time and even have constant values at a standstill, destruction of the activation electronics due to overheating may occur here in a short time.
However, it must be ensured at the same time that the electric machine may also generate a preferably high torque rapidly from a standstill, for example, to implement an electrical startup of the vehicle. A complete interruption of the current feed is therefore not desirable.
The present invention will provide a remedy here and improve the activation of a corresponding electric machine, in particular at a standstill.

Method for activating an electric machine


A first pair of resistors formed in a first layer of material, and a second pair of resistors formed in the first layer or in a second layer can be wired into a Wheatstone bridge to form a temperature sensor. Either layer can include a semiconductor or a dielectric. In a semiconductor layer, a pair of resistors can be doped areas of the layer, while in a dielectric, a pair of resistors can be material deposited in cavities in the layer, such as material from an added “middle-of-line” (MOL) metallization layer.

The present invention relates to microfabrication of semiconductor devices, and, more specifically, to structures and fabrication methods of thermoresistance sensors.
Precise, local measurement of temperature in an integrated circuit (IC) is typically viewed as an important factor in IC operation. Traditional solutions employ junction bandgap references in, for example, diodes and/or bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) to measure temperature. However, these may require extensive calibration to achieve a one degree Celsius resolution. In addition, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) lateral diodes and/or BJTs can be expensive to engineer. Because lateral diodes use 1D junctions, they require a relatively large area, and BJTs are difficult to manufacture since source/drain formation is now typically done in-situ with epitaxial growth techniques. Further, vertical BJTs are generally not available in SOI, and, in the manufacture of finFETs, a lower volume of silicon is typically available, which can increase difficulty in forming a suitable bandgap. Fin-based technologies pose a challenge when making planar devices, such as due to chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and/or point of contact/connection (POC) issues.
An option that can be relatively easily and inexpensively included in most semiconductor manufacturing techniques is to employ high precision, thermally sensitive resistors. However, front-end silicon-based resistors typically have low sensitivity because other components are also responsive to temperature variations. As a result, thermal spreads can be large, which can swamp thermoresistance effects. In addition, back-end metal-based resistors are often isolated and/or far from dies, and so are affected by the overall temperature of the chip with which it is associated. Further, back-end metal-based resistors can be difficult to calibrate.

Thermoresistance sensor structure for integrated circuits and method of making


Methods and circuits utilizing a two stage adaptation algorithm to determine the optimal code for an equalizer to compensate a received signal is disclosed. In the first stage, a coarse tuning algorithm is used to choose a range of codes based on the amplitude of the received signal. The chosen codes will be used as reference points in the second stage. In the second stage, a fine tuning algorithm is used to select a code in the range of reference codes determined in stage one. The fine tuning algorithm looks to the status of the data lock signal generated by the clock recovery circuit. If the data lock signal does not indicate a lock, the fine tuning algorithm cycles through the range of reference codes. If the data lock signal indicates a lock, then that particular code is continued to be used for the equalizer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to circuits and methods for conditioning a received signal, and, in particular, methods and circuits for determining an optimal code for an equalizer of a receiver.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are several approaches in implementing a receive channel in a communication system using the analog approach (an example of such system is the receive channel for a 100TX Fast Ethernet transceiver). FIG. 1 illustrates a traditional approach where the received signal is compensated by an equalizer 10. The amplitude of the equalized signal is feed to a slicer 12 and an adaptation circuit 16. The adaptation circuit 16 compares the equalized signal with a present reference voltage to determine an error signal. Base on the value of the error signal, the adaptation circuit can adjust the equalizer 10 to a different setting thereby changing the amount of the compensation to the incoming signal. FIG. 2a illustrates an example of the frequency response of a received signal. FIG. 2b illustrates the various taps (also referred to as codes) that may be selected and provided by an equalizer in compensating the received signal. FIG. 2c illustrates the desired result.
The slicer 12 slices the equalized signal with a pre-set voltage that matches the adaptation reference voltage and the sliced signal is then passed to the clock recovery circuit 14. The clock recovery circuit locates the data edge within a time window, locks to the data, and constantly adjusts itself to adapt to the incoming (equalized and sliced) signal. However, if the incoming signal has excessive jitters, the clock recovery circuit may lose the lock on the data.
There are several causes of jitter in this system. First, if the equalized signal mismatches with the fixed slice level, it can cause pulse width distortion of the sliced signal, which translates to clock jitter. Second, the transmitter, communication channel, cable, transformer, etc. can also causes excessive jitter and noise. If the combined jitter becomes large enough, the data edge may no longer be located within the time window centered by the recovery clock and the clock recovery circuit will then lose lock on the data and the data will lost. From the receiver side, there is little that can be done with the second cause of jitter. To reduce the jitter caused by the first cause, in the traditional system, the equalized signal is monitored and the setting for the equalizer is altered accordingly to minimize the error signal when compared against the provided reference signal.
The traditional system is conceptually simple. However, this system heavily relies on amplitude information and it is therefore sensitive to voltage, process, and temperature variation. Especially when the supply voltage becomes lower and lower, it is difficult to ensure that the adaptation circuit can adapt to a working code in all corner conditions.
It is therefore desirable to have a solution that allows the receiver to tolerate and operate reliably under extreme conditions and minimize the effect from voltage, process, and temperature variations.

Methods and circuits for optimal equalization


A method of making a needle electrode is such that a neck portion is formed in a thin wire made of a tungsten single crystal and the thin wire is cut at the neck portion by feeding an electric current in electrolyte.

The present invention relates to a method of making a needle electrode applicable to an electron emitter used for an electron microscope, a CD (critical dimensions) SEM, an electron beam lithography system, an IC tester or the like and an ion source used for a focused ion beam (FIB) source such as a mask repair, an ion implantation device, a device for analyzing a cross-section of a semiconductor device, a specimen preparation apparatus for a transmission electron microscope or the like.
There is a demand for electron emitters of higher brightness in order to increase spatial resolution and efficiency on an electron beam utilizing apparatus such as an electron microscope, and various types of electron emitter such as a thermoionic emitter, e.g., a point filament, or a Schottky emitter have been studied.
For instance, a cold field emitter as a source of emitting electrons having a high brightness wherein a thin wire made of a tungsten single crystal is cut off by electropolishing to form a sharp edge used for an electron emitting surface, is widely used as an electron source for a high resolution electron microscope. Further, a ZrO/W TFE (thermal field emitter) wherein a ZrO layer is coated on the surface of a chip made of a tungsten single crystal so that the work function of (100) surface is reduced from about 4.5 eV to about 2.8 eV is noted in recent years.
Even in any electron emitter, as understood from the Fowler-Nordheim formula or the Schottky formula, the emission current density is determined based on the work function of the electron emitting area of the emitter and a distribution of the electric field strength. The distribution of the electric field strength depends strongly on a voltage applied across the emitter and the extraction electrode and the geometry of the emitting area located at the end of the emitter in particular, and it is an important factor controlling the characteristic of the electron emitter.
Regarding the geometry of the top end of an electron emitter, for instance, the before-mentioned ZrO/W TFE, there has been known that when the radius of curvature of the top end is increased to 1 .mu.m or more, the energy spread of emitting electrons is decreased, and stability is improved (J. Vac. Sci. Technol., 16(6) 1979, 1704-1708, J. Applid Physics., 46, 5(1975) 2029-2050).
Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-7-105834 discloses a method that an electric discharge makes the curvature of the radius in TFE larger so that the energy spread becomes small and a stable emission is obtainable. It also discloses that in trying to heat the conventional TFE to about 2,800 K, it has been found that the half cone angle is large as 40.degree. or more which is unsuitable for practical use. In addition, the publication suggests that a TFE having a large radius of curvature and having a shape of the top end in which the half cone angle is small can not be processed by the conventional electropolishing method.
In fact, in the conventional electropolishing method, the half cone angle becomes large as the radius of curvature is larger, and it was difficult to control the half cone angle to be 5.degree. or less even when the radius of curvature was 0.6 .mu.m or less, or to control the half cone angle to be 10.degree. or less even when the radius of curvature was 0.6 .mu.m-2.0 .mu.m.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A-8-36981, the inventors of this application propose that a TFE having a large radius of curvature of 1.2-10 .mu.m and a full cone angle of 25.degree. or less can provide in a stable manner electron beams having an energy spread of 0.5 eV or less and a angular current density of 0.02 mA/sr or more at a rate of change of 5% or less. Further, they disclose that the above-mentioned TFE is obtainable by combining a dry-etching method with the conventional electropolishing method.
However, the method disclosed in the publication involves a problem that an electron emitter having a desired shape of the top end, in particular a shape of the top end wherein the radius of curvature is 0.6 .mu.m or more and the half cone angle is 10.degree. or less can not be obtained at a reduced cost since the method utilizes processes of low productivity such as electric discharging and dry etching, and further, an expensive device for inclusive use is needed.
A focused ion beam (FIB) source is used for various types of semiconductor inspection apparatus and semiconductor processing apparatus, and it attracts users attention in recent years. In particular, a liquid metal ion source wherein gallium is used as ion species is widely known as an ion source for FIB.
The liquid metal ion source is so adapted that a needle electrode made of metal having a high melting point is gotten wet with liquid metal, and a high electric field strength is applied to a sharp edge of the needle electrode to ionize the liquid metal. A cone-like protection of liquid metal which is called Tailor cone is formed at the sharp edge of the needle electrode by the effect of the high electric field strength, and ions are emitted from the sharp edge. The cone angle of the Tailor cone is supposed to be about 97.degree. in full angle, and it is known to be important to form the cone angle at the sharp edge of the needle electrode in conformity with the cone angle of Tailor cone.
Accordingly, the sharp edge is generally formed by an electropolishing method in the same manner as in the needle electrode for the electron emitter. Besides use of the electropolishing method, a technique of mechanically polishing can be used. However, such mechanically polishing method requires a special jig because it is used for a fine part, with the result that manufacturing cost becomes high. Further, the electropolishing method can not easily provide a needle electrode having a cone angle which is close to the cone angle of Tailor cone in stable manner.
The electropolishing method for the needle electrode is disclosed in, for example, "Kotai Butsuri", vol. 2, No. 2 (1966) 33-38. However, the conventional method has a problem that the cone angle and the radius of curvature of the top end portion can not independently be controlled because they are in a strong correlation, in particular, when the radius of the top end is large, it is difficult to reduce the half cone angle.


The present invention relates to novel processes for preparing intermediates of the formula I ##STR1## and to novel intermediates thereof which are useful in the preparation of inhibitors of enkephalinase and angiotensin converting enzyme.

The present invention relates to novel processes for preparing compounds of the formula I, ##STR2## which are useful intermediates for preparing inhibitors of enkephalinase and angiotensin converting enzyme, including 4S-4.alpha., 7.alpha.(R*), 12b.beta.!!-7-(1-oxo-2(S)-thio-3-phenylpropyl)amino!-1,2,3,4,6,7,8,12b-oc tahydro-6-oxo-pyrido2,1-a !2!benzazepine-4-carboxylic acid and 4S-4.alpha.,7.alpha.(R*), 12b.beta.!!-7-(1-oxo-2(S)-acetylthio-3-phenylpropyl)amino!-1,2,3,4,6,7,8, 12b-octahydro-6-oxo-pyrido2,1-a!2!benzazepine-4-carboxylic acid and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof (European Patent Application No. 0 481 522 A1, published 22 Apr. 1992, 209th ACS National Meeting, Division of Medicinal Chemistry, Abst. No. 161 (1995), and European Patent Application No. 657 453 A1, published 14 Jun. 1995) and to novel intermediates thereof.

Processes for preparing intermediates of inhibitors of enkephalinase and angiotensin converting enzyme and intermediates thereof


The present invention relates to flatbed trailers for hauling cargo on highways, and more particularly to stakes to be releasably secured in pockets along the edges of a flatbed trailer for converting that trailer from one without side walls to one with side walls. The stake comprises an elongated main body of uniform transverse cross-section. The bottom end portion of the main body is formed so as to be releasably received in the pocket. A pair of oppositely disposed panel-receiving channels extend along sides of the main body for releasably receiving sides of wall panels.

Previous stake arrangements for flatbed trailers have been described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,126,224 of Carter et al issued Mar. 24, 1964; No. 2,222,335 of Dietrich issued Nov. 19, 1940; No. 1,363,059 of Shanahan issued Dec. 21, 1920; No. 3,174,592 of Varmon et al issued Mar. 23, 1965; No. 3,692,354 of Tuerk and No. 4,067,601 of Tuerk issued Jan. 10, 1978.
This latter patent describes a stake currently used constructed with a main body, one portion of which is flat, and a T-shaped portion which extends outwardly from that flat portion along its length to provide a pair of oppositely facing panel side-receiving channels. A problem with such prior art stake construction is that is constricts the trailer platform space available when the stakes and panels which form the vertical side walls of the trailer are in place. The channels are positioned to one side of the main body, and when the stake is in position in the pocket, they are located inwardly over portions of the platform so that valuable platform space to the exterior is lost when the panels are in position with their sides in the channels. That space may only be an inch or two, but an inch r two on both sides of the trailer may make a significant difference in the cargo handling capacity of the trailer.


The selection of hearing aids can be based on many factors which are beyond a simple compensation for the hearing impairment of the user. The process of selecting hearing aids can be time consuming and resource intensive. By rapidly and effectively providing the necessary context to hearing-impaired individuals to evaluate the benefit provided by various hearing aids, without the traditional time consuming fitting trial, the purchase of a device can be expedited and provide the necessary correction to negate the effects of auditory deprivation. A system an method for enabling improved hearing aid appraisal and selection processes is provided.

It has been well documented that 3 in 10 adults over the age of 60 will acquire hearing loss, most of which will be diagnosed with presbycusis, an irreversible deterioration of the sensorineural aspects of the auditory system. There are also other etiologies of hearing loss, such as genetic congenital manifestations and noise-induced trauma, which can affect individuals in diverse age groups. The most practical and widely-used treatment for presbycusis and other forms of sensorineural hearing loss is with hearing aids; personal devices which can restore the loss of auditory sensation measured during one's audiological assessment.
Considerable research and development efforts have been set forward to provide hearing aids which precisely correct an individual's loss of hearing without discomfort or inconvenience. Despite the investment in research and development, patients may remain dissatisfied with the results provided by hearing aids and/or the lack of knowledge from those fitting these devices. Compounded to this possible poor performance are the elevated costs for this research and development which are passed along to the patients. As such, many patients are reticent to purchase hearing aids as they are unable to determine the cost/benefit ratio for the devices and will often postpone correction of hearing loss to their detriment. Prolonged auditory deprivation has been linked to loss of neural atrophy resulting in poor speech discrimination, social isolation and dementia in the elderly.
Currently the only means for a hearing-impaired individual to gauge benefit from hearing aids is by experiencing sound from the hearing aids themselves. Due to the time involved in this process, many individuals are unable to achieve their due diligence prior to purchasing these expensive devices, or may not trust the competencies of dispensers from retail outlets in selecting the best devices. As such, there is tremendous loss to follow-up and a low buy-in from hearing-impaired patients.
Accordingly, systems and methods that enable improved hearing aid appraisal and selection processes become highly desirable.
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.

System and method for hearing aid appraisal and selection


An update unit for an array in an integrated circuit is provided. The update unit delays the update of the array until a clock cycle in which the functional input to the array is idle. The input port normally used by the functional input is then used to perform the update. During clock cycles between receiving the update and storing the update into the array, the update unit compares the current functional input address to the update address. If the current functional input address matches the update address, then the update value is provided as the output of the array. Otherwise, the information stored in the indexed storage location is provided. In this manner, the update appears to have been performed in the clock cycle that the update value was received, as in a dual-ported array. A particular embodiment of the update unit is a branch prediction array update unit. This unit is described in detail.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to update mechanisms for storage arrays on an integrated circuit and more particularly to an update mechanism for a branch prediction array embodied on a superscalar microprocessor.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Integrated circuits are groups of transistors employed on a single monolithic substrate. The groups of transistors embody various functions for a system (for example, a computer system). One particular example of an integrated circuit is a superscalar microprocessor which embodies multiple instruction processing pipelines. Integrated circuits typically have a clock input associated with them, which defines a "clock cycle". A clock cycle is an interval of time in which the functions embodied on the integrated circuit complete a portion of their tasks (a "subfunction"). At the end of a clock cycle, the results are moved to the next function or subfunction which operates on the value.
Integrated circuits may employ arrays for storing information useful to the embodied functions. For example, data and instruction caches are arrays that are commonly employed within superscalar microprocessors. As used herein, the term "array" means a plurality of storage locations configured into a structure from which the values stored in one or more of the plurality of storage locations may be selected for manipulation. Arrays are configured with one or more input ports which allow functions to access information stored in the array. Each input port may be associated with an output port. A particular input port may allow read access, write access, or read/write access to storage locations within the array and is referred to as a read port, a write port, or a read/write port, respectively. A read access is an access in which the value in the selected storage location is transferred to the associated output port and the storage location is left unchanged. A write access is an access in which the value in the selected storage location is changed to a value provided with the input port. A port which allows read/write access allows either a read or a write access to occur. Ports which allow write accesses typically are associated with a write data input port. The write data input port conveys the data to be stored at the address provided on the write port.
"Indexes" are often used to select a storage location within an array. An index is a value which indicates which of the plurality of storage locations of an array that a particular access intends to manipulate. The act of selecting one of a plurality of storage locations according to an index is called "indexing". In one particular example, a set associative cache has an index which identifies which group of sets to access and a "way value" which selects one of the sets within the selected group for manipulation.
In many cases, more than one access to an array in a given clock cycle may be desirable for the functions an integrated circuit embodies. An array which allows two accesses per clock cycle is referred to as "dual-ported". Each port may allow a read access, a write access, or a read/write access. Unfortunately, dual-ported arrays are much larger than single ported arrays, often occupying more than double the silicon area of a single ported array which stores the same amount of information.
One particularly useful dual-ported array is an array in which one port allows a read access while a second (write) port updates a storage location with new information. Arrays that are configured in this way do not block a read access with an update, which simplifies array control logic and may improve performance. An example of an array configured with a read port and a write port for updates is a branch prediction array associated with a branch prediction unit of a superscalar microprocessor. The branch prediction array stores information related to past branch predictions. A fetch address is used to index into the branch prediction array, and the information read from the array is used to create a branch prediction associated with the instructions residing at the fetch address. When a branch instruction is mispredicted, then the correct address is fetched and new prediction information is calculated. The new prediction information should be stored into the branch prediction array in a storage location indexed by the address of the mispredicted branch instruction. Then, the next time the branch instruction is fetched, a correct prediction may be made. The new prediction information is available to update the branch prediction array in the clock cycle following the cycle in which the correct address is fetched. However, the clock cycle that the update is available is also a clock cycle in which a fetch address is presented to the branch prediction unit. Therefore, a read port for the fetch address and a write port for the update would be useful for the branch prediction array, but the silicon area cost for the dual-ported array is relatively large. A mechanism which achieves the effects of a dual-ported array with a read port and a write port without the associated silicon area penalty is desired.


A method of supplying lubricating oil in cold-rolling by emulsion lubrication, characterized by comprising:                using a constant (supply efficiency) obtained under conditions of a specific rolling rate, emulsion supply, emulsion concentration, emulsion temperature, plateout length, rolled material width or roll barrel length, rolling load, grade of the rolled material, and type of lubricating oil and oil film thickness at the time of neat lubrication realized under the specific rolling lubrication conditions to estimate the oil film thickness realized by emulsion lubrication under the specific rolling lubrication conditions and        controlling at least one of the emulsion supply, emulsion concentration, emulsion temperature, and plateout length so that the estimated oil film thickness matches with the target oil film thickness.

In cold-rolling of steel sheet, from the viewpoints of stabilization of the rolling operation, the shape and surface quality of the product, prevention of seizure, the roll lifetime, etc., it is necessary to maintain the friction coefficient between the rolled material (steel sheet) and the work rolls at a suitable value. To obtain a suitable friction coefficient, a lubricating oil suitable for the grade, dimensions, and rolling conditions of the rolled sheet is selected and supplied at the inlet side of the rolling stand to the rolled material or rolls.
At the cold-rolling of a steel sheet, in general emulsion lubrication is used. To obtain a suitable friction coefficient, a model is used to control the emulsion supply rate or emulsion concentration.
As methods for controlling lubrication by a model, there are:
(1) The method of estimating and controlling the supply rate of the seizing limit from a constant existing for each rolling condition, concentration, rolling rate, etc. (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2002-224731),
(2) The method of determining the positions of the lubricating oil supply nozzles by considering the time required for oil-water separation at the time the lubricating oil plates out on the steel sheet etc. (phase transition time) (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2000-094013), etc.
In the past, it was not possible to estimate or measure the oil film thickness at the time of emulsion lubrication. It was possible to arrange an oil film thickness meter at the outlet side of the rolling stand to measure the oil film thickness at the outlet side of the rolling stand, but it was not possible to learn the oil film thickness directly under the roll bite at a certain time. As a result, with the above conventional lubricating method, it was not possible to obtain a suitable oil film thickness right under the roll bite and not possible to control lubrication with a high precision.
Therefore, regarding the above method (1), since it is for the prediction of the seizing limit, use is not possible at a low speed. There is, therefore, room for improvement of the specific oil consumption in the low speed region. Further, regarding the above method (2), phase transition time is required for plateout of the emulsion lubricating oil. Setting the positions of the lubricating oil supply ends considering the phase transition time is, it is true, effective, but the method of determining the phase transition time is not fixed, therefore there is the problem that the positions cannot be accurately determined.

Method of supplying lubricating oil in cold-rolling


A transmitting section divides a content recorded in a recording medium into data of a predetermined size, reproduces the data, and transmits the data to a receiving device. An erasing section erases the outputted data recorded in the recording medium, when the data of the predetermined size is transmitted to the receiving device. An EOB adding section adds an EOB, which shows an end of transmission, to the data transmitted from the transmitting section, when a power off signal is inputted during transmission of data by the transmitting section. An EOB-added data position storing section stores a recording position, on the recording medium, of the data to which the EOB is added. Then, a power off control section turns off a power of the device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device which handles AV (audio/video) contents, and in particular, to a reproducing device, a reproducing method, and a receiving device, which are provided with content protection technology such as an HDD recorder, an STB (set top box) having a built-in HDD, a personal computer, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, devices, which record in a built-in hard disk drive (hereinafter, referred to as HDD), contents (programs consisting of images/sound, programs by digital broadcasting, data by data broadcasting, and the like) sent by broadcasting, and which enable a program which has already been recorded in the HDD to be watched and listened to while recording a program which is currently being broadcast, and DVD recording/reproducing devices or VTRs which have a built-in HDD, have started to be sold by respective companies.
Various demands have been made on such devices by copyright holders, and currently, discussions are being carried out between the parties which transmit contents and the copyright holders. Specifically, content data which is broadcast by digital broadcasting does not deteriorate even if copied. Thus, the standardization of processing by which data is recorded in an HDD which is built in a device, and after ninety minutes, for example, have passed, the recorded data is automatically erased, and the standardization of MOVE processing in which immediately after data is reproduction-outputted from the built-in HDD, the data (the original data) which is still recorded in the HDD and which corresponds to the reproduction-outputted data is erased, and the like, have advanced.
A case where MOVE processing of a content from an HDD to a DVD-RAM is carried out, in a conventional DVD recording/reproducing device in which an HDD is built (hereinafter called HDD built-in DVD device), will be described hereinafter.
First, a signal including content transmitted from a broadcasting station is processed by a tuner and/or a decoder, and thereafter, is inputted to the HDD built-in DVD device, and is entirely stored once in the HDD which is built in the device.
When a user wishes to record onto a DVD-RAM the aforementioned content recorded once in the HDD, a control device in the HDD built-in DVD device instructs the HDD to reproduce the content, and instructs a DVD drive to record the content which is reproduced. Then, in the HDD built-in DVD device, the designated content is recorded onto a DVD-RAM disk via an IDE interface or the like from the HDD.
At this time, when the content is a content having a restriction on copying, i.e., is a content such that the original data in the HDD must be erased if the data is reproduced one time, immediately after the data is reproduction-outputted for recording onto the DVD-RAM disk, the data which is still recorded in the HDD and which corresponds to the reproduction-outputted data is erased from the HDD. In this way, a processing which erases the recorded content of the source of reproduction at substantially the same time as reproduction-outputting is called MOVE processing. Note that, when data is recorded onto a DVD-RAM, the content is set as copy prohibited data ("No more copy" data), and further copying thereof is prohibited.
Next, operation in a case where a set top box which has an HDD built-in (hereinafter referred to as an HDD built-in STB) carries out MOVE processing of a content from the HDD to a digital TV (display) connected to the STB will be described.
First, a signal including content transmitted from a broadcasting station is received and processed by a digital broadcast receiving section of the HDD built-in STB, and thereafter, is entirely stored once in the HDD built in the device. The content inputted to the HDD built-in STB may be, other than a signal received by the digital broadcast receiving section, a signal reproduced by another reproducing device such as a DVHS or the like.
When the user wishes to, by using a digital TV, reproduce, watch and listen to the content which has been entirely recorded once in the HDD, the user instructs the HDD built-in STB to reproduce the content. The control device in the HDD built-in STB instructs the HDD to reproduce the content. Then, the content is reproduced from the HDD, and is outputted to the digital TV via an IDE interface or an IEEE 1394 interface. The content is thereby reproduced, watched and listened to on the digital TV.
At this time, when the content must be erased if reproduced one time, the content which has been recorded in the HDD, whose data has been reproduction-outputted, is erased from the HDD at the time of being reproduction-outputted from the HDD onto the digital TV for watching and listening.
In this case, when the content is reproduced while being recorded, if the user sets the reproduction state into a pause state and leaves his/her seat and then returns thereafter for example, the user can continuously watch and listen to the program from the scene at the time when the user left his/her seat.
In this way, when the content received is not reproduction-outputted for long-term storage and is reproduction-outputted for viewing and listening to on a digital TV or the like, the reproduction-outputted data is erased from the HDD. This processing is included in MOVE processing.
When data recorded in the HDD is erased at the time of MOVE operation, the reproduction-outputted data may be actually erased by an erase head. Or, the address values of the respective data recorded in a management table in the HDD which manages the positions of recorded data may be erased such that the data cannot in any way be correctly reproduced from the HDD.
Further, when data recorded in the HDD is erased at the time of MOVE operation, the respective data which form the content are erased immediately after reproduction-outputting (copying), or are erased after a certain time has passed after reproduction-outputting. When the content recorded in the HDD is erased after reproduction-outputting an entire content, a state arises in which the same contents exist on recording media such as the HDD, the DVD-RAM and the like. This is therefore unfavorable from the standpoint of copyrights.
In such MOVE processing, no consideration whatsoever has been given in the prior art to a power being turned off in the midst of MOVE such that the processing is interrupted.
In this way, in conventional reproducing devices, reproducing methods and receiving devices, MOVE does not erase the original content after the content has been entirely reproduced (or copied). For example, each time a data packet is reproduced, MOVE erases the corresponding data packet in the HDD.
There may be cases where, in the midst of MOVE operation, MOVE operation is interrupted due to the power switch of the device being turned off, or due to power off being instructed by the user misoperating the remote controller, or due to a power off command being inputted from another device via a network such as IEEE1394. In such a case, because a part of the original stream has already been erased, there is the problem that the content which has been subjected to MOVE processing cannot be restored at either of the transmitting side or the receiving side, and a part or all of the content cannot be reproduced.
There is an OS which utilizes, as a technique of moving files in a personal computer, a method in which, in order to protect a file, the entire file is copied once, and the copy is verified with the original file, and after confirming the correspondence, the original file is erased. In the case of such an OS, because the backing-up itself can be thought of as a complete copy, in the case of AV content which is copyrighted, this is not permissible from the standpoint of the intent of the copyright holders.
As described above, if a power off request arises at a device at which MOVE operation is being carried out, and the power of the device is turned off and operation is interrupted, there is a problem in that the original stream cannot be restored and a part of or all of the content cannot be reproduced.

Reproducing device, reproducing method, and receiving device


A mortarless interlocking building block for a building block system comprising a single light-weight block of the standard building block dimensions molded from plastic and configured to be separable into three-quarter, half and one-quarter sizes for accommodating prescribed wall dimension lengths and openings, including a feature for building interconnecting right-angle walls.

Heretofore, it has been well known in building block systems to provide interlocking and mortarless building blocks for load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls such that multiple blocks may be assembled in courses and stacked without the use of mortar.
It has also been known to provide standard building blocks made of plastic for constructing courses and stacks of courses to form a wall or walls. Such blocks have included connecting elements at opposite ends and intermeshing connecting members at the top and bottom faces of the blocks. It has also been known that such blocks have self-aligning features because of male and female connectors, as well as interengaging parts for aligning stacked courses of staggered blocks.
It has been long recognized that use of mortarless interlocking blocks without the need of mortar results in rapid construction of walls even when using unskilled labor.
It has also been known to provide mortarless interlocking products in a system which includes and requires a stretcher block for the erection of a wall, corner blocks for defining the intersection of two walls at right angles, and multiple lengths of blocks for accommodating specified longitudinal dimensional courses of blocks. Further, heretofore it has been known to provide corner blocks of various lengths in order to size a wall along a particular course.
Most heretofore known blocks for mortarless interlocking block systems to produce walls have been costly to produce and in many cases grooves or sockets and protrusions or connectors have been cut into the blocks after they have been molded. Such prior known blocks require additional finishing such as by grinding or cutting to provide connections, and to meet required tolerances. Some heretofore known block systems have also included L-shaped corner blocks in order to erect walls perpendicular to each other.
The improved block of the present invention overcomes the difficulties and problems in heretofore known blocks for block systems by providing a single light-weight block of molded plastic which can easily be cut at the job site to accommodate various course lengths and provide for openings needed for windows and/or doors, as well as eliminating the need to have several types of blocks and various sized blocks to erect a block wall for a building.

Mortarless interlocking building block for a building block system


Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture provide for site-wide and/or community jackpots.

Social and/or wagering games of various types such as online, skill-based, games of chance, and games of mixed skill and chance are a continued source of entertainment to game players, and are often a source of great revenue for gaming companies. One feature that is desirable in wagering games is a shared jackpot event available to certain groups of players (or more typically, certain groups or "banks" of machines). Typical "progressive" and/or "community" jackpot events, however, are limited in functionality and are well-known enough that they often fail to illicit sufficient levels of excitement and/or engagement from players.

Systems and methods for site-wide jackpots


A system for depicting information relating to mortgage lending activities. A database stores information including demographic, economic, and mortgage lending information used in mortgage lending activities. Information in the database and information entered by a user is used to depict customized geographic and demographic information relating to a mortgage activity.

Mortgage lending institutions often need to understand the markets in which they compete so that they can determine which segments of a market to target their products and/or services. Many mortgage lending institutions tend to focus on traditional markets and they do not generally respond to changing trends and/or demographics. These institutions also tend to forego hiring outside consultants due to costs and time constraints. As a result, there is an incomplete understanding of potential markets that leads to missed marketing opportunities for these institutions and may cause them to under serve potentially strategic markets.
Mapping tools have been developed to generate maps for the mortgage lending industry. These maps are based on specific geographic and demographic data. However, the information sources connected to current mapping tools are minimal. Moreover, these mapping tools do not provide filtering options that are needed to customize the data required by each mortgage lending institution to understand strategic markets. Without filtering the data that is presented to an institution, the institution is required to expend significant resources to seek out data that is necessary in making business decisions. While there are current marketing software that provide mapping and data mining capabilities, these software are not suited to the mortgage lending industry.
What is needed is a cost effective system and method that provide accurate, comprehensive and timely geographic and demographic lending results to lending mortgage institutions.

Geographic information system for depicting information relating to mortgage lending activity


The invention proposes a method for delivering messages in a network comprising at least one terminal device, comprising the steps of generating a message (S1), setting a condition for receiving the message (S2, S3), deciding whether the message is to be received by the terminal device on the basis of the condition (S5, S6), and trans-mitting the message to the terminal device on the basis of the result of the deciding step (S8). By this method, messages are only transmitted to a terminal device if certain condition, e.g., location conditions, are met. The invention also proposes a network system and a message generating device, a message delivering device and a terminal device adapted to the above method.

The invention relates to delivering of messages and in particular to delivering of multimedia messages which are delivered by the so-called Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). A Multimedia Message (MM) can contain all kind of messages, like pictures, video clips, sounds, speech etc., or any arbitrary combination of these.
From a technical viewpoint, the MMS provides a non-realtime service which operates partly in a store-and-forward fashion. Multimedia messages are transmitted using an air interface (for example, a GPRS air interface, any Wireless LAN, UMTS etc.).
The multimedia messages can be sent from an identified user/application of a network (e.g., intranet) to a mobile station (MS), from the MS to the network (intranet or internet) or from the MS to another MS.
Furthermore, a network element providing important functions for the MMS is the so-called Multimedia Messaging Service Centre (MMSC). The MMSC contains a store-and-forward function which stores the multimedia messages in a database and tries to send them to the recipient mobile station (MS). For this, the MMSC is informed automatically when the MS has become reachable.
Multimedia messages usually have a validity period. The messages are removed from the database of the MMSC in which they are stored if they cannot be delivered to the MS during the validity period.
Regarding the delivery of the messages, the mobile terminated multimedia messages have two delivery options: The multimedia message is sent automatically to the recipient MS, or the recipient is informed of the arrived multimedia message using SMS, for example. The notification contains at least the message size and the message identification. Then, the user can explicitly request the network to the multimedia message to the MS. The choice between the delivery options can based on the message size or the message content type. For example, it can be set that messages less than 1000 kB are delivered automatically to the MS, or that text and voice messages are delivered automatically to the MS.
When sending messages, it is often not always useful to transmit a message to a recipient MS. For example, in case such a message contains tourist information concerning a particular town, it is not useful to send this message to a user, who has left this town.
This is in particular a problem in case the message is a multimedia message which is in general considerably large. Thus, if such a message is transmitted although it is not required, the corresponding network is affected to an undesirable heavy load.

Location sensitive multimedia messaging (MMS)


An array of nozzles is disclosed for forming multiple cellulose fibers. Each nozzle has a longitudinal central axis and includes a tube with a cross-section having a diameter through which an aqueous solution of cellulose and a solvent can be extruded into a molten filament. A first opening is present which surrounds each of the tubes. The first opening has a cross-section with a diameter, and each of the first openings is capable of emitting a pressurized gas which surrounds one of the extruded molten filaments. At least three second openings are spaced away from each of the first openings. Each of the second openings is capable of emitting a pressurized gas stream essentially parallel to the longitudinal central axis of each of the nozzles, and each of the pressurized gas streams functions to shroud one of the extruded molten filaments.

Currently, there are several different methods for extruding an aqueous solution containing cellulose and a water soluble solvent into cellulose fibers. Each of these methods utilizes special equipment to heat the aqueous solution and extrude it through a die block assembly. The die block assembly can include various components for directing and distributing the aqueous solution and pressurized gas through a plurality of nozzles to form a plurality of molten filaments. The aqueous solution is usually extruded in a downward direction such that the pressurized gas and gravity will cause the aqueous solution to attenuate into a plurality of molten filaments. The molten filaments are then contacted with a liquid which causes a major portion of the solvent to solvate into the liquid solution and thus allows the molten filaments to coagulate into solid cellulose fibers. These solid cellulose fibers are then collected on a moving surface, such as a porous conveyor belt or rotatable drum and form a non-woven web.
Up until now, no one has been able to design and construct an apparatus or process which will allow cellulose fibers having a diameter of less than about 15 microns to be extruded and formed at a throughput that would make such a process economically feasible. In addition, no one has been able to design and construct a spinnerette that extrudes 8 or more molten filaments per linear centimeter at a throughput of greater than 0.1 grams/hole/minute at a production speed of up to about 750 meters per minute. Furthermore, no one has been able extrude an aqueous solution containing cellulose and a solvent at back pressures of more than 20 bar without damaging the spinnerette. Still further, no one to date has been able to extrude and form very fine cellulose fibers having a diameter of less than 5 micron at a throughput of greater than 0.5 grams/hole/minute at a production speed of up to about 750 meters per minute.
Now an array of nozzles for extruding multiple cellulose fibers has been invented which will allow one to extrude and form cellulose fiber having a diameter of less than about 15 microns at a throughput of greater than 0.1 grams/hole/minute at a production speed of up to about 750 meters per minute. In addition, the array of nozzles of this invention produces cellulose fibers having unique characteristics that can be collected to form a non-woven web. The cellulose fibers can be joined to other fibers, such as polymer fibers to form a uniquely new product.

Array of nozzles for extruding multiple cellulose fibers

Reifenhauser GmbH & Co. KG Maschinenfabrik


The present invention relates to compositions and methods for promoting the degradation of misfolded proteins and protein aggregates. The compositions and methods may be used to treat a disorder associated with misfolded proteins or protein aggregates. In certain instances, the compositions and methods relate to modulators of one or more TRIM proteins or one or more STUbLs.

Proteins are the most abundant macromolecules of the cell and are critical to virtually all physiological processes. To perform their biological functions, the majority of proteins need to fold into and maintain their native conformations. Although the native conformation of a protein is determined by its amino acid sequence, the folding process is extraordinarily complex and highly prone to error, and its utility can be further limited in situations of genetic mutations, biogenetic inaccuracies, and posttranslational damages (Dobson, 2003, Nature, 426: 884-890; Goldberg, 2003, Nature, 426: 895-899). Proteins that have adopted aberrant conformations, and the aggregates formed by them, pose a constant threat to cell viability and function. Failure to eliminate these proteins is closely linked to the pathogenesis of various debilitating human diseases (Selkoe, 2003, Nature, 426: 900-904; Taylor et al., 2002, Science, 296: 1991-1995)
To contend with protein misfolding, cells employ two broad sets of protein quality control (PQC) systems: systems that assist proteins in achieving their native conformations, and systems that eliminate misfolded proteins once they are formed. The former consist mainly of a large number of molecular chaperones and their cochaperones, which in an ATP-dependent manner protect proteins in their nonnative state and reduce misfolding and aggregation. Notable examples include (1) heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), which aids the folding of a wide range of proteins; (2) Hsp60/chaperonin, which forms a macromolecular cage to encapsulate relatively small proteins for uninterrupted folding; and (3) HSP90, which most commonly acts on proteins involved in cell signaling and transcription (Hartl et al., 2011, Nature, 475: 324-332).
Systems that remove misfolded proteins include protein disaggregases. For example, Hsp100 proteins in prokaryotes or lower eukaryotes (e.g., ClpB in bacteria and Hsp104 in yeast) can resolubilize protein aggregates, functioning in concert with Hsp70 and its cochaperone Hsp40 (Glover and Linguist, 1998, Cell, 94: 73-82). Nevertheless, given that protein misfolding is inevitable and often cannot be reversed due to mutations, biogenetic errors, or irreparable damages, cells ultimately rely on degradative systems to maintain protein quality. Yet, these systems are still poorly understood. Although the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, along with autophagy, must be an important part of these systems, the critical issue of how they selectively recognize misfolded proteins and target them for degradation remains elusive (Goldberg, 2003, Nature, 426: 895-899; Tyedmers et al, 2010, Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol, 11: 777-788).
Furthermore, compared to the other cellular compartments such as the endoplasmic reticulum (Buchberger et al., 2010, Mol Cell, 40: 238-252), the PQC systems in the nucleus are conspicuously unclear. Misfolded proteins in the nucleus can be particularly damaging to postmitotic mammalian cells (e.g., neurons and cardiac myocytes), which are unable to remove these proteins through the breakdown of the nuclear envelope during mitosis. The importance of understanding PQC in this cellular compartment is emphasized by the formation of neuronal intranuclear inclusions that are associated with various dominantly inherited neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease (HD) and several types of spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). These diseases are caused by an expansion within the relevant genes of a CAG repeat, which encodes a polyQ stretch. They are manifested when the polyQ stretch exceeds a threshold length that is disease specific, and become progressively more severe as its length increases (Orr and Zoghbi, 2007, Annu Rev Neurosci, 30: 575-621).
Thus, there is a need in the art for compositions and methods for eliminating misfolded proteins. The present invention satisfies this unmet need.

TRIM11 for degradation of protein aggregates

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A lens barrel which includes: a cam ring having a plurality of cam slots; a follower barrel on which the cam ring is slidably fitted; a plurality of follower projections formed on the follower barrel to be respectively fitted in the plurality of cam slots; a plurality of ring members respectively fixed to the plurality of follower projections to each project outwardly from an outer periphery of the cam ring in a radial direction; a plurality of washers respectively held between the plurality of follower projections and the plurality of ring members, each of the plurality of washers being formed to have a diameter larger than a width of a corresponding one of the plurality of cam slots so that at least a rim of the each of the plurality of washers contacts the outer periphery of the cam ring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lens barrel having a moving barrel and a cam mechanism for driving the moving barrel to move in the optical axis direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
A zoom lens in which a moving barrel (first barrel) is guided along an optical axis without rotating thereabout relative to another barrel (second barrel) is well known. The zoom lens is driven to move along the optical axis by a cam mechanism including a cam ring arranged concentrically to the first barrel. The cam ring is provided with a plurality of cam slots in which a corresponding plurality of followers are respectively fitted, so that the first barrel moves along the optical axis relative to the second barrel when the cam ring rotates about the optical axis relative to the first barrel.
In such a conventional zoom lens there is a possibility of the followers running off the cam slots if the moving barrel is forced to move along the optical axis by a strong external force, in the case where the lead of the cam slots is large, i.e., where the cam slots are formed such that the moving barrel moves by a large distance along the optical axis for an amount of rotation of the moving barrel relative to the second barrel; particularly in the case where the amount of engagement of each of the followers with the corresponding cam slot is small. Therefore, in a conventional zoom lens having such a structure in which the amount of engagement of each of the followers with the corresponding cam slot is small, the strength of the cam mechanism is insufficient while there is excessive play in the cam mechanism.


A rubber composition tire containing 0.1 to 10 parts by mass of zinc oxide particles having an average particle diameter of not more than 200 nm with respect to 100 parts by mass of a rubber component and a pneumatic tire employing the same are provided. This rubber composition for a tire can be suitably employed for manufacturing tread rubber, base tread rubber, bead apex rubber, clinch rubber and inner liner rubber for a tire.

In general, the compounding of a rubber composition for a tire remarkably depends on raw materials derived from petroleum resources. For example, a general tire for a passenger car on the market today contains about 20% of synthetic rubber, about 20% of carbon black, a softener, synthetic fiber and the like with respect to the total weight of the tire. In other words, at least 50% of the overall tire is constituted of raw materials derived from petroleum resources.
For example, synthetic rubber such as butadiene rubber (BR), carbon black etc. have been employed for a rubber composition for the tread of the tire, in order to improve gripping performance and abrasion resistance. Carbon black directed to low rolling resistance (LRR) has been blended into a rubber composition for the base tread of the tire, in addition to natural rubber (NR) exhibiting excellent rolling resistance. While the rigidity of bead apex rubber must be improved in order to obtain a tire having high steering stability, a large quantity of carbon black has generally been blended into a rubber composition for the bead apex, in order to improve the rigidity thereof.
Synthetic rubber and carbon black have been blended also into clinch rubber, in order to obtain a tire exhibiting excellent steering stability and extensibility in traveling in a well-balanced manner.
Further, butyl rubber, halogenated butyl rubber or the like having excellent air permeation resistance has been employed for inner liner rubber, and carbon black has also been blended into the same in order to improve flex cracking resistance. Both of the synthetic rubber such as butyl rubber or halogenated butyl rubber and carbon black are derived from petroleum resources.
In recent years, however, a special emphasis has been put on environmental issues, and the emission of carbon dioxide has been strictly limited. Further, the reserves of petroleum are limited, and hence raw materials derived from petroleum resources cannot be unlimitedly used. Such environmental awareness also affects the field of tires, to result in a demand for a rubber composition for a tire prepared by partially or entirely substituting raw materials derived from nonpetroleum resources for the currently used raw materials derived from petroleum resources. The substitutional raw materials derived from nonpetroleum resources must maintain characteristics at least equivalent to or superior to those of the raw materials derived from petroleum resources.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-63206 (Patent Document 1) discloses a rubber composition for a tread employing natural rubber or epoxidized natural rubber, silica etc. as raw materials derived from nonpetroleum resources for reducing dependency on petroleum resources. In this rubber composition for a tread, however, no abrasion resistance is taken into consideration, and the gripping performance thereof is still insufficient.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-55505 (Patent Document 2) discloses a rubber composition containing 0.1 to 20 parts by weight of zinc oxide having a specific surface area of at least 10 m2/g and preferably having an average particle diameter of at least 1 μm with respect to 100 parts by weight of a diene rubber component. However, this rubber composition is still insufficient in gripping performance and abrasion resistance.
Thus, no rubber composition having excellent gripping performance and abrasion resistance for serving as the material for a tread has been obtained with raw materials derived from nonpetroleum resources substituting for those derived from petroleum resources.
While a base tread of a tire must have excellent rolling resistance and high-speed durability, no such properties are taken into consideration in relation to the rubber composition disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-12866 (Patent Document 3) discloses a rubber composition for a base tread containing a rubber component, carbon black having a specific iodine adsorption, silica and sulfur. However, no high-speed durability is taken into consideration in relation to this rubber composition either.
Thus, a rubber composition having excellent low rolling resistance (LRR) and high-speed durability sufficiently applicable to base tread rubber is not yet known in relation to a rubber composition prepared by substituting raw materials derived from nonpetroleum resources for those derived from petroleum resources.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-37929 (Patent Document 4) discloses a rubber composition for a bead apex reinforced with used paper such as old newspaper in consideration of saving of resources and environmental protection. However, the rubber composition described in Patent Document 4 contains a large quantity of carbon black derived from petroleum resources as a filler for reinforcement along with the old paper, and saving of resources and environmental protection are not sufficiently taken into consideration. While the rigidity of the bead apex can be improved due to the large quantity of carbon black, the tire easily generates heat during traveling, and hence the durability of the tire is deteriorated due to reduction of dynamic fatigability. Further, the rolling resistance of the tire is disadvantageously increased due to increase of the loss tangent (tan δ).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-247984 (Patent Document 5) discloses a rubber composition for a clinch containing silica-containing carbon black and carbon black. However, the rubber composition for a clinch having different properties cannot be applied to a bead apex as such, while tensile strength and flex cracking resistance are not taken into consideration in this rubber composition.
A clinch rubber member is arranged on a region in contact with a rim over a sidewall and a bead of a tire, and positioned on a portion chafing against the rim when the tire is mounted on the rim. The clinch rubber member of the tire must have high hardness and high heat aging resistance in order to transmit driving force from the rim to the tire and to hold the load on the tire in traveling. Further, the clinch rubber member must have high abrasion resistance, in order to prevent abrasion resulting from chafing against the rim following repeated deformation of the tire in traveling. In addition, the rigidity, the hardness and the strength of the clinch rubber member remarkably influence the steering stability in traveling.
The clinch rubber member must also exhibit high breaking extension (extensibility), in order to prevent the toe of the tire from chipping frequently caused when the tire is exchanged.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-118444 (1995: Patent Document 6) proposes a hard rubber composition employing polybutadiene rubber containing at least 5 percent by weight of syndiotactic crystals as a rubber composition employed for the clinch rubber member required to have excellent properties. Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-81335 (1995: Patent Document 7) discloses a chafer rubber member consisting of a composite rubber strip prepared by bonding several types of rubber components having different blending ratios and characteristics to each other. In order to prepare a multilayered clinch or chafer rubber member, however, the manufacturing steps are complicated, to result in a high cost.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-198883 (Patent Document 8) discloses a rubber composition for a tire tread compatibly attaining low rolling resistance and high abrasion resistance by blending a specific quantity of a carbon black material containing silica. If this technique is applied to a clinch rubber member required to have high rigidity and high hardness, however, steering stability and extensibility cannot be improved in a well-balanced manner. The aforementioned Patent Document 5 describes the rubber composition for a clinch containing silica-containing carbon black and carbon black. However, this rubber composition is still insufficient in tensile strength and abrasion resistance.
An inner liner is a rubber member forming the inner surface of a pneumatic tire, particularly a tubeless tire, for retaining the internal pressure of the tire. While the inner liner rubber member must have excellent air permeation resistance and flex cracking resistance, neither air permeation resistance nor flex cracking resistance is taken into consideration in relation to the aforementioned rubber composition according to Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-264114 (Patent Document 9) discloses a rubber composition prepared by dispersing a specific quantity of zinc oxide into a rubber component containing halogenated butyl rubber and/or a halide of a copolymer of isobutylene and p-methylstyrene and kneading the same an inner liner consisting of this rubber composition, and describes that the rubber gauge of the inner liner or the like can be kept thin and the weight of the tire can be reduced without reducing the viscosity. However, no technique of compatibly attaining air permeation resistance and flex cracking resistance of the inner liner rubber is taken into consideration.
Thus, a rubber composition having excellent air permeation resistance and flex cracking resistance sufficiently employable as the material for an inner liner is not yet known in relation to a rubber composition prepared from raw materials derived from nonpetroleum resources substituting for those derived from petroleum resources.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-63206    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-55505    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-12866    Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2002-37929    Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-247984    Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-118444    Patent Document 7: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-81335    Patent Document 8: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2000-198883    Patent Document 9: Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-264114

Rubber composition for tire and pneumatic tire


A method and associated apparatus are given for the efficient and effective thorough inspection and remote examination of the contents of metal container cargo. This involves the use of a non-metallic box which fits inside a normal freight container and with securable doors to allow normal packing and removal of cargo. An attached handle would facilitate its withdrawal onto a platform during examination and for subsequent re-insertion into the metal container. An associated yoke containing an array of sensing devices and observation instruments is positioned at the platform to determine the contents non-invasively.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for generally facilitating and improving the ability to inspect the contents of the conventional containers used to transport cargo by trucks or ships. It is intended to provide customs, security, and immigration personnel with the means to ascertain the complete contents of all shipments entering their jurisdiction in a short period of time and without disturbing the cargo.
2. Description of Related Art
Current practice limits inspecting of what enters a port to about 1% or 2% of the total number of containers arriving from foreign countries. This partial inspection is a practical necessity imposed because of the difficulty and time involved in unloading the container contents for viewing, and subsequently replacing them again.
In some cases remote sensing devices are deployed from outside the metal container in an attempt to detect some potentially threatening contents.


A noise absorber provided with a fixture disposed at a flank of a body, thereby improving the positionability of the noise absorber and easy access thereto for handling. The body and the fixture are integrally connected by engaging a first engaging portion provided on the body with a second engaging portion on the fixture. When the body and the fixture are connected, the bottom of the body and the bottom surface of the fixture are at the same height, thereby coordinately supporting the noise absorber on a chassis or a printed board. Since the fixture is provided at the flank of the body on the same level, the height of the noise absorber as a whole is reduced. The noise absorber is thus advantageous for positioning in a location with limited space. Moreover, since the fixture to be handled is positioned at the flank of the body for easy access, the noise absorber of this invention can be easily fitted or disassembled.

This invention relates to a noise absorber for enclosing wires of electronic equipment therein to absorb electric noises generated within the equipment and to prevent noises generated outside the equipment from running through the wires into the equipment.
A conventional noise absorber surrounds an outer periphery of wires with ferrite or other magnetic material, thereby absorbing electric noises running through the wires. Such a noise absorber comprises coupling devices molded of magnetic material. The coupling devices are in the shape of a cylinder cut in half along an abutment face including the axis thereof. The coupling devices are housed in cases provided in a container made of a synthetic resin. When the container is closed, the coupling devices made of magnetic material contained within the case enclose the wires therein in order to absorb electric noises. Such a noise absorber is secured to a chassis or a printed board by engaging an engaging portion disposed at its bottom with a second engaging member on a top of a stand which is screwed onto the chassis or the substrate.
Although such a noise absorber can be fixed to a printed board and a housing, the stand of the noise absorber occupies a lot of space, thereby hampering placement of the noise absorber. Moreover, in repairing or other occasions where the noise absorber needs to be removed, the engaging portions between the stand and the noise absorber are difficult to reach since the stand is positioned at the bottom of the noise absorber. Thus, the mechanism for fixing the noise absorber needs to be further improved


Various embodiments of the present invention relate to bearing assemblies configured to accommodate non-uniform loading and misalignment with an adjacent bearing assembly. In one embodiment of the present invention, a bearing assembly for use in a subterranean drilling system is disclosed. The bearing assembly includes a support ring and a retention ring attached to the support ring, with the retention ring including a plurality of through holes. The bearing assembly includes a plurality of bearing elements each of which includes a superhard bearing surface. Each of the bearing elements is positioned in and extends from a corresponding through hole of the plurality of through holes. At least a number of the bearing elements are configured to restrict displacement through the corresponding through hole and away from the support ring. Further embodiments of the present invention are directed to a thrust-bearing apparatus, a radial bearing apparatus, and a downhole motor that incorporates disclosed thrust-bearing and radial bearing assemblies.

Subterranean drilling systems that employ downhole drilling motors are commonly used for drilling boreholes in the earth for oil and gas exploration. FIG. 1 is a schematic isometric, partial, cut-away view of a prior art subterranean drilling system 100. The subterranean drilling system 100 includes a housing 102 enclosing a downhole drilling motor 104 (i.e., a motor, turbine, or any other device capable of rotating a shaft) that is operably connected to an output shaft 106. A thrust-bearing apparatus 108 is also operably coupled to the downhole drilling motor 104. A rotary drill bit 112 configured to engage a subterranean formation and drill a borehole is connected to the output shaft 106. The rotary drill bit 112 is shown as a "roller cone" type bit including a plurality of roller cones 114. However, other types of rotary drill bits, such as so called "fixed cutter" drill bits are also commonly used. As the borehole is drilled, pipe sections may be connected to the subterranean drilling system 100 to form a drill string capable of progressively drilling the borehole to a greater depth within the earth.
The thrust-bearing apparatus 108 includes a stator 116 that does not rotate and a rotor 118 that is attached to the output shaft 106 and rotates with the output shaft 106. The stator 116 and rotor 118 each include a plurality of bearing elements 120 that may be fabricated from polycrystalline-diamond compacts that provide diamond bearing surfaces that bear against each other during use.
In operation, high pressure drilling fluid is circulated through the drill string and power section (not shown) of the downhole drilling motor 104, usually prior to the rotary drill bit 112 engaging the bottom of the borehole, to generate torque and rotate the output shaft 106 and the rotary drill bit 112 attached to the output shaft 106. Unless rotated from above by the drill rig rotary, the housing 102 of the downhole drilling motor 104 remains stationary as the output shaft 106 rotates the rotary drill bit 112. When the rotary drill bit 112 engages the bottom of the borehole, a thrust load is generated, which is commonly referred to as "on-bottom thrust" that tends to compress the thrust-bearing apparatus 108. The on-bottom thrust is carried, at least in part, by the thrust-bearing apparatus 108. Fluid flow through the power section may cause what is commonly referred to as "off-bottom thrust," which is carried, at least in part, by another thrust-bearing apparatus that is not illustrated. The drilling fluid used to generate the torque for rotating the rotary drill bit 112 exits openings formed in the rotary drill bit 112 and returns to the surface, carrying the cuttings of the subterranean formation through an annular space between the drilled borehole and the subterranean drilling system 100. Typically, a portion of the drilling fluid is diverted by the downhole drilling motor 104 to cool and lubricate both the thrust-bearing apparatus 108 and the other thrust-bearing apparatus. Lateral loads may also be applied to the subterranean drilling system 100 during drilling of the borehole.
Both the off-bottom and on-bottom thrust carried by the thrust-bearing apparatuses can be extremely large. Accordingly, the operational lifetime of the thrust-bearing apparatuses often determines the useful life for the subterranean drilling system 100. For example, during operation, bending and/or side loading of the subterranean drilling system 100 can cause some of the bearing elements 120 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 108 to experience higher than desired stresses and/or temperatures. A slight angular misalignment between the stator 116 and rotor 118 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 108 due to such bending and/or side loading may cause certain bearing elements 120 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 108 to partially contact or even fail to contact each other during operation, causing other bearing elements to contact each other at higher than desired stresses. The bearing elements 120 of the thrust-bearing apparatus 108 that remain in contact with each other may experience sufficiently large stresses and sufficiently high temperatures during drilling to damage or even fracture and, ultimately, may cause premature failure of the subterranean drilling system 100.
Therefore, manufacturers and users of subterranean drilling systems continue to seek improved thrust-bearing apparatuses and radial bearing apparatuses that can accommodate such loading and/or misalignment between bearing components.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Bearing assemblies, and bearing apparatuses and motor assemblies using same


A switch circuit for switching the connection of the receiving or transmitting circuits of two communication systems to an antenna circuit, which comprises first and second switch means having two switching elements, the first switch means comprising a first inductance element between a port connected to the antenna circuit and a port connected to the second switch means; the second switch means comprising a second inductance element between a port connected to the first switch means and a port connected to a receiving circuit of a first communication system, and a transmission line constituting the first inductance element having a lower characteristic impedance than that of a transmission line constituting the second inductance element.

As mobile equipments such as mobile phones, etc. have recently been used by remarkably increasing numbers of users, their functions and services have extremely improved. Portable wireless communication systems include EGSM (extended global system for mobile communications) and GSM 1800 (global system for mobile communications 1800) widely used mostly in Europe, GSM 1900 (global system for mobile communications 1900) widely used in the U.S., and PDC (personal digital cellular system) used in Japan, etc. From the aspect of convenience by users and efficient use of communications facilities, multi-band mobile phones such as dual-band or triple-band mobile phones, which can utilize pluralities of communication systems, have been developed.
A multi-band mobile phone can utilize pluralities of systems. As a high-frequency part used in such mobile phones, WO 00/55983 discloses a high-frequency switch module for switching transmitting circuits and receiving circuits in different communication systems. This high-frequency switch module comprises first and second filter circuits having different passbands, a switch circuit connected to the first filter circuit for switching a transmitting circuit and a receiving circuit of a communication system A, and a switch circuit connected to the second filter circuit for switching transmitting circuits of communication systems B, C, a receiving circuit of the communication system B and a receiving circuit of the communication system C.
The first and second filter circuits function as circuits for branching transmitting signals and receiving signals of the communication system A and transmitting signals and receiving signals of the communication systems B, C. The switch circuit is a diode switch comprising a diode and a transmission line as main elements, and any one of pluralities of communication systems A, B, C is selected by controlling the diode in an ON or OFF state by applying voltage from control circuits, thereby switching the antenna and the transmitting circuits and receiving circuits of the communication systems A, B, C.
Specific examples of the communication systems A, B, C are, for instance, GSM, DCS 1800 and PCS. GSM corresponds to the above EGSM, DCS 1800 corresponds to the above GSM 1800, and PCS corresponds to the above GSM 1900. Table 1 shows the transmitting and receiving frequencies of each communication system.
TABLE 1CommunicationTransmittingReceiving FrequencySystemFrequency (MHz)(MHz)EGSM880 to 915925 to 960GSM 18001710 to 17851805 to 1880GSM 19001850 to 19101930 to 1990
As shown in Table 1, the transmitting frequencies of GSM 1800 and GSM 1900 are closer to each other than to that of EGSM. Accordingly, GSM 1800 and GSM 1900 can use a common transmitting signal path in a high-frequency circuit. To switch the transmitting signals and receiving signals of GSM 1800 and GSM 1900, a one-input, three-output switch circuit comprising a common port for the transmitting signals of GSM 1800 and GSM 1900, a receiving port of GSM 1800 and a receiving port of GSM 1900 may be used.
As a one-input, three-output switch circuit, WO 00/55983 discloses a diode switch circuit comprising diodes and transmission lines as main elements (FIG. 13). This diode switch circuit comprises cascade-connected, λ/4-switch circuits, to select a transmission mode of GSM 1800/GSM 1900, a receiving mode of GSM 1800 and a receiving mode of GSM 1900 as shown in Table 2 by controlling voltage applied to control terminals VC2, VC3.
TABLE 2ModeVC2VC3GSM 1800 TXV+0(Transmitting)GSM 1900 TXV+0(Transmitting)GSM 1800 RX00(Receiving)GSM 1900 RX0V+(Receiving)
Zero voltage is applied to the control terminals VC2 and VC3 at the time of receiving GSM 1800, to turn off diodes DP1, DP2, DD1 and DD2. With the diode DD1 in an OFF state, there is large impedance between a connecting point 1P2 and the transmitting circuit TX1, TX2 of GSM 1800/GSM 1900. With the diode DP1 in an OFF state, there is large impedance between a connecting point IP3 and the receiving circuit RX2 of GSM 1900. Accordingly, the connecting point IP2 is connected to the receiving circuit RX1 of GSM 1800 via two transmission lines ld3 and lp2
Usually, the transmission line ld3 has such length that its resonance frequency is within a frequency range (1710–1910 MHz) of transmitting signals of GSM 1800 and GSM 1900, and the transmission lines lp2 has such length that its resonance frequency is within a frequency range (1930–1990 MHz) of a receiving signal of GSM 1900, with their characteristic impedance designed to be 50Ω.
However, intensive research has revealed that when the switch circuit is formed by strip lines, etc. in a multi-layer substrate, the reduction of size, particularly thickness, of the multi-layer substrate provides a receiving signal output port RX1 of GSM 1800 and a receiving signal output port RX2 of GSM 1900 with impedance of about 70–80Ω, larger than 50Ω, by parasitic capacitance, etc., even though the characteristic impedance of the transmission lines ld3 and lp2 is set at 50Ω, resulting in large loss in receiving signals from the output ports RX1, RX2. WO 00/55983 does not recognize this problem, much less provides any solutions.

Switch circuit and composite high frequency elements


A method for locking a nomination item in a multi-user distribution scheduling system is provided. At least one nomination item, associated with a voyage, may be created and stored within a database. A lock object, associated with the nomination item, may be created to prevent concurrent modification of the nomination item. The nomination item may be modified and stored within the database, and then the lock object may be deleted.

The sale and distribution of any bulk material requires coordination between various participants, including buyers, sellers, transporters, etc. For example, distribution scheduling practice within the oil industry typically involves several participants and many steps. Traders make deals with buyers and sellers which result in purchase contracts and sales contracts, respectively. Freight contracts may also be in place between transporters, buyers and sellers. These various contracts may be captured on paper at a minimum, and, at best, memorialized within a computer-based contracts system. Additionally, purchase and sales contracts may be summarized in purchase and sales listings, respectively, identifying the essentials of each contract, such as partner name, location(s), material, quantities, dates, etc. Schedulers use these purchase and sales listings, combined with their own knowledge of potentially available transportation facilities, to attempt to build nominations, also known as voyages, directly on a one-by-one basis. The schedule of nominations is typically built using a simple spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft® Excel®, for example.
It is not unusual practice for the scheduler to manually enter the schedule of nominations into a second computer system, such as a mainframe, legacy system, messaging system, etc., for communication to all the relevant participants. Unfortunately, even though freight contacts may already be in place between the transporter, buyer and seller, the scheduler typically does not have access to electronic freight contract data, and, consequently, may need to manually enter freight information into the schedule of nominations based on his own personal knowledge or, if available, hardcopy printouts of freight contacts. Furthermore, the scheduler usually does not have an overview of the usage of the sales, purchase or freight contracts to date, other than information reflected by his own personal records. While participants may provide updated usage information related to sales, purchase or freight contracts, the scheduler typically reflects these updates only within the schedule of nominations at best, and not, for example, within the second computer system.


A system for ejection mode verification may comprise: a first ejection seat; a second ejection seat; an ejection mode selector; and a controller configured to: compare a desired ejection mode with a selected ejection mode; and command an indicator to turn “ON” or “OFF” in response to comparing the desired ejection mode with the selected ejection mode.

Ejection systems are designed to expel pilots from an aircraft cockpit. Ejection seats in high performance aircraft benefit from safely removing the pilot or other occupant from the disabled aircraft across a wide variety of aircraft speed regimes, altitudes and aircraft attitudes. Dual occupant aircraft provide unique situations for escape systems as the second occupant may be an additional pilot or a non-pilot.