Outages in a label-switched path (LSP) are detected quickly using adjacency information, such as IGP “hello neighbor” queries. Protocols, such as IGP can be instructed to check certain adjacencies more frequently. For example, a node in an LSP can determine a next downstream node in the LSP as an adjacency, check that adjacency much more frequently, and in the event that the adjacency is lost (due to a down link, a down interface, or a down node), switch any LSPs that have the adjacency to a failover path or route. Since these checks need not be performed using hardware signaling, outages of shared media interfaces, such as Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet, can be checked.

§1.1 Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns detecting errors in connections, such as multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) label-switched paths (LSPs).
§1.2 Description of Related Art
The description of art in this section is not, and should not be interpreted to be, an admission that such art is prior art to the present invention. Although one skilled in the art will be familiar with networking, circuit switching, packet switching, and label-switched paths, each is briefly introduced below for the convenience of the reader less skilled in the art. More specifically, circuit-switched and packet-switched networks and the need for label-switched paths are introduced in §1.2.1. Then, label-switched path failures, some known failure responses, and their limitations are introduced in §1.2.2 below.
§1.2.1 Circuit-Switched Networks and Packet-Switched Networks, and the Need for Label-Switched Paths
Circuit-switched networks establish a connection between hosts (parties to a communication) for the duration of their communication. The public-switched telephone network ("PSTN") is an example of a circuit-switched network, where parties to a call are provided with a connection for the duration of the call. Unfortunately, for communications of short, infrequent "bursts" of data between hosts, providing a connection for the duration of a call simply wastes communications resources when no data is being transferred. The desire to avoid such inefficiencies has lead to the development of packet-switched networks.
Packet-switched networks forward addressed data (referred to as "packets" in the specification below without loss of generality), typically on a best efforts basis, from a source to a destination. Many large packet-switched networks are made up of interconnected nodes (referred to as "routers" in the specification below without loss of generality). The routers may be geographically distributed throughout a region and connected by links (e.g., optical fiber, copper cable, wireless transmission channels, etc.). In such a network, each router typically interfaces with (e.g., terminates) multiple links.
Packets traverse the network by being forwarded from router to router until they reach their destinations (as typically specified by so-called layer-3 addresses in the packet headers). Routers exchange route information and develop forwarding information based on the route information. The forwarding information defines which output port is associated with a particular destination address or a portion of a destination address. Unlike switches, which establish a connection for the duration of a "call" or "session" and send data received on a given input port out on a given output port, routers typically examine the destination address of each packet and use the forwarding information to determine from the destination address the appropriate output port on which to send each packet.
In some cases, using known routing protocols (e.g., shortest path algorithms) to determine routes and forwarding information is becoming unacceptable in light of the ever-increasing volume of Internet traffic and the mission-critical nature of some Internet applications. Such known routing protocols can actually contribute to network congestion if they do not account for bandwidth availability and traffic characteristics when constructing routing and forwarding tables. To alleviate or avoid this problem, traffic flows can be mapped onto an existing physical topology, thereby moving traffic flows away from congested shortest paths to a less congested path. Alternatively, paths can be determined autonomously, even on demand. Label-switching can be used to establish a fixed path from a head-end node (e.g., an ingress router) to a tail-end node (e.g., an egress router). Once a path is determined, each router in the path may be configured manually or via some signaling mechanism to forward packets to a peer (e.g., a "downstream" neighbor) router in the path. Routers in the path determine that a given set of packets (e.g., a flow), are to be sent over the fixed path (as opposed to being routed individually) based on unique labels added to the packets.
The path generated may be an LSP. More specifically, the operations of forwarding a packet to a next hop based on address information can be thought of as two steps—partitioning the entire set of possible packets into a set of forwarding equivalence classes (FECs), and mapping each FEC to a next hop. As far as the forwarding decision is concerned, different packets which get mapped to the same FEC are indistinguishable. With MPLS, a packet is assigned to a particular FEC just once, as the packet enters the label-switched domain of the network. The FEC to which the packet is assigned is encoded as a label, typically a short, fixed length value. Thus, at subsequent nodes no further header analysis need be done—all subsequent forwarding over the label-switched domain is driven by the labels. FECs may be generalized such that particular ports, wavelengths, time slots, channels, etc. are used instead of, or encoded by, labels.
FIG. 1 illustrates an LSP 110 across a network. Notice that LSP 110 is simplex—traffic flows in one direction from a head-end label-switching router (LSR) 120 at an ingress edge through several LSRs to a tail-end LSR 130 at an egress edge. Generally, duplex traffic requires two LSPs—one for each direction. Notice also that LSP 110 is defined by the concatenation of one or more label-switched hops, allowing a packet to be forwarded from one LSR to another across the MPLS domain defined by LSP 110.
LSR 130 interprets the destination address of each unlabeled packet, performs a longest-match routing table lookup, maps the packet to an FEC, assigns a label to the packet based on the FEC, and forwards it to the next hop in the LSP. In the MPLS domain, the LSRs ignore the packet's network layer address and simply forward the packet using label-swapping. When the labeled packet arrives at the egress LSR, if the next hop is not an LSR the egress LSR discards ("pops") the label and forwards the packet using conventional (e.g., longest-match IP) forwarding. Alternatively, a penultimate LSP can discard the label before the packet is forwarded to the egress LSR.
§1.2.2 "Failures" in a Label-Switched Path
As shown in FIG. 1, if a connection (link2) between two LSRs fails, traffic may be switched over to one or more "failover" links which may be an LSP itself. Some routers have "fast reroute" capabilities where a router upstream of a failed connection (e.g., a failed link, neighboring node, or interface) switches over to another connection while the ingress router determines a new LSP. The draft, "Fast Reroute Extensions to RSVP-TE for LSP Tunnels", Ping Pan Ed., draft-ietf-mpls-rsvp-lsp-fastreroute-00.txt (the Internet Engineering Task Force January 2002) (referred to as "the fast reroute draft" and incorporated by reference) describes one fast reroute scheme. Although such fast reroute techniques facilitate fast switchover (e.g., on the order of msec) after a failed connection is detected, detecting the failed connection can take too long in many instances.
Some protocols for managing LSPs (such as the Resource Reservation Protocol-Traffic Engineering (RSVP-TE)) use so-called "neighbor hellos" to get adjacency information, but the period of the hellos is too long (e.g., one to three seconds) for some failover purposes. If the protocol waits to miss a few expected hellos before concluding that a connection is down, the time to detect a down connection can be ˜15 seconds. During this time, a lot of important data can be lost! The request for comments, "RSVP-TE: Extensions to RSVP for LSP Tunnels," Awduche et al., Request for Comments: 3209 (the Internet Engineering Task Force December 2001) (incorporated by reference) describes RSVP-TE.
Although some hardware signaling techniques for checking connections exist (e.g., SONET Automatic Protection Switching (APS), data carrier connect, etc.), and such hardware signaling techniques may be fast, many shared media interfaces, such as Gigabit Ethernet for example, do not currently support hardware signaling. Accordingly, adjacencies or connections that use such interfaces cannot be checked quickly.

Detecting a label-switched path outage using adjacency information


A liquid ice melter comprising a calcium chloride solution from 32% to 28% by weight concentration in combination with a urea composition such that the weight ratio of urea to calcium chloride is from 1:2 to 1:9.

De-icing compositions are widely used in northern areas of the country, particularly in the northern climates subjected to heavy ice and snow conditions in the winter months. The inventor of the present composition has numerous patents on ice melters. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,619 which relates to a solid ice melting composition which is environmentally friendly. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,619 is incorporated herein by reference.
A good ice melter for roads, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. is inexpensive, easy to manufacture, effective in melting snow and ice, easy to apply. The best also provide reduced corrosion to application equipment while also having beneficial effects to vegetation. All of these advantages in one ice melter has been a goal of the ice melting industry for some time.
Effective in melting means a product capable of melting below zero F. Ease of application is also important because labor cost is one of the largest components of melting snow and ice. Liquid melters bring ease to the application process.
In my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,619 (Ossian & Steinhauser), we created a product that melted below zero and could have a positive effect on vegetation. The major disadvantages to this earlier invention were the high cost to produce the product and cost of application. It used calcium chloride and urea in a dry melter composition. When calcium chloride is manufactured for industrial use it starts out as a liquid. The water is then evaporated off to form a flake or pellet. This manufacturing process uses considerable energy adding to the cost of manufacture for the raw material. Some of this cost could be avoided if the ice melter were liquid as finished.
The solid ice melter of U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,619 is advantageous in that it is an effective melter, and it brings a positive effect on vegetation. It is in combination urea and calcium chloride in a solid particle format. In recent times it has been of interest to develop liquid ice melters. In some environments, liquid ice melters are preferred to solid ice melters in that they give better coverage, they are much quicker acting melters, and they are more economical to prepare.
The liquid ice melter of this invention is a product that is less expensive to manufacture, easy to use, melts below zero and can have a positive effect on vegetation. In this invention, I use liquid calcium chloride solution combined with either dry or liquid urea, in critical ratios to achieve an effective liquid ice melter.
In this invention, I add one part urea by weight to calcium chloride ranging from two parts to nine parts by weight, all in a liquid solution. It has similar melting characteristics to straight liquid calcium chloride if the ratios and concentration are correct. In addition, it has reduced corrosion when compared to straight calcium chloride solution. With the final product being liquid in nature, it is easy to apply through standard spray equipment used to normally dispense ice melting liquids.
In accordance with this invention, it is therefore a primary objective to develop a liquid ice melter which contains in predominant proportions calcium chloride solution and urea blended in proper proportions so that it is not only liquid but also environmentally friendly. The result is an effective liquid ice melting composition that can be easily applied using spray tanks, etc. and that forms an effective ice melt cover.

Environmental friendly liquid ice melter


Apparatus for driving a cholesteric liquid crystal display wherein the display includes cholesteric liquid crystals having a first planar reflective state and a second transparent focal conic state, which is respectively responsive to different applied fields; an addressing structure having rows and columns of conductors arranged so that when a column and a row overlap, they define a selectable pixel or segment to be viewable or non-viewable; the apparatus being adapted to switch between a first and a second fixed voltage.

Currently, information can be displayed using assembled sheets of paper carrying permanent inks or displayed on electronically modulated surfaces such as cathode ray displays or liquid crystal displays. Other sheet materials can carry magnetically writable areas to carry ticketing or financial information, however magnetically written data is not visible.
Current flat panel displays use two transparent glass plates as substrates. In a typical embodiment, such as one set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,952, a set of electrical traces is sputtered in pattern of parallel lines that form a first set of conductive traces. A second substrate is similarly coated with a set of traces having a transparent conductive coating. Coatings are applied and the surfaces rubbed to orient liquid crystals. The two substrates are spaced apart and the space between the two substrates is filled with a liquid crystal material. Pairs of conductors from either set are selected and energized to alter the optical transmission properties of the liquid crystal material. Such displays are expensive, and currently are limited to applications having long lifetimes.
Fabrication of flexible, electronically written display sheets using conventional nematic liquid crystals materials is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,047. A first sheet has transparent indium-tin-oxide (ITO) conductive areas and a second sheet has electrically conductive inks printed on display areas. The sheets can be thin glass, but in practice have been formed of Mylar polyester. A dispersion of liquid crystal material in a binder is coated on the first sheet, and the second sheet is bonded to the liquid crystal material. Electrical potential is applied to opposing conductive areas to operate on the liquid crystal material and expose display areas. The display uses nematic liquid crystal materials, which ceases to present an image when de-energized. Privacy windows are created from such materials using the scattering properties of conventional nematic liquid crystals. Nematic liquid crystals require continuous electrical drive to remain transparent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,811 discloses a light-modulating cell having a chiral nematic liquid crystal in polymeric domains contained by conventional patterned glass substrates. The chiral nematic liquid crystal has the property of being driven between a planar state reflecting a specific visible wavelength of light and a light scattering focal conic state. Chiral nematic material has the capacity of maintaining one of the given states in the absence of an electric field.
In "Liquid Crystal Dispersions", World Science, Singapore, 1995, page 408, Paul Drzaic discusses the electrical drive of cholesteric liquid crystal displays. Drzaic also states on page 29 that "The use of gelatin, however, creates a material that is too conductive for practical use in electrically addressed PDLC systems.". Drzaic further states " . . . actual displays require AC signals to prevent electrochemical degradation." Subsequent patents follow Drzaic's assumptions. Later patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,251,048 and 5,644,330 and 5,748,277 all require AC fields having a net zero unipolar field for matrix cholesteric liquid crystal displays to prevent ionic destruction of the display. The cited patents have display structures formed using expensive display structures and processes applicable to long-life situations which require AC drive schemes.
The drive schemes require that each element be written using alternating electrical fields that provide a net zero field across the display to prevent ionic migration. AC drives require large numbers of power supplies and large numbers of switching elements per line.
Simple cholesteric memory displays with limited write lines requires a simple electronic writer. Such writer is preferably a single, inexpensive drive chip that is commercially available.

Drive for cholesteric liquid crystal displays


A three-dimensional integrated circuit device incorporating any two-dimensional LSIs, such as CCD, MOS-type imaging device and DRAM using trench-type capacitors as its memory cell, can be manufactured economically. Each two-dimensional LSI is prepared by first forming a single-crystal silicon layer on a single-crystal silicon substrate via a porous silicon layer and thereafter forming the two-dimensional LSI on the single-crystal silicon layer. After a support substrate is bonded to the surface of the two-dimensional LSI, the two-dimensional LSI is detached from the single-crystal silicon substrate along the porous layer, and subsequently stacked on another two-dimensional LSI formed on another single-crystal silicon substrate by bonding the bottom surface of the former to the top surface of the latter. After a desired number of two-dimensional LSIs in form of thin films are stacked, the top surface of a two-dimensional LSI formed on a single-crystal silicon substrate is bonded to the bottom surface of the last stacked two-dimensional LSI to complete a three-dimensional VLSI. The thickness of the single crystal silicon layer is determined depending upon the two-dimensional LSI formed thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a three-dimensional integrated circuit device and its manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Research and study on three-dimensional have been directed heretofore to three-dimensionally intergrated circuits (ICS) stacking two-dimensional ICs, aiming for (1) higher integration and higher density by increasing the number of layers, (2) higher speed of operation of devices by decreasing the wiring length and load capacitance, (3) simultaneous transmission of signals through a number of fine through holes (parallel signal processing) and (4) incorporation of different devices (multi-functions). To realize such three-dimensional integrated circuit devices, SOI (Silicon-on-Insulator) technology and multi-layered wiring technology, among others, have been developed to stack two-dimensional ICs in multiple layers. However, the conventional SOI technology relying on re-crystallization, or the like, could not realize practically acceptable three-dimensional integrated circuit devices because layers stacked by the SOI technology progressively deteriorate in crystallographic property, from the first layer to the second layer, toward upper layers. Additionally, since conventional SOI technology configured to stack layers by one layer over another took a lot of time to complete three-dimensional integrated circuit devices, its cost performance was not good.
There is another technology called CUBIC (Cumulatively Bonded IC) technology has been developed to realize three-dimensional integrated circuit devices. The CUBIC technology is a technique for bonding devices particularly characterized in using a thin IC layer as an elementary unit to be bonded. FIGS. 1 through 6 show a method for fabricating a three-dimensional LSI by the conventional CUBIC technology.
As shown in FIG. 1, in this method, one first makes a two-dimensional LSI 102 on a single-crystal silicon substrate 101 by an LSI process. In the two-dimensional LSI 102, numeral 103 denotes a device isolation oxide film, 104 a MOSFET, 105 a polycrystalline silicon wiring, 106 an inter-layer insulation film, 106a a via hole, 107 a surface metal wiring, 108 an inter-layer insulation film, 108a a via hole, and 109 a tungsten bump. Thereafter, an adhesive 110 is applied onto the surface of the inter-layer insulation film 108, and a support substrate 111 is bonded.
After that, as shown in FIG. 2, the single-crystal silicon substrate 101 is polished and thinned from its bottom surface by selective polishing using the device isolation oxide film 103 as an abrasion stopper to form a single-crystal silicon layer 111.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3, a through hole 112 is made in the device isolation oxide film 103 to reach the poly-crystalline silicon wiring 105, and a bottom metal wiring 113 in contact with the polycrystalline silicon wiring 105 through the through hole 112 is formed on the device isolation oxide film 103. Then, a coating of polyimide 114 is applied on the bottom surface of the two-dimensional LSI 102. After a contact hole 114a is made in the polyimide 114, an Au/In pool 115 is formed in the contact hole 114a.
On the other hand, another two-dimensional LSI 117 as shown in FIG. 4 is made on another single-crystal silicon substrate 116 by an LSI process. In the two-dimensional LSI 117, numeral 118 denotes a device isolation oxide film, 119 a MOSFET, 120 a poly-crystalline silicon wiring, 121 an inter-layer insulation film, 121a a via hole, 122 a surface metal wiring, 123 an inter-layer insulation film, 123a a via hole, and 124 a tungsten bump. Thereafter, a coating of polyimide 125 is applied onto the surface of the inter-layer insulation film 123.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom surface of the two-dimensional LSI 102 shown in FIG. 3 is bonded to the top surface of the two-dimensional LSI 117 shown in FIG. 4 with polyimide coatings 114, 125 to conjoin them. At that time, both two-dimensional LSIs 102 and 117 are positionally adjusted to bring the tungsten plug 124 into contact with the Au/In pool 115, then heated to a melting temperature of the Au/In pool 115, around 350.degree. C., for example, and pressed. As a result, the tungsten bump 124 and the Au/In pool 115 are electrically connected.
After that, the support substrate 111 is removed by polishing or etching. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the intended three-dimensional LSI including two two-dimensional LSIs 102 and 117 is obtained.
As explained above, since the method for fabricating three-dimensional LSI by CUBIC technology forms two-dimensional LSIs on different poly-crystalline silicon substrates in concurrent, parallel progression, and sequentially conjoins these two-dimensional LSIs under a low temperature (approximately 350.degree. C.), three-dimensional LSIs having a multi-layered structure stacking two or more two-dimensional LSIs can be manufactured efficiently.
However, since the conventional manufacturing method using CUBIC technology relies on selective polishing using the device isolation oxide film 103 as the abrasion stopper to thin the single-crystal silicon substrate 101, the thickness of the single-crystal silicon layer 111 obtained by thinning substantially depends on the thickness of the device isolation oxide film 103. However, the device isolation oxide film 103 is typically 1 .mu.m thick maximum, the CUBIC technology cannot be used to fabricate a two-dimensional LSI requiring at least 1 .mu.m thick single-crystal silicon, such as CCD, MOS-type imaging device, or DRAM using trench-type capacitors as its memory cells. Additionally, the CUBIC technology is expensive in terms of the material cost because it needs single-crystal silicon substrates as many as the number of two-dimensional LSIs to be stacked and support substrates as many as the number of layers minus 1, and results in increasing the manufacturing cost of the three-dimensional LSI.

Three-dimensional integrated circuit device and its manufacturing method


A container and closure package to provide secure threaded attachment of the closure to the container in a predetermined orientation and inhibits removal of the closure. A container neck finish has an external thread and an external annular ledge or flange therebelow having external locking recesses or notches. A closure includes an inner annular wall adapted for threaded engagement on the neck finish. A closure outer annular skirt wall inhibits tampering access to an intermediate annular locking lug wall disposed concentrically between the inner and outer skirt walls. Locking lugs protrude radially inwardly from the inner periphery of the intermediate annular wall and are disposed for snap receipt into the ledge locking notches as the closure is fully threaded onto the container neck finish.

A common type of container has a threaded neck finish and is adapted to receive a threaded closure. In some applications there may be a need to precisely position the closure on the container neck finish when the closure is in fully assembled condition. For example, the closure may have an external feature that is intended to be maintained in some predetermined relationship with a cooperating external feature on the container. In some applications there also is a need for a removal-resistant closure on the container to provide a tamper-resistant package assembly, as well as a package assembly that would provide evidence of tampering.
In general, and by way of summary description and not by way of limitation, the present disclosure provides a package in the form of a container and closure assembly that incorporates a system for providing secure threaded attachment of the closure to the container in a predetermined orientation, and that inhibits removal of the closure as well as providing evidence of tampering efforts to effect closure removal. The container has a neck finish that defines an opening to the container interior and has at least one external thread segment. The neck finish also has an external annular ledge spaced below the thread segment. At least one, but preferably a pair of diametrically opposed external locking notches or recesses are provided in the ledge outer periphery.
The closure includes an inner annular wall provided with at least one internal thread segment for threaded engagement with an external thread segment on the neck finish. The closure also has an outer annular skirt wall that serves as a barrier to tampering access to an intermediate annular locking lug wall of the closure disposed concentrically between the inner wall and the outer skirt wall. At least one locking lug, but preferably a pair of diametrically opposed locking lugs protrude radially inwardly from the inner periphery of the intermediate annular wall. The locking lugs are disposed for snap receipt into the external ledge locking notches as the closure is fully threaded onto the container neck finish to thereby provide a predetermined orientation of the fully closed closure on the container and prevent unthreading of the closure from the neck finish.


A graft copolymer composition comprising the following structure:

Increasing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery (LIB) is necessary to meet the demands for their expanding applications from portable electronics to large-scale emerging applications, such as renewable energy storage grids and electric vehicles that require acceptable driving distance upon a single charging. Among many candidates that can increase the energy density of the anode, silicon (Si) is highly promising due to its high theoretical capacity (3579 mAh/g for Si compared to 372 mAh/g for commercial graphite anode), low operating potential, non-toxicity and worldwide abundance (e.g., Du et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 4, 32, 2016).
However, the high specific capacity of the silicon-based electrode is typically observed only at the initial cycles, and cannot meet the long cycle life required for typical electric vehicle application. At a fundamental level, the origin of fast capacity fade is mainly due to two main factors: (i) very large volume fluctuation (about 280%) during the lithiation and delithiation 30318 (3106.0) 1 process that causes the fracturing, pulverization and electrical isolation of silicon particles from the electrode matrix; and (ii) continuous formation and reformation of the solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI) during charge-discharge which consumes extra lithium and results in lower coulombic efficiency (e.g., Nishikawa et al., J. Power Sources, 302, 46, 2016). Fabrication of the silicon-based electrode with nano/micro-hierarchical structures, such as nanotubes, nanopillars, porous particle, and core-shell nanofibers have been explored and have achieved some success in reducing the dimensional stress during volume change. However, the complex and costly production process make these approaches challenging to deploy in practical applications. Moreover, there remains a need for significantly improved cycling performance, particularly in capacity retention and coulombic efficiency over extended numbers (e.g., hundreds or thousands) of cycles.

Block graft copolymer binders and their use in silicon-containing anodes of lithium-ion batteries

Abstract: wherein: Ax represents a polymer backbone having a number of polymerized monomer units x; [By] represents a multiplicity of a graft polymer side chain having a number of polymerized monomer units y, and at least a portion of the monomer units in By contains a group —C(O)OM, with M independently selected from H and alkali metals; [C] represents a multiplicity of positions on the polymer backbone Ax where the graft polymer side chain B or any other graft polymer side chain is not attached; the subscript w represents a grafting density of the group By, wherein w is an integer within a range of 10-50%; and the subscript z represents a density of the group C, wherein z=(100−w) %. The invention is also directed to lithium-ion batteries in which the above-described composition is incorporated in an anode of the battery.


A system for transmitting data in wireless communication employing an improved orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmitter is devised. The orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmitter is improved for VLSI implementation. The improved orthogonal frequency division multiplexing transmitter is configured to provide multi-rate support, low latency, reduction in the turnaround time and reduction in the gate count during data transmission.

The use of a multi-carrier modulation scheme that encodes data onto a radio frequency is known. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) transmitter, a form of multi-carrier modulation scheme is also known. The use of OFDM to enhance efficient use of the bandwidth as well as to achieve robust communications during multipath interferences is also known.
Prior art OFDM Transmitter chains comprise a variety of components, interfacing to perform the designated functions. The major components in an OFDM Transmitter chain include a Media Access Control (MAC) Interface, a Scrambler, an Encoder, a Puncturer, an Interleaver, an IFFT and a Wave Shaper Block.
In an OFDM transmitter, a Media Access Control (MAC) Interface is configured to convert data to the desired system clock of the OFDM Transmitter. A Scrambler is employed to scramble the serial data coming from MAC. An Encoder enables encoding of the scrambled data bits to generate coded bits. A Puncturer is configured to puncture the encoded bits to meet the data rate constraint.
In an OFDM Transmitter, an Interleaver enables shuffling of data bits to reduce burst error. After shuffling of data bits, a group of data bits are formed. Number of bits in the group depends on the type of modulation. For Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) there is only one bit in the group whereas for 64-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (64-QAM) 6 bits form a group. This group of data bits map to a particular constellation point depending on modulation type. To normalize the power during transmission, after mapping to a particular constellation point power normalization is done for all the data sub-carriers. This normalization factor depends on the type of modulation.
After mapping to a constellation point, pilots and nulls are inserted at particular position before converting it into time domain OFDM symbol. An IFFT Block converts the frequency domain OFDM symbol to a composite time domain OFDM symbol. Further, to reduce the effect of Inter Symbol Interference (ISI), a Guard Interval is inserted in the IFFT output to form a complete time domain OFDM symbol. This is done by copying a portion of OFDM symbol either at the beginning or at the end. Copying of last few samples is known as Cyclic Prefix Addition.
To reduce the spectral side lobes of the transmitted waveform, transition from one symbol to the other symbol needs to be smooth and at the same time, the transmitted spectral density of the transmitted signal should fall within the defined spectral mask. To achieve this, the Guard Interval inserted OFDM Symbol has to be multiplied with a time domain window. This function is performed in the Wave Shaper block. The Wave-Shaped Transmitted signal is sent to a Radio Transmitter block for up-conversion and amplification before sending it on air.
In known OFDM systems, training symbols are sent at the start of the packet transmission. Therefore, at the start of the packet transmission, the frequency domain-training symbol is converted to time domain by using an IFFT. After Wave shaping it is sent to the radio block for transmission.
Prior art devices are deficient in many respects. These technical deficiencies are with respect to low latency, low gate count, complexity of the components in the system and reduction in the turn around time.
In the prior art systems, in order to support multiple data rate, more than one clock has to be supplied to many blocks in the transmitter. This increases the synchronization logic and increases the complexity of the PLL design.
The current invention addresses the above mentioned issues in respect of low latency in the data transmission, providing multi-rate support, reducing the turnaround time, providing for less complex components in the system and reducing the IFFT latency and the gate count.
It would therefore be desirable to provide systems and methods to address these and other problems

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing transmitter system and VLSI implementation thereof


Techniques for identification and isolation of Internet-of-Things devices in an enterprise network are described. In one embodiment, a method includes detecting a plurality of devices having a first network interface to connect to a wireless wide area network and a second network interface to connect to an enterprise network. The method also includes identifying a first subset of the plurality of devices as Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices based on at least a detected repetition rate on a physical random access channel of a transmission made by a device of the plurality of devices. The method includes assigning the IoT devices to a separate network segment within the enterprise network.

The Internet of Things (IoT) generally refers to the devices and machines embedded with electronics and software enabling these devices and machines to exchange data over a network (e.g., the Internet). The number of IoT devices connected to networks worldwide is poised to grow rapidly. This rapid rise of IoT devices has resulted in steadily increasing numbers and types of special purpose network connected devices. It is possible that many of these special purpose network connected devices will have little or no associated security capabilities (e.g., no authorization, authentication, and/or encryption capabilities) and, as such, such devices are at risk of being attacked by a malicious entity. Thus, while IoT devices offer promising conveniences, they also provide a large number of potential hosts that could be infected by malicious software through network connections. Malicious software (also called malware), such as viruses, worms, Trojans, malicious bots, spyware, ransomware, and adware, can infect various types of electronic devices and can cause a great deal of damage to valuable computer systems and devices.

Detection of internet-of-things devices in enterprise networks


A zoom lens system that is free from parallax, is compact, and offers excellent optical performance has, from the object side, a positive first lens unit, a negative second lens unit, a positive third lens unit, and a negative fourth lens unit. The zoom lens system has a half-prism between the second lens unit and the third lens unit so that a light beam having passed through the second lens unit is split by reflection.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a zoom lens system suitable for use in a lens-shutter single-lens-reflex camera.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional lens-shutter cameras, the taking optical system and the viewfinder optical system are typically provided as separate optical systems. For this reason, such lens-shutter cameras suffer from parallax occurring between the taking optical system and the viewfinder optical system. In recent years, as lens-shutter cameras have come to be equipped with zoom lens systems having higher and higher magnifications, increased parallax and increased size have become serious problems with lens-shutter cameras.
On the other hand, in single-lens-reflex cameras, the taking optical system is used also as an objective lens of the viewfinder optical system. Accordingly, no parallax occurs between the taking optical system and the viewfinder optical system. However, in typical single-lens-reflex cameras, a swing mirror is provided behind the taking optical system, and the use of the swing mirror inevitably makes such cameras larger. The reasons why the swing mirror makes cameras larger are as follows. First, since the swing mirror is placed behind the taking optical system, it sets a limit on the back focus. Second, since the swing mirror is placed far away from the aperture diaphragm that is placed in the middle of the taking optical system, it needs to be large enough to reflect a light beam having a beam diameter corresponding to the position where the swing mirror is placed.
To prevent parallax and reduce the size of cameras, U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,199 proposes a zoom lens system consisting of a positive, a negative, a positive, and a negative lens unit. Specifically, in this zoom lens system, an incoming light beam is split into two light beams, one for photographing and the other for the viewfinder, by a beam splitter provided between the third and fourth lens units. This construction not only eliminates parallax, but also allows cameras to be made smaller, since it does not require a swing mirror.
Moreover, to prevent parallax and reduce the size of cameras, U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,565 proposes another zoom lens system. Specifically, in this zoom lens system, an incoming light beam is split into two light beams, one for photographing and the other for the viewfinder, by a reflecting means provided within one of the zoom lens units. This construction not only eliminates parallax, but also allows cameras to be made smaller, since it does not require a swing mirror.
Moreover, to prevent parallax and reduce the size of cameras, Japanese Published Patent No. 6-44098 proposes still another zoom lens system. Specifically, in this zoom lens system, an incoming light beam is split into two light beams, one for photographing and the other for the viewfinder, by a beam splitting member provided between the zoom lens units. This construction not only eliminates parallax, but also allows cameras to be made smaller, since it does not require a swing mirror.
However, in the zoom lens system proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,199, the paths of off-axial light rays between the third and fourth lens units are extremely far from those of axial light rays, and accordingly it is necessary to use a large beam splitter in order to cover all light beams. As a result, even if the viewfinder optical system is made smaller with the view to making a camera smaller, the large beam splitter spoils the compactness of the camera. Therefore, with this zoom lens system, it is difficult to realize a compact camera.
Moreover, in the zoom lens system proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,199, the zoom lens unit disposed just in front of the beam splitter has a positive power, and accordingly off-axial light rays incident on the beam splitter form large angles with respect to axial light rays. This not only requires a larger beam splitter, but also requires that the optical systems disposed behind the beam splitter (i.e. the negative fourth lens unit and the viewfinder optical system) have accordingly larger diameters, since off-axial light rays diverge steeply after being split by the beam splitter. As a result, the increased size of the beam splitter and the optical systems disposed behind it spoils the compactness of the zoom lens system and the viewfinder optical system. Therefore, with this zoom lens system, it is difficult to realize a compact camera.
In zoom lens systems, zooming is preferably performed by moving zoom lens units individually, because this makes it easy to correct aberrations properly. However, in a zoom lens system in which a beam splitter is provided between the zoom lens units, such as the one proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,199, extraction of a light beam for the viewfinder requires a complicated construction of the lens barrel precisely because the zoom lens units move individually. Moreover, incorporation of part of the viewfinder optical system into the lens barrel of the zoom lens system requires an even more complicated construction of the lens barrel, and thus requires that the lens barrel have a larger diameter.
In the zoom lens system proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,565, a reflecting means is provided within one of the zoom lens units. Such arrangement of a reflecting means within one of the zoom lens unit requires that one zoom lens unit be divided into two zoom blocks, one in front of the reflecting means and the other behind it, within the lens barrel. This not only complicates the construction of the lens barrel, but also makes it difficult to maintain the optical performance of that zoom lens unit in the process of assembly.
Moreover, in the zoom lens system proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,565, focusing is performed by moving part of the lens elements constituting the zoom lens unit that includes the reflecting means, or by moving the first lens unit. The former focusing method requires that part of the lens elements constituting the zoom lens unit that includes the reflecting means be moved for focusing. This further complicates the construction of the lens barrel, and thus makes it more difficult to maintain the optical performance of that zoom lens unit in the process of assembly. The latter focusing method, as compared with other focusing methods, requires a longer distance for the movement of the focusing lens unit, and thus requires a larger space for focusing. This is disadvantageous to the construction of the lens barrel.
In a zoom lens system in which a beam splitting member is provided between the zoom lens units, such as the one proposed in Japanese Published Patent No. 6-44098, the zoom lens units disposed in front of the beam splitting member and those disposed behind it tend to act independently as two separate groups. This means that aberrations need to be corrected properly within each of these groups. However, in the zoom lens system proposed in Japanese Published Patent No. 6-44098, since only one zoom lens unit is provided behind the beam splitting member, it is not possible to correct aberrations satisfactorily.
The zoom lens system proposed in Japanese Published Patent No. 6-44098 has only one zoom lens unit behind the beam splitting member. In a zoom lens system like this, in which only one zoom lens unit is provided behind the beam splitting member, the zoom lens units disposed in front of the beam splitting member need to correct most of the aberrations occurring in the zoom lens system. Since a viewfinder optical system generally needs to comply with more limitations than a taking optical system, it is difficult, in a construction in which the zoom lens units disposed in front of the beam splitting member need to correct most of the aberrations, to make those lens units suitable for a viewfinder. This, therefore, sets more limitations on the arrangement of the viewfinder optical system.


A hum-cancelling system includes two or more hum-cancelling coils configured in a distributed manner, connected in series with each other. The hum-cancelling coils form a series circuit that is electrically connected to at least one pickup. Each hum-cancelling coil includes a top plate, a bottom plate, and a coil of wire wrapped between the top plate and the bottom plate.

The present disclosure relates in general to a hum-cancelling system for a stringed musical instrument, and more particularly to a hum-cancelling system for a stringed musical instrument that provides noise cancelling using distributed coils.
A typical electric, stringed musical instrument such as an electric guitar or electric bass includes body, a neck extending from the body, and a headstock situated at the end of the neck. A set of strings span between a bridge located on the body and a nut located on the neck adjacent to the headstock. When strummed, plucked, picked or otherwise stroked, the strings vibrate producing sound. However, the acoustical output of the vibrating strings may not be loud enough for an intended application. As such, the instrument typically includes one or more electromagnetic pickups. The pickups convert the vibration of the strings into a representative electrical signal that can be coupled to an amplifier to produce an appropriate level of sound from the instrument. However, such pickups are susceptible to noise and other interference, especially 60 Hz from conventional electrical power circuits.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A machine for inspecting, sorting and stacking items includes a plurality of conveyor lanes for moving items through the machine. An imaging system is arranged relative to the conveyor lanes to view items moving along the conveyor lanes. A reject arrangement is downstream of the imaging system and includes a plurality of selectively actuatable reject mechanisms, each reject mechanism associated with a respective one of the conveyor lanes enabling items to be selectively dropped from each conveyor lane on an individual lane basis. Items that pass inspection are conveyed to a downstream stacker, then on to item stack conveyors before being moved onto a side transfer conveyor. A controller analyzes image data to make a determination of whether any item is below a defined quality threshold and, if so, to control the reject mechanism to drop the below quality item out of the conveyor lane.

It is a goal in the food processing industry to reduce the cost of handling of products during manufacturing and packaging. For example, flexible, generally planar food products such as tortillas are generally discharged from a processing machine (e.g., an oven, a cooling device, or the like) in a randomly spaced sequence, then hand counted, inspected and stacked. Manually counting, inspecting, and stacking the tortillas is a significant portion of the cost of the tortillas. Further, the risk of human error in manually counting, inspecting, sorting out all of the defective products, and stacking the products is high. Such human error may result in, for example, a stack of tortillas having defective products therein, a low product count, or improperly stacked tortillas that can result in damage to the product. Further, executing the handling and packaging processes of manually inspecting, sorting, counting, and stacking greatly limits the speed at which the product can be packaged. Similar difficulties are encountered when handling other generally planar, stackable items, such as paper plates.
It would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method that facilitates handling and stacking of such items.

Apparatus for conveying, inspecting and stacking items


A method, device and system for polishing and/or finishing one or more optical fibers. The method comprising securing an optical fiber connector to at least one holder, generating a tilting motion at the end of the optical fiber, adjusting the tilting motion of the optical fiber to create the desired optical fiber end shape and positioning a stage to provide planar motion to the at least one holder. A desired tilting motion of the optical fiber is generated by adjusting tension of at least one spring in operable connection with the at least one holder. Further adjustments to the tilting motion may be accomplished by further changes in tension of the at least one spring. A desired fiber optic end shape may be provided by the method, system and device described herein. Such shapes include dome, circular, or flat.

The invention described herein relates in general to the field of industrial machinery and technology, and in particular, to systems, devices and methods for optical fiber finishing and polishing.
In recent years it has become apparent that fiber optics are steadily replacing copper wire as a means of signal transmission in a variety of applications. Fiber optics are capable of spanning long distances as well as sustaining the backbone for many network systems.
Fiber optic systems use light pulses to transmit information through optical fiber lines. Optical fibers are long, thin strands of pure glass often about the diameter of a human hair. Typically, optical fibers are arranged in bundles called optical cables to allow for a robust system. In order to preserve the signal integrity, each optical fiber end should be polished with a smooth finish free of defects. Defects, as well as other impurities and dirt, change the geometrical propagation patterns of light and consequently cause scattering. Scatter in turn compromises the integrity of optical fiber systems.
Present technologies use rotational motion to polish dome or circular shaped optical fibers and are not well suited, for example, to polish multiple fibers at the same time or actively control the orientation of the fiber tips to allow for a variable radius of curvature. An example of a current technology includes a mechanical polishing system in which a rotating wheel polishes optical fibers. This and other available systems provide adequate polishing for a flat end surface but not circular or dome shaped surfaces. In addition, such systems require multiple degrees of rotational motion of a tool to polish a dome shaped fiber, making some systems difficult to use in an efficient manner.
To polish a curved surface, typical systems use elastic pads that provide uniform pressure distribution over the surface; however, they are not well suited for polishing fibers with varying curvatures. Accordingly, such systems fail to provide robust polishing abilities, are inefficient, costly and are not available for multiple fiber applications. Therefore, what is needed is a system and method for polishing both single and multiple optical fibers at a time without multiple degrees of rotational motion of a polishing tool. What is also needed is a system and method of polishing single and multiple optical fibers with a global planar motion.

Optical fiber polishing and finishing system, device and method

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


A system and method of identifying foreground segments in a JPEG image. The method includes the steps of: selecting a block in the JPEG image; extracting a set of DCT coefficients from the block, wherein the set comprises the first N AC components of the block; computing a sum of the set of DCT coefficients; and analyzing the sum to determine if the block is part of a foreground segment.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a system and method for segmenting an electronic image, and more specifically relates to segmenting electronic images using JPEG DCT coefficient information.
2. Related Art
In order to reduce processing costs, banks and other institutions are seeking to store and process more and more paper documents, including checks, as electronic images. New laws are furthering this movement by, for example, allowing banks to transfer only the check images and associated data for downstream processing. This reduces the requirement for a bank to physically handle and forward paper checks after they are initially received and processed at the bank. However, such scenarios require efficient systems for processing electronic images.
One particular challenge involves capturing information from an electronic image. For instance, in an electronic image of a bank check, the bank may want to identify specific textual or written areas from the check image, such as dollar amounts, signatures, etc. In order to automate this process, foreground elements or segments on the document must be distinguished from the background. Currently there exist numerous solutions in the industry, but most tend to be mathematically complex. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,657, "Image Processing Method and Apparatus," issued on Nov. 30, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference, utilizes an orthogonal transformation to achieve an image cut out. Such a system requires intensive computations that can substantially increase processing times and costs.
Accordingly, a need exists for a simple and efficient method of segmenting an electronic image to distinguish foreground information from a background region.

System and method for segmenting an electronic image

International Business Machines Corporation


A pad for a brassiere having a foam layer; a liner layer and a shaped cover positioned between the foam layer and the liner layer is provided. The shaped cover is positioned between the foam layer and the liner layer to provide enhanced coverage to the brassiere. A brassiere having a pair of breast-receiving cups is provided. Each of the pair of breast-receiving cups has a pad having a foam layer, a liner layer, and a shaped cover positioned between the foam layer and the liner layer. The shaped cover is positioned between the foam layer and the said liner layer to provide enhanced coverage to the brassiere.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a foam pad for a brassiere that offers modesty to the wearer and a brassiere using such a pad. More particularly, the invention relates to a foam pad for a brassiere that has a cover located at the apex to offer modesty to the wearer, and the brassiere made using such a pad.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional brassieres for everyday wear should offer comfort as well as coverage to the wearer. Consumers want to feel comfortable when wearing lightweight clothes yet confident that their undergarments, specifically brassieres, are providing adequate coverage. Brassieres that are too sheer and thin are not likely to provide the wearer with the desired level of modesty and discretion. At the other extreme, foam brassieres that are thick and offer modesty are often excessively padded, thus uncomfortable and hide the wearer's natural shaping.
Accordingly, there is a need for a pad for a brassiere and a brassiere that offers modesty with lightweight padding and optimal comfort.


There is provided an apparatus that determines the location of an impermissible tamper on an object, such as an impermissible attempt to gain access to a manhole system or an attempt to steal a work of art, includes a housing disposed adjacently to the object. A fiber optic cable runs through the housing. The object includes a portion that cooperates with internal components of the housing to maintain the fiber optic cable in a non-attenuated state. Upon the impermissible tamper, that portion of the object no longer cooperates with the internal components of the housing. An elastic force internal to the housing cooperates with more internal housing components to create a microbend to the fiber optic cable. Using known optical time domain reflectometer technology, the location of the microbend along the fiber optic cable is readily discerned.

There are many sensor systems that indicate the location of an intrusion attempt into a secure location or an attempt to steal a secure asset. For example, a door leading to a secure area might be rigged with a tamper switch that automatically relays a signal to a multiplexer and then onward to a de-multiplexer where the location of the intrusion is determined.
There are presently no interior intrusion detection systems that work for spark sensitive rooms such as those at oil refineries and others at power plants. The known systems for these applications include an electronic signal that can ignite the contents of the room, and thus cause an explosion.
Other types of systems include microwave sensors where a microwave transmitter and receiver are aligned and the intrusion attempt causes a break in the reception thereby triggering an alarm. Once again this type of system will not work inside of a spark sensitive room for the aforementioned reasons. These systems are bulky, expensive and highly noticeable.
These system also are tedious for many applications because much cabling is required to transmit signals indicative of an intrusion attempt. For instance, where a manhole system is desired to be protected from intrusion, (such as by terrorists) it would be necessary to install a great deal of cabling throughout the underground system. Further, this cabling is easily corrupted making the entire system suspect to tamper.
If wireless links were to be used, the reliability of the system is constantly in jeopardy because of the inherent unreliable nature of the wireless technology. An illustration of this is the common occurrence that interference from external sources causes disruption to wireless communications. It is noticeable that these antennas sometimes become unreliable during storms. Additionally, much expensive equipment and installation is required for wireless communications.
A manhole system typically carries underground utilities of which can include water drainage, water intake pipes, electrical systems, etc. A manhole cover provides access to such manhole systems for the purpose of repairs and maintenance.
It is a reasonable assumption that terrorists would like to gain access to underground utility systems because of the mass amount of urban destruction that can be attained in compromising such structures. In some cases, manhole covers are welded to their frames in anticipation of a large public event. Entrances may also be monitored by visual surveillance equipment. Each of these methods are costly and laborious.
Thieves often target works of art and other valuable items. There are certain electronic security systems for the protection of works of art, some of which include microwave transmitters and receivers. The microwave systems operate by sending a signal from a transmitter to a receiver. When the signal is interrupted, the system indicates an intrusion attempt.
These systems are expensive and suspect to tampering.

Fiber optic cable sensor for movable objects


According to a bipolar transistor structure having a transistor top and a transistor bottom herein, a silicon substrate located at the transistor bottom has a collector region of a first conductivity type. An epitaxial base layer of a second conductivity type overlies, relative to the transistor top and bottom, a portion of the collector region. The epitaxial base layer has a bottom surface on the silicon substrate and a top surface opposite the bottom surface. A top region, relative to the transistor top and bottom, of the epitaxial base layer comprises a concentration of germanium having atomic compositions sufficient to avoid impacting transistor parameters, and sufficient to be resistant to selective chemical etching. A silicon emitter layer of the first conductivity type overlies, relative to the transistor top and bottom, a portion of the epitaxial base layer adjacent to the top surface of the epitaxial base layer.

The present disclosure relates generally to integrated circuit devices, and more specifically, to a self-aligned bipolar transistor.
A bipolar junction transistor (BJT or bipolar transistor) is a type of transistor that relies on the contact of two types of semiconductor for its operation. One type of semiconductor is formed with positive-type dopants, and is therefore referred to as a P-type semiconductor, while another type of semiconductor is formed with negative-type dopants, and is therefore referred to as an N-type semiconductor. A bipolar junction transistor usually includes two back-to-back p-n junctions that share a thin common region. In other words, a bipolar junction transistor typically includes three regions, two outer regions commonly known as "emitter" and "collector" respectively, and a middle region commonly known as "base". Electrical connections are generally made to all three regions.
Bipolar junction transistors can be used as amplifiers, switches, or in oscillators. Bipolar junction transistors come in two types, or polarities, known as PNP and NPN, with the P and the N representing the different doping types of the three main terminal regions (collector, base, and emitter). An NPN transistor comprises two semiconductor junctions that share a thin P-doped anode region, and a PNP transistor comprises two semiconductor junctions that share a thin N-doped cathode region.
Improvement in transistor performance, especially its operation speed, is generally considered as essential for achieving improved performance of an integrated circuit wherein various types of transistors are normally used. Bipolar transistors with a silicon germanium ("SiGe") intrinsic base may be capable of delivering performance required for such integrated circuit. To achieve higher electrical performance, these transistors typically have a doped polysilicon extrinsic base layer on top of or adjacent to the epitaxially grown intrinsic SiGe base. So far, SiGe-HBTs have demonstrated cut-off frequency (fT) of up to 400 GHz. The emitter to collector transit time of such a transistor is typically reduced by optimizing the Ge/Si ratio, doping profile, and film thickness of the epitaxially grown intrinsic SiGe base. Such devices are used, for example, in integrated circuits fabricated for high performance mixed signal applications.

Base profile of self-aligned bipolar transistors for power amplifier applications


A composition and a method effective in preventing or treating stomatitis are presented. The composition contains glutathione or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and/or orotic acid or a derivative thereof or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is provided.

Stomatitis is a general term for an inflammatory disease occurring in the oral cavity mucous membrane such as the tongue, gums, lips, inside of the cheeks, and the like.
Stomatitis is thought to be caused by viruses or bacteria present within the mouth infecting the mucous membrane inside the oral cavity in areas where there has been damage by injuries from biting with teeth, hot foods, drying out of the mucous membrane, and the like. In addition, with stomatitis that occurs as a side-effect of radiation therapy or chemotherapy, the mucous membrane cells are damaged by the effect of active oxygen, and mucositis occurs. Furthermore, defense mechanisms inside the oral cavity are disrupted, and secondary infection by viruses and bacteria in the mouth occur.
Stomatitis caused by radiation therapy or chemotherapy is particularly serious, and when a complication such as sepsis occurs, mortality reaches 40-60% (The Lancet, 351, 1501-1505 (1998)). In addition, unlike stomatitis due to other causes, the patients can not take meals because of the pain, and from the standpoint of quality of life (QOL) and medical costs, this is an extremely important problem.
For the treatment of stomatitis, creams and patches of steroid medicine are known, but their effectiveness greatly varies between individuals. In health food related products, vitamins centering around the Vitamin B group, zinc, propolis, Lactobacillus bifidus, green juice, and the like are said to be somewhat effective for the treatment of stomatitis, but these do not always produce satisfactory results.
With regard to treatment of serious stomatitis caused by radiation therapy and chemotherapy, GM-CSF [European Journal of Cancer, 37 (16), 1971-1975 (2001)] and zinc-carnosine hydrochloride [Nippon acta radiologica 62 (4), 144-150 (2002)], and the like have been considered, but there are still no approved treatment medicines.

Composition and method for treatment of stomatitis


A magnetic resonance imaging scan using a MR scanner receives via a user interface a MR imaging protocol categorizable into a MR scan type of a predefined set of MR scan types. Further, a database is queried by providing to the database scan information permitting the database to identify the MR scan type of the MR imaging protocol. Statistical information on the MR scan type which can include statistics on modifications of individual scan parameters of the MR scan type is received from a database, and the statistical information is provided to the user interface. Modifications of the MR imaging protocol can be received from the user interface, resulting in a modified MR imaging protocol, according to which the MR imaging scan can be performed.

Image-forming MR methods, which utilize the interaction between magnetic field and nuclear spins in order to form two-dimensional or three-dimensional images are widely used nowadays, notably in the field of medical diagnostics, because for the imaging of soft tissue they are superior to other imaging methods in many respects, they do not require ionizing radiation, and they are usually not invasive.
According to the MR method in general, the body of a patient or in general an object to be examined is arranged in a strong, uniform magnetic field BO whose direction at the same time defines an axis, normally the z-axis, of the coordinate system on which the measurement is based.
The magnetic field produces different energy levels for the individual nuclear spins in dependence on the applied magnetic field strength which spins can be excited (spin resonance) by application of an alternating electromagnetic field (RF field) of defined frequency, the so called Larmor frequency or MR frequency. From a macroscopic point of view the distribution of the individual nuclear spins produces an overall magnetization which can be deflected out of the state of equilibrium by application of an electromagnetic pulse of appropriate frequency (RF pulse) while the magnetic field extends perpendicularly to the z-axis, so that the magnetization performs a precessional motion about the z-axis.
Any variation of the magnetization can be detected by means of receiving RF antennas, which are arranged and oriented within an examination volume of the MR device in such a manner that the variation of the magnetization is measured in the direction perpendicularly to the z-axis.
In order to realize spatial resolution in the body, switching magnetic field gradients extending along the three main axes are superposed on the uniform magnetic field, leading to a linear spatial dependency of the spin resonance frequency. The signal picked up in the receiving antennas then contains components of different frequencies which can be associated with different locations in the body.
The signal data obtained via the receiving antennas corresponds to the spatial frequency domain and is called k-space data. The k-space data usually includes multiple lines acquired with different phase encoding. Each line is digitized by collecting a number of samples. A set of samples of k-space data is converted to an MR image, e.g. by means of Fourier transformation.
The above description of performing magnetic resonance imaging provides a brief impression on the plurality of parameters which may be adjusted in order to obtain an MR image of a desired portion of the object to be imaged at a desired quality.
Typically, an MR scan protocol used for adjustment of the conditions to be used when performing a magnetic resonance imaging scan can consist of more than 150 adjustable parameters. With the continuing advances in MR sequence development, it is expected that even more methods become available and need to be parameterized in the user interface used at the MR scanner to provide the relevant MR scan protocol parameters to the scanner.
Moreover, radiologists and technicians frequently need to work on different MR systems, from different vendors and are familiar with the user interface of a presently used MR system only up to a certain degree. As a consequence, in these conditions the optimal choice of scan parameters is a difficult, tedious and often iterative task, even for expert users. As a consequence, many scans need to be repeated until image quality is judged good enough. In other cases, the appropriate choice of scan parameters results in inferior image quality below the requested quality standards. Another consequence is that advanced imaging techniques are not used as often as they could be, because the technician may not be aware of the suitable techniques to solve a particular image quality problem or to address a particular patient imaging need.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,755 discloses a system and method for communicating a protocol over a network. More specifically, this document relates to a protocol/medical image registration method that permits centralized management of pairs of protocol and a medical image, wherein numerous user terminals are permitted to share protocols as common resources. Consequently, this method permits to make imaging protocols available, however with the drawback that only 'prefabricated' protocols are provided, such that with respect to the individual circumstances with respect to an imaging procedure a user is still required to adapt the scan parameters of the selected MR scan protocol in an individual manner. Consequently, the optimal choice of scan parameters is still difficult even for expert users.
From the foregoing it is readily appreciated that there is a need for an improved method of performing a magnetic resonance imaging scan. Further, there is a need for an improved magnetic resonance imaging scanner and an improved computer program product.

Magnetic resonance examination system with preferred settings based on data mining


The present invention relates to a system and method of bonding garments with elastomers and particularly to a system and method to cut and hem in a garment in a continuous process and also a system and method to incorporate an elastic strip into a garment in a continuous process and a system and method to provide computer control of hemming, bonding, gathering and inserting an elastic strip into a garment.

The present invention generally relates to the textile industry. More specifically, the present invention relates to the bonding of garments with elastomer and a method of production.
Since old ages, sewing garments was done with needles and threads. Conventionally, to hem a piece of cloth, a garment worker folds up a cut edge, folds it up again, and then sews it down. The process of hemming thus completely encloses the cut edge in cloth, so that it cannot ravel. Hems are used in order to tidy the edge of the fabric, where it was cut. The hem prevents the cut edge to become further separated, and provides a strong, neat and straight edge. The hem may be sewn down with a line of invisible hem-stitch or blind-stitch or sewn down by a sewing machine, usually leaving a visible line of sewing. Machines can also sew a reasonable facsimile of a hem-stitch, though the stitches will usually be larger and more visible. Most haute couture hems are sewn by hand for this reason.
Attention is now directed to FIG. 1a, which illustrate the production of a typical panty leg hole. The panty starts as a cylindrical piece of cloth 101. Cutting on lines 102a-b and sewing together the front and back at seam 104 (see FIG. 1b) produces Leg holes 103a-b. Then an elastic band is set around leg holes 103a-b and a hem is folded over the elastic band and sewn down. For easy dressing it is preferable that leg holes 103a-b can stretch to at least 180% of their unstressed circumference. For comfortable wearing it is desirable that back seams 105a-b of leg holes 103a-b can stretch without noticeable force to at least 125% of their unstressed length and that top front seams 106a-b of leg holes 103a-b can stretch without noticeable force to at least 110% of their unstressed length. Bottom front seams 107a-b of leg holes 103a-b do not need to stretch appreciably during wearing. In order to enable stretching of leg holes 103a-b it is necessary to gather material around the elastic band along the seam because the fabric of panties is not as elastic as the rubber band. For comfortable wearing and minimal seam thickness, the accumulation of material on back seams 105a-b should be more than the accumulation on top front seams 106a-b, which should be more than the accumulation on bottom front seam 107a-b. Another important demand is that after such stretching the seam will return to its original length almost immediately (short recovery time).
Often, as described in connection to FIG. 1b, especially in underwear, to make better closures, an elastic band is sewn on the hem. For example, synthetic panties generally have a cotton lined crotch and elastic band that form a full leg closure. Typically in the prior art (for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,268 to Schips), the elastic garment products are made with a single piece of elastic or two pieces, which are undulated. The stiff elastic stretched to a desired length serves as a form to ensure that the hem is straight and that (when the elastic returns to its un-stressed length) the material will have enough gathers to allow stretching of the seam.
Unfortunately, the elastic band increases the garment thickness in the hem region. The thick area can be seen and felt through the outer garment, resulting in reduced the wearing comfort and undesirable panty lines. Another problem is durability the rubber band. After a few washing cycles conventional rubber bands wear off or deteriorate and do not return to their original length.
Furthermore, conventionally sewing of an elastic band into a hem requires a multi-step process (starting of a subsequent step only after completing the previous step).
These are the three steps of the current conventional sewing process:                1. Cutting the entire length of the material.        2. Inserting the elastic band while stretching the elastic band to the desired length and fixing it to the garment (usually by local stitching).        3. Folding the material around the elastic band and sewing down the fold.
This three-step process of inserting an elastic band demands time and labor in the manufacturing process, and increases the cost of producing the garment.
The textile industry is looking for a solution to speed production of hems and particularly of elastic hems and to reduce the thickness of hems in underwear, especially in lingerie. In the industry's jargon, the solution is called "seamless"; sometimes it is also referred to as "stitchless" technology. Several attempts have been made to provide the production of underwear without the visible panty lines; however none have adequately provided a solution. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,407 to Christine Martz discloses a women's waistless and seamless clothing adherable underwear that includes an oval pad made of a soft absorbent material. The pad has strips of adhesive tape to attach to the inside crotch area of low slung clothing pants or tight pants. The problem with Martz is that the adhesive can pull away from the clothing if not secured properly. Moreover, due to the cost of the elastic band, this kind of solution is not always desirable.
Over the years, numerous techniques have been developed to taking advantage of the properties of elastomeric materials for bonding textiles.
Most elastomers are monomers that are applied in an uncured state. After curing (e.g. polymerization) the elastomer becomes an elastomeric rubbery type of solid at room temperature. While uncured, the elastomer (referred to hereafter as adhesive) is applied to the region to be bonded. The elastomer penetrates into the fabrics and cures. The elastomer may be used to bond the fabrics together, and still allow flexibility and elasticity. Under certain conditions, the cured elastomer may serve as a replacement for an elastic strip or rubber band. Thus, by incorporating an elastomer into a garment, a "built-in" elastic strip is produced. The hem of a "built in elastic strip" is much thinner than a hem including a pre-formed elastic strip sewn into the clothes. Hence a garment incorporating a thin elastomer closure may be described as "seamless". Furthermore, use of pre-formed elastic strips incurs extra manufacturing costs associated with the cost of the pre-formed band and the time and the work needed to sew the pre-formed band into the garment.
Conventionally, to create an elastic hem with an elastomer, a prefabricated elastomer band is inserted into the hem. The garment is then ironed to heat the band, melting the elastomer. Pressing the two fabrics together with the elastomer in-between, establishes the bond. Such prefabricated bands of elastomer are available from BEMIS Associates, Inc. (One Bemis Way, Shirley, Mass. 01464, USA) and are usually made of polyurethane. Unfortunately, this method has many disadvantages: first of all, the prefabricated bands are expensive; secondly, during the process the heat has to reach the band through the surrounding fabrics, the process is therefore very slow compared to sewing. To overcome this shortcoming, the power of the heat source may be increased, but increasing the power of the heat source entails a risk of burning the garment. Another disadvantage of this method is that polyurethanes have a long recovery time. The term "recovery time" refers hereinafter to the time needed for the elastomer to reach its initial length after been stretched. Polyurethanes take about a minute or more to recover.
Yet another common way to bond hems, typically in outer garments like dresses and trousers, is to spread fine particles of material, usually known as hot melt adhesive, inside the hem. The hem is then ironed, melting the particles, which become "bonding points" holding the hem. This method is not adequate for undergarments, where hems are very narrow, about 5 mm. It is also not used as a replacement for elastic strip, since the particles are not continuous. Therefore no continuous elastic band and no elasticity are formed. Only the region of the particle is bonded.
Despite all of the efforts that have been made to provide a facile, economical process for mass production of conformable garments, problems have, prior to the advent of the present invention, continued to plague the industry. In addition to many of the problems described above, many of the thermoplastic elastomeric materials that have been suggested present similar, as well as somewhat different problems. For example, since the elastic material is here contemplated for usage in garments, it is important that the material be characterized by its strength; not only strength in usage, but also in the high speed manufacturing processes employed. It is also important that the heated material possess sufficient strength as to resist breakage, particularly when the heated material is being worked on in a high-speed continuous production process. There is thus an unfulfilled need for selecting suitable elastomers overcoming the shortcomings described above.
Moreover, there is an unfulfilled need for providing a cost effective method to integrate an elastic strip into a garment.

Bonding garments with elastomers and method of production


A connector including a cavity for stowing a pre-installed sealing member. The sealing cavity is defined by a first or coupler seal cavity formed on the inside surface of a coupler and a second or insert seal cavity formed on the outer periphery of an insert. Relative motion of the coupler and the insert during assembly causes the sealing member to be displaced from a stowed or inactive seal position to an assembled or active seal position.

Coaxial cable connectors typically incorporate moisture seals to prevent rain/humidity/condensation from degrading signal quality. When installing, assembling, and/or reassembling a coaxial cable connector with an interface port, a service technician typically interposes a sealing member, such as an O-ring seal, between the nut of the connector and the interface port. In view of this requirement, service technicians routinely maintain an inventory of different types and sizes of O-rings and sealing washers/structures to ensure that a proper sealing member is available as connections are made. Furthermore, inasmuch as sealing members typically differ in size by only a few thousandths or millimeters of an inch, they can be difficult to visually differentiate. As a result, it can be difficult to maintain the requisite level of inventory control to ensure that a proper sealing member has been installed. For example, a service technician may be unable to detect or ascertain when a sealing member has been incorrectly selected and/or improperly installed. In addition to the burden of managing inventory, in-field installation of sealing members can introduce inconsistencies in the quality of the connections, and improperly installed or seated sealing members can cause significant problems with the operation of the cable connectors.
The foregoing describes some, but not necessarily all, of the problems, disadvantages and challenges related to sealing coaxial cable connectors.

Coaxial cable connector having an activatable seal


A pipe socket for making a threaded pipe connection that includes: a socket body defining a threaded portion, a cavity and a stop; an O-ring positioned within the cavity; and a plurality of interrupted series of tapping threads defined on an internal surface of the socket body in the threaded portion. The cavity is configured to receive a pipe and the stop is configured to stop a pipe received within the cavity. Each of the interrupted series of tapping threads is circumferentially equidistant from the adjacent interrupted series of tapping threads. Further, each of the interrupted series of tapping threads comprises threads arranged axially on the internal surface of the socket body for forming threads on a pipe received within the cavity.

Modern piping includes a diverse range of joinery techniques and products, including traditional approaches to plumbing, such as thread connection and thermal bonding (i.e., soldering and brazing), as well as evolving mechanical means of joining (i.e., push-and-press). These many means of pipe joinery have certain inherent advantages and disadvantages that largely dictate their use.
Threading, perhaps the most common means of joinery, finds favor in the inherent simplicity and high certainty of achieving a sound and secure connection. The downside of threading can be recognized in the need to either cut or form mating threads that will lock together the connection member to the pipe. Typically, threading is conducted off-site during the manufacture of piping or on-site by specialized tapping equipment. In either case, threading-related activities can significantly increase the cost and time of piping joinery procedures and installations.
When done properly, thermal bonding, including soldering and brazing, results in an excellent joint with good durability. Thermal joinery, arguably an art that involves significant training and experience, requires a controlled application of thermal energy by an open flame torch, induction equipment or other heat sources. Further, thermal joinery also requires consumable materials (i.e., flux and filler) and calls for pipe and component preparatory work prior to making the joint. As such, thermal bonding processes can also add significant cost, time and safety considerations to piping joinery procedures and installations.
Accordingly, there is a need for piping joinery methods and configurations that are lower cost, faster and safer than conventional piping joinery methods and configurations, including conventional threading and thermal bonding approaches.

Threaded pipe connections and sockets for making the same in situ


An angle adjustable handle assembly includes a positioning tube fixedly connected to a handle post of an exercise bike and has a toothed end. A sleeve movably extends through the positioning tube and has a head is on a first end of the sleeve and the head has a toothed shoulder which is engaged with the toothed end of the positioning tube. A second end of the sleeve is threadedly connected to a locking member. A handle extends through the sleeve and a bolt extends through the head of the sleeve and is engaged with the handle. The sleeve and the handle can be pulled to disengage from the toothed end of the tube and rotated to desired angle and then re-engage with the toothed of the tube.

The present invention relates to an angle adjustable handle for exercise bike and includes a clutch device to prevent the handle from rotating after the angle is set.
A conventional exercise bike generally includes a base with a frame extending from the base. A seat post and a handle post are respectively connected to the frame. A wheel with a resistance device is connected to the frame and is rotated by operating a crank. The user sits on the set on a top of the seat post and holds the handle with two hands and rotates the crank with his/her feet to overcome the resistance force of the resistance device to rotate the wheel. Generally, the handle is fixedly connected to the frame by bolts or by way of welding so that the position of the handle cannot be adjusted. For the users with different heights, the fixedly positioned handle is not convenient for them and no matter the position of the handle is too high or too low, the shoulder of the user could not feel good. Some exercise bikes has a retractable handle post which can be pulled higher or pushed lower to meet the users"" needs. However, the handle itself is fixed to the handle post so that it cannot be pivoted about a horizontal axis.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an angle adjustable handle assembly and comprising a positioning tube fixedly connected to a handle post and having a toothed end. A sleeve movably extends through the positioning tube and has a head on a first end of the sleeve. The head has a toothed shoulder which is engaged with the toothed end of the positioning tube. A threaded portion is defined in a second end of the sleeve and a locking member is threadedly engaged with the threaded portion. A handle extends through the sleeve and a bolt extends through the head of the sleeve and is engaged with the handle.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an angle adjustable handle for an exercise bike wherein the handle is easily rotated about a horizontal axis so that the users can adjust the handle for their needs.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, three preferred embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

Angle adjustable handle for exercise bike


The present invention discloses a mixer comprising with an input stage (100) for receiving and amplifying input signals (VINP, VINN) and an output stage (300) for outputting output signals (Voutp, Voutn). A switching stage (200) is coupled between the input stage (100) and the output stage (300), the switching stage (200) mixing the amplified input signals with a local oscillator signal (vlop, vlon) to produce the output signals (Voutp, Voutn) at the output stage (300). An RC circuit (cop, rop; con, ron) is connected to the output stage (300) and adapted to move the pole of the output signals.

A frequency mixer is a nonlinear device that accepts at its input two or more signals and presents signals at its output that are a mixture of the frequencies of the input signals. The frequency mixer is often used to move signals between bands in telecommunications devices or audio devices.


An artificial ligament assembly for spinal stabilization includes an outer hollow elastic longitudinal member, a rigid inner member, a bone anchor mechanism, a bone anchor, and a buffered space. The artificial ligament assembly further includes a clamp that controls a torsional motion of the outer hollow elastic longitudinal member with respect to the bone anchor mechanism. The outer hollow elastic longitudinal member is at least as long as the inner rigid member. The rigid inner member is configured in a substantially same shape as the outer hollow elastic longitudinal member. The bone anchor mechanism is coupled to the outer hollow elastic longitudinal member. The bone anchor connector may further include an insert end. The bone anchor is coupled to the bone anchor mechanism. The buffered space allows any of a compression and an extension of the bone anchor mechanism inside the outer hollow elastic longitudinal member.

1. Technical Field
The embodiments herein generally relate to spinal stabilization devices, and more particularly to an artificial ligament assembly used for spinal stabilization.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ligaments are bands of tough, elastic, fibrous tissue that connect bones together at joints so that the joints can move. Ligaments are found at all of the joints of the skeleton (e.g., as in knees, head and neck, thorax, elbow, wrist etc.). Moreover, ligaments act to limit the motion of bones relative to each other, thus providing stability to the joints. Bone joints are vulnerable to injury for anyone involved in strenuous activities. Ligaments are more susceptible to being torn with violent twisting forces. Due to abrupt or progressive stress, a ligament is susceptible to tearing.
When a ligament is torn, it can either be repaired or replaced. Generally, repairing heals a torn ligament poorly; hence the ligament must be replaced. Most replacements come from connective tissues in a patient's own body (e.g., a knee tendon). Rehabilitation and return to full strength can take one to two years or more. To reduce rehabilitation time and provide greater strength, artificial ligaments are used. Artificial ligaments are required because the natural ligaments heal slowly and are often damaged irreparably. Various types of artificial ligament devices have been developed.
Most of the artificial ligament devices provide required tension support which is usually greater than necessary torsion limitation. The torsional movement is excessively limited (e.g., fully rigid) or has a minimal torsional micro-motion which is based solely on the material and/or geometry of the device (e.g., plate). Generally, these artificial ligament devices do not provide compression load-bearing support as well. Compression is not limited (e.g., exceedingly flexible), and there is non-load bearing with macro-motion which is based solely on the material and/or geometry (e.g., elastic band).
Also, these artificial ligament devices generally do not have a torsion limitation, and typically do not provide a controlled torsional range of motion with the skeletal body. Also, these devices generally do not provide compression and would not benefit for the spinal stabilization due to excessive flexion and extension. Furthermore, these devices generally do not provide controlled stabilization to a patient with spinal pathologies and do not assist in the restoration of natural ligamentous support.


Active compound chip and process for the production of an active compound chip comprising an active compound which is bound at room temperature, at least one heating element being located at least partly in the interior of the chip and the heating element having an electrical resistance and at least two electrical contacts.

The invention relates to an active compound chip having an integrated heating element for evaporating active compounds from the active compound chip. The invention furthermore relates to a process for the production of an active compound chip having an integrated heating element.
Various devices for the evaporation of active compounds such as insecticides or fragrances are known.
A device suitable for this purpose is a plate evaporater, consisting of a heating apparatus and insecticide plates. The insecticide plates consist of materials such as cellulose or cotton board, asbestos or ceramic and are impregnated with pyrethroid insecticides. The insecticide plates are placed on the heating apparatus, which can typically generate a temperature in range from 120 to 190° C. The insecticides are evaporated from the plates by the heat of the heating apparatus. The duration of action with plate evaporators is restricted to approximately 12 hours because of the high working temperature and the uneven release of active compound.
A similar principle underlies the gel evaporator (DE 197 31 156 A1 ), in which insecticides are incorporated into a gel formulation.
Another possibility for the evaporation of active compounds consists in the use of "liquid evaporators", in which a liquid formulation of the active compound is continuously evaporated by warming by means of a wick system (GB 2 153 227).
Polymeric active compound carriers, into which insecticidal active compounds are incorporated, are known from DE 196 05 581 A1. These polymeric active compound carriers theoretically have a working temperature of 60 to 150° C. In practice, however, it has been shown that a continuous rate of release of the active compound over a period of time of up to 60 days in a biologically active amount can only be realized using a large surface which is impracticable for the application or using a temperature in the range from 140 to 150° C. For the evaporation of the active compound, the polymeric active compound carriers are placed on a heating apparatus, such as is already known for plate and gel evaporators. Tests have shown that in the range from 110 to 100° C. the release rate of the active compound and thus the biological activity greatly decreases.
All known evaporator systems need an external heating apparatus in order to generate the heat necessary for the evaporation of the active compound. Such a heating apparatus causes additional expense and needs a certain space at the site of application. Moreover, it leaves room for faulty operation. If, for example, a controllable heating apparatus is concerned, a wrong temperature adjustment can lead to over- or underdosage of the active compound. If a controllable heating apparatus is not concerned, different heating apparatuses must be bought for the evaporation of active compounds having different evaporation temperatures.
A disadvantage of the known evaporator systems is furthermore the low efficiency caused by the heating apparatus. The heat transfer between the heating apparatus and the active compound carrier is poor, since complete contact between the surfaces of active compound carrier and heating plate is not achieved and an insulating layer of air can form between parts of the active compound carrier and the heating apparatus. This leads to the fact that it takes a long time until the active compound carrier is warmed so strongly that the active compound evaporates. High temperatures of the heating apparatus are needed in order to evaporate the active compound in an amount which is necessary, for example, for the effective control of insects. These high temperatures also border on the housing, so that there is a danger of burning for the user. At high temperatures, there is also the danger that other parts of the active compound formulation than the active compound itself evaporate and contribute to unnecessary pollution of the environment.
The poor heat transfer furthermore leads to incomplete liberation of the active compound from the active compound carrier. In the case of polymeric active compound carriers which had been heated on a heating plate, a residue of up to 20% of active compound was measured in the active compound carrier.
On account of the poor heat conductivity of the polymers and possibly occurring deformations of the active compound carriers, exact temperature control is not possible, so that uneven escape of active compound can occur.
The known systems have the further disadvantage that the non-heated surfaces of the heating apparatus, in particular, are in some cases so cool that the released active compound immediately condenses on them again.

Chip that comprises an active agent and an integrated heating element