A grinding rod having a hardened outer shell of tempered martensite is adapted for use in heavy duty grinding environments. The rod is stress relieved to reduce internal compressive stresses in the tempered martensitic shell to less than 60 ksi and greater than 15 ksi. Such stress relieve stabilizes the rod against break-up as caused by the balancing tensile stresses in the pearlitic core exceeding tensile strength of the core.

Various technologies are available for manufacturing grinding rods for use in grinding mills, such as in ore crushing, stone crushing and the like. Grinding rods are usually 3 to 6 meters in length depending upon the size of the grinding device and have diameters which usually range from 7 to 10 cm. It has been found that the useful life of a grinding rod may be improved if it has a hard outer shell usually of martensitic microstructure and relatively soft end portions which are substantially of pearlitic microstructure. The soft end portions minimize rod spalling and splitting thereof and reduce breakage and wear of the rod mill liners. A discussion of grinding rods having soft end portions may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,934 as well as the several other U.S. patents discussed in the background of that U.S. patent.
In an attempt to improve grinding rod longevity by way of heat treatment, the chemistry of the steel in the grinding rod may be modified such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,686. The modification of the chemistry in the steel of the grinding rod results in the rod core having a bainitic microstructure with less than 10% pearlite and a core hardness of at least about 40 Rockwell C, or 40 HRC. It is thought that making rods with the proper selection of molybdenum and chromium to provide a rod core of mostly bainite enhances the wear rate resistance of the rod by nearly 20% over that of a conventional heat treated rod. The selected chemistry and heat treatment ensures that the core is of the harder bainite where softer pearlitic material is to be avoided.
The rods, as made in accordance with either of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,589,934 and 4,840,686 are quenched after heating by passing the rod through a quench spray. The quenching of the rod is commenced inwardly of the leading end of the rod and the quench spray turned off short of the trailing end of the rod. It is thought that by not applying quench water spray to the leading end and trailing end of the rod, softer end portions are developed. Also as taught, the rod may have to pass through multiple quench zones in order to achieve the desired extent of quenching to ensure the formation of the harder martensitic shell. As is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,934, minor amounts of quench water travelling along the rod surface towards either the leading or trailing end portion may create a wash effect, thereby expediting cooling of the end portion resulting in the formation of end portions which can have a hardness greater than 30 and perhaps up to 45 or 50 HRC. To minimize this effect, the commencing of the quench water spray and terminating of the quench water spray are activated or deactivated a considerable distance from each end. A significant portion of the rod end is not treated resulting in a fairly large transition zone between the quench portion of the rod which has the martensitic structure and the untreated end portion of the rod which has the pearlitic structure. In practice, the softer end portions of the rod may extend upwards of 30 cm or more with a very gradual transition from the hard shell to the softer portion. This results in a grinding rod having a greater length of softer end portion with consequent increased wear.
A further problem with the grinding rod of U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,686 is that it was found in heavy duty grinding environments that the rods quickly broke up due to the abuse during grinding, even though it was thought that the harder bainitic core would resist such break up. It is a natural assumption that, in order to increase wearability of the rods in heavy duty grinding environments, the rods would naturally have a harder outer martensitic shell. However, neither grinding rods with bainitic cores or much softer pearlitic cores perform very well in heavy duty grinding environments. Such rods with the harder outer martensitic shells tend to break up too quickly thereby rendering them useless in the grinding environment. It is understood, of course, that such rods with the harder outer shells, particularly with pearlitic cores, function very well in light duty and medium duty grinding environments. There are no exacting criteria as to what constitutes light duty, medium duty and heavy duty grinding environments. Consideration is however given to the critical speed of the mill where it is understood that increasing critical speed increases the duty of the grinding environment. Other factors include the diameter of the mill, the diameter of the rods in the mill and the length of the rods where it is understood that the longer rods tend to break up more readily than the shorter rods. With these criteria in mind, one skilled in the art can predict the duty of the grinding environment and hence select rods appropriate to that end use.
Accordingly, this invention provides grinding rods which have the desired wearability and have the desired durability in heavy duty grinding environments. This advantage of this invention has been surprisingly provided by way of a stress relieving technique for tempered grinding rods, particularly those having deeper and harder martensitic shells of a hardness greater than 50 and usually 55 to 65 Rockwell C. Although stress relieving techniques have been used in conjunction with tool steels, this is generally understood by those skilled in the art to perform different functions in view of the high alloy contents and high carbon contents of tool steels. The purpose of stress relieving is to modify the structure of the tool steel so that stress relieving of tool steels is conducted at relatively high temperatures usually around 500.degree. C. In view of the high alloy content, it is generally understood that stress relieving at these high temperatures brings about a change in the characteristic of the tool steel. Conversely, it is generally understood that tempering of mild steel products after the first temper does not bring about any significant changes in the physical characteristics of the product.

Stress relieved grinding rod having hard outer shell


An electronic device includes at least one processing circuit connected through at least one terminal at a first reference voltage. At least one radio frequency communication circuit is connected at least to receive the reference voltage. At least one first pad is intended to be taken to a second reference voltage of at least one electronic circuit external to the device. At least one first resistive impedance is coupled between the terminal and the first pad.

Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to electronic circuits and systems and, more particularly, to electronic circuits or devices capable of operating both in radio frequency communication and by contact.
Description of the Related Art
More and more, electronic circuits or devices are capable of communicating with other circuits or systems, be it in hard-wired fashion by an electric contact connection, or wireless by radio frequency link. This for example concerns electronic tags having not only a radio frequency communication antenna, but also electric contact terminals, "dual mode" devices which are capable of operating either in contact mode or in contactless mode, such as, for example, near field communications (NFC) interface devices. These may also be contactless communication circuits having standardized I2C or SPI-type hard-wired accesses.
In this type of devices, the sensitivity to electromagnetic disturbances is increased by the presence of the wire contacts which form parasitic antennas.

Electronic device with a radiofrequency function


The mobile communication terminal of the present invention comprises an amplitude regulator 3 regulating the amplitudes of signals of the DPDCH, DPCCH, and HS-DPCCH, a transmission-power controller 17 controlling the power-distribution ratio for the adjustment of transmission power of the individual transmission channels, and a priority-channel selector 18 choosing a priority channel from among the individual transmission channels. If the total transmission power of the individual transmission channels is going to exceed the maximum transmission power, the transmission-power controller 17 determines the power-distribution ratio among the individual transmission channels by adjusting the transmission power of the priority transmission channel to a power level demanded by a base station on the one hand and adjusting the transmission power of the non-priority channel so as to confine the total transmission power to the maximum transmission power on the other hand. Accordingly, the base station can receive information correctly even if the transmission power demanded by the base station is beyond the maximum transmission power of the mobile communication terminal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mobile communication terminal and a method of controlling transmission power for a multiplex radio communication system to send different pieces of information through two or more channels simultaneously.
2. Description of Related Art
Proposed recently in the field of mobile communication are multiplex radio communication systems to send different pieces of information through two or more channels simultaneously.
One of such systems is W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) system of 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project).
3GPP defined additionally an HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) system to raise the transmission rate of downlink data from a base station to mobile communication terminals. HSDPA and information about quality of received signals monitored by mobile communication terminals have made possible adaptive modulation and adaptive encoding. Besides, by frequently sending ACK (acknowledge) and NACK (unacknowledge) to the base station, retransmission and composition in high-speed physical layers are possible. ACK means normal reception of signals; NACK, abnormal reception of signals. As a result, the service of high-speed downlink data transmission has been materialized.
[Example of Construction of Conventional Mobile Communication Terminal]
FIG. 6 shows an example of construction of a conventional mobile communication terminal of the W-CDMA system. In FIG. 6, only the main components are shown, the other ones such as filters omitted.
First of all, the flow of outgoing signals is described.
In FIG. 6, the DPDCH (Dedicated Physical Data Channel) is a channel to send out signals. The data of the DPDCH are produced by undergoing retransmission/correction processing in an RLC (Radio Link Control), which is one of the function blocks of a CPU/DSP (Central Processing Unit/Digital Signal Processor) 116, and being channel-coded by a DPDCH encoder 121. Retransmission/correction means sending them to it again if data received by a mobile communication terminal are erroneous. The retransmission/correction of data of the DPDCH is realized in the RLC. The retransmission/correction requires a buffer to store transmitted data. In FIG. 6, a memory 140 connected to the CPU/DSP 116 is the buffer. Because retransmission takes time, retransmission or correction of data, such as voice data, requiring a short delay time does not take place. The DPCCH (Dedicated Physical Control Channel) is a channel to send out information to the receivers of the information for the correction of phases and the estimation of the quality of received signals. The HS-DPCCH (High-Speed Dedicated Physical Control Channel) is a channel to send the following information for HSDPA to the base station. The signals of the DPDCH, DPCCH, and HS-DPCCH are sent to a diffusion unit 101.
The signals of the HS-DPCCH have frame structure shown in FIG. 7. The length of one frame "Tf" is 10 ms. Each frame includes a plurality of subframes. The length of each subframe is 2 ms. Each subframe includes an HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request)-ACK section and a CQI (Channel Quality Indicator) section. Indicated in the HARQ-ACK section is ACK or NACK. The base station sends out the next data in the case of ACK and re-sends out the same downlink data in the case of NACK. Indicated in the CQI section is information about quality of received signals. The base station determines the modulation factor and the encoding rate of downlink data based on the CQI and other information. The size of the HARQ-ACK section is 2,560 chips. Only when the mobile communication terminal receives signals addressed to it, ACK or NACK is sent out by the HARQ-ACK section. The size of the CQI section is 5,120 chips. Only when the network side designates time intervals, CQI's are sent out at the time intervals.
The signals of the DPDCH inputted into the diffusion unit 101 are sent to a multiplier 124. The signals of the DPCCH inputted into the diffusion unit 101 are sent to a multiplier 125. The signals of the HS-DPCCH inputted into the diffusion unit 101 are sent to a multiplier 126. The multiplier 124 multiplies the signals of the DPDCH by a channelization code Cd. The multiplier 125 multiplies the signals of the DPCCH by a channelization code Cc. The multiplier 126 multiplies the signals of the HS-DPCCH by a channelization code Chs. Thus, the signals of the DPDCH, DPCCH, and HS-DPCCH are diffused by the channelization codes Cd, Cc, and Chs, respectively, in the diffusion unit 101. Thereafter, the signals of the DPDCH, DPCCH, and HS-DPCCH are sent to an amplitude regulator 102.
In the amplitude regulator 102, the signals of the DPDCH, DPCCH, and HS-DPCCH are sent to multipliers 127, 128, and 129, respectively. The multiplier 127 multiplies the signals of the DPDCH by an amplitude ratio-setting coefficient Kd coming from a transmission-power controller 117 to be described later. The multiplier 128 multiplies the signals of the DPCCH by an amplitude ratio-setting coefficient Kc coming from the transmission-power controller 117. The multiplier 129 multiplies the signals of the HS-DPCCH by an amplitude ratio-setting coefficient Khhs coming from the transmission-power controller 117. Thus, the amplitude regulator 102 regulates the amplitudes of signals of the DPDCH, DPCCH, and HS-DPCCH with the amplitude ratio-setting coefficients Kd, Kc, and Khs, respectively. Thereafter, the signals of the DPDCH are sent, as signals of the I-phase, to an adder 132.
The HS-DPCCH is allocated to the I-or Q-phase depending on the multi-code number of the DPDCH. For example, if the DPDCH is one channel, the HS-DPCCH is allocated to the Q-channel and multi-coded with the DPCCH. In FIG. 6, the signals of the DPCCH and the HS-DPCCH after the setting of the amplitude ratio are added up by an adder 130 and sent, as signals of the Q-phase, to the adder 132.
In the adder 132, the signals of the I-phase and those of the Q-phase are multiplexed. In the example of construction shown in FIG. 6, the transmission-power controller 117 regulates the amplitude ratio-setting coefficients Kd, Kc, and Khs so as to make the power of the multiplexed signals (the power of the base band) a constant value Pbb.
A scrambler 103 scrambles the multiplexed signals with a prescribed scrambling code, and the scrambled multiplexed signals are sent to a D/A (Digital/Analog) converter 104. The D/A converter 104 converts the digital signals to analog signals and sends the analog signals to a DC/AC converter 105. The DC/AC converter 105 converts the DC signals to AC signals. It is assumed for the simplicity of description that the gains of the scrambler 103, D/A converter 104, and DC/AC converter 105 are 0 dB. The AC signals are sent to a variable-gain amplifier 106.
The variable-gain amplifier 106, under the control by the transmission-power controller 117, amplifies the power of the AC signals (the power of signals of the RF band) with a gain G up to the level of necessary transmission power and sends the amplified signals to an antenna 107.
The antenna 107 transmits the signals.
Next, the flow of received signals will briefly be described.
The antenna 107 receives signals. The signals are amplified and down-converted by an RF/IF (Radio Frequency/Intermediate frequency) receiver circuit 108, converted to digital signals by an A/D (Analog/Digital) converter 109, and back-diffused and rake-composed by a rake-finger unit 110. Thereafter, the signals of the channels are sent to decoders 111, 112, and 113 which are provided to correspond to the channels.
An HS-SCCH (High-Speed Signaling Control Channel) decoder 111 decodes the signals of an HS-SCCH, which is a control-signal channel for HSDPA service, and sends the decoded signal to the CPU/DSP 116.
An HS-DSCH (High-Speed Downlink Shared Channel) decoder 112 decodes the signals of an HS-DSCH which is a data channel for HSDPA service. The decoded signals and the result of the checkup of data for errors by a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) unit 115 are sent to the CPU/DSP 116. The HS-DSCH decoder 112 has a buffer for retransmission and composition. By using data stored in the buffer, the above retransmission and composition in physical layers are accomplished.
An other-channel decoder 113 decodes the signals of another channel and sends the decoded signals to the CPU/DSP 116. For example, it decodes the signals of a control channel transmitted in advance of HSDPA service.
A TPC (Transmission Power Control)-bit checker 114 extracts and reads the TPC bits, which are inserted in the channels from the rake-finger unit 110, and sends the results of the reading to the transmission-power controller 117.
If the decoded data can be retransmitted and corrected in the RLC of the CPU/DSP 116, the retransmission/correction processing is made in the RLC. Such retransmission/correction processing requires a buffer; accordingly, the memory 140 connected to the CPU/DSP 116 serves as the buffer, too. If the data of the HS-DSCH can be retransmitted and corrected in the RLC, the retransmission and correction are made in the RLC, in addition to the retransmission and composition in physical layers.
The CPU/DSP 116 holds the values of maximum transmission power Pmax and base-band power Pbb, parameters peculiar to the mobile communication terminal, in an internal memory or the like. Besides, the CPU/DSP 116 collects, from the data of the control channel transmitted in advance of HSDPA service, information about (i) ΔTPC showing how many bits are controlled per one time of transmission-power control, (ii) initial transmission power Pini, (iii) a weighting coefficient βd corresponding to the transmission-power ratio of the DPDCH to the other channels, (iv) a weighting coefficient βc corresponding to the transmission-power ratio of the DPCCH to the other channels, (v) a weighting coefficient βhs corresponding to the transmission-power ratio of the HS-DPCCH to the other channels.
The transmission-power controller 117 calculates the amplitude ratio-setting coefficients Kd, Kc, Khs, and G from Pmax, Pbb, ΔTPC, Pini, βd, βc, βhs, and a TPC_CMD (command) and controls the transmission power ratios and the total transmission power of the channels.
The ΔTPC and the TPC_CMD are parameters relating to closed-loop power control. The closed-loop power control means the control of the transmission power of the communication device on the other end to make the quality of received signals constant. In the closed-loop power control of the transmission power of a mobile communication terminal, the base station calculates the quality of reception from the signals of the DPCCH. If the quality of reception is below the target quality, the base station inserts a command to raise the transmission power as TPC bits into the signals to be sent to the mobile communication terminal. If the quality of reception is beyond the target quality, the base station inserts a command to lower the transmission power as TPC bits into the signals to be sent to the mobile communication terminal. The mobile communication terminal receives the TPC bits and interprets them as a TPC_CMD. The TPC_CMD of "+1" means raising the transmission power, and the TPC_CMD of "−1" means lowering the transmission power. The ΔTPC is the parameter to determine how many bits are controlled per one time of control of transmission power.
[Flowchart of Conventional Control of Transmission Power]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the control of transmission power by the transmission-power controller 117. In step S101, ΔTPC, Pbb, Pmax, and Pini are inputted into the transmission-power controller 117. ΔTPC and Pini are given to the mobile communication terminal by the base station and stored in the internal memory of the CPU/DSP 116 in advance of communication, and then they are inputted into the transmission-power controller 117. Each mobile communication terminal has Pbb of a fixed value. Pmax is determined by the specification of each mobile communication terminal. Pbb and Pmax are given to the transmission-power controller 117 by the CPU/DSP 116.
In step S102, TPC_CMDs, βd, βc, and βhs are inputted into the transmission-power controller 117. The CPU/DSP 116 gives the controller 117 a TPC_CMD for each slot and βd, βc, and βhs as the need arises. After step S102, the transmission-power controller 117 proceeds to step S103.
In step S103, the transmission-power controller 117 finds the values of Kd, Kc, and Khs by using the arithmetic expressions shown at step S103 so as to make Pbb constant regardless of any values of βd, βc, and βhs.
In step S104, the transmission-power controller 117 checks to see whether the transmission in process is the initial transmission or not. If it is the initial transmission, the transmission-power controller 117 proceeds to step S105. If it is not, the transmission-power controller 117 proceeds to step S106.
In step S105, the transmission-power controller 117 subtracts Pbb from Pini to find G and proceeds to step S107.
On the other hand, in step S106, the transmission-power controller 117 calculates the gain G to be given to the variable-gain amplifier 106 from the transmission power at the time of previous power control Gprev, the present amplitude ratio-setting coefficient Kc, the amplitude ratio-setting coefficient used for gain-setting at the time of previous power control Kc—rev, and the above TPC_CMD and ΔTPC. The first term of the arithmetic expression shown at step S106 is the set value of the gain at the time of previous power control. The second term of the arithmetic expression is to offset the gain due to the change of Kc occurring as the β's change. The third term of the arithmetic expression is to up and down the gain according to the results of reception-of TPC_CMD's. After the processing of step S106, the transmission-power controller 117 proceeds to step S107.
In step S107, the transmission-power controller 117 stores the value of Kc found in step S103 as an amplitude ratio-setting coefficient Kc—prev to be used for gain-setting at the time of next power control.
In step S108, the transmission-power controller 117 checks to see whether Pbb+G is larger than Pmax or not. If it is, the transmission-power controller 117 proceeds to step S109. If it is not, the transmission-power controller 117 proceeds to step S110.
In step S109, the transmission-power controller 117 subtracts Pbb from Pmax to find G and proceeds to step S110. Thus, in steps S108 and S109, the transmission-power controller 117 regulates the gain G so that the transmission power does not exceed the maximum transmission power Pmax.
In step S110, the transmission-power controller 117 stores the gain G found in step S105, S106, or S109, as the case may be, as a gain Gprev to be used for the next power control and returns to step S102.
Disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-308723 (patent literature 1) is a communication device, which comprises (i) means of multiplying channels by coefficients according to kinds of communication service, kinds of data to be transmitted, or transmission speeds, (ii) a means of multiplexing and modulating the signals of the channels, (iii) a means of varying the transmission power of the multiplexed and modulated signals (hereinafter "gain-varying means"), (iv) a mean of controlling the gain-varying means, and (v) a means of controlling the gain-controlling means so that the maximum transmission power at the time of transmission is controlled by using transmission power which is different from the maximum transmission power which can be set according to the combination of transmission speeds or channels if signals are not transmitted through all the channels simultaneously. With the above construction, the communication device is capable of quality communication in spite of the control of maximum transmission power.
[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-308723 (FIG. 1)
As described above with reference to FIGS. 6-8, if the transmission power demanded by the base station is beyond the maximum transmission power of the mobile communication terminal, the gain of the variable-gain amplifier 106 is lowered and, as a result, the power levels of the multiplexed channels are evenly reduced below the power level demanded by the base station.
Accordingly, the characteristics of reception of all the channels at the base station deteriorate and, in the worst case, the base station cannot correctly receive information through all the channels. This problem is serious if data cannot be retransmitted or corrected.

Mobile communication terminal and method of controlling transmission power

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.


Inlet guide vanes and gas turbine engine systems involving such vanes are provided, In this regard, a representative an inlet guide vane for a gas turbine engine includes: a fixed strut; and a variable flap located downstream of the fixed strut and being movable with respect thereto; the fixed strut having a leading edge, a trailing edge and side surfaces extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge, the side surfaces being asymmetric with respect to each other.

1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engines.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some gas turbine engines include variable geometry inlet guide vanes that are positioned upstream of the compressors (also known as "fans" in some implementations) of the engines. Such an inlet guide typically includes a fixed strut and a movable flap positioned adjacent to and downstream of the fixed strut. The flap can be selectively positioned to alter deflection of airflow to downstream components of the engine. Unfortunately, some positions of the flap may result in unwanted airflow separation from the surface of the flap, resulting in a turbulent airflow. Such airflow tends to increases wear on the components downstream of the inlet guide vane.


The header of the sequence layer of an input sequence is written to a RAM. Information of a typical header is pre-stored to a ROM. The selecting operation of a selector is controlled by an output of a detecting portion. When the input sequence contains the header of the sequence layer, the selector selects as an output stream the stream of which the header has been added to each frame. In contrast, when the stream does not contain the header, the header stored in the RAM or the ROM is added to each frame of the stream. In this case, the header stored in the RAM is added to each frame with higher priority than the header stored in the ROM. The header has been always added to each frame of a stream that is output from the selector.

As exemplified with a digital VTR (Video Tape Recorder), a data recording and reproducing apparatus that records a digital video signal and a digital audio signal to a record medium and reproduces them therefrom is known. Since the data capacity of a digital video signal is huge, conventionally, it is compression-encoded corresponding to a predetermined method and then the encoded data is recorded to a record medium. In recent years, MPEG2 (Moving Picture Experts Group phase 2) is known as a compression-encoding standard.
In picture compression technologies such as the above-mentioned MPEG2, the data compression ratio is improved using variable length code. Thus, depending on the complexity of a picture that is compressed, the amount of compressed code per screen (for example, per frame or per field) fluctuates.
On the other hand, in a recording apparatus that records a video signal to a record medium such as a magnetic tape or a disc record medium, particularly, in a VTR, a predetermined unit such as one frame or one field is used as a unit of a fixed length. In other words, the amount of code per frame or field is limited to a predetermined value or less and recorded to a fixed capacity area of a storage medium.
The reason why the fixed length format is used for a VTR is in that since each record area on a magnetic tape as a record medium is composed of one frame, record data for one frame should be just placed in each record area. In addition, since the record medium is used corresponding to record time, the total amount of record data on the record medium and the remaining amount thereof can be accurately obtained. As another advantage, a program start position detecting process can be easily performed in a high speed searching operation. In addition, from a view point of controlling of a record medium, if the record medium is a magnetic tape, when data is recorded in the fixed length format, since the magnetic tape that is dynamically driven can be traveled at a constant speed, the magnetic tape can be stably controlled. Likewise, these advantages can apply to disc shaped record mediums.
The variable length code encoding format and the fixed length format have such contrary characteristics. In recent years, a recording apparatus that inputs a video signal as a non-compressed base band signal, compression-encodes the signal with variable length code corresponding to MPEG2 or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), and records the encoded signal to a record medium is known. In addition, a recording and reproducing apparatus that directly inputs and outputs a stream that has been compression-encoded with variable length code and records and reproduces the stream has been also proposed. In the following description, it is assumed that the compression encoding format for a digital video signal is MPEG2.
Next, the structure of an MPEG2 data stream will be described in brief. MPEG2 is a combination of a motion compensation predictive encoding and a compression encoding using DCT. MPEG2 data is hierarchically structured. The MPEG2 data is composed of a block layer as the lowest layer, a macro block layer, a slice layer, a picture layer, a GOP (Group Of Picture) layer, and a sequence layer as the highest layer.
The block layer is composed of DCT blocks each of which is a data unit for DCT. The macro block layer is composed of a plurality of DCT blocks. The slice layer is composed of a header portion and at least one macro block. The picture layer is composed of a header portion and at least one slice. One picture corresponds to one screen. The GOP layer is composed of a header portion, an I picture (Intra-coded picture), a P picture (Predictive-coded picture), and a B picture (Bidirectionally predictive-coded picture).
The I picture uses information of only a picture that is encoded. Thus, the I picture can be decoded as it is. The P picture uses an I picture or a P picture that has been decoded before the current P picture is decoded. The difference between the current P picture and the motion compensated predictive picture is encoded or the current P picture is encoded without the difference. One of them is selected for each macro block depending on which is more effective. The B picture uses (1) an I picture or a P picture that has been decoded before the current B picture is decoded, (2) an I picture or a P picture that has been decoded before the current B picture is decoded, or (3) an interpolated picture of (1) and (2). The difference between the current B picture and each of the three types of the motion compensated predictive pictures is encoded or the current B picture is encoded without the difference. One of them is selected for each macro block depending on which is the most effective.
Thus, as types of macro blocks, there are an intra-frame encoded macro block, a forward inter-frame predictive macro block of which a future macro block is predicted with a past macro block, a backward inter-frame predictive macro block of which a past macro block is predicted with a future macro block, and a bidirectional macro block that is predicted in both the forward and backward directions. All macro blocks in an I picture are all intra-frame macro blocks. A P picture contains an intra-frame macro block and a forward inter-frame predictive macro block. A B picture contains all the four types of macro blocks.
A macro block is a set of a plurality of DCT blocks and formed by dividing one screen (picture) into a lattice of 16 pixels×16 lines. A slice is formed by connecting macro blocks for example in the horizontal direction. The number of macro blocks per one screen depends on the size thereof.
In the MPEG format, one slice is one variable length code sequence. The variable length code sequence is a sequence of which the boundary of data cannot be detected unless variable length code is correctly decoded. When an MPEG stream is decoded, the header portion of a slice is detected so as to obtain the start point and the end point of variable length code.
In MPEG, conventionally, one slice is composed of one stripe (16 lines). The variable length encoding starts at the left edge of the screen and ends at the right edge of the screen. Thus, when a VTR has recorded an MPEG elementary stream, if it is reproduced at high speed, the VTR mainly reproduces the left edge of the screen. Thus, the screen cannot be equally updated. In addition, since the position on the tape cannot be predicted, if a tape pattern is traced at predetermined intervals, the screen cannot be equally updated. Moreover, if at least one error takes place, it adversely affects until the right edge of the screen. Thus, until the next slice header is detected, the error continues. Thus, when one slice is preferably composed of one macro block, such an inconvenience can be solved.
On the other hand, a video signal is recorded on a magnetic tape in helical track format of which tracks are diagonally formed with a rotating head. On one track, sync blocks, each of which is the minimum record unit, are grouped for each data type as sectors. In addition, record data for one frame is recorded at a predetermined record area. For example, record data for one frame is recorded with eight tracks.
In a digital VTR, an editing process is normally performed. The editing process is preferably performed in as small data unit as possible. When an MPEG2 stream has been recorded, one GOP may be used as an edit unit. In the structure of a closed GOP of which a GOP can be decoded without need to use an earlier GOP or a later GOP, an editing process can be performed for each GOP. However, when a GOP is composed of for example 15 frames, the editing unit is too large.
In MPEG, to allow data to be accessed at random, a GOP (Group Of Picture) structure as a group of a plurality of pictures is defined. The provisions with respect to GOP in MPEG state that firstly the first picture of a GOP as a stream is an I picture and that secondly the last picture of a GOP in the order of original pictures is an I picture or a P picture. In addition, as a GOP, a structure of which a prediction using the last I picture or P picture of an earlier GOP is required is permitted. A GOP that can be decoded without need to use a picture of an earlier GOP is referred to as closed GOP.
In MPEG, since coding is performed using a correlation of frames for each GOP, when an MPEG bit stream is edited, there is a restriction. In other words, when the end of a GOP matches an edit point, as long as the GOP is a closed GOP, no problem takes place. However, the length of one GOP is often as large as 0.5 seconds, the period as an edit point is too long. Thus, generally, it is preferred to perform an editing operation in the accuracy of frame (picture).
However, when an MPEG stream contains a predictive picture that requires an earlier picture or both an earlier picture and a later picture for decoding the predictive picture, it becomes impossible to perform the editing process for each frame. Thus, preferably, all pictures are encoded with intra-frame code and one GOP is composed of one intra-picture. Such a stream satisfies the encoding syntax of MPEG2.
In addition, at the beginning of each of the sequence layer, the GOP layer, the picture layer, the slice layer, and the macro block layer, identification code composed of a predetermined bit pattern is placed. The identification code is followed by a header portion that contains encoding parameters of each layer. An MPEG decoder that performs an MPEG2-decoding process extracts identification code by a pattern-matching operation, determines the hierarchical level, and decodes the MPEG stream corresponding to the parameter information contained in the header portion. The header of each layer lower than the picture layer is information necessary for each frame. Thus, the header should be added to each frame. In contrast, the header of the sequence layer should be added to each sequence or each GOP. In other words, it is not necessary to add the header of the sequence layer to each frame.
Now, the header of the sequence layer will be described. Information contained in the header of the sequence layer is number of pixels, bit rate, profile, level, color difference format, progressive sequence, and so forth. These information is normally the same in all the sequence when it is assumed that one video tape is one sequence. According to the encoding syntax of MPEG, the header of the sequence layer can be added at the beginning of the video tape. In addition, according to the encoding syntax of MPEG, a quantizing matrix may be present in the header of other than the sequence layer (namely, the header of the sequence layer or the header of the picture layer). According to the encoding syntax of MPEG, the quantizing matrix can be added or omitted.
Thus, the editing operation can be performed in the accuracy of one frame. However, the chronological relation between frames of a non-edited and those of an edited tape may be inverted. FIG. 25 shows an outline of such a problem. FIG. 25A shows a chronological relation of frames of a stream that has not been edited. Picture headers are added to picture data of frames 4 and 5, whereas headers of the sequence layer and the GOP layer are not added to the picture data of frames 4 and 5. However, using information of the header of the sequence layer and the header of the GOP layer added to the preceding frame 3, these picture data can be decoded.
When an editing process is performed, the chronological relation of frames is inverted. For example, as shown in FIG. 25B, picture data of frames 4 and 5 may be placed at chronological positions of frames 1 and 2 before the frame 3. As is clear from the example, after the editing process is performed, the header of the sequence layer may not be present at the beginning of the video tape. Alternatively, the header of the sequence layer may not be present at any position of one video tape. Thus, before a tape is edited, it satisfies the encoding syntax of MPEG. However, after the tape is edited, it may not satisfy the encoding syntax of MPEG. When the tape does not satisfy the encoding syntax of MPEG, the tape cannot be MPEG-decoded. As was described above, since one GOP is composed of one I picture, even if the header of the GOP layer is not obtained, no problem takes place. In the case that the header of the sequence layer is recorded only at the beginning of the tape, when the tape is reproduced from any position other than the beginning thereof, the header of the sequence layer may not be obtained. In addition, when the tape is inversely reproduced, as with the editing process, the chronological relation of frames is inverted. Moreover, in special reproducing operations such as high speed reproducing operation and slow reproducing operation, the header of the sequence layer may not be obtained.
In addition, according to the encoding syntax of MPEG a quantizing matrix may be placed in a header of other than the sequence layer. However, the encoding syntax of MPEG does not state that a quantizing matrix is always placed in each frame. Thus, as with the header of the sequence layer, the quantizing matrix may not be obtained before the MPEG decoding is performed after the editing process for each frame is performed. When the tape is reproduced from any position or when a special reproducing operation is performed, the header of the sequence layer may not be obtained.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus and a recording method that allow an editing process for each frame to be performed and a bit stream regularly reproduced from any position or reproduced in a special manner such as inverse reproduction to satisfy the encoding syntax with assurance.


In a transport method, a leading object is diverted from an initial direction to a target direction and transported and stopped by a guiding facility. If the following object has reached a specific position during transport in the initial direction, the guiding facility triggers continuation of the transport of the leading object, diverts the following object to the target direction, and transports the following object in the target direction. If a determined sum of the thicknesses of the objects is less than or equal to a predetermined thickness limit, continuation of the transport of the leading object is triggered such that the following object moves onto the leading object when diverted and overlaps the leading object when transported in the target direction. If the thickness sum is greater than the thickness limit, continuation of the transport of the leading object is triggered such that a gap exists between the objects.

The invention relates to a method and device for transporting two flat objects. The objects are in particular flexible mail items, which are transported in a stacking compartment.
A sorting unit for flat flexible mail items transports every mail item fed to it and outputs it into one of a number of stacking compartments. The sorting unit transports the mail items in a specific initial direction. To remove those mail items which are to go into a specific stacking compartment, these mail items have to be diverted from the initial direction to a target direction.
A method and device for transporting two flat objects are known from EP 0915051 B1. This document describes how a continuous stream of overlapping mail items is produced. This continuous overlapping stream is diverted to the target direction and conveyed into a stacking compartment. Two successive mail items, which are transported into the same stacking compartment, overlap during transport in the target direction.
The drive rollers of the further conveyor belts operate in a start-stop mode with short switching times. The further conveyor belts must be tightly tensioned to transport the mail items reliably. The formation of the continuous overlapping stream functions as long as the mail items are sufficiently flat.
The method disclosed in the above mentioned EP 0915051 B1 reaches its limits when it is used in a sorting unit, which has to be able to sort mail items of very different thicknesses. In particular, thick overlapping mail items can no longer be transported by the two further conveyor belts. It appears to be technically impossible, or at least uneconomical to support a drive roller of a further conveyor belt in a movable manner, so that the distance between the two further conveyor belts can be changed.

Method and device for diverting flat objects


To provide a winker apparatus in which assembly thereof is improved by eliminating the necessity to check biting of the winker cord. A front winker includes a winker holder mountable to a front fork. A winker body is mountable to one side of the winker holder via a winker supporting base. A winker cord is lead from the winker holder via the winker supporting base. The winker holder is formed with a storage groove for accommodating the winker cord. A cover is provided for covering the storage groove so as to retain the winker cord in a state in which the winker cord is stored in the storage groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a winker apparatus for a vehicle such as a motorcycle.
2. Description of Background Art
In the related art, a motorcycle's winker apparatus includes a winker body mounted to a winker holder, which is fixed to a vehicle body such as a front fork, via a winker supporting base. The winker holder is normally divided into a pair of holder member halves, and is mounted in such a manner that the respective holder members sandwich the vehicle body. A winker cord, which extends from the winker body, is lead out via the winker supporting base, passes through a storage groove for the winker cord formed on the inner periphery of one of the holder members and taken out from the winker holder on the opposite side from the winker supporting base, that is, on the widthwise inner side of the vehicle before being wired (for example, see JP-A-2003-89381).
However, with the winker apparatus as described above, it is necessary to ensure that the winker cord does not come off the storage groove on the holder member in order to prevent the winker cord from being bitten when mounting the winker holder to the vehicle body. Therefore, there has been a demand for improvement of such a problem in order to improve assembly of the winker apparatus itself.


The invention relates to a coextruded, biaxially stretched, tubular film, with at least two adjacent layers made from aliphatic polyamide, for wrapping goods packaged in liquid or paste form, especially foodstuffs, which are subjected to heat-treatment during and/or after being wrapped, such as for example, various types of German sausage, cheese, butter, etc.

Accompanying the requirements of film users for wrappings that combine a higher barrier effect against water vapour and oxygen permeation but with reduced use of material, also characterised by the recent appearance of tubular films with small diameters of 20 to 150 mm, is the trend towards combining material properties by means of coextruding different polymers in order to satisfy these demands. In the process, biaxially stretched polyamide/polyolefin composites with wall thicknesses between 35 and 70 .mu.m are increasingly gaining general acceptance.
The problem with polyamides in this type of film structure even during biaxial stretching using the known "double bubble" technique, is the termination of transverse expansion of the tubes, due to molecular orientation and expansion-induced crystallisation, at degrees of transverse stretching between 2.8 and 4. When the tubular films are used for the specific purpose of, for instance, wrapping sausages, then the mechanical properties of the stretched polyamide, as compared with that of the incompletely stretched polyolefin, dominate.
When modifying this type of PA/PE film composite by admixing organic or inorganic filler additives, especially to the internally or externally located PA layer(s), narrow limits are set with regard to fractional amount and granular size because a polyamide/polymer matrix of this type is weakened if fractional amounts, depending on the specific additive, are exceeded and problems then occur during the production-determining stretching process.
On the other hand, this restriction on amounts when admixing fillers in the past frequently led to wrappings whose mix components were not effective enough such that optimisation of specific film properties could not be fully achieved and detrimental other properties and/or undesirable production difficulties had to be accepted.
Thus, for example, the addition of increased proportions of pigment to an internally or externally located polyamide layer, with the objective of increasing the intensity of colour, led to a number of production engineering difficulties, which were obvious to the user due to reduced product quality and to the manufacturer due to the reduced working life of plant.
Pigment granules, which are located on the surface of the polymer tubes during the stretching process, lead to micro-tears in the surface. These micro-tears are often the reason why stretching film bubbles burst, because they are the starting points for uncontrollable tear propagation.
Deposits of pigment granules are produced on the lips of extrusion dies, especially with high pigment contents in one of the internally or externally located polymer layers. These deposits again produce irregularities in the thickness over the circumference of the primary tube being stretched and thus produce on the one hand increased striations in the film end product and on the other hand production engineering difficulties associated with the biaxial stretching process such that the thinner areas have a different deformation characteristic and this often causes the stretching film bubbles to burst.
Increased pigment granule contents in externally located polymer layers are especially detrimental if additive deposits from the pigment are formed on the transport and squeezing rolls, causing soiling of the plant which is unacceptable in production of food-grade film.
If the highly pigmented layer is located on the internal face of the film tube, there is also the risk that pigments are transferred to the foodstuffs on direct contact of the film with the contents.
The object of the present invention was therefore to enable the production of a wrapping with an increased proportion of filler components in a polyamide (PA) layer, without having to accept disadvantages with respect to the production process, especially biaxial stretching, or the resulting qualitative characteristics of the film.

Multi-layered plastic casing with two adjacent layers made from aliphatic polyamide


The present invention relates to a Hookah otherwise known as a water pipe or Nargile. The hookah is used to smoke tobacco or other herbs that are heated using a hot charcoal. With multiple tobacco bowls, this hookah allows the user to consume a mixture of smoke from different flavored tobaccos. The various bowls are independent from each other and spaced apart so that the heat from one does not affect the others. The spacing of the bowls also protects the user from burn injuries while replacing the tobacco or charcoal in each bowl. The smoke from each bowl is directed into a stem tube where it is mixed before being filtered and cooled by water in preparation for consumption. Each tobacco bowl can be connected to a flow control device that allows the user to fine tune the amount of smoke from each bowl and achieve the preferred flavor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of devices known as Hookahs otherwise known as water pipes or Nargiles. More specifically, the invention relates to a hookah comprising a main stem tube that branches off into various tubes to which various tobacco bowls are attached. The tobacco placed in the various tobacco bowls is heated with hot charcoals to create smoke that is blended within the main stem tube before it is directed into water in a container to be filtered and cooled so that it may be inhaled by the user. The tobacco bowls are properly spaced apart so that the heat radiating from the hot charcoals on each bowl do not affect the smoke created by the tobacco in another bowl and the user runs less risk of burning a hand by a hot charcoal on one bowl or destabilizing the bowls when changing the charcoal or tobacco on another bowl.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A hookah is a smoking device or a water pipe that has been used for centuries to smoke tobacco, mixtures of various herbs, or mixtures of both. The general concept of a hookah has been in existence for centuries with original popularity tracing back to Turkey around the years 1623-1640 where they became an important part of coffee shop culture and the preferred way of smoking tobacco. Generally, a hookah directs the smoke generated from the tobacco or herbs through water for cooling and filtration purposes. Undesirable smoke byproducts such as tar, oil, ashes, carbon monoxide, and the like are absorbed or separated in the water before the smoke is inhaled by the user.
Typically a hookah has a single tobacco bowl mounted at the top and a container at the bottom. The container is filled with water and a tubular hollow stem extends downward from the bowl into the container with its lowermost extremity immersed in the water. The body of the hookah is located directly above the container and has a hollow interior that forms a smoke chamber through which the hollow stem tube extends. A flexible hose is then connected to the smoke chamber and extends outward from the body of the hookah. Finally, a mouthpiece is attached at the distal end of the flexible hose through which the user can inhale the smoke.
Tobacco or herb is placed on the bowl. The bowl is then covered typically with a piece of foil paper having multiple holes. A piece of hot charcoal is then placed on top of the foil paper to heat the tobacco or herb within the bowl without making direct contact with the tobacco or herb. Direct contact between the hot charcoal and the tobacco or herb can lead to burning rather than heating or smoking. As the tobacco or herb is heated, it generates smoke. When the user inhales through the mouthpiece attached to the flexible hose, the smoke is drawn from the bowl through the stem tube and into the water. The smoke then passes upwards through the water in the form of bubbles and into the smoke chamber. When sufficient smoke is collected in the smoke chamber, it passes through the flexible hose to the user for inhalation. As the smoke is drawn through the water, it is filtered and cooled to make the smoking experience pleasant and enjoyable for the user.
The primary mechanism of a hookah is the inhalation of the human smoker from the mouthpiece to create the vacuum or negative pressure required to draw smoke through the filtering and cooling water into the smoke chamber. The vacuum or negative pressure in turn influences the combustion rate of the tobacco or herb. The flavors of the smoke from the tobacco can be influenced by the combustion rate.
Unlike smoke from hookah, smoke from cigarettes is filled with products of combustion, many of which are known carcinogens. Furthermore, smoking a hookah is preferred over smoking cigarettes or cigars because of the flavorful and cool taste of the smoke. Typical tobacco used with a hookah includes a mixture of shredded tobacco leaf mixed with a sweetener such as honey, molasses, or semi-dried fruit.
Most hookah tobaccos are mixed with tobacco flavors, such as, apple, strawberry, vanilla, mint, etc. Many hookah smokers prefer a combination or mixture of flavors, such as apple flavored tobacco mixed with strawberry flavored tobacco. Manufacturers of hookah tobacco have responded to this trend by offering tobacco that is pre-mixed with multiple flavors. However, the infinite mixtures of flavored tobacco makes it impossible for hookah tobacco manufacturers to offer every possible combination. As a result, hookah smokers often hand mix different types of flavored tobacco themselves to attain the mixed flavor of their liking. This technique of hand mixing different flavored tobacco is cumbersome and messy.
An alternative to hand mixing different flavored hookah tobacco is to use a multi-headed hookah bowl that is available in the marketplace. Double, triple, and quadruple headed hookah bowls are known in the marketplace. As shown in FIG. 7, such multi-headed hookah bowls are designed with multiple bowls arranged closely together and attached to a single outlet point that is directly connected to the single stem tube of a hookah. Each bowl can be filled with different flavored tobacco and heated with different charcoals. The smoke of the different flavored tobacco converge and mix at the single outlet point of the multi-headed bowl before it enters the stem tube of the hookah.
A disadvantage of multi-headed bowls is that the bowls are clustered too close to each other. The heat radiating from one charcoal on one bowl increases the heat exposure to other bowls, thus affecting the combustion rate of the tobacco in the other bowls. Therefore, such close proximity of bowls makes it very difficult to control the flavor of the smoke inhaled by the user of the hookah. In addition to the amount of different flavored tobacco in each head, the amount of heat radiating from each charcoal becomes another variable that the user of the hookah must control to be able to duplicate the desired flavor on a consistent basis.
Secondly, the multi-headed bowls are difficult to use because the weight placed on each bowl can tilt the entire unit in any one direction, especially as the charcoal and tobacco on one bowl burns faster than the charcoal and tobacco on another bowl. The weight variance on each bowl can tilt the entire unit to the point when the entire unit falls off the hookah. Additionally, as charcoal on one bowl is replaced or the tobacco in one bowl is refilled, the user can easily knock the entire unit off the stem of the hookah or burn a hand due to the close proximity to other hot charcoal on other bowls.
Thirdly, another disadvantage of the multi-headed bowls is the difficulty of controlling or fine-tuning the amount of smoke from each flavored tobacco in the final smoke mixture that is inhaled by the user of the hookah. Since the different flavored smoke from each bowl are mixed together at close proximity to their source, it is difficult to deviate from a mixture of equal parts of each flavored smoke. There is no mechanism for the user to control the amount of smoke of each tobacco added to the final mixture. Additionally, controlling the combustion rate and hence the amount and quality of smoke released by each tobacco is difficult due to the heat radiating from the other bowls that are close in proximity.
What is needed to overcome the various disadvantages evident in the prior art is a hookah or water pipe that has multiple independent bowls for different flavored tobacco with sufficient distance between them that the heat radiating from the charcoal on each bowl does not affect the combustion rate of the tobacco in the other bowls. Secondly, the hookah must allow the user to replace the charcoal or refill the tobacco in each bowl without affecting or disturbing the other bowls. Finally, the hookah would have a mechanism for the user to control the amount of flavored smoke released from each bowl so that the mixed smoke that is ultimately inhaled by the user can be fine-tuned to the desired flavor. Such a hookah would combine the advantages of the prior art while eliminating their various respective disadvantages. As will be seen, this improved hookah achieves these objectives and advantages with a minimum of functioning parts in a novel, nonobvious, and useful combination.


Embodiments of the disclosure provide receivers for light detection and ranging (LiDAR). In an example, a receiver includes a beam converging device and an EO beam deflecting unit. The beam converging device is configured to receive a laser beam from an object being scanned by the LiDAR and form an input laser beam. The EO beam deflecting unit is configured to generate a non-uniform medium having at least one of a refractive index gradient or a diffraction grating, receive the input laser beam such that the input laser beam impinges upon the non-uniform medium, and form an output laser beam towards a photosensor. An angle between the input and the output laser beams is nonzero.

LiDAR systems have been widely used in autonomous driving and producing high-definition maps. For example, LiDAR systems measure distance to a target by illuminating the target with pulsed laser light and measuring the reflected pulses with a sensor. Differences in laser return times and wavelengths can then be used to make digital three-dimensional (3-D) representations of the target. The laser light used for LiDAR scan may be ultraviolet, visible, or near infrared. Because using a narrow laser beam as the incident light from the scanner can map physical features with very high resolution, a LiDAR system is particularly suitable for applications such as high-definition map surveys.
The pulsed laser light beams emitted by a LiDAR system are typically directed to multiple directions to cover a field of view (FOV). As a result, LiDAR system requires a receiver that can receive the returned light signals from different directions. To realize this receiving requirement, most LiDAR systems implement one of two designs: (1) a rotational mirror to deflect the return light signals so that they are all received by a static detector, or (2) using an array of detectors to receive the returned light signals within a range of directions.
However, the performance of the conventional rotational mirror, such as galvo, polygon, and MEMS, is limited. In existing LiDAR receivers, it can be difficult to achieve both high-speed detection and large receiving aperture at the same time, features that are desired in a LiDAR receiver. However, in order to achieve a high LiDAR scanning speed, the mirror size has to be sufficiently small, which in turn limits the receiving aperture. Limited aperture leads to less receiving signal, which will limit the detection distance. On the other hand, if a large scanning mirror is used, the scanning speed will be limited, which results in a limited refresh rate of the LiDAR. In other words, in existing LiDAR receivers, there is a trade-off between the receiving aperture size and the scanning speed.
Embodiments of the disclosure address the above problems by an improved receiver having an EO beam deflecting unit for LiDAR.

Electro-optical beam deflecting unit for light detection and ranging (LiDAR)


A new and distinct cultivar of Arctotis plant named ‘ARC406’, characterized by its compact, upright and mounded plant habit; freely branching growth habit; relatively small leaves; single-type inflorescences with golden yellow-colored ray florets and disc florets that are nearly black in color; and good garden performance.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Arctotis plant, botanically known as Arctotis hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name 'ARC406'.
The new Arctotis is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact Arctotis cultivars that tolerate high temperatures.
The new Arctotis originated from a self-pollination in October, 2001 in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia of a proprietary selection of Arctotis hybrida identified as code number 2000.15, not patented. The new Arctotis was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated self-pollination in a controlled environment in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia in October, 2002.
Asexual reproduction of the new Arctotis by vegetative tip cuttings in a controlled environment in Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia since October, 2002 has shown that the unique features of this new Arctotis are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


Generally, the present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for performing task-oriented response generation that can provide advantages for artificial intelligence systems or other computing systems that include natural language processing for interpreting user input. Example implementations can process natural language descriptions of various services that can be accessed by the system. In response to a natural language input, systems can identify relevant values for executing one of the service(s), based in part on comparing embedded representations of the natural language input and the natural language description using a machine learned model.

Today's virtual assistants (e.g., an artificial intelligence-based software agent) help users to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, including finding flights, searching for nearby events and movies, making reservations, sourcing information from the web and more. They provide this functionality by offering a unified natural language interface to a wide variety of services across the web.
In particular, the recent popularity of conversational interfaces and the advent of frameworks like Actions on Google and Alexa Skills, which allow developers to easily add support for new services, has resulted in a major increase in the number of application domains and individual services that virtual assistants need to support.
The increase in the number of services these devices must support as well as the dynamic introduction of new services has led to a need to generate scalable dialogue systems that can handle tasks across multiple application domains. Further, there is a need for these systems to anticipate or otherwise work with possibly unseen services without undue burden to system resources.
Data-driven, deep learning-based approaches for multi-domain modeling have shown some promise, both for end-to-end and modular systems involving dialogue state tracking and policy learning. However, there are still unresolved issues for incorporating new domains or updating existing services without needing to retrain current models. Still needed are robust approaches for response generation that can scale to new services and service updates.


An efficient method for the quantitative preparation and isolation of a compound of formula I ##STR1## or its enantiomer, a chiral mediator used in enantioselective synthesis.

R-(R*,S*)!-.beta.-methyl-.alpha.-phenyl-1-pyrrolidineethanol, commonly referred to as (1R,2S)-N-pyrrolidinyl norephedrine, is an important chiral mediator for an enantioselective addition reaction, which is a key step in the synthesis of the reverse transcriptase inhibitor, (-)-6-chloro-4-cyclopropylethynyl-4-trifluoromethyl-1,4-dihydro-2H-3,1-ben zoxazin-2-one, also known as DMP-266. As this chiral mediator is not commericially available, an efficient method for its preparation had to be developed.
The synthesis of DMP-266 and structurally similar reverse transcriptase inhibitors are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,021 and the corresponding PCT International Patent Application WO 95/20389, which published on Aug. 3, 1995. Additionally, the asymmetric synthesis of an enantiomeric benzoxazinone by a highly enatioselective acetylide addition and cyclization sequence has been described by Thompson, et al., Tetrahedron Letters 1995, 36, 937-940, as well as the PCT publication, WO 96/37457, which published on Nov. 28, 1996.
The use of chiral mediators has been disclosed in the published literature as useful in enatioselective synthesis, in inducing the enantioselectivity of additions to aldhydes, enantioselectivity of deprotonation of meso-epoxides and enantioselectivity of proton abstraction, etc. (See P. J. Cox and N. S. Simpkins, Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 1991, 2(1), 1-26; M., Asami, et al., Tetrahedron: Asymmetry 1994, 5(5), 793-6; M. Ye, et al., Tetrahedron, 1994, 50(20), 6109-16; and M. Amadji, et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118, 12483-4. )
The instant invention discloses an efficient method for the quantitative preparation and isolation of the enantiomers of the compound of formula I ##STR2##

Efficient synthesis of a chiral mediator


An index printer in which density correction can be reliably effected and in which an appropriate image can be printed is obtained. When a standard image data such as a so-called Bull's eye is input from an image memory to a gray image processing portion of a sub-control portion, data which is greater than a predetermined threshold value Q is extracted from the standard image data and is averaged so as to set a standard gray image. The set standard gray image is displayed on a whole surface of a display surface of a liquid crystal panel via a liquid crystal panel driver, and is printed onto a photographic printing paper by a light source.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an index printer, and more particularly to an index printer which effects density correction using a standard image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an image printing apparatus, in which images recorded on a developed negative film are printed and developed onto a photographic printing paper so as to be able to obtain a photographic print, is well-known. In this type of image printing apparatus, conditions of exposure can be reset such that an appropriate photographic print is always obtained. In a case in which the conditions of exposure are set for such an image printing apparatus, a so-called Bull's eye, on which a gray image is recorded, is used. The Bull's eye is printed onto the photographic printing paper so as to obtain a test print. On the basis of the density of the test print, a color balance, a slope and the like ire adjusted and the conditions of exposure are corrected. The appropriate print, which corresponds to the image recorded on the photographic film, can be obtained by the reference amount of exposure determined by this correction.
On the other hand, in recent years, an index print in which frames are printed in a matrix has been proposed such that pictures photographed on a piece of developed film can be easily searched. A well-known example of an index printer which can produce such an index print is an index printer, in which a liquid crystal panel is used as image displaying means, a plurality of image frames recorded on the photographic film are displayed once on a display surface of the liquid crystal panel, and the images are simultaneously printed onto the photographic printing paper as the images smaller than those of the ordinary print.
In order to obtain appropriate images at the above-described index printer, it is necessary to set exposure conditions of the index printer similarly to an ordinary image printing apparatus. In this case, the image data obtained at the time of producing the main print (or ordinary print) can be used as it is at the index printer. Because a light source used at the time of producing the main print is different from the one used at the time of producing the print of the liquid crystal image, it suffices if the difference in densities is adjusted. At this time, the Bull's eye is used for correcting the difference in densities similarly to the correction of conditions of exposure for main print.
However, if the previously-described Bull's eye for adjusting the amount of exposure is used as it is at the index printer, there is a case in which the frame portion which displays the Bull's eye deviates from the center of the display screen such that the gray image does not exist at the center of the photographic printing paper. Unless the gray image is displayed at the center of the photographic printing paper, the density cannot be measured by a densitometer which is disposed so as to measure the density of the center of the photographic printing paper. Moreover, the position of the image frame on the index print can be altered such that the image frame which corresponds to the gray image is disposed at the center of the photographic printing paper. However, since the image is printed with the size of the image frame being reduced as compared to the size of an ordinary print, the size of the frame is small, and therefore, mistakes in reading the image can occur.

Index printer having density correction using a standard image


A contactless inductive energy transmission device includes a primary and a secondary each having at least one coil. The coils are inductively coupled via an air gap. The primary and the secondary each also have a data transmission unit for the transmission of data via the air gap.

The invention relates to a device for contactless inductive energy transmission from a primary portion to a secondary portion, each having at least one coil, which can be inductively coupled to one another via an air gap. The invention further relates to an operating method for a device for contactless inductive energy transmission from the coil of a primary portion to the coil of a secondary portion.
In contrast to connectors in which energy is transmitted via mechanically connected or disconnected contact elements, devices for contactless energy transmission benefit with regard to wear due to a high number of mating cycles or strong vibrations. In addition, contact erosion is prevented when plugging and unplugging with respect to an electrical load. The danger of arcs forming when disconnecting connectors with a high current load is also not present with contactless devices for energy transmission. Finally, the contactless transmission of energy provides galvanic isolation between the primary and secondary portions, which can be required in medical applications, for example. The absence of mechanically, intricately interlocking contacts also makes it possible to design the device with surfaces that are as smooth as possible, which makes the contactless energy transmission devices suitable for applications with increased cleanliness and hygiene requirements, for example in the food industry.
In particular, the high wear resistance also makes contactless inductive energy transmission suitable for the automation sector, for example for the transmission of energy to an interchangeable tool of a robot.
International publication WO 2013/087676 A2 describes a device for contactless inductive energy transmission from a primary to a secondary which can replace a mechanical connector for energy transmission, for example to an interchangeable tool of a robot. The primary and secondary portions each have at least one coil which can be inductively coupled to the primary and secondary portions and which each interacts with a ferrite core. Due to its permeability, the ferrite core increases the magnetic flux such that a high quantity of electrical power can be transmitted even with small device sizes and small transmission areas.
The high magnetic flux makes energy transmission possible even when the primary and secondary portions are not yet in a position where the distance between them is minimal, but when there is a gap between them. Energy transmission can also take place with a certain lateral offset of the primary and secondary portions, i.e. if the coils of the primary and secondary portions are not on the same axis.

Contactless inductive energy transmission device and method


Described embodiments include apparatus for use with a catheter. The apparatus includes a sheath configured for insertion into a body of a subject, and a sensor, coupled to the sheath, configured to detect an electric current passing through the catheter, when the catheter passes through the sheath and into the body of the subject. Other embodiments are also described.

In various types of medical procedures, such as cardiac mapping and ablation procedures, a sheath is inserted into the subject's body, and a catheter is then passed through the sheath. The sheath may facilitate navigation of the catheter to the desired location within the subject's body.
US Patent Application Publication 2009/0248042, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes an input device for a robotic medical system, including a sheath handle, comprising a flexible shaft defining a lumen therein. The input device also includes a catheter handle comprising a second flexible shaft which is at least partially disposed within the lumen of the first shaft. The sheath handle and the catheter handle are each coupled to a plurality of respective guide wires, which are configured such that movement of the handles causes a corresponding tension response in one or more of the plurality of guide wires. Sensors are connected to the guide wires to measure the movement of the sheath handle and the catheter handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,343,096, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a robotic catheter system including one or more robotic catheter manipulator assemblies supported on a manipulator support structure. The robotic catheter manipulator assembly may include one or more removably mounted robotic catheter device cartridges and robotic sheath device cartridges, with each cartridge being generally linearly movable relative to the robotic catheter manipulator assembly. An input control system may be provided for controlling operation of the robotic catheter manipulator assembly. A visualization system may include one or more display monitors for displaying a position of a catheter and/or a sheath respectively attached to the robotic catheter and sheath device cartridges.

Sensor for facilitating catheter visualization


A roof screen system for securing a roof screen to a roof is provided. The system includes a plurality of mounting units that are secured to the roof by means of cylindrical supports. A weatherproofing assembly is disposed about each support and its base to prevent the roof from leaking, due to mounting of the supports on the roof. The weatherproofing assembly includes a collar that extends around the support to prevent water from flowing down the support and to a base cover that inhibits water from collecting on the base to prevent the roof from leaking. The cylindrical configuration of the support and weatherproofing assembly coact to prevent water and debris from collecting about the support and its base, to aid with maintaining roof integrity and to prevent the roof from leaking. Each mounting unit comprises a plurality of braces affixed in a triangular relationship. The triangular relationship of the braces aids with supporting the roof screen in the presence of extreme natural forces. The braces comprise a strong, lightweight, and weather resistant material to prolong the life expectancy of the invention and to prevent the mounting units from failing in the presence of natural forces, such as wind and earthquakes. The roof screen is provided with a weather resistant coating to enhance the wear resistant properties and aesthetics of the screen during the life thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to roofing construction systems, and more particularly, to an improved roof screen system.
2. Description of Related Art
Roof screen systems are used for concealing from view roof mounted equipment or changing the appearance of a building by changing its roof line. Today, these systems are most often used to conceal from view roof mounted heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, commonly referred to as HVAC systems, or other structures that protrude above the roof line of a commercial building and detract from the aesthetics thereof.
An example of a prior art roof screen system for securing a roof screen, or parapet, to a roof is shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 of the drawings. In the prior art, a roof screen or parapet 1, that often comprises a plurality of modular panels, is secured to a roof 2 using a conventional mounting system 3 comprising a plurality of mounting units 4. Each mounting unit includes a pair of sleepers 5, which typically comprise wood, that are secured to the roof 2 with bolts 6 for example. Each unit further includes a base brace 7 that is attached to the sleepers and may be secured to the parapet, and a diagonal brace 8 that is secured to the base brace and parapet, for securing the parapet to the roof. A plurality of the mounting units are spatially positioned along the parapet to secure the screen to the roof.
A disadvantage of prior art roof screen mounting systems is that the sleepers are tightly bolted through the roof, which commonly causes the roof to leak. Another disadvantage of the prior art, is that since the sleepers are tightly bolted to the roof, there may be a slight depression in the roof surrounding the sleeper. Often debris 9, such as leaves or other debris, and water accumulate around the sleeper, causing further leaking of the roof and potentially damaging the roof. Additionally, since the prior art components of the mounting systems typically comprise wood, such as the braces of each unit, the braces can break in the presence of extreme natural forces, such as high winds or earthquakes, causing the system to fail.
Thus, there exists a need for a roof screen system that effectively secures the roof screen to the roof without causing the roof to leak and that will not fail in the presence of extreme natural forces.


An electrode plate unit capable of suppressing the internal short circuit caused by flashing that is formed on the end portion of a positive electrode plate and a battery using the same. The electrode plate unit includes a group of electrode plates in which a plurality of positive electrode plates and a plurality of negative electrode plates are laminated alternately via separators, a positive electrode collector plate connected to one side face of the group of electrode plates for connection to the positive electrode plate, and a negative electrode collector plate connected to another side face of the group of electrode plates for connection to the negative electrode plate, wherein the edge portion of the positive electrode plate is protruded from the edge portion of the negative electrode plate on the entire side face excluding the side face to which the negative electrode collector plate of the group of electrode plates is connected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrode plate unit and a battery using the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, secondary batteries are becoming used for various applications. In particular, the application as a driving source of an electric car is to be increased in the future under circumstances in which global environmental protection and effective use of energy resources increasingly have been demanded. With such a variation of applications, the further improvement of the battery property and reliability of a secondary battery have been required.
FIG. 14 shows a conventional secondary battery. In this structure, a battery case 51 housing a group of electrode plates 52 and electrolyte is closed by a lid 57 provided with a safety valve 56. As shown in FIG. 15, the group of electrode plates 52 has a structure in which a plurality of positive electrode plates 61 and a plurality of negative electrode plates 62 are laminated alternately via separators 63. The positive electrode plate 61 and the negative electrode plate 62 are formed by filling a substrate with an active material. As shown in FIG. 14, a lead 53 is led out of the positive electrode plate and connected to the positive electrode terminal 54 provided on the lid 57. Similarly, a lead is led out of the negative electrode plate and connected to the negative electrode terminal 55 provided on the lid 57.
Substrates forming each electrode are produced by cutting out a metal plate. Since a punched metal is used for a substrate for the negative electrode plate, little flashing is formed due to the cutting. On the other hand, when a foam metal is used for a substrate for the positive electrode plate, fibrous flashing is likely to be formed due to the cutting work. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 15, there has been a problem in that a flashing 61a that occurs on the end portion of the positive electrode plate 61 passes through the separator 63 and is brought into contact with the negative electrode 62, thereby causing an internal short circuit between the positive and negative electrodes.
Furthermore, in the above-mentioned conventional secondary battery, there is a problem in that since a side face of the group of electrode plates is exposed, when the group of electrode plates is inserted into the battery case for producing a battery, the electrode plate touches the wall surface of the battery case and may be damaged. One possible example of a structure of the secondary battery proposed in order to avoid such a problem is a structure in which an electrode plate unit in which a positive electrode collector plate is connected to one side of the group of electrode plates and a negative electrode collector plate is connected to another side of the group of electrode plates is housed in a battery case together with electrolyte, and the both electrode collector plates are connected to a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal, respectively. According to this electrode plate unit, since the side face of the group of electrode plates is covered with the collector plate, it is possible to reduce the damage to the electrode plate when the group of electrode plates is inserted into the battery case. In such an electrode plate unit, the group of electrode plates and the collector plate can be connected by welding. By providing the welding places in several places, it is possible to improve the connection strength and collecting efficiency. However, further improvement of the connecting strength between the group of electrode plates and the collector plate and the collecting efficiency are required.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An electronic distance measuring device that measures a distance from the electronic distance measuring device to an objective station. The electronic distance measuring device includes a radiation source for emitting frequency-modulated radiation towards a reflector disposed at the objective station, and a detector for detecting radiation reflected by the reflector. The distance of the objective station from the electronic distance measuring device is then calculated in accordance with the detected radiation. At least one radiation attenuating filter is positioned in a radiation path between the radiation source and the detector. The radiation attenuating filter is inclined with respect to a main axis of the radiation path so as to prevent incidence on the detector of an irregular reflection of the radiation by the attenuating filter.

The present invention relates to an electronic distance measuring device in which a phase difference of an oscillating wave, such as a light wave, that has traveled along two different light paths is used to measure a distance from the device to an objective station.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional electronic distance measuring device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,068.
A modulated light beam emitted from a light source 31 is reflected by a prism 33 through an objective lens 34 to be incident on a reflector 35 that is located at an objective station. The light is reflected by the reflector 35, transmitted towards the objective lens 34 and reflected by the prism 33 to be incident on a detector 42. The electronic distance measuring device measures a distance from the objective station by detecting a phase difference between the phase of the reflected light from the reflector 35 and the phase of the emitted light.
In the electronic distance measuring device in which the phase difference measuring method is employed, the accuracy of the distance measurement depends on the accuracy of the detection of the phase difference. Therefore, the accuracy of the detection of the phase difference must be very high in order to accurately measure the distance. In general, the order of the accuracy to detect the phase difference is approximately 10.sup.-7 second.
In order to accurately detect the phase difference, the electronic distance measuring device is required to discriminate a regular portion of the reflected light, which corresponds to the transmitted modulated light, from an irregular noise portion.
In general, a second order reflection light component of the irregular noise portion will disturb the discrimination of the regular portion of the reflected light more than the other irregular noise components. The second order reflection light component is defined as stray light that is generated when the regular modulated light is reflected by a high-reflectivity surface located in the light transmitting path 36A between the light source 31 and the objective lens 34, or in the light detecting path 36B between the objective lens 34 and the detector 42.
For instance, in the light transmitting path 36A, the second order reflection light component is generated when a portion of the light (light 41a) that is propagated along the light paths 36A and 36B is reflected by a high-reflectivity surface such as the detector 42. The reflected light (i.e., light 41a) is then propagated in the reverse direction along the light paths 36B and 36A, towards the light source 31. However, at the high-reflectivity surface of the light source 31, a portion 41b of the reflected light 41a is reflected back along the light paths 36A and 36B and is detected by the detector 42.
In order to solve this problem, the conventional electronic distance measuring device shown in FIG. 1 reduces the second order reflection light component by using two attenuating filters. One of the filters is mounted on shutter plate 38 located between the light source 31 and the prism 33. The other filter is a variable attenuation filter 40 located between the prism 33 and the detector 42.
The shutter plate 38, rotated by a motor 32, has two slits to divide the light emitted from the light source 31 into two portions. One portion of the emitted light is propagated along the light transmitting path 36A and the other portion is propagated along reference light path 37. A neutral density (hereinafter referred to as ND) filter 39 is placed in the slit of the shutter plate 38 in order to attenuate the light that is propagated along the light transmitting path 36A.
The variable attenuation filter 40 is formed as a circular disk. An amount of light transmitted through the circular disk varies along a circumferential direction thereof. A motor 43 rotates the variable attenuation filter 40 in order to change the amount of light transmitted therethrough.
The regular reflection light is transmitted through each of the attenuating filters twice along the optical path from the light source 31 to the detector 42. However, the second order reflection light component is transmitted through the attenuating filters at least four times along the optical path from the light source 31 to the detector 42. Accordingly, the intensity of the second order reflection light component at the detector 42 is much lower than the intensity of the regular reflection light.
However, in the electronic distance measuring device shown in FIG. 1, the ND filters become new sources for generating stray light, because the surfaces of the filters are also high-reflection surfaces. Therefore, it is not possible to increase the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. Accordingly, the accuracy of the detection of the phase difference is not very high.
Further, since the ND filter 39 is formed as an interference film by a vacuum evaporation method, it is difficult to reduce the reflectivity of the surface. Furthermore, since the ND filter of the variable attenuation filter 40 is formed as a glass plate, an anti-reflection film is required to reduce the reflection. This will increase the cost of manufacturing the ND filter, and therefore, the cost of manufacturing the electronic distance measuring device.


A cap inserted into a wafer process tube for vertical furnaces is provided with exhaust flow normalizing means which can control or prevent variations in exhaust flow rates in the process tube, and thereby control variations in thickness of wafers subjected to film forming and annealing.. In the alternative, an annular hollow ring is hermetically sealed around an outer circumferential surface of the process tube. An exhaust pipe is connected to the hollow annular ring. Gas communication holes are formed in the wall of the process tube to accommodate the flow of gas between the tube and the hollow annular ring. The spacing and cross-sectional area of the communication holes are such as to equalize flow resistance circumferentially around the cap. In-plane variations and wafer to wafer variations in thickness and quality of wafers subjected to film forming and annealing thereby are reduced and controlled.

FIG. 12 is a side view diagram by way of example, of a conventional process tube 1 for use in vertical furnaces.
The process tube 1 for vertical furnaces is of a quartz-made cylinder with its upper end closed and its lower end left open. A process gas introducing pipe 2 is connected to the center of an upper end portion of the process tube 1 for communication with an inner cavity of the process tube, and an exhaust pipe 3 is connected to a peripheral wall of the process tube 1 at a position near its lower end for communication with the tube's inner cavity through an exhaust port la formed at the same position.
A cap 4 is inserted into the lower open end of the process tube 1 for vertical furnaces while leaving an appropriate gap between itself and an inner circumferential surface of the process tube 1 for vertical furnaces. A wafer mount boat 5 is supported to an upper end surface 4a of the cap 4 directed toward the inner cavity of the process tube 1.
In other words, the cap 4 is supported at its lower end by a lifting device (not shown) and inserted into the process tube 1 for vertical furnaces from below, with the wafer mount boat 5 kept supported on the upper end surface 4a of the cap 4.
The cap 4 is inserted into the process tube 1 such that the upper end surface 4a is positioned above the exhaust port 1a. Thus, during the process carried out in the vertical furnace, the exhaust port 1a of the process tube 1 faces an outer circumferential surface 4b of the cap 4.
Accordingly, gas supplied to the process tube 1 via the process gas introducing pipe 2 flows downwardly and reaches the exhaust port 1a after passing the gap between the inner circumferential surface of the process tube 1 and the outer circumferential surface 4b of the cap 4, following which the gas is discharged to the exterior via the exhaust pipe 3.
In the above conventional process tube 1 for vertical furnaces, however, since the cap 4 is simply cylindrical in shape and the exhaust port 1a is defined at only one location in the circumferential direction, there occurs in the vicinity of the upper end surface 4a of the cap 4 a difference in exhaust rate between a region A near the exhaust port 1a and other regions remote therefrom. As a result, the temperature in the region A where the exhaust rate increases is more likely to be lower than in the other regions.
This has raised a problem that in-plane variations and wafer to wafer variations in thickness and quality of thin films formed near the cap 4 inside the vertical furnace, and of wafers annealed at that location may become significant.
To overcome the above problem, prior systems have attempted to carry out the process while rotating the cap 4 within the process tube 1 for vertical furnaces. However, this method is accompanied by a high risk that the inner cavity of the process tube 1 may become contaminated by dust or dirt which is produced due to the presence of sliding parts in the process tube 1.
Another approach which has been used is the connection of a plurality of exhaust pipes 3 to the process tube 1 for vertical furnaces so that the exhaust flow will not be localized. However, this method raises the problem that the layout of the apparatus around the process tube 1 is complicated or because of the complication layout, the layout must be changed.

Wafer process tube apparatus and method for vertical furnaces