The present invention discloses an image processing method and apparatus, where the method includes: downscaling an image to be processed; identifying identifiable targets in the downscaled image, and localizing temporary unidentifiable targets in the downscaled image; identifying the temporary unidentifiable targets at positions, corresponding to localized positions in the downscaled image, in the image to be processed. According to the present invention, only one object lens is needed to obtain the image to be processed, and no switching process between a high magnification lens and a low magnification lens is required during a target screening process; so that image identification speed is increased, and mechanical errors and offset in positioning are avoided.

Biological microscopes are instruments used for observing microbes, cells, bacteria, tissue culture, suspended substances, and sediments in medical and health institutions, institutions of higher education, and research institutes, and can be used for continuously observing reproduction and fission processes of cells and bacteria and the like in culture media. The biological microscopes are widely applied in the fields such as cytology, parasitology, oncology, immunology, genetic engineering, industrial microbiology, and phytology.
Generally, the sizes of animal cells and plant cells are between 10 μm and 100 μm, the size of a relatively small erythrocyte is less than 6 μm, and a platelet and a fungus have even smaller sizes, which may be less than 3 μm. To observe a tangible component in blood, urine, or other body fluids clearly, a microscope is required to have sufficient resolution. When observing a small target such as an erythrocyte, a leukocyte, or a platelet, a microscope is required to have resolution less than 1 μm. However, to observe a big target of a size greater than 10 μm, resolution is required to be less than 3 μm. (Note: resolution of a microscope refers to a capability of clearly distinguishing, by using the microscope, a minimum distance between two object points; and when the size of a cell is three times as large as minimum resolution, the number of clearly recognizable pixel points is seven, and in this case, only one pixel point is observable inside a cell. As is shown in FIG. 1, if the cell size is three times less than the minimum resolution, none structure inside the cell can be clearly observed.)
Common object lenses for biological microscopes used for cell analysis have three specifications, which are 10×, 20×, and 30×, respectively, and generally numerical apertures (NAs) corresponding to the three specifications are 0.25, 0.45, and 0.65, respectively. Therefore, resolution of a microscope can be calculated by:d=λ/NA,
wherein λ is a wavelength of a light source, and NA is a numerical aperture of an object lens. Assuming that an average wavelength λ of a light source is 0.6 μm, resolution of different object lenses can be obtained as shown in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1Magnification of object lens102040Numerical aperture (NA)0.250.450.65Resolution (d = λ/NA)2.4 μm1.33 μm0.923 μm
As can be seen, to observe a small target such as a platelet and a fungus clearly (a microscope is required to have resolution less than 1 μm), an object lens whose numerical aperture is greater than 0.6 needs to be provided; a method of localizing with a low magnification lens (e.g. 10× lens) and tracking and identifying with a high magnification lens (e.g. 40× lens) is generally used for implementation (refer to Patent No. 201110315831.4 for details). However, during an observing process in which this method is used, object lenses need to be adjusted for switching between high and low magnification, operations are complex, and a mechanical error occurs easily, leading to an offset in positioning between high and low magnification and causing inaccurate positioning. In addition, due to the fluidity of a sample, the position of a target that is localized in low magnification may change when low magnification is switched to high magnification for observation, or even deviates from a field of view causing missed identification.
In view of the problem of inaccurate positioning because lenses with high and low magnification need to be switched during a target screening process in the prior art, an effective solution is yet to be proposed at present.


A method is disclosed for operating a computed tomography device including an x-ray source embodied to emit a fan-type beam bundle and a detector arrangement interacting therewith and including a plurality of detector elements. An embodiment of the method provides that an integration time provided to read out a detector element is dependent on the position of the detector element within the detector arrangement, wherein with a detector element which detects x-rays which penetrate the isocenter lying between the x-ray source and the detector arrangement, a longer integration time is provided, than with a detector element which detects x-rays which penetrate an examination volume which is further away from the isocenter.

DE 10 2005 053 993 A1 discloses a diagnosis apparatus and a diagnosis method for combined and/or combinable radiographic and nuclear-medical examinations. The diagnosis apparatus includes an x-ray source, which generates x-rays for examination of the human body. Provision is furthermore made to position radioactive substances, which emit gamma radiation, in a tissue to be examined. The energies of the x-ray quanta and the energies of the gamma quanta are to lie in a similar range.
A detector system, which includes a plurality of pixels arranged in rows and columns, is embodied to simultaneously measure the x-ray and gamma quanta. The integration time of the individual pixels can be selectively or jointly adjusted by means of control electronics. An exposure time can thus be predetermined, during which the intensity of incident x-ray and/or gamma radiation is integrated pixel by pixel over time.
DE 195 02 574 C2 discloses a computed tomography device having an x-ray emitter to emit a conical x-ray bundle and a two-dimensional detector. The detector consists here of several parallel detector rows, which are each embodied from a series of detector elements.
EP 0 647 347 B1 discloses a further computed tomography device, which includes a detector arrangement having a plurality of individual detector elements, for instance 4800. The complexity of the processing electronics is to be reduced by two or more detector elements being connected to form a pseudo detector.

Computed tomography device and method for operating a computed tomography device


A wind power plant for harnessing wind power includes a tower; a plurality of upright rotor blades spaced apart circumferentially and spaced radially from a rotational axis; and a supporting structure for the rotor blades leading from the tower to the rotor blades.

This invention relates to a wind power plant having a plurality of rotor blades.
The presumably most widespread kind of wind power plant used today has a rotor with a horizontal axis in the manner of an airplane propeller and a customary electric power generator that is driven by the rotor via a gearing.


Methods in a charging system (20), in a charging node or charging server comprise associating plural telecommunications services (S) with a product (P) and creating a product instance, the product instance being available to a subscriber entity and having a product instance lifecycle. The methods further comprise, upon receiving a service reservation, checking whether the service reservation is for a first reserved service of the plural telecommunication services associated with the product instance and, if so, reserving a fee for the product instance against a payor account. The methods further comprise, upon receiving a first notification of use by the subscriber entity of any of the plural services associated with the product instance, posting the fee to the payor account. The methods further comprise thereafter permitting use of all of the plural telecommunication services associated with the product instance to the subscribing entity during the product instance lifecycle without deducting a further fee for use of the plural telecommunication services associated with the product instance.

For many products and/or services a customer or subscriber desires that a financial charge for the product/service be satisfied or paid from one or more of accounts, e.g., asset accounts owned by the customer or authorized for the customer's use. The debiting of the appropriate accounts, or reserving of assets in the appropriate accounts, is generally handled by a charging system. An example of an online charging system (OCS) is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/258,990 of ABRAHAMSSON et al, entitled REAL-TIME FLEXIBLE ACCOUNT SELECTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS, which is incorporated herein by reference.
An online charging system (OCS) generally performs charging authorization for use of a service or a set of services. When a subscriber starts to use a service, the OCS either authorizes or denies the subscriber relative to the service sought. If the subscriber is allowed to use the service, the OCS authorizes an amount or quota that the subscriber can use for the service before seeking new authorization. The OCS can also set a time limit for how long the subscriber can use the authorized quota before seeking new service authorization. The quota is typically data volume and/or time, but can also be defined by the service provider (for example charging for electricity using kw/hour as quota unit).
In real-time session-based charging, common data that is shared by different sessions/activities can be modified by these sessions/activities. When a session/activity has initiated an action, subsequent sessions/activities may initiate the same action again. If the action requires reserving the users' (subscribers') resources, then the users' resources will be reserved for each action initiated by a session/activity.
In order to commit the initiated action, the session/activity must fulfill certain update conditions. An action initiated by a session must be committed by the same session.
One problem with the existing solution of common data modification is that the shared data can be modified by the same action initiated repeatedly by parallel sessions/activities. The sessions can be initiated by the same user or by different users sharing common data. The repeated actions will cause an undesired effect. If the action requires reserving the users' resources, then the unwanted repeated actions will tie up the users' resources. Another problem is that the initiated action has to be committed by the session that initiated it. Even if another session has fulfilled the commit conditions earlier, it cannot commit the action initiated by that session. This causes a delay in the commit action and plausibly ties up the users' resources even longer.

Charging systems and methods for telecommunications


A device, system, and method is provided for running mobile applications, including a server for running applications and a client installed in a mobile device. The client may connect to the server via a network. The client may display content, receive user input, and send user input to the server. The server may use the client to receive user input and to display content for running applications for the mobile device.

Mobile devices come in thousands of hardware and software varieties having different operating systems, screen resolutions, input controls, etc. To accommodate the technological diversity in mobile devices, it is a goal of content and information service providers to provide users with universal support for all mobile devices without compromising appearance and functionality.
One way to provide universal support is porting. Porting is a process in which software or code is adapted to conform to a computing environment different from that for which the software was originally designed. For example, to display website code on a screen of a mobile device having a different browser than that for which the code was written, the website code may be altered to comport with the requirements and capabilities of the different browser. Multiple versions of a service solution must be generated with variations to match the specific hardware and software combinations that exist on the target mobile devices.
One of the main disadvantages of porting is that it is time consuming and costly. In one example, a porting process includes running and testing the same code individually on each mobile device, identifying problematic portions of the code, re-writing code to fix the problematic portions, and reiterating tests with the re-written code.
To improve efficiency, another porting process was designed. In this process, a first layer of software is generated having content/data universally intended for all mobile devices. Additional device-specific layers of software are also generated for running the first content layer on each specific mobile device. In this example, since the content and device-specific layers are generated separately, the content of the first layer may change without having to adapt the device-specific layers to conform therewith. Thus, a single device-specific layer may support a variety of content for each mobile device. Although improved, this process still yields detriments. For example, the device-specific layers are typically generated automatically based on device parameters stored in a database. Thus, no device-specific layer may exist for a device whose parameters are unknown or not stored in the database. Thus, an unknown mobile device cannot display the content layer.
In order to solve this problem, a generic or default device layer may be used to display the content layer. Since some devices support more advanced capabilities (e.g., using Adobe Flash® objects), while others only support the most basic content (e.g., using hypertext markup language (HTML)), a generic layer compatible for both devices must use the lowest common denominator of function. Thus, the devices capable of supporting advanced content may be forced to display the basic content operating below their potential function. The basic content typically has out-of-date features which reduce the quality of the user experience.
Currently, using as default the lowest common denominator of function is a common solution for providing universal service in the technologically diverse world of mobile devices. For example, online service providers use wireless application protocol (WAP) websites, which essentially are adaptations of their regular websites with reduced, cut-down versions, of content, features, and functionality. In order to take advantage of advanced capabilities, parallel versions of the service must be developed, checked and maintained, each taking into account the additional capabilities unsupported by inferior mediums.
A need exists to provide universal support for a wide variety of mobile devices without degrading the quality of service.

Device, system and method for providing distributed online services


The present invention relates to a piezoelectric device. A piezoelectric device in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes a piezoelectric member and a connection member which are coupled to each other, wherein the piezoelectric member includes a polycrystalline member made of a polycrystalline piezoelectric material, a single crystal member made of a single crystal piezoelectric material and coupled to the connection member, and a textured member provided between the polycrystalline member and the single crystal member and having intermediate properties of the polycrystalline piezoelectric material and the single crystal piezoelectric material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a piezoelectric device, and more particularly, to a piezoelectric device having a structure resistant to external physical or mechanical shocks and a method for manufacturing the same, and a driven assembly with the piezoelectric device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A piezoelectric device can generate a mechanical displacement according to structural deformation caused by a dipole formed inside ceramic due to an electric field between two electrodes when a voltage is applied from the outside. The piezoelectric device is mainly used in various types of actuator applications that should use a displacement. For example, the actuator applications may be a fuel injector, a nano-positioning system, an inkjet head, etc.
Since the displacement of the piezoelectric device increases in proportion to the electric field, a higher voltage should be applied between the electrodes to obtain a larger displacement. However, generation of a high voltage as an operating voltage may cause a huge problem in circuits. Thus, usually, a piezoelectric material is implemented in the form of a multilayer structure in which the thickness between electrodes is reduced to generate a large displacement through a higher electric field even in a low voltage. For example, when the same voltage is applied to a multilayer piezoelectric material having nine layers and a single-layer piezoelectric material, an electric field applied to the multilayer piezoelectric material can generate a displacement nine times larger than that of the single-layer piezoelectric material.
Meanwhile, ultrahigh multilayer piezoelectric actuators such as a fuel injector and a nano-positioning system are all exposed to physical and mechanical shocks, and most of the damages due to the physical or mechanical shocks are concentrated on the coupling portion between a polycrystalline piezoelectric material and an external connection member connected thereto. However, since the polycrystalline piezoelectric material itself is vulnerable to external shocks, it is very difficult to implement a piezoelectric device that is resistant to external shocks.

Multilayer piezoelectric device with polycrystalline and single crystal members and intermediate member provided between the polycrystalline member and the single crystal member


A shrouded tubing interface for quickly connecting, disconnecting and avoiding contamination of first and second fluid flow lines comprising male and female connectors, each of which are connected to a respective one of the fluid flow lines. The male connector includes a first tubular portion defining a distal tip and a tapered outer surface, while the female connector includes a second tubular portion having a distal tip and a tapered inner surface. The tapered surfaces of the first and second tubular portions are mutually tapered such that the first and second tubular portions are axially interfittable. The male and female connectors further include first and second tubular skirt portions, respectively, associated with and extending about the respective tubular portions which are adapted to prevent contact to respective ones of the distal ends, and are further positioned to radially and axially overlap when the tubular portions are brought into interfitting engagement at the tapering surfaces.

In hospitals, taper fittings are commonly used to connect tubings carrying intravenous fluids, blood and medications. One of the most commonly used taper fittings is referred to as a luer. Typically, a luer comprises a small diameter fitting incorporating a through hole having a diameter of approximately 1/16 inch. The male luer fitting is often provided with a skirt having internal threads. The matching female luer has locking ears or external threads to facilitate a secure connection to the male luer. FIG. 1 illustrates prior art male and female luers with locking threads. In the prior art luer shown in FIG. 1, the female luer has no skirt, while the tip of the male luer extends beyond the threaded skirt included therewith.
One of the deficiencies associated with the prior art luer fitting is that when the fitting is disconnected, fluid such as blood that is flowing through the tubing can be easily touched by the person disconnecting the fittings. As will be recognized, such exposure compromises the sterility of the system since the touching of the tips of the luer fittings introduces contaminants into the system in addition to exposing the person coming into contact with the body fluids to infectious diseases such as hepatitis or AIDS.
As such, there exists a need in the art for a simple, effective means to protect such fittings and tubing connections against contamination. The present invention overcomes the deficiencies associated with the prior art luer fittings by providing a shrouded tubing interface for quickly connecting, disconnecting and avoiding contamination of first and second fluid flow lines.


A steering column for an automotive vehicle comprises a jacket tube and a steering shaft which is axially contractible and rotatably disposed through bearings inside the jacket tube. A lower bracket is fixed to a lower end section of the jacket tube. An upper bracket is fixed to a generally intermediate section of the jacket tube. In this steering column, the upper bracket includes a body installation section to be connected to a vehicle body. The body installation section has first and second side portions which are separate from each other. First and second front wall sections respectively extend from and are integral with the first and second side portions of the body installation section. The first and second front wall sections are respectively generally perpendicular to the first and second side portions of the installation section. First and second column installation sections are respectively integral with and generally perpendicular to the first and second front wall sections. The first and second column installation sections extend generally rearward relative to a vehicle body. First and second bent sections is provided such that each is located between each side portion of the body installation section and each of first and second front wall section. Each bent section is adapted to be deformable under a load over a predetermined level such that an angle between the side portion of the body installation section and each of the first and second bend sections decreases. A predetermined clearance is defined between an upper end edge of each of the first and second column installation sections and the body installation section. Additionally, the lower bracket is formed of a plate material and includes a main body section. A body installation section is integral with the main body section and to be connected to the vehicle body. An opening through which the jacket tube extends is formed at least in the main body section and defined by an inner peripheral edge of the lower bracket, in which the jacket tube is securely connected to a part of the inner peripheral edge.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in a steering column for an automotive vehicle, and more particularly to the steering column which is intended to reduce the number of component parts and the number of steps in an assembly process thereby lowering a production cost.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A steering column for an automotive vehicle is a device for causing road wheels for steering to be turned under turning of a steering wheel which is mounted on the steering column. In general, the steering column includes a steering shaft which is rotatably supported inside a jacket tube through bearings. The jacket tube is fixed at its generally intermediate part to a vehicle body through an upper bracket and at its lower end part to the vehicle body through a lower bracket. An intermediate shaft is connected at its upper end portion to the lower end portion of the steering shaft and at its lower end portion to a steering gear box.
Now, at an accidental collision of the automotive vehicle, the following dangerous actions will occur: The front end parts of the vehicle move rearward, and therefore the steering wheel projects toward a driver's side through the intermediate shaft and the steering column (i.e., a rearward projection of the steering wheel under a primary collision). Then, the driver moves forward under reaction of the collision of the vehicle body thereby to come into collision with the steering wheel (i.e., a secondary collision). In order to prevent the above dangerous actions, the steering column has been provided with a structure for absorbing a movement stroke of the steering column at the primary collision and a structure for allowing the steering column to be axially contractible at the secondary collision.
As well known, the former structure in connection with the primary collision is arranged to allow the intermediate shaft to be axially contractible thereby to prevent an axial movement of the steering column. Additionally, the former device may include a stopper provided to the steering column to prevent the steering wheel from being projected to the driver's side. The latter structure in connection with the secondary collision is arranged such that each of the jacket tube and the steering shaft is divided into upper and lower sections which are fitted to be axially slidable to each other thereby allowing each of the jacket tube and the steering shaft to be axially contractible. Additionally, the latter structure includes an energy absorbing member for the steering column. Further, the latter structure may include a device for allowing the upper bracket to be get off from the vehicle body owing to the axial contraction of the steering column when the driver comes into collision with the steering wheel.
However, drawbacks have been encountered in the above conventional steering column as set forth below. That is, the conventional steering column is considerably large in number of component parts in order to provide a contractible function under a load over a predetermined level, and therefore is large in number of steps in an assembly process. Additionally, a high precision has been required for the fitting section between the upper and lower sections of the jacket tube and the steering shaft in order to stabilize a stroke load, thereby raising a production cost of the steering column.
Besides, in the conventional steering column, separate component parts are provided as installation members for the steering column to the vehicle body, the stopper for preventing the steering wheel from projecting toward the driver's side at the primary collision and the energy absorbing member functioning at the second collision, This increases the number of the component parts of the steering column and raises a production cost of the steering column.


An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member configured to bear an image on a surface thereof, an image bearing member supporting member configured to support the image bearing member, a sliding member having a guide portion, a positioning member configured to be detachably positioned at a given position on the sliding member and including a fitting portion that has planes and that is configured to fit with image bearing member supporting member while the positioning member being positioned at the given position, and a pressing member configured to press the image bearing member supporting member toward the planes of the fitting portion and having the pressing member having a V-shaped portion so that the V-shaped portion is pushed between the guide portion and the image bearing member supporting member to press the image bearing member supporting member.

It is well known that a conventional image forming apparatus including an electrophotographic copier, printer, facsimile machine, multi-functional machine and so forth has a technique that can position an image bearing member supporting member.
In the image forming apparatus having the above-described technique, it is necessary to properly position and mount the image bearing member with respect to a main body of the image forming apparatus to form a high quality image on an image bearing member.
Therefore, a conventional image forming apparatus has a structure, for example as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Publication No. 2004-233902, that includes a positioning member that is positioned and mounted to a mounting position with respect to a frame of the main body of the image forming apparatus. When the positioning member is mounted on the mounting position, an image bearing member supporting member is fitted into the mounting hole formed on the positioning member to position the image bearing member supporting member. Thereby, the image bearing member can be properly positioned on the main body of the image forming apparatus.
In this case, however, the amount of rotation speed deviation element drive gear during maintenance and/or replacement of the photoconductive element. The mounting hole is used as a tooling hole or a fitting portion for the image bearing member supporting member.
In the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, however, the image bearing member supporting member is fitted into the mounting hole of the positioning member to position the image bearing member supporting member with respect to the positioning member. That is, the mounting hole does not have a great amount of play, which makes it difficult to fit the image bearing member supporting member into the mounting hole, and the image forming apparatus has a disadvantage in the operability of positioning the image bearing member supporting member.

Method and apparatus for image forming capable of effectively positioning a supporting member


Systems and methods are provided for the classification of identified security vulnerabilities in software applications, and their automated triage based on machine learning. The disclosed system may generate a report listing detected potential vulnerability issues, and extract features from the report for each potential vulnerability issue. The system may receive policy data and business rules, and compare the extracted features relative to such data and rules. The system may determine a token based on the source code of a potential vulnerability issue, and a vector based on the extracted features of a potential vulnerability issue and based on the token. The system may select a machine learning modelling method and/or an automated triaging method based on the vector, and determine a vulnerability accuracy score based on the vector using the selected method.

During the development of software and applications, the procedure of scanning, analysis and remediation for security vulnerabilities are typically slow and manual. Basic techniques and tools in the art are known to scan and identify for vulnerabilities. However, experts are required to interpret the results, highlight the most relevant vulnerabilities, and suggest fixes. This usually takes a substantial amount of time, and such cybersecurity experts are in short supply. Software developers desire a faster process that can scale to meet demand, and maintain the quality of an expert analysis. Advanced triage and remediation processes and intelligence are desired to more efficiently and effectively scan software applications during their development stage.

Systems and methods for triaging software vulnerabilities


A fuel injection device for an internal combustion engine including: an injector that injects fuel to be supplied to the internal combustion engine; a battery to which a DC converter that charges a capacitor of a capacitor discharge ignition circuit is connected as a load; a control portion that is provided to operate when a power supply voltage is provided from the battery through a power supply circuit, and generates an injection command signal when fuel injection timing is detected; and an injector drive circuit that applies a driving voltage from the battery to the injector while receiving the injection command signal, wherein the device further comprises converter operation stopping portion for stopping an operation of the DC converter during set load driving stop time when the injection command signal is generated.

A fuel injection device has been used as a device for supplying fuel to an internal combustion engine. The fuel injection device includes an injector having a valve driven by a solenoid, a fuel pump that supplies fuel to the injector, and a regulator that controls pressure of the fuel supplied from the fuel pump to the injector to be kept constant. When such a fuel injection device is used to supply the fuel to the internal combustion engine, the device includes an injector drive circuit that applies a driving voltage from a battery to the solenoid of the injector and passes a driving current through the solenoid while receiving an injection command signal, and a control portion that receives a power supply voltage from the battery through a power supply circuit and is mainly constituted by a microprocessor, and the control portion provides the injection command signal to the injector drive circuit when fuel injection timing (timing for starting injection of the fuel) is detected. The injector opens a valve when receiving the injection command signal, and injects the fuel into an intake pipe or a cylinder of the internal combustion engine. Such a fuel injection device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-21624.
An amount of fuel supplied from the injector to the engine (a fuel injection amount) is determined by pressure of the fuel supplied to the injector, and time for the injector opening the valve (fuel injection time). The pressure of the fuel supplied to the injector is kept substantially constant, and generally, the fuel injection amount is controlled by the fuel injection time. The injector does not start injection of the fuel immediately after the driving voltage is applied, but opens the valve and starts the injection of the fuel at a predetermined delay time after the driving voltage is supplied. Time between when the injector receives the driving voltage and when the injector starts the injection of the fuel is referred to as an ineffective injection time. The control portion regards actual injection time plus the ineffective injection time as apparent injection time, and supplies an injection command signal having a signal width equal to the apparent injection time is provided to the injector drive circuit. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-21624, the ineffective injection time of the injector varies depending on the driving voltages supplied to the injector. Generally, the ineffective injection time is reduced with increase in the driving voltage supplied to the injector. If the driving voltage is reduced in the opening process of the valve of the injector to increase the ineffective injection time, the actual injection time is reduced to cause a shortage of fuel injection amount. Thus, in order to precisely inject a predetermined amount of fuel, it is necessary to prevent a reduction in the driving voltage in driving the injector.
Generally, an electrical component other than the injector drive circuit and the control portion as a further load is connected to a battery. When the internal combustion engine is a gasoline engine and uses an ignition device using a battery as power supply, the further component includes an ignition device for an internal combustion engine.
A known ignition device for an internal combustion engine using a battery as power supply is a capacitor discharge ignition device including a DC converter that increases a voltage of the battery, and a capacitor discharge ignition circuit that uses the DC converter as a capacitor charging power supply. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-209893, the capacitor discharge ignition circuit is comprised of an ignition coil, a capacitor provided on a primary side of the ignition coil and charged to one polarity by an output of the DC converter, and a discharge switch that turns on when receiving an ignition signal and discharges charges accumulated in the capacitor through a primary coil of the ignition coil.
When such an ignition device is used, means for controlling ignition timing is further provided in the control portion. In this case, the control portion arithmetically operates ignition timing of the internal combustion engine for various control conditions, and provides an ignition signal to the discharge switch when the arithmetically operated ignition timing is detected. When the ignition signal is provided to the discharge switch, the discharge switch turns on and thus discharges the charges in the capacitor through the ignition coil, and the discharge induces a high voltage for ignition in a secondary coil of the ignition coil. The high voltage is applied to an ignition plug mounted to a cylinder of the engine, and thus spark discharge occurs in the ignition plug to ignite the engine.
As an ignition device using a battery as power supply, a current interruption ignition device is also known that interrupts a current having passed from a battery through a primary coil of an ignition coil when ignition timing is detected to induce a high voltage for ignition in a secondary coil of an ignition coil, but detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. As the electrical component other than the injector drive circuit and the control portion, an electric actuator for operating a throttle valve of the engine or an exhaust valve may be provided.
As described above, in the case where the further electrical component as the load is connected to the battery to which the injector drive circuit and the control portion as the loads are connected, the driving voltage of the battery may be significantly reduced if the ignition command signal is generated with electric power being consumed by the further load and the driving current passes from the battery through the solenoid of the injector. If the driving voltage applied from the battery to the injector is significantly reduced, the ineffective injection time may be increased to cause a shortage of actual injection time and a shortage of fuel injection amount.
Thus, in the control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-21624, the fuel injection device and the further load are not simultaneously driven. In the control device, the current interruption ignition device is used as the ignition device for igniting the engine, and driving of at least one of the injector and the fuel pump is stopped while the primary current passes through the ignition coil of the ignition device.
The construction as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-21624 can prevent a reduction in the battery voltage and an increase in the ineffective injection time in the process of opening the valve of the injector. However, if the injector is not driven while the current passes from the battery through the ignition device, and a period in which a large current passes from the battery through the ignition device matches a period in which the injector is driven, fuel injection to be performed is not performed, thereby causing another problem of a shortage of amount of fuel supplied to the engine. There is no problem if the period in which the large current passes from the battery through the ignition device does not match the period in which the injector is driven, but it is difficult that the period in which the current passes through the ignition device does not match the period in which the injector is driven both during low speed rotation and high speed rotation.
In the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-21624, if the driving of the fuel pump is stopped when the current passes from the battery through the ignition device, the injector can be driven. In this case, however, the injector is driven with the current passing from the battery through the ignition device, and thus the problem cannot be solved that the battery voltage is reduced in the process of opening the valve of the injector to cause the shortage of fuel injection amount.

Fuel injection device for internal combustion engine


The present invention disclosed herein relates to a bead discharge pump container, in particular, a bead discharge pump container, which has a cylinder-type pump structure having a check valve and designed by changing a check valve structure, a piton rod structure, a gap between a piston rod and a seal cap, and the like such that the bead contents are easily discharged without being burst.

The present invention disclosed herein relates to a bead discharge pump container, in particular, a bead discharge pump container, which has a cylinder-type pump structure having a check valve and designed by changing a check valve structure, a piton rod structure, a gap between a piston rod and a seal cap, and the like such that the bead contents are easily discharged without being burst.
Generally, among functional cosmetics, there are granule type cosmetics containing capsules where other ingredients are contained as a main component. In case of having to mix two incompatible ingredients such as vitamin A or vitamin C, or to add materials that tend to be spoiled easily if they are put together, these granule type cosmetics have specific ingredients which are put in capsules and mixed with basic ingredients of cosmetics.
A container containing encapsulated granule contents as in the above is disclosed in the registered Korean utility model No. 20-0180852. (Hereafter called as the registered utility model)
The registered utility model relates to a container, the container comprises a container body receiving encapsulated granule contents, a pump which is attached to an outlet part of the container body and thereby discharges the contents, a head having a nozzle, and a discharging passage connecting the outside through the pump and the head from the container body, wherein a net is installed to the passage for pulverize the encapsulated granule contents.
The registered utility model is configured in a way that granule type cosmetics pass through and burst to be mixed with main ingredients and then discharged when the contents are discharged. However, a user cannot confirm whether the granule type cosmetics are burstd and mixed during the discharging process of the contents or the granule type cosmetics are discharged after being mixed with main ingredients already burst. Hence, there arises a problem that the user cannot trust effectiveness of the product for fear that the contents thereof should be spoiled.
Meanwhile, in case cosmetics are discharged according to a pumping operation through a pumping structure such as the registered utility model, it is possible that there arises a situation that a part of granular cosmetics is burst while passing through a check valve, e.g. a ball valve installed inside a cylinder of a pump. Due to this, reliability of the cosmetic products for their effectiveness may be degraded, and there arises a problem that burst granules can be cumulated at the pump and cause the malfunction of the pump as well.
To solve the problems in the above, a structure of storing granule-type cosmetics which are not easily breakable and discharging the granule-type cosmetics. However, when a pump performs pumping operation, the granule-type cosmetics get trapped in the check valve and the piston rod and others, makes the pumping operation unsmooth. Therefore, there arise a problem that the cylinder-type pump structure with a check valve cannot be applied to granule-type cosmetics.
Accordingly, there increases a demand for a pumping structure which makes it possible to discharge granule type cosmetics with granules not being burst, such that a user can mix and use cosmetics while confirming the intactness of granule type cosmetics directly with her own eyes.


A printhead for a printer and methods for making the printhead. The printhead may include a driver module on a jetstack. The jetstack may include a plurality of holes formed therethrough. A first adhesive layer may be disposed on the jetstack. A diaphragm plate may be disposed on the first adhesive layer. A piezoelectric layer may be disposed on the diaphragm plate. A second adhesive layer may be disposed on the piezoelectric layer. A chip on flex may be disposed on the second adhesive layer.

A printer creates an image or structure by propelling droplets of "ink" onto a medium such as paper, plastic, or other substrates. The printer has a printhead disposed at least partially therein. A conventional printhead is designed as a single, monolithic component that includes a jetstack, a piezoelectric device, and drive electronics (e.g., a circuit board, electrical cables, etc.).
When a printhead fails (e.g., to pass inspection), oftentimes, the entire printhead is discarded. This is the case even though only one component in the printhead (e.g., the electronics) may be faulty while the other components are operational. What is needed, therefore, is an improved system and method for reducing the amount and/or number of components that go to waste when a printhead fails to pass inspection.


In a system having a server and a client, the client having an upstream device capable of sending and receiving data from the server and a downstream device capable of receiving data from the server, and the server containing a set of network addresses and a set of hardware addresses, a method for forcing the server to send all downstream data to the client using the downstream device including the steps of: (1) establishing a connection between the server and the client using the upstream device; (2) constructing a start-up packet in the client; (3) transferring the start-up packet from the client to the server using a special port; and, (4) adding an entry for said client into the data structure in response to the start-up packet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of establishing computer networks using cable modems. Specifically, the present invention allows a client communicating with a server using separate upstream and downstream devices to designate one or more devices as the devices to receive data from the server.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, most home personal computers (clients) are connecting with the Internet and other on-line services using the public telephone network. Most often, data is transferred using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) implemented over such protocols as the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) or Serial Line IP (SLIP). PPP and SLIP allow clients to become part of a TCP/IP network (such as the internet) using the public telephone network and either an analog modem or an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) device. Clients connect to a network by "dialing-up" a Point of Presence (POP) server, which then assigns the client an IP address.
The public telephone network has a switched point-to-point architecture and only offers relatively low bandwidth as it was originally designed for analog voice communication. Thus, it does not scale well to the delivery of broadband data such as multimedia. As a result, there are several efforts to create a broadband data delivery infrastructure for client applications. Such an infrastructure, when combined with the increasingly powerful clients that are now available, will enable the delivery of rich multimedia programming to the home.
Broadband data delivery may be accomplished over a variety of different delivery infrastructures. Of these, perhaps the most promising is the infrastructure currently used to deliver cable television. Recent advancements in radio frequency modulation and demodulation technology, along with a large base of cable television subscribers, has made cable television service providers a strong candidate for becoming the preferred provider of broadband services to the home. In the broadband network architecture, a client will be continuously connected to the broadband network and will be in communication with one or more servers at all times.
However, as the cable television network was originally intended only for transmitting "downstream" data from a "headend" server located at the cable television service provider's site to one or more subscribers/users (i.e., the network was designed for a one-to-many transmission of information), no provision was made for receiving data from the equipment (i.e., clients) located at the users' locations.
A solution has been proposed to achieve two-way communication of data using the existing cable television infrastructure. "Downstream data", defined to be data sent from a "headend server" to a client, is transferred over coaxial cable from the headend server into the home and to the user's client PC, while "upstream data", defined to be data sent from the client to the headend server, is transferred over the public telephone network. The asymmetrical allocation of upstream/downstream bandwidth is acceptable for most applications as the majority of users requires a larger downstream bandwidth compared to the upstream bandwidth (i.e., most users are "data consumers" rather than "data generators").
In operation, downstream data is received by a client using a "one-way" cable modem while upstream data is transmitted by an analog modem or an ISDN device, over the public telephone network, to the headend server via a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) server at the headend office. The POTS server forwards any upstream data sent by the client to the headend server for appropriate action (e.g., providing domain name server (DNS) services, simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP) services, gateway or proxy services, etc.).
The client, the POTS server, and the headend server communicate using TCP/IP. Data is transmitted in packets, where packets are defined as a block of data with appropriate transmission data attached in the form of a header and footer to be sent or received over a network. Downstream and upstream data are sent using the ethernet standard, as defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3, modulated for transmission over: (1) coaxial cable using the cable modem; or, (2) a telephone line using the analog modem or the ISDN device and PPP or SLIP protocols.
The cable modem and the analog modem/ISDN device will each have both an IP address and a media access control (MAC), "ethernet", address as the application layer uses IP addresses and the physical layer uses MAC addresses. MAC addresses are statically assigned to each device during manufacture, while IP addresses are dynamically assigned. To correlate MAC addresses to IP addresses, a look-up table conforming to the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is used by each machine to resolve the MAC address corresponding to an IP address.
An ARP table is updated periodically in response to conditions such as expiration/time-out of unused entries (i.e., a non-responsive machine) or the addition of a new machine. In the second situation, the ARP table is updated to contain a new entry to reflect the IP and MAC addresses of the new machine. For example, the headend server maintains its own ARP table for machines with which it communicates. When the headend server receives a packet from an "unknown" machine, the headend server will create a new ARP entry for that machine.
The problem with using separate devices for upstream and downstream data transfers is that the upstream device and the downstream device will both have a different IP address as there is the assignment of an IP address to the upstream device (i.e., the analog modem or ISDN device) in addition to the IP address already assigned to the cable modem. The problem involves the headend server, which, in response to data requests generated by the upstream device, will transfer downstream data to the upstream device. This is because the headend server will look-up the MAC address corresponding to the IP address of the requesting device in the ARP table and, finding that the MAC address belongs to the upstream device, the headend server will send the requested data to the upstream device as it is the IP address from which the request came.
For example, where the upstream device is an analog modem (dialing into a POTS server), and the downstream device is a cable modem, the client PC will have two IP addresses--one having been statically assigned to the cable modem, the other being assigned to the analog modem. Immediately after the client initiates a connection with the headend server via the POTS server, the client will be sent a "MAC-request" packet requesting IP and MAC address information. In response, the client will send a "MAC-reply" packet which will contain the client's IP and MAC address information. The POTS server will forward this information to the headend server, which will update its ARP table. Thereafter, when the client requests data from the headend server, the headend server will respond to the request by looking up the MAC address to which to send the requested data. However, as the lookup will be done by using the IP address of the ANALOG modem (i.e., the client PC's upstream device), the MAC address returned will be the MAC address of the analog modem. The headend server will thus select the analog modem instead of the cable modem as the receiving device, thereby undesirably transmitting downstream data to the analog modem, which is the slower connection.
Therefore, a solution needs to be provided for the above-identified situation where a client PC has two IP addresses for separate upstream and downstream devices and the transmission upstream and downstream data needs to be strictly segregated to each device.

Providing address resolution information for self registration of clients on power-up or dial-in


Methods and systems for serving documents are provided. Documents may be served to users, for example, in response to search query inputs. Documents may be individually received for serving to users. In order to serve documents, documents are typically indexed. To serve documents in a real-time environment, a data structure is configured to index documents that are received while simultaneously being queried for documents to serve to a user. Documents that have not yet completed the indexing process are not available for serving and, thus, are not queried. Additionally, the data structure includes a memory optimizer such that indexing does not waste memory of the data structure.

Document serving includes a certain amount of latency in serving after receiving a document. Documents are typically processed for serving and then wait to be batched with other documents before the documents may be served. For instance, a document received is processed and then batched with other documents for serving. Typically, documents are batched every 15-30 minutes as the batching process is time-consuming. Accordingly, documents are only available served 15-30 minutes after they are received. In turn, documents are generally received for a minimum of fifteen minutes before they are available to a user.


A basketball shot-tracking system comprising a wrist tracker, a net tracker, and a shot-tracking mobile application. The wrist tracker is worn on the wrist or arm of a basketball player and the net tracker is attached to the net of the basketball hoop. The wrist tracker and net tracker automatically detect shot-attempt and made-shot events, respectively, and asynchronously transmit messages to the shot-tracking mobile application reporting these events. The shot-tracking mobile application, which runs on a mobile device, such as a smart phone or tablet computer, includes program instructions that, when executed by the CPU of the wireless mobile device, causes the wireless mobile device to automatically receive and process the asynchronous event data sent by the wrist tracker and net tracker, and to automatically tabulate, store and/or display the basketball player's shooting statistics (such as total shots taken, total shots made, shooting percentage, shot locations, and the like).

There are a number of problems associated with conventional products and methods for counting, recording and tracking a basketball player's shot statistics (e.g., shots attempted, shots made, shots missed, shooting percentage, shot locations, etc.). First, it is extremely cumbersome to manually track and tally such statistics during a basketball shooting drill or game. Usually, it either requires another person to tabulate the information as the shooter shoots the basketball, or it requires that the shooter almost constantly interact with a tracking device (e.g., a smart phone, smart watch, or equivalent) while taking shots. Both of these approaches are too obtrusive and typically interfere with and reduce the progress and benefits of shooting drills. Therefore, there is a need for a basketball shot-tracking product and system that collects and processes shooting data unobtrusively, without interfering with the shooter's workout routine, and that also provides a convenient and efficient way for the shooter to subsequently review the data, assess his or her progress over time, and share the shot statistics and progress information with other interested parties.


A risperidone sustained release microsphere formulation is provided. The microsphere formulation includes risperidone or 9-hydroxy risperidone or salts thereof, and a polymer blend having a first uncapped lactide-glycolide copolymer and a second uncapped lactide-glycolide copolymer, in which the first uncapped lactide-glycolide copolymer is a copolymer with a high intrinsic viscosity and the second uncapped lactide-glycolide copolymer is a copolymer with a low intrinsic viscosity. The sustained release micro sphere formulation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is suitable for large-scale industrialized production with improved stability, the in vivo release behavior of which will not change after long-term storage.

Schizophrenia is a serious disabling mental disorder. With the development of intense social competition, quick pace of life end changes in family structure, people face greater pressure than before, and consequently mental health problems become more and more prevalent. Schizophrenia is the most common disease in menial disorder. According to statistics, the prevalence of schizophrenia in China is 6.55%, there are more than 7.8 million schizophrenes, and the global disease rate is as high as 1.5%.
Antipsychotic drugs, also referred to as neuroleptic, may control mental symptoms of schizophrenia effectively. The commonly used antipsychotic drugs first appeared in 1950s, such as chlorpromazine or haloperidol, have a main pharmacological effect of blacking central dopamine D2 receptor and are effective in the treatment of positive psychosis symptoms, but may cause extrapyramidal movement disorders, and are invalid for negative symptoms and cognitive function damage, accompanying with many adverse reactions, also have pester toxicity on cardiovascular and liver with larger administration dose, and significant side effects. In order so overcome these shortcomings, since 1980s, new antipsychotic drugs appeared, main pharmacological effect of which is to block 5-HT2A and D2 receptors. The advantages of new antipsychotic drugs are that not only in the treatment of acute exacerbation of psychiatric patients, but also in the treatment of extrapyramidal symptoms and tardive dyskinesia, which have little side effects without the use of anticholinergic agents; tolerance and compliance of the treatment are good; therapeutic effects in improving positive and negative symptoms and cognitive function are strong, adverse reactions of extrapyramidal system (EPS) may be less or may not be caused, and endocrine adverse reactions may not be caused by the increase of prolactin levels.
Risperidone as a representative of new antipsychotic drugs was developed by Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium in 1984, with the chemical name of 3-[2-[4-(6-fluoro-1,2-benzisoxazol-3-yl)-1-piperidyl]ethyl]-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4H-pyri do[1,2-a]pyrimidine-4-one, has a good therapeutic effect on positive symptoms and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, and the incidence rate of extrapyramidal adverse reactions is low. A metabolite of risperidone, i.e., 9-hydroxy risperidone (paliperidone) has pharmacological effects similar to those of risperidone. Risperidone and 9-hydroxy risperidone together constitute the active ingredients of antipsychotic drugs.
Commonly need clinical dosage forms of risperidone comprise tablets, oral solutions, capsules, and orally disintegrating tablets, etc. For common dosage forms of risperidone, drugs usually have to be taken every day, which is difficult for about 75% of psychiatric patients. This is also a very important factor contributing to deterioration during the treatment.
In order to solve such problems, researchers have actively developed risperidone long-acting sustained release preparations. For example, CN1137756, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference, disclosed a risperidone sustained release microsphere composition prepared by using a polymer matrix material with a molecular weight of 100,000 to 300,000. Long-acting antipsychotic drug Risperidal Consta (Chinese name: HENGDE), which developed based on the technology in CN1137756, came into market in August 2002. The product is prepared by encapsulating risperidone in a lactide-glycolide copolymer (PLGA) with a molecular weight of 150,000, suspended in a solution, and administrated by intramuscular injection once every 2 weeks, thus avoiding the peak-valley concentration of daily administration effectively. However, only a small amount of drug in the preparation is released on the first day, followed by a drug release lag phase after 3 weeks, and with the degradation of the microsphere skeleton, most of drugs are released in the 4th to 6th weeks [Chen Qinghua, Chan Gang, et al., pharmacokinetic characteristics and clinical application of risperidone long-acting injection, Chinese Pharmacy, 2006, 15 (15):1235-1238]. Therefore, while the drug is administrated to patients by injection in the first 3 weeks, patients also need to rely on oral risperidone tablets to achieve therapeutic effects, and subsequently the clinical use is not convenient and patient compliance is poor.
Chen Guoguang et al reported a risperidone microsphere composition prepared by using PLGA (50:50, molecular weight of 30,000) with a drug-loading rate of 18%, by which a stable drug blood concentration may be maintained in vivo for 5-20 days [Chen Guoguang. Tang Jun, et al, study on risperidone biodegradable microspheres. Journal of China Pharmaceutical University, 2006, 37 (6):512-515]. However, the drug-loading rate of this microsphere composition is low, and is also accompanied with a burst release when the drug-loading rate is low.
CN101653422, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference, disclosed a risperidone microsphere composition which may cause sustained release for more than 4 weeks, and the drug release lag phase was eliminated by improving the drug-loading rate (above 43%), substantially solve bust release problems. However, the patent application of CN101653422 only verifies that the laboratory level (5 L scale) may achieve the desired object. It has been found by the applicant of the present invention that drug crystals were precipitated out during the scaled-up production of risperidone microspheres provided in CN101653422, the preparation stability was poor, and in vivo release behavior of the microspheres will change substantially after long-term storage.
As is well known, large-scale industrialized production has always been the bottleneck of the industrialization of the microsphere preparation, and therefore there is an urgent need to provide a formulation of risperidone microspheres that is stable in quality and suitable for large-scale industrialized production.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Risperidone sustained release microsphere composition


A joint suitable for construction castings having a frame and a lid or cover, such as manholes, grates, trench drains, hatches and the like, and construction castings incorporating the same. No tools are necessary to separate the joint. An enlarged head located on a cover fits into a socket located on a frame or adjacent lid. To separate the head from the socket, the lid is lifted to a substantially vertical position and turned about ninety degrees. The lid can then be lifted away from the socket. When the joint is used in manhole or hatch assemblies, a latch may be used to hold the cover open and the cover may be opened and closed with a lever.

Typically, manholes and other types of hatches must be covered either fully or partially (as with a grate) because they are needed in places where they are crossed over by pedestrians, cars, trucks, and even aircraft. Some of these manholes and hatches have hinged covers that can be conveniently opened and closed. Unlike non-hinged covers, hinged covers cannot become partially unseated as can happen with a sewer surcharge. Hinged covers may also be opened more easily than non-hinged covers.
One type of hinged cover is shown in Defrance et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,514. Defrance discloses a manhole assembly having a lid that is hinged to a frame with a T-shaped lug. There are two principal disadvantages to this particular construction. First, in order to remove or replace the cover itself, something that is periodically necessary, an operator has to be able to lift the cover straight up to release it from the position in which it is held open. Given the weight and size of most such covers, this is a particularly difficult task. Second, these hinged covers cannot be lifted with ordinary levers thus requiring the application of brute force.
Another type of hinged cover is shown in a European Patent Office publication for Saint-Gobain PAM, EP 1160382. This hinged cover locks by dropping a lug down into a hinge receptor, requiring one to lift the cover before it can be lowered. This causes the user to lift the weight of the cover each time it is used, even when the cover is not removed from the frame.
Like manhole and hatch assemblies, trench drain grates and solid covers are used in places where they are crossed over by pedestrians, cars, trucks, and even aircraft, and are not easily accessed. Trench drain and grate covers fit into a frame that typically spans the width of a driveway or other area where drainage or ventilation is desirable. Frequently, it is necessary to fasten these grates and covers to the frames. In usual applications, each separate cover is bolted to the frame with a number of bolts—typically one in each corner or otherwise fastened with one of many types of an internal mechanical locking device. If one desires access to the trench or drain below the cover, each bolt must be removed or the mechanical locking device released so the cover can be lifted and removed. Lid removal is time consuming and sometimes difficult due to damaged bolts, broken mechanical locking devices or dirt. In addition, bolt patterns and mechanical lifting devices may change due to wear, and it may be difficult to replace the removed lids if they do not have the same orientation as they did prior to removal.
Accordingly, there is a well established need for a connector used in conjunction with various construction castings that is simple and easy to use and maintain. Because construction castings are typically heavy, there is a further need for construction castings that are more ergonomic for lid or cover opening and removal.

Socket hinged construction casting assembly


Systems and methods that determine a position value of a first object and a position value of a second object, and compare the position value of the first object with the position value of the second object to determine if the second object is in a queue with the first object are provided.

Systems exist that determine if objects are in a queue. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates a retail environment 50 that includes two service locations 52a, 52b (e.g., cash register locations, etc.). Two objects (e.g., tracked customers, images of retail customers, etc.) 54a, 54b are shown at the two respective service locations 52a, 52b. Two objects 56a, 56b are awaiting service at the first service locations 52a in a first queue 56, and another object 58a is awaiting service at the second service location 52bin a second queue 58. Another object 60 is passing between the two queues 56, 58, moving in the direction of the service locations, and does not intend to enter either of the queues 56, 58. Yet another object 62 is at a display 64, and does not intend to enter either queue.
Prior systems attempted to determine which objects are in a queue, such as the first queue 56 and the second queue 58, by tracking the positions of each object (e.g., by way of an image tracking device or other sensor) in a region of interest for each queuing location. For example, a first region of interest 66 might be established to determine which objects, if any, are waiting in the first queue 56 to be serviced by the first service location 52a. A second region of interest 68 might be established to determine which objects, if any, are awaiting service in the second queue 58 by the second service location 52b. In such prior systems, it is difficult to determine which objects are located within one of the queues, if objects can perform other tasks in or near the regions of interest 66, 68. For example, the object 60 that is passing between the two queues 56, 58 is within the first region of interest 66, and therefore might inaccurately be determined by prior systems to be in the first queue 56. Additionally, the object 62 examining the product display 64 is within the second region of interest 68, and therefore might inaccurately be determined by prior systems to be in the second queue 58. Moreover, such systems are unable to determine if the queues 56, 58 extend outside the respective regions of interest 66, 68, such as when the queue curves or bends. Thus, as can be seen from the above description, prior systems might inaccurately characterize some objects that are not within a queue (e.g., objects 60, 62) as being within a queue, and might omit some objects that are waiting in a queue from being characterized as being within the queue, depending upon the correlation of the geometry of the regions of interest 66, 68 with the shape of the queue.

Systems and methods for determining if objects are in a queue


It is to provide a radio communication system capable of performing highly reliable reading/writing communication even though the RFID tags face in the random directions. The radio communication system comprises an RFID tag used for identification, a reader/writer for performing transmission and reception of information between the RFID tag by radio waves, and a plurality of reflecting plates in a space where a plurality of RFID tags are accumulated. The reflecting plates direct traveling direction of the radio wave irradiated from the reader/writer towards the RFID tags. A part of the radio waves irradiated from an antenna of the reader/writer is directed to travel three-dimensionally towards the space by the effect of the reflecting plates. Moreover, the radio waves traveling in the same direction among the reflected radio waves by the plurality of reflecting plates together allow attenuation caused due to distance to be reduced extremely.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radio communication system that is used in a distribution process of merchandise, for example, for managing the merchandise.
2. Description of the Related Art
In stores such as supermarkets, commodities are arranged on display racks, and different kinds of commodities are stored in a warehouse of the store or in warehouses in the process of distribution. These commodities are not just stored but need to be supplied additionally when the current stocks are consumed. Further, the commodities need to be sent out according to orders. The radio communication system is used for managing those commodities.
The radio communication system disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2004-32067 utilizes an RFID technique, which is constituted with an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag comprising an antenna coil, a memory and the like, and a reader/writer module which reads information from the RFID tag and writes information to the RFID tag. The reader/writer module is connected to a host computer that performs information management.    [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2004-32067    [Patent Literature 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2005-109603
The RFID tags are attached to the commodities so that the tags can be placed at the same position of the commodities. Commodities are transported to clients through a distribution process, which are temporarily stored in a warehouse. Thus, in the case where the commodities are piled up for storage, it is rare that the RFID tags attached to the commodities are arranged to face the same direction. Rather, the RFID tags normally face the random directions.
Returning to the reader/writer module, a single reader/writer module is used for managing a plurality of RFID tags in actual circumstances for managing the plurality of RFID tags which are attached to the commodities and accumulated in a warehouse or the like, considering the economic phase and efficiency.
The radio communication system of this kind uses a very weak power of radio waves for eliminating disturbances to other apparatuses by the radio waves. Thus, the communicable distance is limited to be within the range of about 30 cm-several m.
The RFID may face the random directions depending on the stored state of the commodities, so that there may be the case where the radio waves irradiated from the reader/writer do not reach to the RFID tags. Therefore, it is not possible to perform highly reliable reading/writing communication.


Access to a variable rate multiple access system is controlled based upon a current loading. The current loading level is used to determine a transmission rate set point. The transmission rate set point may include a maximum transmission rate and a transmission probability. The transmission rate set point is passed to the remote unit which may access the system. A remote unit with data to send determines a desired transmission data rate. If the desire transmission data rate is equal to or greater than the maximum transmission data rate, the remote unit transmits at the maximum transmission data rate with a probability equal to the transmission probability.

I. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to communication systems. More particularly, the invention relates to resource allocation in a multiple access system.
II. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is an exemplary embodiment of a terrestrial wireless communication system 10. FIG. 1 shows three remote units 12, 13, and 15 and two base stations 14. In reality, typical wireless communication systems may have many more remote units and base stations. In FIG. 1, the remote unit 12 is shown as a mobile telephone unit installed in a car. FIG. 1 also shows the fixed location remote unit 15 in a wireless local loop system and the portable computer remote unit 13 in a standard cellular system. In the most general embodiment, the remote units may be any type of communication unit. For example, the remote units may be hand-held personal communication system (PCS) units, portable data units such as a personal data assistant, or fixed location data units such as meter reading equipment. FIG. 1 shows a forward link signal 18 from the base stations 14 to the remote units 12, 13 and 15 and reverse link signal 19 from the remote units 12, 13 and 15 to the base stations 14.
In a typical wireless communication system, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, some base stations have multiple sectors. A multi-sectored base station comprises multiple independent transmit and receive antennas as well as some independent processing circuitry. The principles discussed herein apply equally to each sector of a multi-sectored base station and to a single sectored independent base station. For the remainder of this description, therefore, the term "base station" can be assumed to refer to either a sector of a multi-sectored base station, a plurality of sectors associated with a common base station or a single sectored base station.
In a CDMA system, remote units use a common frequency bandwidth for communication with all base stations in the system. Use of a common frequency bandwidth adds flexibility and provides many advantages to the system. For example, use of a common frequency bandwidth enables a remote unit to simultaneously receive communication signals from more than one base station, as well as transmit a single signal for reception by more than one base station. The remote unit discriminates the simultaneously received signals from the various base stations through the use of the spread spectrum CDMA waveform properties. Likewise, the base station can discriminate and separately receive signals from a plurality of remote units.
In a wireless system, maximizing the capacity of the system in terms of the number of simultaneous calls that can be handled is extremely important. System capacity in a spread spectrum system is increased if the power received at the base station from each remote unit is controlled such that each signal arrives at the base station receiver at the minimum power level required to obtain a desired signal quality level. If a signal transmitted by a remote unit arrives at the base station receiver at a power level that is too low, the signal quality may fall below an acceptable level. If, on the other hand, the remote unit signal arrives at a power level that is too high, communication with this particular remote unit is acceptable, but the high power signal acts as interference to other remote units. This excessive interference may adversely affect communications with other remote units. Thus, in general, a remote unit located near the base station transmits a relatively low signal power while a remote unit located at the edge of the coverage area transmits a relatively large signal power.
In more advanced systems, in addition to controlling the power level at which the remote unit transmits on the reverse link, the data rate at which the remote unit transmits on the reverse link is also controlled. A remote unit located on the edge of a coverage area may reduce the data rate at which it transmits in order to increase the signal quality of the signal as received at the base station. By reducing the data rate, the time devoted to each bit may be increased, thus, increasing the energy devoted to each bit and increasing the performance of the link.
In addition to link performance, the use of variable data rates can also provide other benefits to the system. For example, a remote unit may generate a stream of data which is being produced at a data rate significantly below a maximum data rate. The remote unit may chose to transmit the data at a rate lower than the maximum rate in order to conserve remote unit power and spectral resources. In addition some remote units may be categorized according to the level of service which they provide. For example, a preferred client remote unit may provide data transfer up to a maximum rate while an economy level remote unit may provide data transfer at one-eighth, one-quarter or one-half of the maximum rate. A remote unit which transmits at less than the maximum rate may transmit at a lower power level or it may transmit only a portion of the time. For example a remote unit transmitting at one-quarter of the maximum rate may transmit its signal at one-quarter of the power which would be necessary to transmit a full-rate signal. Alternatively, a remote unit which is transmitting at one-quarter of a maximum rate may transmit with a duty cycle of approximately one over four. In either case, a remote unit which transmits at less than the full rate generates less interference and consumes less system resources than a remote unit transmitting at full rate, thereby, freeing system resources for use by other remote units.
If a minimum acceptable signal quality is specified, an upper bound on the number of simultaneous users which can communicate through a base station can be calculated at a given level of interference. This upper bound is commonly referred to as pole capacity. The ratio of actual users to pole capacity is defined as the loading of the system. As the number of actual users approaches the pole capacity, loading approaches unity. A loading close to unity implies potentially unstable behavior of the system. Unstable behavior can lead to degraded performance in terms of error rate performance, failed hand-offs, and dropped connections. In addition, as loading approaches unity, the size of the coverage area of the base station shrinks such that users on the outer edge of the coverage area may no longer be able to transmit sufficient power to communicate with the base station at an acceptable signal quality even at the lowest available data rate.
For these reasons, it is advantageous to limit the usage of a system such that loading does not exceed a specified percentage of the pole capacity. One way to limit the loading of the system is to deny access to the system once the loading of the system has reached a predetermined level. For example, if the loading increases above 70% of the pole capacity, it is advantageous to deny requests for additional connection originations and to refrain from accepting hand-off of existing connections. In a system in which the remote units are capable of transmitting at multiple data rates, the loading of the system can also be controlled by controlling the data rate at which the remote units transmit. For a given level of loading, by reducing the data rate at which each remote unit may transmit, the total number of remote units able to access the system may be increased.
In a typical digital data multiple access system, a remote unit establishes a communication session with the base station. The session remains active until power is removed from the remote unit or until the remote unit requests a disconnection. Once a session has been established, a remote unit transmits bursts of data. For example, if a remote unit user connects to an internet via a wireless connection and his notebook computer, he establishes a session when he logs into the network. If the remote unit user generates an e-mail message, the remote unit generates a burst of data when it transfers the e-mail message. The burst of data may contain one or more packets of data. The packets of data typically comprise many wireless link frames of data.
In a system in which the data rate of the remote unit is controlled by the base station, before the remote unit transmits a burst of data, it sends an access request message to the base station. Typically, the access request message specifies the desired transmission data rate. In response the base station may give permission for the remote unit to transmit at the desired data rate, may give the remote unit permission to transmit at a lower data rate, or may deny access to the system. The use of such a system has several drawbacks. For example, the use of an access request message consumes the precious reverse link resources. In addition, the transmission of data over the reverse link is delayed while the remote unit and base station negotiate a data rate. In addition, the algorithm which must be used by the base station to respond to the access request messages from a plurality of remote units is complicated and consumes considerable base station resources.
For these reasons, there has been a long felt need in the industry for a method and apparatus for controlling access to a multiple access system employing a variable data rate transmission scheme.

Method and apparatus for high rate channel access control


An exercise apparatus including a tensioned closed looped belt driven by a manually operated force-transmitting member which grips the belt between a cylinder and a support rod in one direction of movement and releases the belt in the opposite direction of movement. The exercise apparatus includes a frame unit, a belt assembly unit and user engagement members, the frame unit being collapsible into a compact unit for storage. The frame unit supports a seat with an adjustable back whereby, through the user engagement members, upper and lower body exercises may be practiced while the user remains seated. A basket may be provided for storage of user engagement members and other elements as desired.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an exercise device and in particular to an exercise apparatus which uses a rotational or rotatable belt to provide resistance against which the muscles work. The exercises are generally done from a seated position.
As can be seen from my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,493 which issued on Sep. 26, 1989, it is known to use a treadmill-type belt to provide resistance to exercise muscles while in a seated position. The treadmill-associated apparatus suffers many deficiencies, however, including being large and bulky in size and confined to a horizontal position. In addition, the treadmill-associated apparatus of my prior patent does not include structure for engaging the force-transmitting member using the lower body. Given the fact that there are vast numbers of specialized exercise apparatus, no one to date has effectively combined an upper and lower body exercise apparatus that uses a rotatable belt as the power base. The aforementioned treadmill-associated exercise apparatus does provide a belt power base, but its present design does not use this power base to its fullest potential.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 1,766,089 issued to A. J. Wood on Jun. 24, 1930 discloses another treadmill exercise device wherein the exercise is conducted while standing. U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,886 issued to George Kay and Alexander Efimov on Dec. 5, 1972 discloses an exercising machine with spring return pedals and pull lines, but no engagement with a resistance belt. U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,512 issued to Amos W. Yount and Shellie D. Wells on Sep. 18, 1973 discloses an exercise machine wherein exercises may be achieved while seated, but there is no disclosure therein of a resistance belt. U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,201 issued to Joseph Mester on Jun. 29, 1976 discloses an exercising machine which incorporates a brake assembly including brake shoes which variably and selectively contact brake drums, and a belt tensioner for varying drag exerted by belts on the brake drums and on belt pulleys. U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,901 issued to John M. Kulick on Feb. 21, 1989 discloses an exercise device which is collapsible into a compact configuration for storage.


A field emitter element comprising a bottom layer of material shaping the overall emitter element, and a top layer of low work function material or otherwise of high electron emissivity characteristic. The low work function top layer preferably is shaped to a sharp point. The bottom layer may be formed of a material such as tantalum, molybdenum, gold, or silicon (or alloys thereof), and the top layer may be formed of a material such as Cr.sub.3 Si, Cr.sub.3 Si.sub.2, CrSI.sub.2, Nb.sub.3 Si.sub.2, Nb, Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3 or SiC. In a specific aspect, at least one of the first and second emitter materials is chromium oxide (Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3). In another variant, the first emitter material is an insulator of leaky dielectric, e.g., SiO with a 10-60% Cr by weight based on the weight of SiO, and the second emitter material is SiO+50-90% Cr by weight, based on the weight of SiO.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multilayer field emitter element and to a display assembly comprising same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the fabrication of field emitter devices, wherein cavities are formed in a base structure comprising a gate electrode member circumscribingly overlying the cavities and the emitter tip elements are formed in the cavities by suitable deposition of emitter material, the excess emitter material employed to form the tip elements must be removed from the gate layer in order to open the cavity and expose the emitter tip element for its subsequent use as an electron emitter when the tip element therein is energized by imposition of a potential difference thereon.
In such fabrication, the deposition on the gate of the emitter material during formation of the emitter elements can impose on the gate significant stresses which may in some instances resulting in cracking, propagation of stresses in the structure of the field emitter article which may damage the structure or components thereof, or causing the subsequent liftoff of the excess emitter material disproportionately more difficult. Materials which might otherwise overcome such mechanical and morphological difficulties are typically unsatisfactory or less desirable as emitter element materials of construction.
There is therefore a need in the art for an improved emitter fabrication and materials which overcome the aforementioned difficulties.

Multilayer emitter element and display comprising same


According to an embodiment of the present invention, a quantum processor includes a qubit chip. The qubit chip includes a substrate, and a plurality of qubits formed on a first surface of the substrate. The plurality of qubits are arranged in a pattern, wherein nearest-neighbor qubits in the pattern are connected. The quantum processor also includes a long-range connector configured to connect a first qubit of the plurality of qubits to a second qubit of the plurality of qubits, wherein the first and second qubits are separated by at least a third qubit in the pattern.

The currently claimed embodiments of the present invention relate to quantum computer chips, and more specifically, to a highway jumper to enable long range connectivity for superconducting quantum computer chips.
Superconducting quantum chips have limitations on qubit connectivity. Currently, superconducting quantum chip connectivity schemes are by "nearest neighbor." Each qubit in the quantum chip may be connected to a plurality of nearest neighbor qubits. However, the nearest neighbor qubits are likely only a small subset of the qubits included on the superconducting quantum chip. Thus, a given qubit is likely connected to the majority of the qubits on the quantum chip only through one or more additional qubits. If a two-qubit operation is desired in this case, a plurality of swap gates may be required to enable the operation. However, qubit state swapping adds operation overhead, which requires that the quantum system remain coherent for a longer period of time. Thus, systems and methods are needed to enable long-range connectively between qubits on a quantum chip.

Highway jumper to enable long range connectivity for superconducting quantum computer chip

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION