A printed circuit board testing fixture employs a preformed plastic screen for retaining the test fixture translator pins.

Automatic test equipment for checking printed circuit boards has long involved the use of "bed of nails" test fixtures on which the circuit board is mounted during testing. A typical test fixture includes a large number of nail-like spring-loaded test probes arranged to make electrical contact between measurement channels in the test equipment and designated test points on the circuit board under test, also referred to as the unit under test or "UUT". Any particular circuit laid out on a printed circuit board is likely to be different from other circuits, and consequently, the arrangement of test probes for contacting test points on the board must be customized in a test fixture for that particular circuit board. Board design and fabrication data is used to determine what specific board features are to be tested by the fixture. A grid test fixture is typically fabricated by drilling patterns of holes in several rigid and nonconducting plates, assembling those plates with suitable fasteners and spacers to maintain said plates in a parallel, aligned position, and then mounting test pins or probes in the drilled holes. In a "determined" grid test fixture each plate has a hole pattern which is unique such that the test pin can only be inserted to provide an x, y and z translation between a unique feature on the UUT and a unique tester grid channel. In preparation for test, the circuit board is then positioned on the fixture precisely aligned with the array of test probes. During testing, the pins in the fixture are brought into spring-pressure contact with the test points on the circuit board under test. Electrical test signals are then transferred between the board and the tester through the fixture so that a high speed electronic test analyzer which detects continuity or lack of continuity between various test points in the circuits on the board can perform the actual test.
Various approaches have been used in the past for bringing the test probes and the circuit board under test into pressure contact for testing. One class of these fixtures is a "wired" test fixture or a "dedicated" test fixture in which the test probes are individually wired to separate interface contacts for use in transmitting test signals from the probes to the channels of the external electronically controlled test analyzer. These wired test fixtures are often referred to as "vacuum test fixtures" since a vacuum is applied to the interior of the test fixture housing during testing to compress the circuit board into contact with the test probes. Customized wired test fixtures of similar construction also can be made be using mechanical means other than vacuum to apply the spring force necessary for compressing the board into contact with the probes during testing.
The wire wrapping or other connection of test probes, interface pins and transfer pins for use in a wired test fixture can be time intensive. However, customized wired test fixtures are particularly useful in testing circuit boards with complex arrangements of test points and high volume production boards where the higher cost of these fixtures can be amortized.
As mentioned previously, the customized wired test fixtures are one class of fixtures for transmitting signals from the fixture to the external circuit tester. A further class of test fixtures is the so-called "grid type" test fixture, also known as a "determined" fixture, in which the random pattern of test points on the board are contacted by rigid translator pins which transfer test signals to spring loaded interface pins arranged in a grid pattern in the tester. In these grid-type testers, fixturing is generally less complex, components can typically recovered for reuse with other circuit boards and can be produced at lower cost than wired test fixtures; but with a grid system, the grid interfaces and test electronics are substantially more complex and costly. It is the grid-type testers to which the present invention is directed.
A typical tester has thousands of switches and "channels." Each channel has several switches, and is addressable and serves as one coordinate in the "grid." The tester has spring loaded contacts which comprise the grid. The fixture contains rigid translator pins which conduct current from the grid channels to the UUT. In this way, the tester's computer can be made to test continuity and isolation in the UUT through the fixture. When testing a bare board on such a tester, a translator fixture supports and guides pins that conduct between a grid pattern of spring loaded probes in a grid base and an off-grid pattern of test points on the board under test. In one prior art grid fixture so-called "tilt pins" are used as the translator pins. The tilt pins are straight solid pins mounted in corresponding pre-drilled holes in translator plates which are part of the translator fixture.
As mentioned, the fixture typically consists of several parallel translator plates with patterns of drilled holes for retaining a large number of pins extending through the translator plates. The holes drilled in the translator plates are typically drilled with diameters that are slightly oversized with respect to the diameter of the pins, so that the pins easily may be inserted into the holes in the various plates of the translator fixture. Thus, means must be provided for retaining the translator pins in the translator fixture, i.e. so as to prevent the pins from falling out of the fixture if the fixture is lifted up and/or turned upside down without supporting the bottoms of the pins.
There are several prior art approaches to retaining the translator pins in a translator fixture. One approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,908. In pertinent part, the '908 patent describes a plurality of test pins disposed in an array plate in accordance with a grid, and a mask plate extending transversely to the test pins and having through bores through which the test pins extend. According to the '908 patent, means are provided for retaining the test pins in parallel alignment in the fixture with the test pins extending through respective through-bores in a mask plate, comprising a relatively stiff elastic plate formed e.g. of a reinforced foam material and mounted at a position spaced from said mask plate and extending parallel thereto. The test pins extend through the elastic plate in a manner such that the elastic material grasps the test pins, whereby the test pins are retained and maintained in parallel alignment due to the elasticity of said material. The '908 patent specification states, for example, at column 3, lines 25-47, that the elastic plate 4, which firmly engages the periphery of the test pins extending therethrough, prevents test pins 2 from dropping from the testing apparatus. The elastic plate described therein is designed to be sufficiently stable while exhibiting the required resistance so that it may be mounted on the apparatus in the manner of a stable plate. The elastic plate is described as comprising a plastic foam cushion such as open-cell polyurethane foam. The pins are pushed through the plastic foam and, in use, the foam cushion naturally applies a compressible lateral retaining force that holds the pins in place. This approach allows use of straight solid pins which have advantages of tighter spacing capabilities, low manufacturing cost, good probe deflection, and bi-directional use of the pins. However, disadvantages of this approach include the fact that the foam deteriorates over time, drag force from the plastic foam cushion reduces the compliancy of the translator pin force, and the foam cushion is unduly stiffened if translator pin density is high. The '908 patent also discloses, but does not claim, an alternative embodiment to the elastic plate, i.e. in which the pin retaining elastic plate comprises an elastic insert in the form of a thin, flexible sheet loosely placed in the space between top and bottom guide plates, both which are aligned with the predetermined basic array grid. (Column 4, lines 26-49).
Another prior art retention system consists of specially formed translator pins in which each pin has a single or multiple longitudinally spaced apart enlarged annular rings that project outwardly around the circumference of the pin. The pins are inserted in the translator fixture when the translator plates are assembled. When assembly of the fixture is completed, the rings on the pins are located inboard from the outer translator plates so that the rings can act as stops in preventing the pins from slipping out of the fixture if the fixture is either lifted up or turned upside down.
In another prior art fixture an enlarged ring at the bottom of the translator pin fits into openings within a two-part bottom plate that captures a lower portion of the pin within holes in the plates that act as stops on both sides of the ring. Both of these fixtures have the disadvantages that the probes are more expensive, probe deflection is reduced, there is added cost to the fixture, the pins are not bi-directional, pin loading time is greater, and the fixture requires disassembly for reconfiguring the pins or for serviceability.
In a more recent approach to the problem, a thin sheet of plastic film such as polyethylene terephthalate (sold under the trademark Mylar) is used as the pin retainer. The Mylar sheet is captured between two translator plates, and undersized holes are drilled in the Mylar sheet in alignment with the larger diameter holes in the translator plates. In addition, undercuts must be formed at specific position(s) in the translator pins, so that when the translator pins are inserted into the fixture, the undercuts are aligned with the undersized holes in the Mylar sheet. The enlarged sections of the pin on opposite sides of the undercut act as stops to prevent the probes from slipping out of the fixture. The undersized holes in the Mylar film act as a retainer and otherwise center the pin in the fixture. The advantage of this approach over the use of the foam cushion is that no lateral drag forces are produced by the Mylar film. However, a disadvantage is that it requires specially formed translator pins with undercuts, which greatly increases manufacturing costs when compared with straight solid pins, because of the requirement of grinding the undercuts in each pin.
The foregoing discussion of the prior art is taken in large part from U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,230, which describes a system for retaining translator pins in a translator fixture that is said to overcome the various disadvantages of the prior art systems described above. Specifically, the '230 patent teaches as a translator pin retention system, a thin rubber pin retention sheet. According to the '230 patent, the thin rubber pin retention sheet comprises a loosely mounted and highly flexible membrane redundant, i.e. formed from an elastomeric material, and has preformed pattern openings for the pins. The elastomeric sheet material is said to retain the pins in the fixture by applying a compressive force around the pins, while the flexibility of the thin sheet allows the pins to move with the retention sheet independently of the other pins and the pin supporting plates in the fixture, and essentially avoids drag forces or any restriction to compliant axial movement of the pins within the fixture.
A disadvantage common to the several prior art fixtures above, is the need to custom predrill the pin retention member, thus adding appreciably to fixture fabrication costs. The present invention provides a pin retention means which does not require custom predrilling. More particularly, the present invention employs a thin, flexible, plastic screen, having a multiplicity of interstitial openings in the mesh of the screen, which screen is located between fixture plates, which is freely movable and unmounted, as the pin retention member.

Retention of test probes in translator fixtures


A private branch exchange which accommodates a plurality of extension terminals and which is arranged to effect line exchanges by specifying a destination terminal from among the extension terminals on the basis of a called-subaddress information element contained in incoming information. When the incoming information containing the called-subaddress information element is received, it is determined whether the called-subaddress information element is contained in the incoming information. If there is no called-subaddress information element, the call is refused. It is also determined whether connection with an extension terminal is possible or impossible, on the basis of the received incoming information. If the connection is impossible, information to that effect is transmitted to a calling party.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a private branch exchange and a line exchange method and, more particularly, to a private branch exchange which accommodates a plurality of extension terminals and which is arranged to effect line exchanges by specifying a destination terminal from among the extension terminals on the basis of a signal transmitted from a transmitting side, as well as a line exchange method for such a private branch exchange.
2. Description of the Related Art
A general private branch exchange serves the function of transmitting a call to an extension terminal which is specified by a calling party from among a plurality extension terminals. For example, an ISDN which is a typical public digital communications network is capable of transmitting not only a destination line number but a subaddress by dialing. Accordingly, with ISDN, it is possible to specify a particular extension of a private branch exchange connected to the network and transmit a call directly to a corresponding extension terminal.
However, in this example, if the received call contains no called subaddress or there is no terminal corresponding to the received called subaddress, it is possible to specify a particular extension terminal to be called. Accordingly, it is necessary to ring or activate all the extension terminals corresponding to the line number, thus leading to the following problems.
(1) The probability that an unwanted person or terminal responding is high. As a result, a respondent or a responding terminal may respond to unnecessary communication which is not economical.
(2) If information is transmitted from one terminal to another terminal such as facsimile machines, an unrelated terminal may respond to the terminal at the transmitting side. As a result, secrets may leak or documents may be lost.
(3) Even if a predetermined party is informed of the subaddress at the receiving side in advance, an unwanted call from any party other than the predetermined party must be received. Accordingly, economic savings and traffic efficiency deteriorate.

Private branch exchange and line exchange method


A novel polysiloxane having high transparency to radiations with a wavelength of 193 nm or less, particularly 157 nm or less, and exhibiting superior dry etching resistance and a radiation-sensitive resin composition comprising the polysiloxane exhibiting superior sensitivity, resolution, and the like are provided. The polysiloxane is a resin having the structural unit (I) and/or structural unit (II) of the following formula (1), and having an acid-dissociable group, wherein R1 represents a monovalent aromatic group substituted with a fluorine atom or a fluoroalkyl group or a monovalent aliphatic group substituted with a fluorine atom or a fluoroalkyl group and R2 represents the above a monovalent aromatic group, the above monovalent aliphatic group, a hydrogen atom, a monovalent hydrocarbon group, haloalkyl group, or amino group. The radiation-sensitive resin composition (A) comprises the polysiloxane (A) and the photoacid generator (B)

A recent strong demand for high density and highly integrated LSIs (large-scale integrated circuits) radically accelerates miniaturization of wiring patterns.
A method of using short wavelength radiation in lithography is one of the means for responding to the progress in miniaturization. In recent years, deep ultraviolet rays such as an F2 excimer laser (wavelength: 157 nm), ArF excimer laser (wavelength: 193 nm), or KrF excimer laser (wavelength: 248 nm), electron beams, or X rays are used instead of ultraviolet rays such as g-line (wavelength: 436 nm) and i-line (wavelength: 365 nm). Deep ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 193 nm or less are attracting particular attention.
As a resist applicable to such short wavelength radiations, a number of resists utilizing a chemical amplification effect between a component having an acid-dissociable functional group and a photoacid generator which generates an acid upon irradiation (hereinafter called "exposure") has been proposed. Such a resist is hereinafter called a chemically amplified resist.
As a radiation sensitive resin composition applicable to short wavelength radiations, a number of compositions utilizing a chemical amplification effect between a component having an acid-dissociable functional group and a photoacid generator which generates an acid upon irradiation (hereinafter called "exposure") has been proposed. Such a composition is hereinafter called a chemically-amplified radiation sensitive composition.
As the chemically-amplified radiation sensitive composition, Japanese Patent Publication No. 27660/1990 discloses a composition comprising a polymer containing a t-butyl ester group of carboxylic acid or a t-butylcarbonate group of phenol and a photoacid generator. This composition utilizes the effect of the polymer to release a t-butyl ester group or t-butyl carbonate group by the action of an acid generated upon exposure to form an acidic group such as a carboxylic group or a phenolic hydroxyl group, which renders an exposed area on a resist film readily soluble in an alkaline developer.
Novolac resins, poly(vinylphenol) resins, and the like have been conventionally used in resist compositions. However, because these resins exhibit strong absorbance at a wavelength of 193 nm due to inclusion of aromatic rings in the structure, a lithographic process by an ArF excimer laser, for example, using these resins cannot provide high accuracy corresponding to high photosensitivity, high resolution, and a high aspect ratio.
Therefore, a resin for use in a resist, transparent to a wavelength of 193 nm or less, particularly to an F2 excimer laser (wavelength: 157 nm), Kr2 excimer laser (wavelength: 147 nm), or ArKr excimer laser (wavelength: 134 nm) and exhibiting excellent dry etching resistance equivalent to or better than aromatic rings has been desired. A polysiloxane is one such a polymer. R. R. Kunz et al. of the MIT have reported their research results showing excellent transparency of a polysiloxane at a wavelength of 193 nm or less, particularly at 157 nm, commenting on superiority of this polymer as a resist in a lithographic process using radiation with a wavelength of 193 nm or less (J. Photopolym. Sci. Technol., Vol. 12, No. 4, 1999). Moreover, polysiloxanes are known to exhibit excellent dry etching properties. In particular, a resist containing polyorganosilsesquioxane having a ladder structure is known to possess high plasma resistance.
Several resist materials using a siloxane polymer have also been reported. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 323611/1993 discloses a chemically amplified radiation sensitive composition comprising a polysiloxane having an acid-dissociable group such as a carboxylic acid ester group, phenol ether group, etc., on the side chain, bonded to a silicon atom via one or more carbon atoms. However, this polysiloxane cannot provide high resolution if the acid-dissociable carboxylic acid groups on the side chain do not efficiently dissociate. If a large number of acid-dissociable groups dissociate, on the other hand, the curing shrinkage stress of the resist film increases, causing cracks and peels in the resist film.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 160623/1996 discloses a positive tone resist using a polymer in which the carboxyl group of poly(2-carboxyethylsiloxane) is protected with an acid-dissociable group such as a t-butyl group. Since this resist protects the carboxyl groups only insufficiently, it is difficult to develop the resist containing a large amount of carboxylic acid components remaining in the non-exposed area using a common alkaline developing solution.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60733/1999 discloses a chemically amplified radiation sensitive composition containing a polyorganosilsesquioxane having an acid-dissociable ester group. This polyorganosilsesquioxane is prepared by the addition reaction of an acid-dissociable group-containing (meth)acryl monomer to a condensation product of vinyl trialkoxysilane, γ-methacryloxypropyltrialkoxysilane, or the like. The resin has a problem of insufficient transparency to light with a wavelength of 193 nm or less due to unsaturated groups originating from a (meth)acrylic monomer remaining on the polymer side chains. The patent specification also describes a resist resin composition containing a polymer made by the esterification of polyhydroxycarbonylethylsilsesquioxane with t-butyl alcohol. This polymer also has the same problem as a resist as encountered by the polymer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 160623/1996 due to a low degree of carboxyl group protection.
In addition, to respond to miniaturization in recent years, the chemically amplified radiation sensitive composition must not only exhibit higher resolution, but also be applicable to substrates with different reflection coefficients. In particular, when applied to a substrate with a large reflection coefficient, effects of standing waves and swing curves must be minimized. To this end, it is essential to control radiation transmittance. One method of reducing radiation transmittance is increasing the amount of a photoacid generator with a low radiation transmittance. However, this method is not necessarily appropriate in view of resist performance. The addition of a third component, such as a dye, is considered to be more appropriate.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publications No. 319155/1995 and No. 265061/1999 propose the addition of an anthracene compound as a dye to control the radiation transmittance of chemically amplified radiation sensitive compositions. However, merely adding a compound with a low radiation transmittance may impair performance as a resist, such as decreased resolution and incomplete development. In addition, since anthracene compounds are generally sublimative, the exposure apparatus may be adversely affected. Moreover, many anthracene compounds exhibit insufficient compatibility with resin components and additives contained in chemically amplified radiation sensitive compositions.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 120628/1998 discloses a carboxylic acid derivative having a tricyclic aromatic skeleton, such as an anthracene skeleton, with a carboxyl group bonded via a divalent hydrocarbon group or an oxygen atom, the carboxyl group being protected with a group unstable in the presence of an acid. The patent application describes that the carboxylic acid derivative exhibits superior light absorption properties and is suitable as an additive to chemically amplified radiation sensitive compositions.
Under the above-described technological background and in view of further technological development in the photolithographic process requiring increasingly stringent performance accommodating the rapid progress of miniaturization, development of a chemically amplified radiation sensitive composition exhibiting high transparency to radiation with a wavelength of 193 nm or less and possessing excellent basic properties as a resist still remains as an important technological subject.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Polysiloxane, process for production thereof and radiation-sensitive resin composition


A method for bandwidth reservation for transmitting source data of varying data rate in a data network in which a transmission quality determinable in advance can be reserved, having the features of: for the source data stream, source parameters in the form of a repetitive sequence of maximum volumes of data and associated times are determined; from these, a minimum bandwidth is determined by dividing the total volume of data by the total time per sequence; for a reserved bandwidth which is not smaller than the minimum bandwidth, a simulation is used to determine a buffer size and, optionally, a maximum bandwidth; and the bandwidth is reserved using the stream parameters determined in this way—minimum bandwidth, maximum bandwidth, buffer size and reserved bandwidth.

The present invention relates to bandwidth reservation in data networks, in particular for transmitting multimedia data in computer networks such as the Internet.
The Internet makes broad use of the connection-oriented protocol TCP/IP which, in turn, uses the underlying Internet Protocol, IP for short. IP, for its part, is a datagram protocol whose datagram property allows for it to be administered and scaled very easily and has, therefore, made an important contribution to the success of the Internet. However, a datagram protocol, such as IP, in particular, has the drawback that an assurance for a transmission is given neither generally nor in a particular volume of data in a particular time. This is called "best effort", on the basis of which each network node makes the best possible attempt to forward the data pockets, which dispenses with a guaranteed level of reliability. Where the latter is required, a protocol in the layer above, such as TCP/IP, therefore provides a reliable connection using repetitions, state messages and time sequences. For the majority of applications to date, this improvement is sufficient. Such an assurance is referred to as quality of service. Accordingly, TCP/IP provides the quality of service that the messages are actually received and are received in the order of sending so long as the underlying layer is actually working; i.e., the connection is not signaled as being faulty.
The transmission of telephony and, in particular, moving pictures requires a further quality for the transmission, however. In particular, this includes the data being transmitted within a particular time. In the knowledge of this maximum delay time, the receiver is able to set up an adequate buffer and, thus, to ensure smooth display of moving pictures.
This improvement in the transmission assurances in networks is examined under the headword "Quality of Service". As an overview combining the general knowledge of the person skilled in the art in this field, mention may be made of the book by P. Ferguson and G. Huston, "Quality of Service", Wiley & Sons 1998 (ISBN 0-471-24358-2).
To reserve such connections on the Internet, the protocol RSVP is provided, which is described in the document "Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP)" by R. Braden et al., RFC 2205, September 1997. RSVP is responsible only for setting up the reservation. To specify the operating parts themselves, in this case the quality of service, RSVP in principle allows the use of a number of protocols; for example, the protocol described in the document "Specification of Guaranteed Quality of Service" by S. Shenker et al., RFC 2212, September 1997. This document describes the operating parts to be reserved using parameters of the "token bucket" model.
Studies in this area also have been published in the article "Efficient Support of Delay and Rate Guarantees in an Internet" by L. Georgiadis et al., SIGCOMM 1996, pp. 106–116. The "token bucket" model used therein was chosen as a largely unspecific model which is also intended to permit appropriate specification of data with a nonuniform data rate. Data with a nonuniform data rate are, in particular, video data compressed on the basis of MPEG2, where not only full key frames but also much smaller change frames are transmitted. In the absence of other rules, the reservation needs to be geared to the large key frames for such data streams.
It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to determine the parameters for reserving transport of, in particular, multimedia data in a better way than previously and to specify how the associated parameters are expediently interchanged.

Method for bandwidth reservation in data networks


The present invention provides video encoding and decoding methods using block merging, which can be applied to a high resolution video of more than HD (High Definition) resolution. A video encoding method includes partitioning a current block into a first and a second prediction unit by using asymmetric partitioning, constructing a list of common merging candidate blocks including a predetermined number of common merging candidate blocks selected from adjacent blocks of the current block, selecting at least one candidate block from among the list of common merging candidate blocks and sending information of the selected candidate block to a decoder for each of the first and the second prediction unit.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to encoding and decoding of video and more specifically, video encoding methods, video encoding apparatuses, video decoding methods, and video decoding apparatuses by using block merging.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional video compression uses inter prediction and intra prediction techniques designed to remove redundancy between pictures for improving compression efficiency.
Video encoding algorithms based on intra prediction compress a video by removing temporal redundancy between pictures, where motion compensated inter-frame prediction is a typical technique for this purpose.
Motion compensated inter-frame prediction technique generates a motion vector by searching at least one reference picture located before and/or after a current encoding picture for a region similar to a current encoding block. It applies DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) to residues between the current block and a prediction block obtained from motion compensation by using the generated motion vector. The result of DCT is transmitted after quantization and entropy encoding.
In case of motion compensated inter prediction, motion vector is generated by dividing a picture into a plurality of blocks having a predetermined size and motion compensation is performed by using the generated motion vector. Individual motion parameters for the respective prediction blocks obtained from motion compensation are transmitted to a decoder.

Method and encoding/decoding of video using common merging candidate set of asymmetric partitions


A method and apparatus for cooling a glass optical fiber drawn from a glass preform, prior to applying a protective coating to the fiber, wherein the fiber is transported through a cooling zone containing coolant consisting of a solid or liquid dispersion of a condensible gas, the gas being a chemical element or compound having a vapor pressure of at least 1 atmosphere at 25.degree. C. such that rapid coolant vaporization at ambient temperatures is insured, are provided.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for cooling hot glass fibers or filaments as they are drawn from molten glass in a furnace.
In processes such as the manufacture of glass optical waveguides, glass fibers are drawn at very high speeds from a molten glass preform positioned in a drawing furnace. Very rapid cooling of the glass fiber is required during such manufacture in order to reduce the temperature of the glass to a level at which the fiber may be protectively coated. The speed of cooling can in fact become a critical rate-limiting step for optical fiber production, since the technology of rapidly coating optical fibers, as well as the technology of rapid fiber drawing, is well developed.
A number of different methods for cooling optical fibers at rapid rates have been proposed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,437,870 and 4,514,205 utilize cold flowing gases to cool the fibers, while U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,689 utilizes a combination of radiative cooling and cryogenic gas cooling to further increase the cooling rate.
In addition to radiative and gas cooling of optical fibers, it has also been proposed to utilize conductive cooling via the direct application of cooling liquids to the surfaces of the fibers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,485 employs a preapplication of liquid coating components to achieve quench-cooling of the fiber surfaces, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,001 uses water or a vaporizable organic liquid for fiber cooling. The apparatus used in the latter patent includes a provision for removing the coolant liquid from the surfaces of the fiber prior to coating.
The use of liquid-phase quenching media to cool optical fiber is attractive because of the relatively high heat extraction rates available through the vaporization of cooling liquids. However, the disadvantages of such cooling include a substantial risk, particularly at higher fiber surface temperatures, that surface contact with substantial masses of liquid applied at temperatures much lower than fiber surface temperatures could introduce thermal stresses or cause breakage of the optical fiber. Moreover, as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,001, for most cooling liquids it is important that complete liquid removal from the surfaces of the cooled fiber be achieved prior to the time fiber coating material is applied to the fiber. The temperature range through which optical fiber must be cooled in order to prepare it for coating is a range extending from about 1500.degree. C. or above down to approximately 50.degree. C.. At temperatures near the upper extreme of this range, radiative cooling is efficient and rapid cooling of the fiber can readily be achieved.
In the mid-range of temperatures, e.g., from about 1000.degree. to about 500.degree. C., radiative cooling becomes less efficient. Therefore, in this range, convective or conductive cooling of the fiber by gases of high thermal conductivity, typically supplied at cryogenic temperatures, is preferred to achieve high cooling efficiencies.
An important shortcoming of present cooling procedures, however, is that of achieving rapid cooling through the lowest temperature regime, i.e., through the temperature range of about 500.degree.-50.degree. C. In this range, neither forced gas convection cooling nor radiative cooling provides rapid enough energy transfer to achieve an efficient reduction of fiber temperatures. This is due to the fact that the differences in temperature between the glass fiber and the cooling medium are relatively small, such that heat transfer rates between the fiber and the cooling medium are low.
For these reasons it is evident that major improvements in cooling efficiency over the lower ranges of fiber surface temperature will be required if further large increases in fiber drawing rates are to be achieved.
It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide improved fiber cooling methods, and apparatus for practicing those methods, which offer accelerated fiber cooling particularly at the lower extremes of the conventional fiber cooling range.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.


A crank and connecting rod mechanism which can realize a Miller cycle and its control method, wherein an interior of a crankshaft is provided with a drive oil channel and a lock-up oil channel. A connecting rod neck of the crankshaft is arranged with an eccentric connecting rod bearing. In a crankshaft balance weight, a drive gear meshing with an outer meshing gear ring of the eccentric connecting rod bearing through an idle gear is installed. A planetary gear is installed in a drive gear hollow shaft. A lockpin is designed for the drive gear hollow shaft so as to lock with the crankshaft balance weight or with a planetary gear shaft.

The piston internal combustion engine is widely used as a power source in vehicles, non-road moving machinery, ships and some fixed generating sets, which makes important contributions to the development of the national economy. With the development of economy and industrial technology, the quantity of piston internal combustion engine continues to increase, which brings great pressure to the energy and environment. Therefore, energy conservation and emission reduction have always been the pursuit of the piston internal combustion engine workers.
Generally, the increase of the compression ratio of piston internal combustion engine can improve its fuel economy and emission level. However, when the engine has a relatively heavy load, the high compression ratio is likely to cause the engine knock, lead to the deteriorative engine noise and emissions, and even result in the mechanical damage to the engine. In order to solve this problem, the idea of a variable compression engine which can dynamically adjusts its compression ratio according to the state of the engine is proposed to optimize its performance.
At present, the available information shows that the variable compression engines are generally divided into the following categories: 1. The compression ratio of engine is changed with the change of the crankshaft position, e.g., Patent CN201210494582.4; 2. The compression ratio of engine is changed with the change of the piston shape, e.g., Patent CN201110253913.0; 3. The compression ratio is changed by changing the clearance volume through a device on the cylinder cover, e.g., Patent CN201710106970.3; 4. The compression ratio is changed by changing the relative position between connecting rod and crankshaft or by changing the length of the connecting rod, e.g., Patent CN200810067205.6, CN200710029634.X and CN201710229147.1. All of the above schemes can realize the change of the compression ratio. However, when the crankshaft position is changed, any device related to the crankshaft position must be redesigned such as the flywheel at the output end, which results in a very complex structure of the engine. The change of the piston shape makes it difficult to control the dynamic compression ratio. The scheme of changing the relative position of connecting rod and crankshaft is highly feasible (for example, the technical scheme proposed in Patent CN201710229147.1), but the control scheme of this patent uses a stepping motor and an external contact circuit. However, the response speed of stepping motor is difficult to control the synchronous variable compression ratio with the high rotation speed of the engine, and the increase of the stepping motor mass on the high-speed rotating crankshaft will also have a great impact on the dynamic balance of the crankshaft and other mechanical properties; meanwhile, the external contact circuit will also reduce its control reliability.

Crank and connecting rod mechanism which can realize miller cycle and its control method


In one embodiment, a shoulder, arm or hand cushion includes a plush fabric piece having dual overlapping opposing pockets formed therein for a resilient pad such as a viscoelastic gel pad. The dual overlapping pockets define a tortuous path for escape of the viscoelastic gel pad to minimize loss of the viscoelastic gel pad. A neck having a size less than the size of the pockets combined or less than the size of the viscoelastic gel pad further minimizes loss of the viscoelastic gel pad. Yet the viscoelastic gel pad is easily removable by turning the plush fabric piece inside out to permit the plush fabric piece to be washed. The cushion may be used on the shoulder portion of a crutch. In another embodiment, the shoulder, arm or hand cushion is formed from a viscoelastic molded material having a base inner layer of a molded material of first relatively firm degree of hardness and an outer layer of a viscoelastic molded material of a second relatively soft degree of hardness where the outer layer conforms to the shape of a portion of a shoulder, arm or hand. Preferably, the base inner layer is also viscoelastic.

The present invention relates generally to cushions for the shoulder, arm or hand and, more particularly, to such cushions having viscoelastic gel.
For the newly injured, a crutch is most probably a new and only temporary device and this patient may tend to ignore advice on the recommended manner of use of the crutch. The patient may tend to place their fill body weight on the shoulder (or exterior muscles of the underarm) piece of the crutch, instead of stiffening the elbow such that the shoulder piece is spaced two or so inches below the armpit. The incorrect manner of use of the crutch may result in serious damage to the brachial plexus and/or pain associated with extended use of the conventional crutch.
A less serious problem with crutch use is that underarms sweat. Such is especially the case for one using a crutch. Accordingly, it is preferably that a covering for the underarm or shoulder portion of a crutch be washable.


When processing data via multiple computers, the number of computers can be increased or decreased without actually moving the data assigned to the respective computers, and the data can be arranged and processed so as to enhance the performance of the system in response to the increase of the number of computers. A plurality of computers for performing data processing stores target data to be processed in a shared storage system, and when data processing is to performed, the shared storage divides the storage area storing data corresponding to the number of computers, and creates virtual data storage areas referring to a portion of the storage area for each computer, so as to enable each computer to refer to independent virtual data storage areas and to complete data processing.

Along with the slowing of the speed in which the processing performances of the individual computers are enhanced, or with the reduction of costs of the computer devices, there have been proposed various types of distribution processing methods for realizing processing of enormous amounts of data with improved performance by arranging a large number of computers. In order to efficiently perform distribution processing, it is important to enhance the expandability of the number of computers by reducing the amount of communication among computers during processing. Patent literature 1 discloses a "MapReduce" technique in which the target data to be processed is divided among computers and assigned to respective computers, wherein the processing of data assigned to each respective computer is performed by each computer, and the result of processing is assembled at the end. According to "MapReduce", during data processing, each computer refers to the data assigned to it, so that there is no need to communicate with other computers, but the expandability of the number of computers can be maintained.
According to the "MapReduce" technique, the expandability of the number of computers is maintained by not having to refer to the data in other computers, but on the other hand, once the data is assigned to a computer, if the number of computers is increased or decreased after assignment, data must be moved among computers, according to which the time required for increasing and decreasing the number of computers is elongated if the amount of data is enormous.
One possible method for preventing data movement when the number of computers is increased or decreased is to share the data among computers. One example of such method is a cluster file system constructing a shared file system by sharing disks among computers and only communicating the storage location information of data via nodes. Patent literature 2 illustrates an example of a cluster file system. However, generally according to the cluster file system, the management of the storage location information of data is either concentrated to one portion of the computers or distributed among all computers, but if the number of computers is increased, performance bottleneck occurs, by which the expandability of the number of computers is restricted.

Distribution processing unit of shared storage


A ceramic composite for light conversion comprising a solidified body in which crystalline phases of oxides are three-dimensionally entangled and a method for manufacture thereof. A manufacture method of a ceramic composite for light conversion is characterized in that a polishing step is provided in a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process applied to the surface of a solidified body with a structure in which an Al2O3 phase and other phases are three-dimensionally entangled.

In recent years, research and development of a white light-emitting device using a blue light-emitting element as a light source has been actively carried out. In particular, since a white light-emitting device using a blue light-emitting element not only has a long service life and smaller power consumption than an incandescent lamp and a fluorescent lamp, but also uses no hazardous substance such as mercury, practical use of lighting equipment using a white light-emitting device are presently well underway.
A method most frequently used to obtain white light using blue color of a blue light-emitting element as a light source is a method of obtaining a pseudo-white color by mixing blue with yellow, which is the complementary color of blue.
For example, in a typical white light-emitting device, a blue light-emitting element is sealed with a transparent resin containing a yellow light-emitting phosphor (for example, Y3Al5O12 (YAG) phosphor). The blue light-emitting element emits blue light (wavelength: from 450 to 460 nm) and parts of the blue light excite a YAG phosphor, from which yellow light is emitted.
However, when a blue light-emitting element is sealed with a light-transmitting resin such as an epoxy resin, it is known that the light emitted from a light-emitting element or the light from outside reacts with the epoxy resin leading to deterioration such as yellowing. Also, when a high current is used to obtain high brightness in a white light-emitting device, the element itself generates heat to cause deterioration of a sealing resin. Further, the sealing resin absorbs moisture and the like potentially decreasing the luminous efficacy.
Therefore, the present inventors have proposed a white light-emitting device provided with a blue light-emitting element and a ceramic composite for light conversion formed of a solidified body formed by continuously and three-dimensionally entangling with each other the plurality of crystalline phases of oxides containing an Y3Al5O12 phase (hereinafter denoted as YAG:Ce phase) containing fluorescence emitting Ce and an Al2O3 phase. A ceramic composite for light conversion can generate stable yellow fluorescence with homogenous distribution because of uniform distribution of the phosphor phase, and has excellent durability because of ceramic, thereby solving the problems generated when sealed with an epoxy resin and the like, and a white light-emitting device with high reliability can be provided.
The structure of a white light-emitting device using the ceramic composite for light conversion includes, for example, a blue light-emitting element to be flip-chip mounded, a circuit board on which a wiring pattern is formed to supply power to the blue light-emitting element, and a ceramic composite for light conversion directly bonded to the blue light-emitting element.
As described in Patent Literature 1, such a substrate for a light-emitting diode was previously proposed that a single-crystal layer enabling the formation of a light-emitting diode element and a ceramic composite layer for light conversion formed of a solidified body formed by continuously and three-dimensionally entangling with each other the crystalline phases of at least two kinds or more of oxides selected from a single metal oxide and complex metal oxides, are stacked. In the document, a method of direct joining at high temperature or a method of interposing a very small amount of a low melting material as a joining layer were disclosed in order to stack the single-crystal layer and the ceramic composite layer for light conversion, but when the joining surface between the single-crystal layer and the ceramic composite layer for light conversion is flat, not only the above method but also a surface activated bonding method can be used for directing bonding between the ceramic composite layer for light conversion and the single-crystal layer, so that flatness of the bonding surface is very important.

Ceramic composite for light conversion and method for manufacture thereof


The disclosure includes embodiments for managing vehicles under anomalous driving behavior. In some embodiments, a method includes determining, by the processor, an ego behavior associated with the ego vehicle and a remote behavior associated with a remote vehicle. The method includes calculating a variance between the ego behavior and the remote behavior. The method includes determining a presence of an anomaly based on the variance satisfying a threshold, wherein the satisfying the threshold indicates the ego behavior is incompatible with the remote behavior. The method includes generating a driving management plan which is configured to mitigate the anomaly and is consistent with the ego behavior. The method includes implementing the driving management plan so that the threshold is no longer satisfied.

The specification relates to managing vehicles under anomalous driving behavior ("anomalous driving behavior" or "anomalous behavior").
An anomaly may include an action done in an unusual time (e.g., relative to a typical time for a particular geographic location) or an unusual location (e.g., relative to a typical location). For example, an anomaly includes an unusual action that does not typically occur or infrequently occurs relative to the types of actions that are typical for a particular geographic location. An occurrence of an anomaly in a roadway environment may jeopardize safety of various roadway participants (e.g., vehicles, drivers, passengers, pedestrians, bikers, etc.). The occurrence of the anomaly may also reduce efficiency of a transportation system in the roadway environment.

Systems and methods to manage vehicles under anomalous driving behavior


A ride control system uses speed, pressure, hand throttle, foot throttle and seat position information associated with a tractor-loader-backhoe to determine when to engage and disengage the ride control system for the tractor-loader-backhoe. Once the ride control system is engaged, the ride control system can be disengaged in response to either an operator command or a measured speed of the tractor-loader-backhoe being below a predetermined speed.

The present application relates generally to a ride control system for a tractor-loader-backhoe. The present application relates more specifically to controlling the automatic engagement of a ride control system for a tractor-loader-backhoe.
A tractor-loader-backhoe can include a ride control system to improve the machine's ride over all types of terrain with either an empty or loaded bucket. Ride control can reduce fore and aft pitching motion during transport and material hauling operations while allowing increased productivity and operator comfort. It also reduces shock loads to the machine. The ride control system can automatically control the level of damping or can incorporate a manual control to control the level of damping provided by the ride control system. The ride control system can also be configured to engage and disengage automatically. Several control methods can be used to control the activation/deactivation of the ride control system. For example, the speed of the tractor-loader-backhoe can be used to determine when to engage and disengage the ride control system.
In addition, tractor-loader-backhoes have other features or capabilities that need to be addressed in an automatically engaged ride control system. First, as the front loader of the tractor-loader-backhoe can be used as a stabilizer when performing backhoe operations, it is important that the automatic ride control system does not activate when the tractor-loader-backhoe is in the air. When the ride control valve is switched on, the rod end of the lift cylinders can be vented to the reservoir which can cause the tractor-loader-backhoe in the air to drop to the ground, causing an annoyance to the operator, or movement of the machine if the machine is in forward or reverse with 4-wheel drive activated. Second, it is important that the ride control system is not accidentally engaged when at a dealership and performing tests on the transmission, as often these tests are done with the machine raised with its wheels wholly off the ground. Furthermore, an operator does not want ride control on when digging below grade, or when dumping into a truck, as ride control can cause a loader to 'jump up" when a load is dumped.
Therefore, what is needed is a system and method to control the automatic engagement of a ride control system for a tractor-loader-backhoe.


A low rigidity region being more stretchable and bendable than a high rigidity region, includes a main portion, and a medial first flexible portion and a lateral first flexible portion extending from the main portion in the medial and lateral directions. The main portion covers a portion of the area from the shaft of the first proximal phalanx to the shaft of the second proximal phalanx, the medial first flexible portion covers a portion of the area from the shaft of the first proximal phalanx to the head of the first metatarsal bone, and the lateral first flexible portion extends to the lateral side of the foot from the main portion. When pushing off the foot onto the medial/lateral side in a diagonally forward direction, the upper bends along the diagonal bend lines. Therefore, the diagonal portions and the main portion serve as the bend lines.

In on-court sports such as tennis, volleyball, and basketball, involving rapid movements forward, backward, left and right, a sport shoe needs to hold the front foot portion by an upper skin in order to prevent injuries in the foot portion. Therefore, the material of an upper skin is required to be non-stretchable and have a high strength. An upper skin is often reinforced with artificial leather, synthetic leather or a belt.
Such an upper skin has a high rigidity. Therefore, the upper skin less easily fits to the foot. For example, when raising the heel portion as is done frequently in such on-court sports as described above, when raising the heel and twisting the heel inwardly, and when raising the heel and twisting the heel outwardly, the front foot portion of the upper will have a large ruck, whereby the toe is easily compressed locally.

Structure for front foot portion of upper of shoe


A grinding disc structure including an integrally formed main disc adapted to a dust-sucking cover body of a grinder. The main disc has multiple through holes nearly in parallel to an axis of the main disc. The main disc is further formed with multiple internal passages which are horizontally formed in the main disc corresponding to the through holes and nearly perpendicular to the axis of the main disc. The passages are tangential to the through holes. Two ends of each passage respectively communicate with the through hole and outer side around the main disc. The main disc has a complete bottom face to which a grinding layer can be fully adhered.

The present invention is related to an improved grinding disc structure in which the main disc is integrally formed to simplify the assembling procedure of the grinding disc.
A conventional grinder is used to grind and buff a work piece. In grinding operation, powders and dusts are produced to contaminate the environment. This is harmful to the health of an operator.
Taiwanese Patent Application No. 91207022, entitled "grinding disc structure" discloses a grinder with dust-exhausting effect. The grinder includes a main disc 20 formed with an annular groove 21. The annular groove 21 communicates with several guide channels 22 arranged at equal angular intervals. The main disc 20 is further formed with several dust-exhausting holes 73. The grinder further includes a substrate 10 formed with several through holes 12 communicating with the interior of a cover body 53. A grinding layer 40 is adhered to or connected with the main disc 20. The grinding layer 40 is formed with several through holes 41 communicating with the annular groove 21 of the main disc 20.
The powder and dust produced during the grinding operation is sucked from the through holes 41 of the grinding layer and the guide channels 22 of the main disc 20 into the annular groove 21. The powder and dust then go through the annular groove 21, the dust-exhausting holes 23 and the through holes 31 of the substrate into the cover body 53. Then the powder and dust are exhausted with an exhauster.
The grinding disc 1 of the conventional grinder 50 is composed of the substrate 10 connected with the cover body 53, the main disc 20, the attachable plate 30 and the grinding layer 40. It is troublesome to assemble these components. Furthermore, the holes of the main disc 20, attachable plate 30 and the grinding layer 40 must be aligned with each other. This prolongs the assembling time. In addition, due to the annular groove 21 and guide channels 22 formed on one side of the main disc 20 facing the grinding layer 40, it is impossible to integrally form the main disc 20 and the attachable plate 30. The attachable plate 30 and the main disc 20 must be first separately formed and then connected with each other by adhesion. After the attachable plate 30 is adhered to the main disc 20, the annular groove 21 and the guide channels 22 are defined between the attachable plate 30 and the main disc 20 to form hollow sections with large area. This makes the attachable plate 30 tend to detach from the main disc 20, especially in the case that the grinder is unexpectedly dropped or thrown out in operation.
Therefore, it is tried by the applicant to provide a grinding disc in which the main disc is integrally formed to simplify the manufacturing of the grinding disc.


A video test tool for diagnosing video processing for interlacing is disclosed along with a video test tool for quantifying “jaggies” in a video display.

Video signals are transmitted as a series of horizontal lines that are combined to give a two-dimensional picture. There are two types of video signals employed today, progressive and interlaced. Progressive video transmits the lines sequentially. Interlaced video is transmitted as two fields; the first field comprises all of the odd lines and the second field comprises all of the even lines. The two fields of odd and even lines have to be combined into a single frame and this is called de-interlacing. If both fields were acquired at the same time, then the two fields cam be simply combined. However if the two fields are acquired at slightly different times and part of the image is moving, then there will be an artifact called combing or feathering. This is a result of the alternating lines being offset horizontal relative to each other. This artifact needs to be removed during the de-interlacing process. There are numerous algorithms for doing this.
The most widely used algorithms are:                Weaving, which simply combines the lines of the two fields;        bobbing, which doubles the lines of each field so as to create a complete frame;        motion, adaptive switch from weaving to bobbing in areas where motion is detected;        motion interpolation on a pixel-by-pixel basis between two successive odd or even fields to create the missing motion.
What is needed is a diagnostic tool to diagnose the de-interlacing algorithm being used in a particular display or video processor.
Modern pixilated displays and to some extent CRT displays may demonstrate an artifact know as "jaggies." Jaggies may arise when a diagonal line is shown on a display with discrete elements, such as pixels. The line then comprises a series of steps, instead of a smooth line. Various signal processing techniques may improve the appearance of the line, but these techniques become difficult as the line approaches the horizontal. These algorithms are effective on video that is changing and moving by interpolating from one frame to the next. Thus a simple static test pattern to evaluate the existence and extent of "jaggies" will not be appropriate.
What is needed is a test pattern providing finer resolution than existing test patterns and enabling an observer to evaluate and quantify the success of the signal processing at removing the "jaggies" and rendering a smooth line.


A wearable accessory may provide visual indicia of an incoming network event for a wireless telecommunications device. The wireless telecommunications device may detect the presence of the wearable accessory within a wireless personal area network. After detecting the presence of the wearable accessory, the wireless telecommunications device may determine the display type of the wearable accessory and if any interface software is required to properly communicate a signal to the wearable accessory. Upon receipt of an incoming network event, the wireless telecommunications device may send a signal to the wearable accessory based on the display type of the wearable accessory, thereby causing the wearable accessory to provide visual indicia of the incoming network event.

As technology develops, consumer electronics are continuing to get smaller and more mobile while their technical capabilities grow. For instance, a wide variety of portable, personal devices are currently available to consumers, including digital cameras, video cameras, music players, personal data assistants, global positioning system devices, and mobile phones to name a few. While the technical capabilities of such devices continue to grow exponentially, users also seek devices that are aesthetically pleasing. In particular, users often wish to have a more personalized experience. As a result, there is a trend in the electronics and computer industries to make technology more fashionable by integrating electronic devices with clothing, jewelry, and other accessories that users may wear, thereby allowing users to express themselves through their electronic devices.
With respect to wireless telecommunications devices, such as mobile phones, the capabilities of these devices continue to grow, and the devices can provide a rich experience for users. Additionally, users may currently personalize their experiences with mobile phones in a number of ways, such as, for instance, by having the mobile phone play different ring tones for various incoming network events (e.g., when receiving phones calls, text messages, email, voice mail, digital still images, and video images). However, users may wish to further personalize their experiences with wireless telecommunications devices. The current state of the art could be advanced if users could have multiple wearable accessories with varying display types that could provide visual indicia of incoming network events for wireless telecommunications devices.

Wearable accessories providing visual indicia of incoming events for wireless telecommunications device


The invention concerns a condenser for a refrigeration circuit able to have passing through it a refrigeration fluid and comprising a removable reservoir connected to a header of the condenser and able to have the refrigeration fluid passing through it.. The reservoir is produced in the form of a replaceable cartridge provided with a connection able to cooperate with a base of conjugate shape which is fixed to the header and connected to the latter by an inlet manifold and an outlet manifold for the refrigeration fluid.. Application notably to air conditioning installations for motor vehicles.

The invention concerns a condenser designed to form part of a refrigeration circuit, in particular in an air conditioning installation for a motor vehicle.
It concerns more especially a condenser able to have passing through it a refrigeration fluid and comprising a removable reservoir connected to a header of the condenser and able to have the refrigeration fluid passing through it.
In a refrigeration circuit of this type, the refrigeration fluid is sent, in superheated vapour phase, under the action of a compressor to the condenser, in which it is successively cooled or "de-superheated", condensed to a hot liquid phase, then "sub-cooled" to a cold liquid phase.
The refrigeration fluid thus condensed and cooled is then sent, via a pressure reducing valve, to an evaporator where it exchanges heat with a flow of air to be sent into the passenger compartment of the vehicle. In this evaporator, the refrigeration fluid is transformed to the vapour phase, while the flow of air is cooled, thereby enabling conditioned air to be supplied. The refrigeration fluid in the vapour phase then leaves the evaporator to enter the compressor, and so on.
A condenser of this type normally comprises a bank of tubes mounted between two headers, so that the condensation and then cooling of the condensed refrigeration fluid take place as the latter moves through the tubes in the bank.
From EP-A-0 480 330, a condenser of this type is already known in which the reservoir is removable and is furthermore connected at an intermediate point to the bank situated between a first part of the bank where the refrigeration fluid is condensed, and a second part of the bank where the condensed refrigeration fluid is sub-cooled.
This reservoir is designed to collect some of the hot condensed refrigeration fluid in order to sub-cool it and separate the liquid and vapour phases of the refrigeration fluid, which is then sub-cooled further in the second part of the bank.
Furthermore, this reservoir normally contains a desiccating product to dehydrate the refrigeration fluid.
In the condenser known from the publication EP-A-0 480 330, the reservoir has a receiving part which is able to cooperate with an adaptation part provided on the header of the condenser, these two parts being fixed by a screw-type fixing means.
There results the drawback that, where the reservoir needs to be replaced, it is necessary to replace the whole assembly formed by the reservoir proper and the receiving part with which it is integral.
Furthermore, this known reservoir is particularly bulky.
It should also be emphasised that, in this known condenser, the options for the location and orientation of the reservoir are limited.
The result is that a single condenser can be used in each case only for a closely-defined type of vehicle.
The invention aims notably to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

Condenser with removable reservoir for a refrigeration circuit, in particular


A beverage storage cabinet enclosure including a front wall surface with a one-way mirror, a front door with layered thermal glass, support bars, back wall with a full mirror, sidewalls with full mirrors or light boxes a top and bottom. The support bars support beverage containers and may include light elements. Presents an infinity effect reflection of a repeated succession of items that appear to recede rearward behind the back wall. In embodiments, the enclosure includes a controller and light sensor to adjust one or more of lights, and enhance and vary the infinity effect by brightening or dimming the lights to keep internal light intensity brighter than external light intensity.

1. Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the invention are related to beverage storage cabinets, specifically storage cabinets for holding beverage containers, such as wine bottles, or any other type of bottles. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, one or more embodiments of the invention describe a storage cabinet enclosure including beverage support bars with lighting elements, a front wall surface with a one-way mirror, sidewall surfaces with full mirrors or light boxes, and a back wall surface with a full mirror for presenting and enhancing an infinity effect reflection of a repeated succession of items that appear to recede rearward behind the back wall surface. Embodiments of the invention may also vary the infinity effect by one or more of varying the intensity of enclosure lights if an ambient light exterior to the enclosure is dim, or bright, to adjust the internal light intensity to remain relatively brighter than the external light to produce or enhance the infinity effect.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, beverage storage cabinets, such as wine cellars, include insulated walls with cooling elements that may store beverage bottles over a prolonged period of time. Many beverage storage cabinets most often include a glass door or display to view the true number of stored beverage containers. In addition, some glass doors or displays allow exterior lighting to enter that may hinder the viewing ability of one or more viewers and may hinder the prolonged storage of beverage containers by damaging the quality of the beverages. Traditionally, beverage storage cabinets, such as wine cellars, include racks to store the wine bottles and lighting that generally illuminates the cellar to view the contents of the wine cellar as a whole. Most often, distinguished beverage storage cabinets differ in their structure, material and designs.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,254,952 to Lilke, entitled "Modular Wine Cellar and Wine Storage System", discloses a wine storage system including a frame and members to form a three-dimensional array of compartments in rows and columns, and cooling elements within the system for cooling the wine bottles. Lilke, however, appears to lack any teaching of a beverage storage cabinet including a one-way mirror, full mirrors opposing one another to present and enhance an infinity effect reflection of a repeated succession of items that appear to recede rearward behind a back wall surface. In addition, Lilke appears to lack any disclosure of beverage support bars with at least one light element to support beverage containers, and illuminate each beverage container. Furthermore, Lilke appears to lack any disclosure of a light sensor and controller that automatically brighten and/or dim interior lights if an ambient light exterior to the enclosure is dim and/or bright, respectively. Hence, with respect to Lilke as well as disclosed in the remaining references discussed herein, none of the references contemplate adjusting internal lighting to remain relatively brighter than external lighting to produce and/or ensure the infinity effect.
United States Patent Publication 2012/0159968 to Doucet et al., entitled "Compartmented Temperature and Humidity Controlled Modular Housing for the Storage and Preservation of Wine Bottles" discloses a temperature and humidity controlled housing to store wine bottles with front and rear temperature control chambers. Doucet et al., however, appears to lack any disclosure of a beverage storage cabinet including a one-way mirror, full mirrors opposing one another to present and enhance an infinity effect reflection of a repeated succession of items that appear to recede rearward behind a back wall surface. In addition, Doucet et al. appears to lack any disclosure of beverage support bars with at least one light element to support beverage containers, and illuminate each beverage container. Furthermore, Doucet et al. appears to lack any disclosure of a light sensor and controller that automatically dim and/or brighten interior lights if an ambient light exterior to the enclosure is dim and/or bright, respectively.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,618 to Mullis, entitled "Display Apparatus That Forms An Optical Illusion" appears to disclose a display device with an interior area, a one-way mirror, and a back full mirror that may display multiple images as a reflection of one or more illuminated patterns from within an enclosure that extend rearward. Mullis also appears to disclose one or more spotlights that illuminate the interior of the enclosure. Mullis, however, appears to lack any disclosure of a beverage storage cabinet including full mirrors opposing one another to present and enhance an infinity effect reflection of a repeated succession of items that appear to recede rearward behind a back wall surface. In addition, Mullis appears to lack any disclosure of beverage support bars with at least one light element to support beverage containers, and illuminate each beverage container. Mullis also does not appear to contemplate temperature or humidity control and/or recording and/or monitoring. Furthermore, Mullis appears to lack any disclosure of a light sensor and controller that automatically dim and/or brighten interior lights if an ambient light exterior to the enclosure is dim and/or bright, respectively.
For at least the limitations described above there are no known beverage storage cabinets that include a one-way mirror, a full back mirror, and full side mirrors opposing one another to present and enhance an infinity effect reflection of a repeated succession of items that appear to recede rearward behind a back wall surface Furthermore, there are no known beverage storage cabinets that include a light sensor and controller that automatically dim and/or brighten interior lights if an ambient light exterior to the enclosure is dim and/or bright, respectively, again with respect to all references discussed herein, to adjust internal lighting to remain relatively brighter than external lighting to produce and/or ensure the infinity effect.


The present invention provides a technology for processing packets, such as VoIP packets, with priority. A priority-designating unit designates priority information based on header information. A pointer searching unit refers to a pointer table to obtain pointer information corresponding to a destination address. A sorting unit sorts the pointer information into a high-priority queue and a low-priority queue according to the priority information. A next queue holds pointer information obtained from a destination information table. A scheduler extracts and outputs the pointer information from each queue in the following order of priority: the next queue, a high-priority queue, and a low-priority queue. A destination-information-table searching unit obtains destination information and/or the pointer information from the destination information table based on the pointer information, and outputs the destination information to a packet forwarding and duplicating unit and outputs the pointer information to the next queue.

The present invention relates to packet forwarding apparatuses and multicast expansion methods. Multicast expansion means searching for a plurality of destinations for a single multicast packet. The packet is duplicated for each of the plurality of destinations found. Then, the duplicated packets, which have the same contents, are distributed.
Services provided over IP networks, such as video distribution and voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony, in which real-time performance is critical, are becoming more and more popular, and there are increasing demands to improve the quality of such services. In order to improve VoIP quality and multicast processing performance to realize efficient video distribution, quality-of-service (QoS) control is becoming increasingly important in routers and switches for reducing delay fluctuations. In order to reduce costs, for example, there are demands for an increased number of interfaces or users that can be accommodated by a single router or switch. Also, in order to support high-volume data communication such as video distribution services, there are demands to provide high-speed lines in routers and switches to achieve wire-rate processing.
A technology has been developed for realizing efficient multicast processing that has no input-bandwidth restriction, by performing one-time readout of a destination information table in multicast processing to finish multicast processing in the same cycle as unicast processing (for example, see FIG. 3 in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-31983).

Packet forwarding apparatus and method for multicast packets


A model can be trained to detect interactions of other drivers through a window of their vehicle. A human driver behind a window (e.g., front windshield) of a vehicle can be detected in a real-world driving data. The human driver can be tracked over time through the window. The real-world driving data can be augmented by replacing at least a portion of the human driver with at least a portion of a virtual driver performing a target driver interaction to generate an augmented real-world driving dataset. The target driver interaction can be a gesture or a gaze. Using the augmented real-world driving data set, a machine learning model can be trained to detect the target driver interactions. Thus, simulation can be leveraged to provide a large set of useful training data without having to acquire real-world data of drivers performing target driver interactions as viewed from outside the vehicle.

Driving typically involves obeying the rules of the road and following social norms. Important social cues can be gleaned from what the other drivers are communicating through their windows. For example, other drivers may be communicating non-verbally, such as by their gaze (if they have seen or are paying attention to an ego vehicle) and/or by their gestures.

Simulation-based learning of driver interactions through a vehicle window


An intravenous starter device having means for safely disposing of the needle. The intravenous starter device has a first tube having a first end for insertion into a patient and an outer tube in fluid communication with the first tube and having an opening for receiving fluids to be delivered to the patient through the first tube. A receiver is connected to and in fluid communication with the outer tube, and has an opening for receiving fluids. The needle is positioned within the first tube and extends therefrom for insertion into the patient. After use of the needle, a pull member connected to the needle by a pull wire is operated to pull the needle into an inner tube positioned within the outer tube whereby the needle, safely within the inner tube, can be safely removed and disposed, leaving the first tube in the patient for the catheter.

Handling disposable medical devices with sharp piercing needles can be extremely risky for healthcare workers, providers, and patients. For example, any accidental needle puncture of the skin can expose a person, e.g. a healthcare worker, to pathogens such as hepatitis, HIV, or other infectious diseases, while exposing the employer, e.g., the hospital, to liability and treatment costs. It is imperative that steps be taken in the design of equipment for starting an intravenous line to eliminate the risk of an accidental stick. Accordingly, providing safe and convenient handling of such devices to reduce the risk of accidental needle sticks is a goal of manufacturers of needle devices.
One type of safety needle for starting an intravenous line is presently in use. After venous puncture the needle is withdrawn from the vein, leaving a capillary tube in the vein. The needle is captured in two interlocked plastic housings and is completely covered. The technician controls this action by pulling on a third tube which is attached to the needle by a plastic flexible filament. The technician, after disposing of the captured needle and tubes in a wall mounted sharps container, finally secures the capillary tube left in the vein. Medication for the patient flows through this tube.
The parts of this prior art device are bulky and, when discarded into a sharps container, reduce the quantity of the used needles which the container can hold when compared to a design having less bulky parts. This prior art device, therefore, increases the cost per needle of the sharps container and of the subsequent handling and destruction of the sharps container. Accordingly, a device that takes up less space in the sharps container is believed desirable. Furthermore, removal and disposal of the used needle occurs at a critical time—before securing the capillary tube in the patient's vein. Thus the goals of the present invention include the use of smaller and lower-cost parts, lowering the costs to the user, and enabling technician attention to secure the venous capillary prior to disposal of the protected needle.


A method for determining the proper occulation relationship between a calligraphic point and at least one of another calligraphic point and a surface in a raster image, divides the total image screen into an array of spans, each containing an ordered set of pixels which may be further divided into an array of subpixels; determines which of the subpixels on the total screen lie inside each of the raster surfaces and calligraphic points which must be considered for the image totality; then orders the distance of each of the raster surfaces from the viewing point and also orders the distance of each of the point features from the viewing point; and then compares the ordered distances of each point to at least one of the raster surface distances and other point distances to determine which of subpixels of the point or surface/other point are occluded and which subpixels are visible.

It is now well known to design real-time computer image generation (CIG) systems to provide realistic reproduction of images for a variety of simulator systems, such as flight simulators and the like. In such systems, image generation can be broken down into three separate processing stages: controller, geometry processor and display processor. Each of these three processing stages works, independently of the other, on data corresponding to one of three consecutive images to be displayed. The controller processes data in an image or scene for a fixed time and then passes its processed data to the geometry processor. The geometry processor has an equal amount of time to do its calculations and at the end of that time sends its results to the display processor. The display processor processes the data for final display on a video display. For each time interval, all three processors are kept busy, so that at any given time, the processors are working on three separate scenes. Data flows through the three stages in a sequential manner, so that to maximize processor efficiency, an image or scene is divided into a plurality of spans which are sequentially processed. Each span is, conceptually, a small (generally rectangular) area on the display screen, and is comprised of a matrix of picture elements (pixels). An object-to-be-displayed is comprised of at least one individual face, where each face is bounded by straight lines and is thus an uninterrupted, continuous area. A face, therefore, may cover a number of spans, and a span may contain a number of faces. The overall goal of an area (span) processing system is to maximize the efficiency of the three separate processors, and provide a realistic correct image while satisfying real-time processing constraints. It is now well known to reduce the total calculations and calculation time in situations where a plurality of objects were positioned in front of, or behind, each other, by utilizing a depth buffer to determine for each of a plurality of faces, forming the totality of object portions in each span, which face portion is in front of, and therefore is visible over, other face portions further from the observer. One depth-buffer-priority processing scheme is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,391, issued Apr. 25, 1989 to the assignee of the present application, and incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. This reference is concerned with formation of a raster image, as on a normal CRT display, where the raster traces through the array of spans of an image.
It is also well known that an image can be formed upon a calligraphic-raster display device which not only allows the normal raster image to be displayed in a desired scanned fashion (e.g. left-to-right in each row, with a plurality of rows being sequentially written from top to bottom of the screen), and also allows calligraphic point features to be individually placed upon the screen. Typically, the raster image can be overwritten by each calligraphic point feature, as the writing electron beam is deflected in vector fashion so as to draw lines and points over the raster image. This overwriting procedure produces clear sharp points and lines free from distracting effects caused by rasterizing the image, for example, scintillations, stairstepping and the like phenomena are reduced, if not completely removed. However, proper display of a total scene requires that the occultation of different object polygons of the raster image not only be determined, as by the depth (Z) buffer method of the aforementioned Patent, but also requires determination of the proper occultation relationships between the raster and the calligraphically-displayed point features (which are not necessarily single "points", but may have a real, non-zero radius), and in fact, between different ones of the calligraphically-displayed point features themselves. For example, if a calligraphic point feature is visually located behind the surface of the polygon in the raster image, that calligraphic point feature should not be displayed; of course, since the point feature has not only a center location but also a radial extent (i.e. is not a single "point"), the point feature can partly occult, or be partly occulted by, a polygon surface in the raster image and only a part of the circular point feature would then be visible and be displayed in the resulting total image. Similarly, because the calligraphic features can have different radial extent, even if different point features have centers lying at the same point, proper occulation between different calligraphic point features must also be obtained. Accordingly, it is therefore highly desirable to provide a single method for resolving priority between calligraphic-displayed point features and both other calligraphic-displayed point features and raster-displayed features; it is highly desirable that this process utilize the depth-buffer-based method previously used for resolving priority between plural raster display features.

Method for resolving priority between a calligraphically-displayed point feature and both raster-displayed faces and other calligraphically-displayed point features in a CIG system


In one memory array embodiment, in order to compensate for bit-line leakage currents by OFF-state bit-cell access devices, a leakage-current reference circuit tracks access-device leakage current over different process, voltage, and temperature (PVT) conditions to generate a leakage-current reference voltage that drives a different leakage-current abatement device connected to each different bit-line to inject currents into the bit-lines to compensate for the corresponding leakage currents. In one implementation, the leakage-current reference circuit has a device that mimics the leakage of each access device configured in a current mirror that drives the resulting leakage-current reference voltage to the different leakage-current abatement devices.

This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the invention. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.
Conventional memory devices have arrays of bit-cells arranged in rows and columns, where each row of bit-cells is accessed via a word line and each column of bit-cells is accessed via one or more bit-lines. Conventional bit-cells tend to leak current into their bit-lines. If the magnitude of the cumulative leakage is too great for a specified number of bit-cells in a column, then the column is typically divided into sub-columns separated by repeater circuits that compensate for the leakage. The use of repeater circuits increases the cost and complexity of memory devices. In addition, the provision of dedicated data write circuitry and data read circuitry for each sub-column further increases the cost and complexity of memory devices.

Leakage-current abatement circuitry for memory arrays


A device is provided with an array of a plurality of phosphor converted light emitting devices (LEDs) that produce broad spectrum light. The phosphor converted LEDs may produce light with different correlated color temperature (CCT) and are covered with an optical element that assists in mixing the light from the LEDs to produce a desired correlated color temperature. The optical element may be bonded to the phosphor converted light emitting devices. The optical element may be a dome mounted over the phosphor converted light emitting devices and filled with an encapsulant.

Adding or mixing a number of different color light emitting devices (LEDs) can be used to produce light with a broad spectrum. The spectrum produced, however, consists of the peaks of the narrow band spectra produced by the individual LEDs. Consequently, the color rendering of such a light source is poor. White light sources with high color rendering, such as that produced by a halogen lamp, have a continuous or near continuous spectrum over the full visible light spectrum (400-700 nm).
Thus, a white light source with high color rendering that is produced using an array of LEDs is desired

Common optical element for an array of phosphor converted light emitting devices


Disclosed is a method and a system for identifying key terms in a digital document. The method comprises providing the digital document and analysing the digital document to identify key terms in the digital document. The digital document includes a first text in a first language. Furthermore, analysing the digital document comprises translating the first text in the first language to obtain a second text in a second language, translating the first text in the first language to obtain a third text in a third language, translating the obtained second text in the second language to obtain a fourth text in the third language, comparing at least one pair of first text, second text, third text and fourth text to identify at least one set of similar text between the compared at least one pair, and processing the set of similar text to obtain key terms in the digital document.

In recent times, numerous sources are available to access information (namely a document, image, audio and the like) on specific topics or subject matter. Conventionally, a user performs search related to a publication work and/or a research work and accumulates information thereby. Generally, the vast information available contains key terms related to the search of the user. Typically, key terms in a document help the user in assessing the relevance of the document thereby. Consequently, the frequency of occurrence of a key term in the document further emphasizes the significance of the key term. Moreover, text available in the document conveys the context of usage of the key term. Typically, the text helps the user to ascertain the same meaning of the key term as intended.
Traditionally in a document, key terms identification is done using statistical methods. Generally, statistical methods provide visual representation of the relevance of the key terms. Typically, it evaluates the frequency of occurrence and its corresponding significance in the document. Moreover, the method increases the field of reference for assessing the key term. Furthermore, analysis of the document is done using automated systems. Consequently, manual effort and processing time is reduced considerably. Subsequently, the number of identified key terms increases.
However, analysis by statistical methods is a time-consuming approach. In addition, it may provide a skewed result reflecting only the current trend of key terms without considering the updated or refined versions available thereof. Moreover, automated systems, do not verify the context of usage of the key terms. Specifically, it may generate a huge set of key terms all of which may not be contextually relevant. Subsequently, the key terms need to be processed further to identify relevant key terms therein.
Therefore, in light of the foregoing discussion, there exists a need to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks associated with conventional methods of identifying key terms in a document.

Method and system for identifying key terms in digital document


An image processing device includes a region detector configured to receive input image data and to determine a region in which the input image data belongs to among a plurality of regions; and an operation unit configured to perform an operation on the input image data using a coefficient corresponding to the determined region among a plurality of different coefficients, which are predetermined to respectively correspond to the plurality of regions.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the inventive concept relate to an image processing method, and more particularly, to an image processing method and device for enhancing image quality when at least two images are displayed on a single screen.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The screen size of a display device for a mobile device may be quite large. In addition, there has been increasing demand for the display device of a mobile device to display images with very high image quality.
Thus, the screen of a mobile device may be divided into at least two regions to display different images on one screen. For example, a user interface image may be displayed in one of the regions and a video image may be displayed in another one of the regions. However, image quality of the screen may be poor when these two separate images are displayed together in their respective regions.

Image processing method and device for enhancing image quality using different coefficients according to regions


A multi-stage polymer composition comprising a crosslinked core component, one or more intermediate layer components and an outermost layer component in which the refractive index of each of the crosslinked core, the one or more intermediate layers and the outermost layer are within 2% of the refractive index of each adjacent component; wherein the crosslinked core component comprises from 75 to 99.9 weight percent of units derived from at least one first monomer selected from the group consisting of alkyl, aryl, and cycloalkyl (meth)acrylate monomer, optionally from 1 to 20 weight percent of units derived from a second monomer selected from the group consisting vinyl monomers; and from 0.1 to 5 weight percent of units derived from cross-linking monomers, graft-linking monomers, or combination thereof, and has a Tg of from −75 to −35° C.; wherein each of the one or more intermediate layer components comprises from 71 to 99.9 weight percent of units derived from a third monomer selected from the group consisting alkyl, aryl and cycloalkyl (meth)acrylate monomers, from 0 to 5 weight percent of units derived from a cross-linking monomer, graft-linking monomer, or combination thereof, optionally from 1 to 10 weight percent of units derived from one or more functional monomers, from 0 to 14 weight percent of vinyl monomers, and has a Tg of from −35 to 100° C.; and wherein the outermost layer component comprises from 90 to 100 weight percent units derived from a fourth monomer selected from the group consisting of alkyl (meth)acrylate having from one to twelve carbon atoms, optionally from 0.5 to 10 weight percent of units derived from one or more functional monomers, and has a Tg of from 80 to 130° C. is provided. Films and polarizer plates made from the compositions are also provided.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions and monitors utilize polarizer plates containing polarizer protective films. Polarizer films for LCD televisions and monitors typically contain one layer of doped polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The doped PVA layer is typically protected by two layers of tri-acetyl cellulose (TAC). Key performance attributes of the polarizer protective film include high total light transmission, low haze, thermal stability and low birefringence. TAC films are traditionally produced by solvent casting methods that are expensive, suffer from low production rates and involve the use of hazardous solvents. Recently, polycyclic olefin films produced by extrusion processes have been used to replace TAC film in polarizer protective film applications. Similarly, polymethylmethacrylate films due to their high light transmission levels and stability have also been evaluated. Unfortunately, the brittle nature of these acrylic films and inability to achieve low birefringence has limited their utilization in polarizer plate and similar applications.
The present invention provides an acrylic film with built-in core/multilayer morphology having similar or better optical performance (high total light transmission, low haze, and low birefringence) as compared to the TAC film product. Such inventive films utilize an inventive polymer composition which provides processing advantages, e.g., melt extrusion in lieu of solvent casting.

Multi-stage polymer composition and films and polarizer plates made therefrom