Representatively using force sensing resistors as key switch elements, keys on a computer keyboard are each provided with pluralities of different keystroke output function signals which may be selectively varied in response to simply altering the user keystroke force imposed on the key. In addition to being provided with a default key force range/output signal correlation, the keyboard may be programmed by the user to customize the key depression force ranges associated with selected different keystroke output signals. Representatively illustrated additional uses of this key force/output signal correlation capability include a key force-based typing correction mode and a combination character and key force sequence-based user password access system. To further expand the individual key functionality of the keyboard, a combination of sensed key depression force and duration is used to generate an additional keystroke output function signal for a given key.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to keyboard apparatus and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly relates to a computer keyboard in which some or all of its keys are operative to output a plurality of different keystroke signals corresponding to differing user keystroke force ranges used to depress the keys.
2. Description of Related Art
In conventional computer keyboards the manual depression of a given key through its operating stroke, without some supplemental action taken by the computer user, generates a single output function signal. For example, depression of the "A" key with no other action taken by the user outputs a keystroke signal which is utilized by the computer to generate the lower case letter "a" on the computer display screen. If the user wants the selected letter capitalized, he must take a supplemental action to achieve the desired result. For example, he must hold down the shift key while depressing the "A" key, toggle the "Caps Lock" key before striking the "A" key, or make an appropriate format selection in the particular word processing program that he is using.
Similar supplemental actions must be taken to change the nature of the keystroke output signal generated in response to the depression of a character key to, for example, bold, italicize, underline or otherwise change the displayed image associated with the key. Function keys (such as the F1-F12 keys) on conventional computer keyboards are also subject to this same "single function" limitation when they are depressed without any supplemental action taken by the computer user such as depressing the "Shift", "Ctrl" or "Alt" keys while depressing a selected function key.
While this conventional approach of requiring a user to take a supplemental action (in addition to simply depressing a selected key) to alter the base keystroke output signal of a key serves its intended purpose of expanding the overall usefulness of a given number of keys on a particular keyboard, it can be somewhat confusing for beginning computer users while at the same time being cumbersome for even experienced computer users familiar with the various operation combinations required to vary the output signal of a given keyboard key.
From the foregoing it can be seen that a need exists for a simpler procedure to selectively vary the output signal of a selected key on the keyboard of a computer or other electronic device. It is to this need which the present invention is directed.

Programmable multiple output force-sensing keyboard


According to aspects of the embodiments there is provided a cassette cleaning web having an agent metering tube that can apply oil via a drip pipe to a web as it enters a nip within the fusing surface. Dispensing the oil as it enters the nip increases the transportation and the holding capacity of the web. The cassette cleaning web can reduce the oil-on-copy to less than 3 mg/copy and more specifically to less than 1 mg/copy which would allow for adequate post finishing applications while still using amino functionalized fuser oil in the fuser subsystem. The cassette cleaning web reduces the contamination of the oil-sump because used web materials are wound up and oil or contaminate materials like wax, toner are retained in the spent web cartridge. This invention enables reduced oil-on-copy, eliminates the bulky and expensive release agent management system, and also provides a direct cleaning to the surface of the fuser roll.

This disclosure relates in general to an image forming apparatus comprising a fuser cleaner web for cleaning a surface like a fuser roll, and more particularly, to the application of a cleaning agent to the surface using the fuser cleaner web and a metering channel with apertures.
Electrophotographic image-forming machines are used to transfer images onto paper or other medium in both printing and copier systems. Generally, a photoconductor is selectively charged and optically exposed to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor surface. Toner is deposited onto the charged photoconductor surface. The toner has a charge; thus, it will adhere to the photoconductor surface in areas corresponding to the electrostatic latent image. The toner image is transferred to the paper or other medium. The toned paper is heated by any of several methods including a fuser roller system and the toner in image-wise configuration is fused to the paper.
The fuser roll used in the fuser roller system eventually becomes contaminated with debris containing toner or by-products of toner and paper. This contamination usually takes the form of a film which eventually builds up and adversely affects the release properties and overall print life of the fuser roll.
Various systems have been used to deliver release agent fluid to the fuser roll including ones that use oil soaked rolls and wicks with and without supply sumps as well as oil impregnated webs. The oil soaked rolls and wicks generally suffer from the difficulty in that they require a sump of oil to replenish the roll and the wick as its supply of release agent is depleted by transfer to the fuser roll. Furthermore, a wick suffers from the difficulty of a relatively short life due to accumulation and chemical interaction. The web systems, on the other hand are limited in the quantity of oil they can deliver since the web materials leak oil when saturated to high levels. The oil leaks are very undesirable and can decrease print quality because they can form oil blotches. Furthermore, excess oil which ends up on fused substrate (in the release agent film-splitting event in the fuser nip) can interfere with post finishing applications such as book-binding, Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) encoding, lamination, and the like. In the past, various treatments to the print as well as the utilization of different fuser oils minimized the issue.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a fuser oil applicator and cleaner in a single web cartridge system. Furthermore, there is a need for an improved cleaning agent dispenser in a single web cartridge system.

Fuser oil applicator and cleaner in a single web cartridge system in direct contact with fuser roll


A control mechanism for controlling axial movement of a driving shaft of a machine such as a drilling machine. The control mechanism consists of a clutch cooperating with a sleeve member which is operated by two pivotal handles such that when pivoted the driving shaft is lowered and is stopped when the handles are returned.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates-to a control mechanism for controlling an axial movement of a driving shaft of a machine such as a drilling machine. The control mechanism comprises a clutch means cooperated with a sleeve member which is operated by two pivotal handles such that when pivoting the handles the driving shaft is lowered and is stopped when returning the handles.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Conventional drilling machines for example, which has a driving shaft driven by a motor, a drill bit or a suitable knife member is fixedly connected to the driving shaft so as to machine a workpiece. A movement of the driving shaft is generally controlled by two ways, one of which comprises at least two limit switches disposed to an inner periphery defining a passage through which the driving shaft rotatably extends so as to cut off the motor to set an uppermost and a lowermost position of the driving shaft. The other way comprises an electronic control means which utilizes circuits and electronic members to send signals to relative parts of the machine so as to achieve purposes of controlling the movement of the driving shaft. However, both of the two ways cannot avoid inertia force of the driving shaft even if the motor is stop. This situation makes the driving shaft further move beyond a desired position so that the workpiece could be damaged. In addition, the electronic members has a limited life term so that the whole mechanism could run out of control if a main or important member suddenly does not work as desired.
The present invention provides an improved control mechanism for controlling a driving shaft to mitigate the problems as mentioned above.

Control mechanism for moving a driving shaft of a machine


A method for data storage includes, in a first programming phase, storing first data in a group of memory cells by programming the memory cells in the group to a set of initial programming levels. In a subsequent second programming phase, second data is stored in the group by identifying the memory cells in the group that were programmed in the first programming phase to respective levels in a predefined partial subset of the initial programming levels, and programming only the identified memory cells with the second data, so as to set at least some of the identified memory cells to one or more additional programming levels that are different from the initial programming levels. The memory cells to which the second data was programmed are recognized by reading only a partial subset of the first data. The second data is read from the recognized memory cells.

Several types of memory devices, such as Flash memories, use arrays of analog memory cells for storing data. Each analog memory cell stores a quantity of an analog value, also referred to as a storage value, such as an electrical charge or voltage. This analog value represents the information stored in the cell. In Flash memories, for example, each analog memory cell holds a certain amount of electrical charge. The range of possible analog values is typically divided into intervals, each interval corresponding to one or more data bit values. Data is written to an analog memory cell by writing a nominal analog value that corresponds to the desired bit or bits.
Some memory devices, commonly referred to as Single-Level Cell (SLC) devices, store a single bit of information in each memory cell, i.e., each memory cell can be programmed to assume two possible programming levels. Higher-density devices, often referred to as Multi-Level Cell (MLC) devices, store two or more bits per memory cell, i.e., can be programmed to assume more than two possible programming levels. As an example, a Triple-Level Cell (TLC) device, stores three bits per cell using eight programming levels.
Flash memory devices are described, for example, by Bez et al., in "Introduction to Flash Memory," Proceedings of the IEEE, volume 91, number 4, April, 2003, pages 489-502, which is incorporated herein by reference. Multi-level Flash cells and devices are described, for example, by Eitan et al., in "Multilevel Flash Cells and their Trade-Offs," Proceedings of the 1996 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), New York, N.Y., pages 169-172, which is incorporated herein by reference. The paper compares several kinds of multilevel Flash cells, such as common ground, DINOR, AND, NOR and NAND cells.
Eitan et al., describe another type of analog memory cell called Nitride Read Only Memory (NROM) in "Can NROM, a 2-bit, Trapping Storage NVM Cell, Give a Real Challenge to Floating Gate Cells?" Proceedings of the 1999 International Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials (SSDM), Tokyo, Japan, Sep. 21-24, 1999, pages 522-524, which is incorporated herein by reference. NROM cells are also described by Maayan et al., in "A 512 Mb NROM Flash Data Storage Memory with 8 MB/s Data Rate," Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC 2002), San Francisco, Calif., Feb. 3-7, 2002, pages 100-101, which is incorporated herein by reference. Other exemplary types of analog memory cells are Floating Gate (FG) cells, Ferroelectric RAM (FRAM) cells, magnetic RAM (MRAM) cells, Charge Trap Flash (CTF) and phase change RAM (PRAM, also referred to as Phase Change Memory—PCM) cells. FRAM, MRAM and PRAM cells are described, for example, by Kim and Koh in "Future Memory Technology including Emerging New Memories," Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Microelectronics (MIEL), Nis, Serbia and Montenegro, May 16-19, 2004, volume 1, pages 377-384, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Some storage schemes store data at a density having a non-integer number of bits per memory cell. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,071,849, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes fractional-bit systems that allow increments of the number of states per cell by as little as one between product generations. Since the number of states per cell is not an integer power of two, the number of bits per cell takes a fractional value. Cells are typically decoded in units of word, and the system efficiency can be optimized by adjusting the word-width.
As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,646,913, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for storing and reading data in a multilevel nonvolatile memory having a memory array formed by a plurality of memory cells. Each of the memory cells stores a number of bits that is not an integer power of two. In this way, one data byte is stored in a non-integer number of memory cells. The managing method includes storing, in the same clock cycle, a data word formed by a plurality of bytes, by programming a preset number of adjacent memory cells. Reading is performed by reading the stored data word in the same clock cycle.
The method described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,167,109, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, allows increments of the number of states-per-cell N by as little as 1 between product generations. Because N is no longer an integral power of two, b takes a fractional value, resulting in a fractional-bit system. In a fractional-bit system, cells are decoded in units of word. By adjusting the word-width, the system efficiency can be optimized. Hybrid N-ary system can be used to improve manufacturing yield and endurance lifetime.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,742,335, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes methods, devices, modules, and systems for operating non-volatile multilevel memory cells. One method embodiment includes assigning, to a first cell coupled to a row select line, a first number of program states to which the first cell can be programmed. The method further includes assigning, to a second cell coupled to the row select line, a second number of program states to which the second cell can be programmed, wherein the second number of program states is greater than the first number of program states. The method includes programming the first cell to one of the first number of program states prior to programming the second cell to one of the second number of program states.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,848,142, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes methods, devices, modules, and systems for programming memory cells that can include storing charges corresponding to a data state that represents an integer number of bits in a set of memory cells. Programming memory cells can include storing a charge in a cell of the set, where the charge corresponds to a programmed state, where the programmed state represents a fractional number of bits, and where the programmed state denotes a digit of the data state as expressed by a number in base N, where N is equal to 2B, rounded up to an integer, and where B is equal to the fractional number of bits represented by the programmed state.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,420,841, whose disclosure is incorporated herein by reference, describes a memory device and a method of operating a memory device. In one embodiment of the invention, the memory device includes a plurality of multi-level memory cells each having a number m of levels not matching 2n with n being a non-zero integer, and a circuit or device for combining the levels of at least two of the memory cells for write and read operations into a set of combined states and for transforming at least a subset of 2n combinations of the set of combined states into n two-level data bits.

Data storage management in analog memory cells using a non-integer number of bits per cell


A method for generating matched contour profiles includes the steps of trimming or extending an input wire to create a modified input wire and slicing a solid part in the plane of the modified input wire to create an intersection wire. The method also includes the steps of imprinting the modified input wire and the intersection wire on a disk to create one or more faces of interest, determining which faces of interest constitute matched contour faces, and extracting edges of an identified matched contour face to create a closed wire. Matched contour profiles enable solid modeling programs to generate solid models that are less prone to failure because the matched contour profile automatically adapts to changes in the shape of the solid model.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to Computer-Aided Design and more specifically to a system and method for generating matched contour profiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solid modeling software enables the design and manipulation of three-dimensional parts by using shapes and feature descriptors to model a solid part. Typically the shape of the solid part is modified by means of adding a contour to the part and using the contour as a guide to add or remove material. In this manner, a complex part may be designed using relatively simple parts and simple contours.
A problem commonly arises when changing the shape of the solid part. Contour shapes are not automatically adapted to changes in the shape of the solid part, and since the solid part features can depend on the shape of the contour, changing the shape of the solid part can result in a failure of the solid model. The failure could propagate to other design operations that are dependent on the solid part in question. The typical solution is that each time the shape of the solid part changes, the designer has to manually modify shape or contour constraints to repair the solid model. This workflow can be tedious and time consuming when the shape of the part is being modified frequently.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a way to generate contours that automatically adapt to changes made to the shape of the solid part.

System and method for generating matched contour profiles


A semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a memory cell array having a plurality of blocks, a storage unit, a block replacement information register group, and a bad block flag register group. The storage unit includes a block replacement information registration area with which it is possible to register block replacement information, and a bad block information registration area with which it is possible to register bad block information. The block replacement information register group is set in accordance with the block replacement information read out of the storage unit during a boot sequence, and the bad block flag register group is set in accordance with both of the block replacement information and the bad block information read out of the storage unit during the boot sequence.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device, and in particular, to a semiconductor integrated circuit device having a nonvolatile semiconductor memory.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a nonvolatile semiconductor memory utilized for a recording medium such as a memory card or the like, a redundancy technique is used. The redundancy technique is a technique in which a column (defective column) or a block (defective block) which has brought about a defect in manufacturing is replaced by a spare column (redundant column) or a spare block (redundant block). In accordance therewith, even when there is a column or a block which has brought about a defect in manufacturing, this is relieved by the one being replaced by a spare column or a spare block, and it is possible to maintain an yield of the nonvolatile semiconductor memory, which makes it possible to improve the yield.
In a recent redundancy technique, redundancy information, for example, block replacement information including address information of defective blocks and block information of replacement destinations, or the like in a case of block replacement is stored in an internal ROM, and the block replacement information is read out of the internal ROM during a boot sequence at the time of power-on, and is set in a register (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2000-091505). The redundancy information is set in the register because, if the redundancy information is read out of the internal ROM at every access, an access speed may be lowered. A boot sequence is internal processing for a system start-up in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory chip at the time of power-on. Note that the reason why redundancy information is stored in the internal ROM is that it has become difficult to carry out a program such as, for example, a laser beam welding type fusing or the like, i.e., a program involving mechanical fracture in accordance with miniaturization of integrated circuits and large-scale designing of storage capacities.
Moreover, in recent years, as information to be stored in an internal ROM, not only redundancy information, but also trimming information and the like have been included. Trimming information is information for optimizing the setting of a voltage and the like for each chip, or for each production lot by calculating on production tolerance among chips or among production lots.
Further, all information to be read during a boot sequence is once read out of the internal ROM to be stored in a data cache. Thereafter, from the data cache, the redundancy information is transferred to a resister in which redundancy information is set, and the trimming information is transferred to a resister in which trimming information is set.
Moreover, recently, separately from the redundancy technique, the concept of bad block has been newly put to practical use. Bad block is a technique in which a block that has brought about a defect in manufacturing (defective block) is not replaced by a redundant block, but instead disabled. Because a bad block is disabled, a storage capacity is reduced by an amount of the capacity thereof. However, a recent nonvolatile semiconductor memory has a large storage capacity, which means that it has a large number of blocks, and thus there are many blocks unused by a user. To think of this actual situation, a bad block technique is inoffensive from a practical standpoint. In contrast, as compared with nonvolatile semiconductor memories which do not use a bad block technique, it is possible to increase the number of shipments, which makes it possible to provide nonvolatile semiconductor memories inexpensively to users.
Moreover, there has been an attempt to abolish redundancy technique, and to apply bad block technique to all blocks (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-216345).
Bad block information utilized for the bad block technique as well is one of information utilized during a boot sequence. With respect to a block which has been disabled in accordance with bad block information, when this is accessed, processing in which voltages required for the respective operations of erasing of data, writing of data, and reading of data are not applied to a word line is carried out.
A defective block and a bad block have the same feature in that the both are blocks having brought about defects. However, the redundancy technique is a technique in which a defective block is replaced by a redundant block, and the bad block technique is a technique in which the defective block is disabled. These techniques are different from each another.
For example, in the redundancy technique, when a defective block is accessed, the access is automatically transferred to a redundant block serving as a replacement destination, and the redundant block serving as a replacement destination is accessed. Namely, the defective block is not accessed. Accordingly, the defective block is handled in the same way as other unselected blocks. With respect to a word line of the defective block, voltages required for the respective operations of erasing of data, writing of data, and reading of data are not applied in the same way as the other unselected blocks. In accordance with the redundancy technique, because a defective block is handled in the same way as other unselected blocks, a circuit for controlling voltages applied to word lines is not required.
In contrast thereto, in accordance with the bad block technique, a bad block is handled in the same way as a selected block. Accordingly, because the bad block is accessed, and voltages required for the respective operations of erasing of data, writing of data, and reading of data are applied to a word line thereof. This situation is forcibly restrained on the basis of a flag, in concrete terms, a bad block flag. Therefore, a voltage control circuit for forcibly restraining voltages applied to the word lines is required. However, in the bad block technique, voltages applied to the word lines are forcibly restrained. Thus, with respect to a block which has been registered as a bad block, no voltage is applied to a word line thereof at all even at the time of erasing it, in particular, at the time of batch erasing of the chip.
In this way, voltages applied to word lines are not controlled in the redundancy technique, but voltages applied to word lines are controlled in the bad block technique. Therefore, registers set on the basis of the redundancy information and registers set on the basis of the bad block information are different from each other. As a concrete example, registers in which redundancy information is set are built into an address system circuit, and registers in which bad block information is set are built into a word line system circuit.
With respect to the redundancy information and the bad block information, a redundancy information registration area with which redundancy information is registered, and a bad block information registration area with which bad block information is registered are assigned to the internal ROM, and those are respectively stored therein separately. Data storage addresses in a data cache are made different depending on redundancy information or bad block information. Then, transfer of information to the registers and setting of the registers are respectively carried out by separate operations.
Moreover, recently, it has been believed that a defective block as well is preferably handled in the same way as a bad block. For example, with respect to a defective block according to the redundancy technique, an access to the defective block could be permitted at the time of batch erasing of the chip. In this case, a short-circuit current or the like is expected to occur, and there is a possibility that a power supply capacity is deteriorated, or the chip is broken at worst. Then, a defective block as well is handled in the same way as a bad block, in which case a voltage is not applied to a word line at all even at the time of batch erasing of the chip.
Then, addresses of blocks which have been regarded as defective blocks in manufacturing are registered as bad blocks with the bad block registration area before shipment at the manufacturer side.
However, addresses of the defective blocks and addresses of the bad blocks are redundantly registered with the internal ROM. Namely, the usage rate of the bad block registration area is increased. Therefore, when many redundant blocks are utilized, all of the number of blocks which can be registered as bad blocks cannot be utilized in some cases, which loses a yield thereof.


A gear drive system for a printer designed to print upon a continuous roll of paper and having a blade used to cut off printed portions of paper from the paper roll is implemented. The gear drive system has a drive gear which slips against a toothless portion of a driven gear while paper is being fed through the printer for printing by a print head. When printing stops, the drive gear reverses its rotation, causing the driven gear to engage the drive gear. A cutter blade is controlled by the driven gear, with the blade cutting off the paper as the drive gear is in reverse rotation. After the paper is cut, the drive gear resumes its forward rotation, rotating the blade away from the paper. After the blade has been rotated, the drive gear continues to turn, but slips on the toothless portion of the driven gear. Friction losses are minimized as the energy lost as friction is low and full torque is applied to both cutting and opening rotations of the cutter blade.

Printers may be classified as single-sheet printers or continuous-roll printers. Single sheet printers include drive and handling means to advance one sheet of paper at a time past a print head so that characters may be printed thereon. As each sheet is printed, it is ejected to be received by the user. Continuous-roll printers include a roll of paper instead of a supply of single sheets of paper. As the roll of paper is unrolled, the end of the paper is advanced past the print head by feed rollers or other drive mechanism for printing. After a printing job is completed, a blade or knife cuts the printed paper or the paper is detached manually using a tear bar. Common continuous-roll printers include thermal paper fax machines and retail checkout registers.
It is common to use a geared drive system in a continuous-roll printer with a stepper motor as a power source. Typically, a stepper motor will turn a fixed number of degrees in response to a pulse of electricity or a command from a controller. Gears are used to connect the stepper motor to the drive mechanism to ensure that a fixed rotation translates to a fixed advancement of the paper from the paper roll. It should be noted that the use of a stepper motor is not required, as other power sources may be used to control the rotation of the drive source and the feed rollers to accurately position the paper in relation to the print head for precise printing.
When the stepper motor turns in the forward direction in a continuous-roll printer, the paper is unwound from the paper roll and advanced past the print head. Turning the stepper motor in the reverse direction engages the knife or cutter blade to cut the printed paper from the roll. Using the same motor for feeding paper through the printer and cutting the printed paper is economical.
Continuous-roll printers are designed to only print in the forward direction. The paper is not retracted or wound back onto the paper roll during or after printing. With a direct gear system, reversing the stepper motor results in reverse feeding of the paper. Therefore the stepper motor, when turning in reverse, decouples from the paper drive system as it engages the cutter mechanism.
A wrap spring slip clutch, hereinafter referred to as a slip clutch, with an overrunning torque connects the gear drive system and the cutter blade. Slip clutches are used to transmit power in one direction of rotation only (called the "locking rotation") and include teeth, ratchet or spring mechanisms that lock a driven part to a driving part when the driven part is turned in the locking direction. When the rotation of the driving part is reversed, the mechanism releases, causing the driven part to stop turning while the driving part continues to turn, or "overrun" the driven part.
Some slip clutches are designed with an "overrunning torque" or a mechanism that will not automatically release during reverse rotation. A slip clutch with an overrunning torque will transmit torque from the driven part to the driving part even in the reverse direction, but will slip if the torque required to drive the driven part exceeds the overrunning torque.
As an example, consider a slip clutch with an overrunning torque of 1 inch-ounce. This slip clutch will lock if driven in its locking rotation, transmitting rotation of the driving part to the driven part without slippage. In the reverse rotation, the clutch will slip if the load on the driven part exceeds 1 inch-ounce. Causing the clutch to slip, however, requires an amount of torque equal to the overrunning torque as a friction loss. In other words, a drive motor generating 10 inch-ounces of torque in the reverse direction through a clutch that is slipping wastes 1 inch-ounce of torque that are required to cause the clutch to slip. The effective torque of the motor is thereby reduced to 9 inch-ounces.
The slip clutch is configured so that a reverse rotation of the stepper motor causes a locking, or forward rotation of the slip clutch. When the stepper motor and gear drive are driven in reverse, the slip clutch locks, engaging the cutter blade to slice off a piece of paper. Afterwards, the stepper motor resumes its forward rotation, causing the slip clutch to turn in reverse. The clutch, however, will not release until the torque required to continue turning the driven part exceeds the overrunning torque. Therefore, the cutter blade will be lifted, as slip clutches are designed to have an overrunning torque greater than the torque required to lift the cutting blade out of the paper path. The cutter blade continues to lift until it reaches a stop or limit mechanism, preventing further rotation, greatly increasing the torque required to lift the blade, and causing the slip clutch to release.
Even after the blade is lifted and the clutch released the stepper motor must continue to expend energy overcoming the overrunning torque so the blade will not fall back into the paper path. This results in friction loss, is a waste of energy, and increases the cost of the printer because a larger stepper motor must be specified than is required to drive paper through the paper path for printing. Additionally, it is rare that a slip clutch has a constant overrunning torque during its lifetime because environmental conditions, wear, and age modify the behavior of the clutch over time. If the overrunning torque becomes too high, paper will not feed properly because too much of the stepper motor's torque is wasted overcoming the friction generated by the overrunning torque. If the overrunning torque becomes too low, the cutter blade will not open or may slip back down into the paper path during printing.
What is needed, therefore, is a device to allow a cutter blade to engage upon reverse rotation of the stepper motor, to disengage upon the consequent forward rotation of the stepper motor, and to maintain its position out of the paper path during printing without adding the friction associated with an overrunning-style slip clutch to the system.

Method for cutting paper in a printer using a gear with a friction pad

International Business Machines Corporation


Dibenzylidene and heterobenzylideneacetone derivatives, related 4-piperidones, related 4-thiopyranones and the corresponding sulfinyl- and sulfonyl-analogues for their use for prophylaxis or treatment of trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Trypanosomes and leishmanias are parasitic protozoa causing African sleeping sickness (Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense), Chagas' disease (Trypanosoma cruzi), Nagana cattle disease (Trypanosoma congolense and Trypanosoma brucei brucei), Espundia (Leishmania brasiliensis), Kala-azar (Leishmania donovani), and Oriental sore (Leishmania tropica). All of these parasites have a unique thiol metabolism dependant on the flavoenzyme trypanothione reductase, which maintains bisglutathionylspermidine (trypanothione) and monoglutathionylspermidine in the reduced state. This thiol system replaces the glutathione/glutathione reductase (GR) system occurring in their mammalian hosts and is widely accepted as a target for the development of novel therapies to treat trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis.

Human African trypanosomiasis is invariably fatal if untreated. Current therapy of the late-stage encephalitic disease with the melaminophenyl arsenical drug melarsoprol has unacceptable side-effects with an overall mortality of more than 5% due to the drug itself. Melarsoprol acting as a bis-alkylating agent of dithiols including trypanothione and trypanothione reductase is actively taken up via adenosine transporters of the parasite which recognize the melamine motif. In the recent years appearance of highly resistant parasites to melarsoprol and pentamidine has become alarming and is responsible for the increasing failure rate (under 7%) of melarsoprol after treatment of late stage case of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), even though the drug has been used for such treatment over the past 50 years. This observation, the first documented in a HAT focus, is dramatic, particularly since no second line trypanocidal drug is actually available for the treatment of the late stage of HAT.
Eflornithine (=DFMO) is effective against both stages of T. b. gambiense infection but not against T. b. rhodesiense. Although the most recent and effective drug against sleeping sickness it is not widely available, difficult to administer and costly for use under African health care conditions. For this reason, in 1995, Aventis limited its production because erflornithine was not enough a profitable drug.
Thus there is a need for compounds which are less costly, less toxic, which induce less resistance and which are able to cross the blood brain barrier in the late stage of the disease.

Compounds useful against kinetoplastideae parasites

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE


A beverage dispensing system comprises a container, an attachment mechanism, and a cartridge. The container may hold a mixing solution or liquid, such as water, to be mixed with the contents of the cartridge. The attachment mechanism is generally located within the container. The cartridge generally engages with the attachment mechanism to open the cartridge to be dispensed into the container, thereby combining the contents of the cartridge with the liquid within the container to create a drinkable beverage. The cartridge may include a unique identifier to track a set of beverage characteristics associated with the contents of the cartridge and the beverage. The container may capture the unique identifier of the cartridge associated with the set of beverage characteristics and transfer the set of beverage characteristics over a wireless network to a computing device or network.

It is known that beverages are marketed, delivered and sold in a variety of different types of containers. The type of container utilized may depend on several factors, including, for example, the consumer for which the beverage is being marketed towards, the distribution channel(s), and/or the quantity of beverage being sold. In this regard, beverages marketed towards consumers are often distributed in plastic bottles. Unfortunately, however, a large portion the plastic bottles are disposed of as waste. While recycling efforts have increased, the bottles are purchased and consumed in areas where recycling is not available or feasible. Furthermore, plastic lids used for sealing the bottles are generally not recyclable and end up as waste, or worse yet, as litter throughout the environment. Additionally, these wasteful plastic bottles are also marketed and sold as "multi-packs" in which further packaging, such as shrink-wrap and/or cardboard must be utilized to contain individual bottles together as a multi-pack. Thus, such prior art delivery mechanisms generate a vast quantity of unwanted and unneeded waste.
In addition to having an adverse environmental impact, most prior art containers use valuable space, both in the retail environment and at the end-users' location, such as their homes. Past systems, known as "post-mix" systems, attempted to alleviate some of these drawbacks by selling concentrated beverage syrups designed to be diluted with a liquid, such as water. While known post-mix systems reduce waste associated with other delivery mechanisms, such as plastic bottles, these systems require large, expensive systems that are too complicated and cumbersome for use by consumers other than retail establishments that sell large quantities of beverages. Even for such establishments, the knowledge and costs required to maintain these conventional post-mix systems is inconvenient. Furthermore, past systems are known to require calibration on a regular basis to ensure that the correct amount of syrup is properly combined with the liquid. In this regard, any miscalibration or failure of the machine is often only discovered after several customers complain about the taste of the beverage and further time is required to check and fix the ratio of syrup to liquid.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A new class of vanadium phosphate materials has been created using hydrothermanl self-assembly techniques. Of particular interest is that these materials comprise a vanadium phosphate framework structure about an organic template that after removal leave a microporous structure. These materials typically are produced by a reaction in an aqueous solution that includes one or more phosphate sources, one or more vanadium or vanadium oxide sources, an alkali metal or alkali-earth metal sources, and an organic amine or diamine templating agent.

There is currently intense interest in the chemistry of the vanadium oxide phosphate system because the system is capable of providing networks of connected vanadium and phosphorus polyhedra with a diversity of structures. This structural diversity is associated in part with the ability of vanadium oxygen coordination polyhedra to adopt tetrahedral, square pyramidal and octahedral geometries and to aggregate into larger cores by condensation of polyhedra through shared oxygen atoms. Further condensation with phosphate tetrahedra, such as PO.sub.4.sup.3-, HPO.sub.4.sup.2- and H.sub.2 PO.sub.4.sup.-1 results often in complex polyhedral networks.
Moreover, when cationic templates are introduced, polyhedral framework solids with tunnels, cages and micropores may be isolated. Such solids offer considerable promise since they make possible microporous framework solids, capable of shape selective absorption like the zeolites and aluminophosphates, that are useful as catalysts or molecular sieves.
Generally in the past with vanadium oxide phosphate systems, such templates have involved inorganic materials but the use of such materials has limited the size and shape of the micropores that can be realized. Of greater potential interest would be framework structures that could be assembled about templates of large size organic molecules that could later be removed, either by ion exchange or thermal methods, to leave pores of size comparable to those of the organic template molecules.
To this end, recently, hydrothermal self-assembly syntheses have been used to prepare microporous, octahedral framework molydenum phosphates formed about organic cationic templates, but these molydenum phosphate frameworks with organic cationic templates are of restricted applicability and there is interest in structures involving other metal phosphate compositions, such as vanadium phosphates, to increase the range of options.


The present invention provides systems and methods for adaptively decoding transmitted frames efficiently in non-Gaussian, non-stationary environments. One such system comprises a decoder adapted to decode a received transmission frame using a decoding scheme, a channel assessment unit for sensing channel characteristics, and a tuning unit for adjusting the decoding scheme based, at least in part, on channel characteristics sensed by the channel assessment unit.

As the world has become more reliant on computers and information exchange, the need for the reliable transmission of data has become increasingly important. One key element in information exchange is the accurate and efficient transmission and reception of data across noisy transmission channels.
Signal processing methods implemented in practical communications systems are usually designed under the assumption that any underlying noise and interference is Gaussian. Although this assumption finds strong theoretical justification in the central limit theorem, the noise and interference patterns commonly present in modem mobile communications systems are far from Gaussian. Noise and interference generally exhibit "impulsive" behavior. In typical mobile communication systems, noise and interference sources often include motor-vehicle ignition noise, switching noise from electromechanical equipment, thunderstorms, and heavy bursts of interference. Current signal processing systems are not designed to handle these non-Gaussian noise sources. Accordingly, these systems may perform poorly, and might even fail, in the presence of impulsive noise.
Channel noise and interference can be effectively modeled as the superposition of many small and independent effects. In practice, these effects do not always follow a Gaussian distribution. This situation appears to contradict the central limit theorem. For many years, engineers have been unable to explain this apparent contradiction. Consequently, many of the techniques developed to cope with impulsive noise were mainly ad hoc, largely based on signal clipping and filtering prior to application of a Gaussian-based technique.
Clipping the amplitude of an input signal is only effective if the amplitude of the input signal is above or below the specific threshold values. These threshold values are typically determined by the limits of the hardware used in a receiver in a communications system. Accordingly, the threshold values are often chosen to take advantage of the full dynamic range of the analog to digital (A/D) converter(s) of the receiver. However, if impulsive noise, added to the input signal, does not cause the amplitude of the signal to exceed a specific threshold, clipping will not remove the noise. Additionally, even when noise does cause the signal to exceed the threshold, the clipping solution only removes the noise to the extent that the magnitude of the signal plus the noise is above the threshold. Accordingly, noise is not actually removed, but its effects are somewhat reduced.
When individual signals within a sequence are contaminated by noise, the sequence may not be properly decoded and efficient communications may be difficult. In typical communication systems, decoding is used to identify potential communication errors. Additionally, decoding may be able to correct some, or even most, errors. Errors may be corrected by one of many error detection and correct schemes known to those skilled in the art. Typical coding and decoding schemes are able to correct errors by inserting controlled redundancy into the transmitted information stream. This is typically performed by adding additional bits or using an expanded channel signal set. These schemes allow the receiver to detect and possibly correct errors.
In its most simple form, one problem with noisy transmission environments is that, a certain percentage of the time, a transmitted '1' is received as a '0' or vice versa. There are many methods of encoding data that allow received errors to be detected or even corrected. These encoding and decoding schemes are typically optimized based on a set of underlying assumptions. Preferably, these assumptions are designed to match the conditions of a real-world communications environment. Generally, decoding systems are designed under the assumption that the underlying noise and interference is Gaussian. When these assumptions do not match real-world conditions, the performance of such schemes may no longer be optimal. In real-world environments, this effect is ever-present because conditions are constantly changing. Even those systems in existence that try to accommodate impulsive noise are based on average conditions. These systems fall short of optimal performance when conditions stray from the average. These problems are compounded in a mobile system because conditions change even more rapidly and more often than stationary systems.
When a receiver is able to detect, but not correct, errors in received information, the receiver may request that the transmitter resend the information. In a noisy environment, this may lead to highly inefficient communications.
There is a need in the art for systems and methods for processing signals to alleviate impulsive noise distortion.
Additionally, there is a need in the art for systems and methods for providing an adaptive decoding system for efficient communications in non-Gaussian, non-stationary environments.

Systems and methods for adaptively decoding transmitted frames


A universal serial bus (USB) connector includes a first sidewall defining at least one external USB socket for connecting to an external USB device of a host computer. A second sidewall defining at least one internal USB socket for connecting to an internal USB device of the host computer. A plurality of signal pins are connected to a motherboard of the host computer, and capable of connecting the at least one external USB device and the at least one internal USB device with the motherboard.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to connectors, and particularly to a universal serial bus (USB) connector.
2. Description of Related Art
With advances in computer technology, peripheral devices using USB connectors have become more and more popular. Even some electronic devices inside the host computer use USB connectors. FIG. 4 shows two USB sockets 200 arranged side-by-side on a conventional motherboard 100. Internal peripheral devices, such as built-in card-readers, CD-ROMs, etc., are connected to the USB sockets 200 via USB connectors 300.
However, when many internal USB devices using USB connectors are connected to the motherboard, more USB sockets are needed and occupy too much space of the motherboard.
What is needed, therefore, is a USB connector which can solve the above-mentioned problem.


Embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to apparatuses and methods for a rotating optical reflector. Optical systems may have a limited field of view, and so in order to expand the area that the optical system collects data from, the field of view of the optical system may be scanned across a target area. The present disclosure is directed to a rotating optical reflector, which includes a transmissive layer which refracts light onto a reflective layer, which has a normal which is not parallel to the axis about which the optical reflector is rotated. The optical reflector may be both statically and dynamically balanced, which may allow an increased size of the optical reflector, which in turn may increase the aperture of an optical system (e.g., a lidar system) using the rotating optical reflector.

Optical beam scanners can be critical components of state-of-the-art light detection and ranging (lidar) systems. Depending on the application there may be several classes of scanner technology to choose from including rotating polygon mirrors, galvanometer-mounted mirrors, Risley prisms, MEMS, liquid crystal waveguides and phased arrays. Each technology may have unique strengths and weakness that may determine its efficacy for specific lidar applications. While many of these scanner types have been developed to provide wide field-of-view and rapid beam scanning for small optical apertures, less attention has be paid to advancing compact systems for scanning large aperture beams.
Rapid spatial scanning of a relatively large optical aperture may be useful for gas sensing lidar systems. For instance, a differential absorption lidar (DIAL) beam scanner may use an optical aperture diameter that is many times larger than that of a 3D terrain-mapping lidar operating at a similar target distance. The size of the aperture may be even larger for lidar systems based on wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) because continuous-wave, instead of pulsed, laser beams may be used. In many cases the larger aperture of WMS lidar can be offset by lower cost and complexity of associated laser systems and the improved measurement performance that can be achieved using WMS provided there is a good option for scanning the larger beam aperture.
Some gas-sensing lidar systems use one or more transmissive Risley-style prisms for spatial beam scanning. Risley prism scanners may currently achieve 4 inch optical apertures, 120 degree field of view and scan speeds exceeding 1000 RPM in a 3000 cubic centimeter package that weighs around 6 kg.

Apparatuses and methods for a rotating optical reflector


A method for detecting the occurrence of surge in a centrifugal compressor includes the step of calculating a time rate of change of a discharge pressure of the fluid discharged from the compressor. In one preferred embodiment, the time rate of change of the discharge pressure is calculated by initially setting PREV PRESS and RATE PRESS variables equal to zero (0), and commencing a RATE PRESS subroutine having a time limit for cycling therethrough. The RATE PRESS subroutine includes the steps of obtaining a discharge pressure reading for the fluid discharged from the compressor, subtracting the discharge pressure reading from the PREV PRESS variable to establish the RATE PRESS variable, and resetting the PREV PRESS variable equal to the value of the discharge pressure reading. After the RATE PRESS variable has been determined, the RATE PRESS is compared with an acceptable set time point rate of change for the discharge pressure. If the calculated value of the time rate of change of the discharge pressure is greater than or equal to the acceptable set point time rate of change for the discharge pressure, then a surge detection subroutine having a time limit for cycling therethrough is commenced. The surge detection subroutine may include the steps of calculating a time rate of change of a temperature of the fluid discharged from the compressor, and comparing the calculated time rate of change of the temperature of the fluid discharge from the compressor with an acceptable set point time rate of change for the temperature of the fluid discharged from the compressor. If both calculated time rates of change for the discharge pressure and the discharge temperature are greater than or equal to the respective set point time rates of change for the discharge pressure and the discharge temperature, then the system generates a signal indicating the occurrence of surge.

This invention generally relates to centrifugal compressors and more particularly to an improved method for electronically detecting the occurrence of surge in a centrifugal compressor driven by an electric motor, based on the measured rates of change of the discharge pressure and motor current.
Surge is an unwanted phenomenon in centrifugal compressors which occurs when the fluid flow rate through the compressor is suddenly reduced. When the flow rate is reduced to a point below a predetermined required minimum flow rate, fluid collects at the compressor discharge port and as the fluid collects, the fluid pressure at the discharge port increases until surge occurs. During the occurrence of surge, the direction of fluid flow is reversed and the built up fluid is flowed back into the compressor.
Surge is undesirable for a number of reasons. Compressor surge produces unstable fluid flow within the compressor and loud noise, and also increases the amount of heat generated by the compressor. Frequently, one of the consequences of surge is damage to compressor component parts.
One conventional way of avoiding surge is by increasing the fluid flow rate through the compressor inlet. Although surge is avoided by increasing the flow rate through the compressor inlet, such increased capacity for this compressor operation negatively affects the cost of compressor operation.
As an alternative to sacrificing compressor efficiency by increasing the inlet flow rate, mechanical means for avoiding the occurrence of surge have been developed. One such conventional mechanical means for avoiding the occurrence of surge is a mechanical differential pressure switch located in a switch tube or housing. Such known pressure differential switches include a pair of spaced apart contacts located in the housing. When the pressure differential between the ends of the switch housing is at a pressure level indicative of the occurrence of surge, the pressure differential causes the contacts to close and thereby provide an indication to a compressor operator that a surge condition is present. When the compressor surges, a valve is opened to adjust the fluid flow through the compressor and thereby take the compressor out of surge.
It is difficult for compressor operators to precisely set the gap between the contacts in known pressure differential switches. Additionally, the sensitivity of the contacts decreases over time. Moreover, such differential switches and other mechanically actuated surge detection means, usually do not prevent the compressor from going into deep surge once surge is detected.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present devices and methods. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. It is important to provide a reliable method for taking a compressor out of the surge condition to prevent compressor damage. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.

Method for detecting the occurrence of surge in a centrifugal compressor


A peer-to-peer email system and methods are provided for distributed email distribution, prevention of SPAM, and efficient email storage. Each email client also serves as a node in the peer-to-peer system, relaying email messages and/or attachments. Large attachments may be transmitted directly from sender to receiver, and if the receiver is not online at the time the sender sends the attachment, the receiver can request the attachment from the sender at a later time.

Existing email systems may be centrally controlled. Simple Mail Transport Protocol ("SMTP") is the de facto standard used on the internet today. A first SMTP server (e.g., mail.yin.com) may receive email messages from SMTP clients (e.g., Microsoft® Outlook, Mozilla® Thunderbird) executing on computers in the first SMTP server's domain. The email messages may include one or more recipient email addresses (e.g., firstname.lastname@example.com). The first SMTP server may route the received messages to a second SMTP server on the intended recipient's domain (e.g., mail.yang.net) using known systems such as the domain name system ("DNS"). After receiving the email message, the second SMTP server may deliver the email messages to the intended recipient's mailbox, which may be stored on the second SMTP server and made available to the intended recipient over the network.
SMTP servers may be configured to restrict the size of attachments which may be sent with an email message. Other SMTP servers may limit the amount of storage space (i.e., the size of a mailbox) allocated to a user to store emails and attachments. Still other SMTP servers may not protect or offer the capability of protecting emails and attachments associated therewith from malicious or otherwise unintended recipients, either locally or while in transit over a computer network.
In addition to the above, unsolicited advertising emails ("SPAM") are ubiquitous on the Internet. It is estimated by some that as of 2007, 90 billion SPAM messages are sent every day, and that so-called "abusive email" accounts for up to 85% of incoming mail in a given email inbox.
Finally, existing email systems exhibit various inefficiencies. For instance, centralized email server farms are estimated to consume over two billion dollars worth of energy annually around the world. In addition, current methods of encoding attachments involve the use of base64, which encodes attachments as 7-bit representations, rather than traditional 8-bit. Base64 introduces approximately 30% of overhead to each attachment sent. Some estimate that attachments make up 80% of email traffic on the Internet. CPU cycles are also required to perform this encoding on the sending user's computer, as well as perform the decoding on the recipient user's computer.


A method of manufacturing a semiconductor package is provided, which can improve the quality of plating through reduction of plating deviation, and improve molding and soldering efficiencies in forming a molding compound and packaging the semiconductor package onto a printed circuit board.

Generally, semiconductor assembly is performed in a manner that a semiconductor package is manufactured using a substrate or a lead frame, and then solder balls or solder pastes are printed on a printed circuit board. Here, a BGA (Ball Grid Array) substrate using a polyimide (PI) film has been generally used as the semiconductor substrate, and a metal lead frame has been generally used as the lead frame.
However, according to the conventional method of manufacturing a semiconductor package, in forming a copper plating layer after forming a pattern on a carrier frame, the copper plating is not performed over the whole area of the carrier frame, and thus the plating deviation becomes too large, resulting in that semiconductor quality deteriorates due to the inferior plating quality.
Also, in molding an upper part of a carrier frame with a molding compound after a die and lead portions are bonded with wires, the molding compound is in direct contact with metal portions, and this causes the bonding strength between the carrier frame and the molding compound, i.e., the moldability, to deteriorate.

Method of manufacturing semiconductor package with etch removal of carrier frame and base plating layer


A method is provided for producing a powdered soluble foaming composition comprising amorphous particles having internal voids filled with atmospheric pressure gas. The method includes subjecting a spray-dried composition to an external pressure and heating the composition at a temperature below the glass transition temperature. The composition is depressurized to result in at least a portion of vacuous internal voids of the composition to be filled with atmospheric pressure gas.

Some conventionally prepared food items include froth or foam. For example, cappuccino, milk shakes, and some soups may have froth or foam. While conventionally prepared food items may be considered preferable by some consumers, other consumers are increasingly demanding the convenience of consumer prepared instant food alternatives. In order to accommodate consumer preferences, manufactures have developed instant food products which give consumers the food products they demand from a convenient instant food product by developing instant food items which have the same or similar characteristics as conventionally prepared food items. One challenge for manufacturers is how to produce a food product having froth or foam from an instant food item.
One prior solution used to manufacture an instant food product which has froth or foam is through the use of powdered foaming compositions which produce foam upon reconstitution in a liquid. Foaming powder compositions have been used to impart froth or foamed texture to a wide variety of foods and beverages. For example, foaming compositions have been used to impart froth or foamed texture to instant cappuccino and other coffee mixes, instant refreshing beverage mixes, instant soup mixes, instant milkshake mixes, instant dessert toppings, instant sauces, hot or cold cereals, and the like, when combined with water, milk, or other suitable liquid.
One prior method for manufacturing a foaming composition is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 6,713,113 which discloses a method for manufacturing a powdered soluble foaming ingredient comprised of a matrix containing carbohydrate, protein, and entrapped pressurized gas produced by heating the composition above the glass transition temperature. Heating these components above the glass transition temperature potentially leads to nonoxidative browning (Maillard) reactions that can adversely affect the appearance, flavor and shelf-life of packaged food products.
WO 2004/019699 discloses another process for forming a foaming composition where a protein composition is subjected to gasification at a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the composition. The foaming composition preferably contains a plasticizer such as a carbohydrate polyol or sugar alcohol and the foaming composition that forms the basis of all working examples disclosed therein contains carbohydrate glycerol at a level of 5% by weight.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0026836 discloses a method for forming tablets or powders of carbohydrate-based pharmaceuticals or foods which includes subjecting tablets or powders which comprise a beverage base such as soluble coffee, foamed powder, sugar and creamer to pressure and temperature above the glass transition temperature to produce a tablet or powder with increased solubility or dispersability on contact with water. In addition, a method is disclosed which promotes the dissolution or dispersion of a tablet or non-foaming powder by subjecting the tablet or powder to pressurized gas so that gas is entrapped therein to promote dissolution or dispersion of the tablet or powder on contact with water. It is notable that all examples provided therein of chemically compounded soluble compositions are carbohydrate-based powder or tablet compositions containing protein. Improved dissolution of tablets containing entrapped gas is demonstrated in working examples therein. However, improved dissolution or dispersability of powders, foaming or non-foaming, containing entrapped gas is not demonstrated in any working example therein.
Although prior methods exist for producing foaming food and beverage additives, there is still a need for a method for producing foaming compositions without the drawbacks of current methods. For example, prior methods subject the target compositions to high temperatures above the glass transition temperature which may result in browning of the composition, and off-flavors being produced.

Method to increase the foaming capacity of spray-dried powders


A mount for mounting a reflector of a satellite dish is provided. In one embodiment, the mount includes one or more first hooks and one or more second hooks located offset from the one or more first hooks, wherein the one or more second hooks are spring loaded and the one or more first hooks and the one or more second hooks fasten the reflector of the satellite dish to the mount.

Typically, satellite dishes are relatively heavy and installed in higher locations, which make installation of the satellite dishes challenging. Moreover, current satellite dish installation requires the use of a nut and bolt to anchor the satellite dish to a mount. Securing the satellite dish with a nut and bolt may require multiple people to install the satellite dish as one person may be required to hold the satellite dish while another person securely mounts the satellite dish with the nut and bolt combination. As a result, currently used methods for installing a satellite dish may be inefficient with respect to time and cost.


Disclosed herein is a card dispensing unit including a stack guide assembly configured to receive a stack of cards, an encoder to encode said stack of cards, wherein said encoder is positioned in relation to said stack guide assembly to receive a consistent impingent force from said stack of cards: And a push block in operable communication with the guide assembly is also provided to selectively move the cards pursuant to a controllable position linear actuator which is in operable communication with the push block.

Alternatives to cash money have traditionally been checks, credit cards and debit cards. More recently however, another alternative has become available. These are often called smart cards. Smart cards employ a programmable chip, in the modern incarnation, which chip stores information such as a credit amount on the card, and sometimes where and with what equipment the card is useable, smart cards are ubiquitous in overseas locales and are becoming more often used in this country as a substitute for cash, particularly in certain industries. Specifically, one example of an industry where these cards have become prevalent is in commercial laundromats. While certainly there are many other venues for this technology, the above is a common example. Cards are purchased by a user for a certain sum of money with excess deposited money being encoded on the card as a credit. The card may then be inserted into readers attached to a particular device where a debit will take place and the device will become operational.
There are several manufacturers of such cards and several different types of cards. Each manufacturer also supplies card dispensers, card encoders and card readers. In each case, there are drawbacks to the prior art dispensers, encoders and readers. Since improvements are always welcomed, a device and method according to the following disclosure, which overcomes all of the art recognized drawbacks of the prior art devices and methods will be well received by the art.

Card dispensing unit and method for dispensing cards


Systems and methods for delivery of device along a transport path are provided. One system includes a transport tube having a feed end and a point of use end and a plurality of device carriers operable to move through the transport tube from the feed end to the point of use end. The plurality of device carriers has a common external surface for operation in the transport tube to allow transport through the transport tube. At least some of the plurality of device carriers has a different internal configuration than at least some of other ones of the plurality of device carriers, wherein the internal configuration is determined based on at least one physical characteristic of a device to be inserted therein.

The present disclosure relates generally to systems and method for delivery of devices along a transport path, such as fastening equipment systems for delivering fasteners to a workpiece, for example, a portion of an aircraft.
In the production assembly of aircraft, for example, the substructure of aircraft, such as fuselage frames, along with wing spars and ribs, are joined to the skin of the aircraft with thousands of fasteners. These fasteners are of a multitude of types having variations in diameters and grip lengths. The installation of fasteners in relatively large aircraft substructures and skins is typically performed either manually or by automated fastening equipment.
Delivery systems for delivering the fasteners to the workpiece of the aircraft generally include a storage device for the fasteners and a mechanism or system that transports fasteners from the storage device to the workpiece or fastening device. For example, in some known systems, a suction head (that forms part of a pneumatic system) removes fasteners from a storage area and delivers the fasteners through a delivery tube using a vacuum. The fasteners are individually stored in holes of a predetermined or fixed depth, and only one fastener may be stored in any given hole. Accordingly, each hole contains a fastener of a specific configuration, diameter, and grip length.
The fastener delivery system generally includes a number of tubes that are used to transport the fasteners of different sizes (in different transport tubes) from one location to another. For example, in conventional fastener delivery systems, one tube is provided for the delivery of each specific size of product, for example, bolts, nuts, etc. Thus, because of the large number of different sizes of fasteners, a large number of transportation tubes (having different diameters) are used from a holding area to the aircraft, for example, from a general station to a point of use station at the aircraft. As the number of different types and sizes of fasteners used increases, the number of tubes increases, resulting in a very large system of tubes that can become unmanageable quickly. In some instances, the number of tubes needed is not simply cumbersome, but not possible to implement because of space constraints. Additionally, in cases where an end point of use station is situated along a portion of the aircraft, such as the wing while the wing is being drilled and prepared for the various fasteners, having a large number of tubes, such as banded together, is cumbersome and sometimes unmanageable, or makes difficult maneuvering the end point of use station along the wing.

Systems and methods for delivery of devices along a transport path


Provided are a method and system for controlling impedance in a transconductance amplifier. A system includes a first transconductance amplifier and a second transconductance amplifier configured to control electrical characteristics associated with the first transconductance amplifier. An operational amplifier is provided and has at least one input port connected to the second transconductance amplifier. Also included is a first digital to analog converter (DAC) connected to receive a current signal from the operational amplifier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to controlling characteristics of transconductance amplifiers.
2. Background Art
In transconductance amplifiers, switching resistance (e.g., degeneration impedance) is a characteristic circuit designers commonly seek to control through use of a number of different techniques. One traditional technique includes providing a transistor-based switch within the transconductance amplifier to control the degeneration impedance characteristics. Although this technique provides a level of control, its use produces several undesirable side-effects. For example, when changes in the degeneration impedance occur in a nonlinear fashion, or occur too quickly, glitches can occur in the output current of the amplifier.
Other traditional approaches to minimizing the effects of these glitches, as well as other instability problems, include the use of resistor capacitor (RC) delay circuits to retard the transition of the switch. The use of RC delay circuits is especially prevalent in low-noise applications, such as within programmable gain amplifiers.
The use of an RC delay circuits, however, requires large resistors and capacitors, which consumes integrated circuit (IC) board real estate. The RC circuits also require use of an extra pin on the IC.
Thus, although traditional techniques are available to minimize the occurrence of glitches and other instability factors in transconductance amplifiers, many of these techniques are costly and/or impractical.
What is needed, therefore, is a more practical approach to minimizing glitches in the output current of transconductance amplifiers caused by controlling the switching resistance. More specifically, what is needed is a method and system to programmably control the switching resistance in a transconductance amplifier. Also, what is needed is a system and method to control the speed at which the resistance switch is turned on and off, in order to further minimize glitches and other instability by-products.

System and method for programmable switching characteristics of an analog switch in a transconductance amplifier