A polymer-based solder paste composition having the strength and corrosion resistance of joints produced by conventional solder technology and the environmental and processing advantages of ICA technology comprises a powdered solder metal with a single component (single package) polymerizable flux composition. In one embodiment the polymerizable flux composition includes 55-70% by weight of an epoxy such as epoxy novolac, the diglycidyl ethers of bisphenol A and F, and mixtures thereof, 0-15% by weight of a dicarboxylic acid, 3-5% by weight of an amine thermal curing agent, and the balance may include a polyalcohol, a chelating agent, a defoamer, a thixotrope and a surfactant. In another embodiment the polymerizable flux composition includes approximately 55-70% by weight of an epoxy such as trifunctional epoxide of p-aminophenol, approximately 20-30% by weight of a liquid organic acid such as a carboxy-acrylate, and approximately 4-10% by weight of an amine thermal curing agent. Organic solvents such as linear hydrocarbons and esters of lactic acid may be added to decrease the viscosity as necessary. Upon heating, the solder metal spontaneously segregates from the flux composition, fuses, and forms a metallurgical joint, while the single-component polymerizable flux composition encapsulates the fused metal in a polymer coating which remains firm but pliable at reflow temperatures.

The standard method of joining and interconnecting electronic components is soldering with eutectic tin-lead (SnPb) solder in the presence of a fluxing agent. Conventional SnPb solder technology was invented over 5,000 years ago and is increasingly at odds with current manufacturing requirements. The problems with conventional solder technology originate in the high temperatures required, the reflow properties of solder, and the environmental impact of solder and solder fluxes.
Conventional SnPb solder requires temperatures of 200.degree. C. or more for reflow. These temperatures can damage delicate circuit components, and the printed circuit boards (PCBs) on which components are mounted must be made of relatively expensive, heat resistant materials. The high reflow temperatures used can also cause "popcorning", where moisture is explosively released from heated solder and PCBs, creating cracks in standard solder joints. In addition, mounting devices on PCBs with conventional SnPb technology is complicated by the reflow properties of solder. In order to attach components to the bottom side of the PCB, components must be preliminarily attached to the PCB with a dot of adhesive, and the adhesive cured. The adhesive prevents components on the bottom side of a PCB from falling off when components on the top side of the board are soldered in place. Expensive machines called "dot shooters" deposit dots of adhesive, before the components are placed on the PCB.
The environmental problems created by conventional solder technology are attributable to both the toxicity of Pb and the composition and post-soldering treatment of fluxes. Following reflow, conventional solder fluxes must be washed off circuit boards with cleaning fluids, and the cleaning fluids containing flux residues subsequently enter the environment. Previously, the cleaning fluids of choice were chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), which are ozone depleting compounds (ODC). ODCs are currently being phased out in favor of non-ODC cleaners and new, no-clean, low residue solders that do not require cleaning have been developed.
While these developments are positive, they do not eliminate the environmental problems associated with conventional solder technology. For example, ordinary fluxes contain 50 to 65% solvent. These solvents are volatile organic compounds (VOC) which evaporate during the soldering process and enter the atmosphere. No-clean solders use fluxes comprising 20% solids and 80% VOCs. Thus, while no-clean solvents reduce the need for cleaning solvents, they increase the level of pollution attributable to VOCs. In addition, no clean solders typically require inert atmospheres for reflow.
An emerging alternative to standard solder technology uses isotropic electrically conductive adhesives (ICAs) comprising conductive metal particles, often silver, dispersed in a polymerizable matrix. The two component composition of ICAs allows their electrical and mechanical properties to be tailored independently for a particular application. ICAs can be cured at temperatures as low as 130.degree. C. This eliminates damage to heat sensitive components, allows the use of lower cost PCB substrates, and eliminates "popcorning", which does not occur at the lower processing temperatures of ICAs. In addition, the lower processing temperatures of ICAs eliminates the need for dot shooters and the associated manufacturing steps.
Currently available ICAs have found only limited use, because the adhesive-to-metal joint they form is substantially weaker and more susceptible to corrosion than the metallurgical bond created by soldering. ICA joints do not survive a mechanical shock test that is consistently passed by conventional solder joints. In this test, developed by the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS) and aptly called the "drop test", a plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC) having 44 J-shaped leads is mounted to pads on a PCB and dropped from a height of 5 feet six times. None of the currently available ICA joints survive the drop test.
With regard to corrosion, the adhesive-to-metal joints formed by ICAs are susceptible to degradation in elevated humidity/temperature conditions (85.degree. C., 85% relative humidity). Under these conditions, oxygen diffuses into the ICA joints, causing oxidation and corrosion. The resulting ICA joints are unstable and their electrical and mechanical performance is unreliable. The electrical instability may be reduced through the use of oxide penetrating particles, but this does not improve the ICA joint's performance in the drop test.

Polymerizable flux composition for encapsulating the solder in situ


A pool or beach chair that when flipped over converts to a supine body support for back tanning consisting of an arcuate tubular body support shorter in length than an average adult female wrapped with fabric or elastic bands on both sides. Tubular legs on one side support the body support in the chair mode and tubular loops on the other side form chair arms in the arm mode and ground supports for one end of the body support in the inverted supine mode. The other end of the body support is supported in the inverted supine mode by a pair of smaller tubular loops at the head end of the body support that also serve as handles for moving the chair or flipping it over to the inverted supine mode or position.

There is a significant body of prior art suggesting basic chair structures that can be manipulated to achieve some other function such as a lounging chaise. The following is a list of art that exemplifies the collection.
The O'Herron, U.S. Pat. No. 3,099,477, which issued on Jul. 30, 1963, shows a pair of parallel, spaced ellipsoid tubes that form the legs and arm rests for a chair seat and back. The chair can be flipped over to its FIG. 10 position when the chair back forms a child's slide.
The Austrian Patentschrift No. 38,223 has similar spaced parallel ellipsoid chair sides that can be flipped over to convert the device from a rocking chair to a stationary chair in FIG. 2. However, it requires movable parts to achieve its lounging mode and cannot be used for back tanning.
The True, U.S. Pat. No. 191,733, issued on Jun. 5, 1977, shows a convertible chair that also requires moving parts to effect the lounge mode shown in FIG. 4.
The Knight, U.S. Pat. No. 4,164,356, issued on Aug. 14, 1979, is typical of chairs that pivot up about 90 degrees to reverse the head and leg portions of the chair. This technique limits the significance of mode change from one position to another. That is, the modes are too similar to one another.
A chair convertible to an easy chair is shown in the Martinez, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,834, issued on Apr. 8, 1986. The chair back and the rear legs form an arcuate easy chair when the upright chair is rotated about 90 degrees. This design will not work in an inverted supine body position.
Also, many of these prior convertible chairs cannot be stacked, which is a requirement for crowded resort pool areas.
It is a primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems discussed above in the prior art and to provide an improved compact pool or beach chair that converts to an inverted supine body rest when rotated about 150 degrees.


According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided in which a set of data symbols is partitioned into a plurality of subsets. The data symbols are used to modulate the sub-carriers that transmit data signals from a transmitter to a receiver. The subsets of the data symbols are assigned to the corresponding sub-carriers based on a predefined set of assignments. The assignment which results in the minimum PAPR is then chosen. The information identifying which assignment is used is communicated to the receiver which then uses this information to place the data symbols back to their true positions.

(1) Field
The present invention relates to the field of signal processing and data communications. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method, apparatus, and system for improving power amplifier efficiency.
(2) General Background
In the past few years new, high technology communication products designed for consumers have offered lucrative business opportunities. As a result, significant efforts have been made towards development of technologies and products. Such products can include cellular phones, wireless local area networking cards, DSL cards, products providing Internet access through cable or satellite, etc.
Two important factors that contribute to the success of a consumer communication product are:
1. Cost of manufacturing. In the face of competition to reduce product prices, lower cost products have higher chance of success;
2. Power consumption of the end product. For wireless products such as a cellular phones or laptop computers, attractiveness of the product is very closely linked with the length of time the device can operate between battery recharges. In order to improve the battery life between recharges, it is necessary to reduce the power consumption of the product.
The power amplifier (PA) of a wireless transmitter is one of the system elements that is typically a stand alone component. In most applications, the PA module is purchased from a third party vendor and the cost of it is a significant contributor to the overall cost of the product. Also, power amplifiers typically consume significant power.
Given that a wireless transmitter should transmit at predetermined power levels, the portion of the power that a PA yields relative to the total power it absorbs from the battery is one of the key characteristics of a power amplifier. The ratio of PA output power relative to total power absorbed from the battery is called the efficiency of a power amplifier. In typical state of the art in PA systems, the efficiency of a power amplifier increases with increasing input signal power level. The maximum efficiency is reached at input levels that cause saturation of the power amplifier. The term saturation is used to describe the operating condition in which, the PA operation reached a point at which if the input level to the PA is increased, PA output signal level does not change, or, it changes slightly. In engineering jargon this is called "driving the PA to saturation".
Unfortunately, many modern communication signal formats do not lend themselves be transmitted through a transmitter that is driven to saturation. Specifically, modulation signals that do not have a constant envelope are significantly affected when passed through a non-linear transmitter. There are two main effects of a non-linear system on a non-constant envelope signal:
1. Reduction in signal quality: The transmitted information is encoded both in the amplitude and phase of a transmitted signal, and, distorting the amplitude of the signal leads to loss of quality of the transmitted signal.
2. Production of extra spectral components outside the bandwidth of signal: These extra spectral components may result in interfering in adjacent frequency channels if they are not filtered successfully before transmission. Typically the amount of extra spectral component that a transmitter can transmit at an adjacent channel is strictly regulated by standards that a transmitter should adhere to for obtaining a license for a product to be sold.
Several commercial consumer communication products utilize non-constant envelope modulation formats due to their high spectral efficiency. For example 2G and 3G Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular phone and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) wireless local area network (LAN) signals have significantly varying envelopes.
In order to reduce distortion to such signals, typically the input drive level is a kept a few decibels (dBs) less than the level that would have driven the PA to saturation. In communication systems engineering terminology, this is called "operating the PA in back off."
However, as we had mentioned earlier, the PA efficiency is low when it is driven at levels that are lower relative to saturation. This is one of the key problems with PA technology that prompted many studies and to which the present invention is directed to improve.
In efforts to improve efficiency of power amplifier following methods have been utilized:
1. PA bias level adaptation
2. Operating the PA with reduced back off. There are two alternative approaches:
                a. PA linearization        b. Signal conditioning to reduce effects of PA non-linearity on signal.PA Bias Level Adaptation
Typically, wireless communication applications have multiple power level modes of operation. It is a common technique to modify the power amplifier bias current to appropriate values at each required output power level. The saturation level at the output of a PA is dependent on the bias current. If the bias current is increased, the PA linear range increases, and, the PA can provide higher output power levels without distortion. However at the same time, the power consumption of the PA increases with increasing bias current. Thus, it is advantageous to keep the bias current as small as possible. Thus, for each output power level desired, the bias current is reduced as much as possible. The level that bias current can be reduced is determined also by the desired back off that the PA should operate relative to saturation. The required PA back off is chosen so as to reduce the distortion to the transmitted signal, and, out of band spectral emissions to acceptable levels.
Reduced Back Off
In efforts to improve PA efficiency one of the key design approaches is generally to find methods to reduce the amount of PA back off. Thus, the drive level of the power amplifier increased so that the PA will operate closer to saturation. However, a key problem with this approach is that, as the operation point gets close to saturation, the distortion introduced by the PA nonlinear characteristic increases.
To reduce the effects of reduced PA back off two methods are used:
Reduced Back Off with PA Linearization
PA Linearization techniques are used for compensating the non-linearity of the PA characteristics. These essentially correct the distortion introduced by the PA by means of various methods.
Reduced Back Off with Signal Conditioning
For typical communication signals used in modern applications, the instantaneous power of the modulated signal can be significantly higher relative to the average power level. Typically the variation of modulated signal around its average value is measured by a parameter called Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR). More precisely, PAPR is the ratio of power of a hypothetical signal that has the same amplitude as the peak instantaneous power of the signal divided by the average power of the signal. The larger PAPR ratio a communication signal has, the larger should the back off be relative to saturation. This is because, the signal can have large variations and if the peak values drive the PA into saturation, the distortions are introduced to the signal.
Signal conditioning involves reducing the PAPR of modulated signals. Several techniques have been proposed in the literature for this purpose. These include,
1. Various flavors of signal peak clipping.
2. Designing error control codes that lead to signals with reduced PAPR.
3. Designing algorithms to manipulate the data stream from which the modulated signal is derived to yield reduced PAPR.
As explained and discussed above, there are certain disadvantages and shortcomings with respect to the current techniques and approaches that are used to improve PA efficiency. Accordingly, there exists a need for a better method and apparatus for improving power amplifier efficiency in data communication devices and systems such as wireless communication devices and networks which operate according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 wireless communication standard, published Nov. 16, 1998. The invention described herein fits into the third category of signal conditioning techniques mentioned above.

Method, apparatus, and system for power amplifier efficiency improvement


Character input control equipment enables the decrease of moving distance of a cursor between key positions and also enables efficient key input. The character input control equipment includes character input display field display controller for displaying a plurality of character input display fields in a display part, cursor movement controller for specifying one character input display field out of the plurality of character input display fields displayed in the display part by moving the cursor, and input character selector for selecting one character out of the plurality of characters corresponding to the one character input display field specified by the cursor movement controller wherein a plurality of characters correspond to each one of the plurality of character input display fields.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to character input control equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to character input control equipment to input characters which are displayed on a display screen, by using xe2x80x9csoftxe2x80x9d keys.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 6 shows an example of an array of a plurality of keys (hereafter called character input display field) which is displayed on the display in direct input mode for conventional character input control.
All alphabetical characters (A-Z) are arranged. Also a key to select lower case characters (small key) and an alphanumeric switching key (Ch/N) and other keys are also arranged. Using such key arrays, a player of a game machine inputs the name of a player, nickname of the operation target character of a match game, and other data according to the type of game.
When xe2x80x9cDREAMxe2x80x9d is input, for example, the cursor is moved to a plurality of key positions corresponding to xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cExe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cMxe2x80x9d so as to be positioned at a predetermined position, and the enter key is instructed to complete the input of xe2x80x9cDREAMxe2x80x9d.
In recent game machines, on the other hand, program control enabling a match game with an opponent at a remote location or to enable conversations (chat) based on characters via communication lines is becoming possible.
In such a case, it is necessary for both players to input predetermined information prior to the start of the match game in order to communicate with the remote equipment. In the case of a chat via communication lines, characters must be input corresponding to the conversation.
Therefore when the above mentioned key array shown in FIG. 6 is used, the distance of cursor movement from a key position to be input to the next key position is large. For example, in order to input xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d after inputting xe2x80x9cPxe2x80x9d, it is necessary to move the character cursor from the character xe2x80x9cPxe2x80x9d position to the character xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d position by passing 13 character positions.
However, in the case of a match game or chat via communication lines, quick character input is desirable to minimize an unnecessary increase in connect charges.
With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a character input control equipment which enables efficient key input while decreasing the moving distance of the cursor between key positions.
To achieve this object, character input control equipment according to the present invention includes character input display field display control means for displaying a plurality of character input display fields in a display part, cursor movement control means for specifying one character input display field out of the plurality of character input display fields displayed in the above display part by moving a cursor, and input character select means where a plurality of characters correspond to each one of the above plurality of character input display fields, and one character is selected out of the plurality of characters corresponding to one character input display field specified by the cursor movement control means.
An aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the movement of the cursor by the above cursor movement means and the selection of one character by the above input character select means are controlled according to control by a player.
Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a character input control equipment comprises character input display field display control means for displaying a plurality of character input display fields in a display part, cursor movement means for specifying one character input display field out of the plurality of character input display fields displayed in the display part by moving a cursor according to control by a player, and input character conversion means, where a first code and a plurality of second codes belonging to the first code correspond to each one of the above plurality of character input display fields, the first code and one second code out of the plurality of second codes belonging to the first code corresponding to one character input display field specified by the cursor movement means are selected, and the combination of the above specified first code and the selected code of the second codes is converted to a corresponding character.
Another aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the movement of the cursor by the cursor movement means and the selection of the above one second code are controlled according to control by a player.
The plurality of character input display fields displayed in the above display part are arranged such that one reference character input display field comes to the center, and the cursor is moved by the cursor movement means from the position of this one reference character input display field.
The present invention is characterized in that the above cursor movement means controls so as to return the cursor to the position of the above reference character input display field when the cursor movement from the position of the above one reference character input display field ends.
The present invention is also characterized in that the character type change means for changing the character type corresponding to the above plurality of character input display fields is included.
Other characteristics of the present invention will be clarified by the embodiments of the present invention, which will be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings.


The present invention provides a functional material, its preparation method, a three-dimensional display raster and a display device, which belongs to the display technical field and can solve the pollution problem in current three-dimensional display devices. The functional material includes an inorganic mixed powder with a modified layer, the inorganic mixed powder comprising boron oxide, sodium oxide, lithium oxide, zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, silicon dioxide, calcium oxide, silver complexes, silver phosphate, silver nitrate, tourmaline, silver thiosulfate, carbon nanotubes, aluminum sulfate, manganese, manganese oxide, iron, iron oxide, cobalt, cobalt oxide, nickel, nickel oxide, chromium, chromium oxide, copper, copper oxide, magnesium oxide, boron carbide, silicon carbide, titanium carbide, zirconium carbide, tantalum carbide, molybdenum carbide, boron nitride, chromium nitride, titanium nitride, zirconium nitride, aluminum nitride, chromium boride, Cr3B4, titanium boride, zirconium boride, tungsten disilicide, titanium disilicide and the like; the modified layer being generated by a reaction of a dianhydride and a diamine.

Naked eye three-dimensional display is a type of three-dimensional display (3D display), and refers to a technology in which users can obtain three-dimensional display effects without the need to wear polarized glasses.
As shown in FIG. 1, the core of naked eye three-dimensional display technology is a three-dimensional display raster 2 having a shade strip and a transparent strip which are alternately arranged. When the three-dimensional display raster 2 is provided at a specific position outside the light-exiting surface of a display panel 1 (such as a liquid crystal display panel, an organic light-emitting diode display panel, etc.), due to the light barrier effect of the shade strip, the left eye of a user can only see one region of the display panel 1 and the right eye can only see the other region of the display panel 1. As such, the three-dimensional display effect can be achieved as long as the two regions of the display panel 1 respectively have a display visible to the left eye and the right eye.
Nonetheless, the display panel of a three-dimensional display device will inevitably produce some electromagnetic radiation pollution during use, which will affect human health.

Functional material and method for preparing the same, three-dimensional display raster and display device

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A deterioration evaluation method includes a determination step of determining a shot peening condition for imparting a maximum residual stress to an object formed of a metal material; a first shot peening step of performing first shot peening on the object under the shot peening condition; a first measurement step of measuring a first residual stress of the object after the first shot peening step; a second shot peening step of performing second shot peening on the object after the first measurement step under the shot peening condition; a second measurement step of measuring a second residual stress of the object after the second shot peening step; and an evaluation step of evaluating deterioration of the object based on the first residual stress and the second residual stress.

Shot peening of projecting projection materials (shot media) having a high hardness onto a surface of an object formed of a metal material is known (for example, Non-Patent Literature 1 and 2). According to shot peening, the fatigue strength of the metal material can be improved.
Shot peening is effective in improving the life of products formed of metal materials. For example, the destruction of a mold often occurs due to a heat check (a heat crack) caused by repeatedly undergoing thermal expansion and contraction. According to shot peening, it is possible to suppress the heat check of the mold. If the life of the mold is improved by shot peening, it is possible to reduce the mold cost included in the manufacturing cost of the product.
A method of evaluating the fatigue of a metal material by applying a load to a test piece is described in Patent Literature 1 and 2. By evaluating the fatigue of the metal material, it is possible to check the timing of mold maintenance or replacement, for example.


The system includes a first module having a paint mixing and storage tank at a list location remote from any paint application point of use. The first module includes a remote pump for delivering paint at a first pressure from the tank to a local atmospheric pressure receptacle disposed at a second location in general proximity with paint application points of use. Excess paint delivered to the local receptacle is returned to the tank at the remote location. A secondary module includes a local pump to draw paint from the local receptacle for discharge into a main paint supply header at a third pressure. At least one separate and independent branch paint supply line is taken from the header for each spray booth, or groups of spray booths if located physically in close proximity to one another. Each of the branch lines is returned separately and independently through a back pressure control valve to the local atmospheric pressure receptacle. The first pressure is sufficient to supply paint to an atmospheric pressure storage receptacle disposed at the second location and is less than a second hypothetical pressure sufficient to supply paint to a furthermost desired point of paint application directly from the paint mixing and storage tank at the first location and at a predefined minimum paint application pressure. The third pressure is sufficient to supply paint to at least one desired point of paint application with the desired minimum paint application pressure and is less than the second hypothetical pressure.

In today's market the consumer is aware of quality and the benefits of purchasing a quality product. Quality combined with a reasonable or competitive price of a product creates value. The paint finish of particular vehicles, such as passenger cars or trucks, plays a major role in convincing a potential customer that quality of the product is good. If the aesthetic quality of the product is easily inspected by a customer and is satisfactory, the customer often assumes that the entire product must be of the same quality level.
To obtain a high quality process, the paint application industry resorts to the use of sophisticated and newly-developed equipment for applying and processing the paint finish. The research, development and marketing of some equipment areas have accelerated to meet the need for higher quality paint finishing, such as robotic applicators which were recently made more accurate by the use of improved electric robots in lieu of the prior hydraulic robots or manual spray persons, intelligent conveyor systems which locate the object to be sprayed more precisely for the automatic spray equipment, the use of flexible products and infra-red ovens which can cure or dry the paint applied to these products without melting the substrate, etc. An area which has not accelerated in the paint application process is the paint circulation system to deliver paint in large paint application processes. The current technologies are not geared toward the paint products themselves, many of the paint products have been newly-developed to meet environmental issues, for example, water based paint products.
The current technologies of paint circulation systems are not geared toward efficiency and are not cost-effective with respect to operating expenses. The current designs are expensive to initially purchase and install. The current designs are also complex and difficult to operate in the manner necessary to keep the same parameters of the system on a daily basis which is required to achieve consistent quality levels. The current designs also require large volumes of hazardous materials to be used and disposed of annually to clean the system.
The following describes a typical previously-known paint circulation system. For instance, in a high-volume paint application process, vehicles or parts thereof travel through various spray booths or enclosures by means of a conveyor system. As these parts travel past the paint application equipment, the parts are coated with the appropriate paint products and paint colors. Often times several different colors are applied at the same spray booth with the same application equipment throughout the course of the day or even within a single 30 minute time period. In many paint application processes, a vehicle passing through the booth will be painted one color, while the vehicle next in line is to be painted a different color and the vehicle after that is to be painted yet another color and so on. To accomplish this task efficiently all necessary paint colors are circulated to these spray booths and remain available for use. Each color has its own system and piping network. At each application point in the spray booth, each piping network has an outlet port connected to an automated valve, which in turn is connected to a manifold typically called a "color change valve stack". Also connected to this color change manifold is a purge or cleaning solvent. By automatic sequencing, a single valve is opened on this manifold and the related color is provided to the application equipment and thus applied to the vehicle or part. Upon completion of painting that vehicle a specific color, the valve is automatically closed and the cleaning solvent valve is opened to rinse out the last color in preparation for the next vehicle color to be applied. As the next vehicle passes by the application equipment, the next appropriate color valve is opened to paint the new color. This automatic sequence is commonly referred to as a "color change". This procedure allows painting vehicles passing through the spray booths closely together to be different colors without the need to stop the conveyed vehicles to manually clean application equipment.
To make all paint colors available to all spray booths and equipment at all times, each color is contained in a paint circulation system. As high volumes of various colors of paint are used, the requirement to contain large volumes of product on site exist. These paint products range with respect to hazardous material ratings from classifications of combustible, which is typical for waterborne paint products, to flammable liquids, which is typical for solvent-based products. For safety reasons, these large volumes of material are stored and supplied from an environment which has specific safety guidelines to protect personnel and the facilities. As mentioned, the products are stored and supplied from this specific location known in the industry as a "paint mix room or building".
Some of the requirements to keep this paint mix building safe are: all electrical equipment is explosion-proof rated, all electrical power sources are installed in an explosion-proof class enclosure, grounding mats are installed to prevent static electricity, fresh air is circulated constantly, explosion-proof walls are constructed and blow out or relief panels are installed in case of an actual explosion, exotic fire extinguishing equipment is usually installed, spark-proof floors are provided, relative humidity is controlled to 50% or above which requires relative humidification equipment, and several other considerations must be in effect to meet the codes concerning hazardous environments. It is for this reason that the paint products are stored in a specific or centralized location. Explosion-proof relief systems are designed to relieve building pressure in the event of an explosion by actually allowing these relief panels to blow off and become detached from the remaining portion of the building. For this reason the paint mix building is located on an outside wall of the main facility, or may even be totally separate from the main facility. The paint mix building is therefor usually a great distance from the various paint spray booths where the paint is to be applied to the vehicle or parts. The fact that the paint spray booths are typically scattered throughout the manufacturing and painting facilities further increases this distance. Furthermore, the spray booths are generally quite long and each booth is located some distance apart from each other.
In the past, a paint circulation system for plants which require several colors to be available at the application areas would result in the following type of paint circulation system. Each color would be contained in its own tank at a pumping station located in the paint mix room. Paint material would be piped through piping, usually stainless steel, the long distance from the paint mix building to the paint spray booth application areas. After arriving at the paint spray booths the piping circles each spray booth to provide paint to application equipment on each side of the spray booth for each applicable booth. This piping is typically called the "high pressure supply line". After this high pressure supply line has provided paint to the most remote spray booth application points, this piping returns to the tank in the paint mix building. This piping is typically referred to as the "high pressure return line". Just prior to entering the tank, a back pressure regulator, or flow control device, is used to adjust the volume of paint returning. This controls the velocity inside of the circulating paint line. Paint products are circulated at predetermined speeds or velocities to keep by-products from separating from the mixture. The industry standard for paint velocity circulated within a pipeline is 60 feet per minute.
To ensure circulation of paint products in all areas of the circulation system, such as the station drop tubes to each actual application equipment or manual spray station, various circulation system types or configurations have been used. Some system variations may add additional piping or equipment to the overall system, however, in all system variations supply and return main piping headers are required.
All types of prior known paint circulation systems which deliver paint from a remote paint mix room or building to various paint spray booths and application equipment use points have common equipment, such as supply and return pipe headers. The length of the continuous pipe header from the mix room to and around all applicable spray booths, and the return pipe header back to the mix room is extremely long. In many of today's installations in the automotive and other industries, this pipeline for each color exceeds one mile in length. The pumping station must provide enough pressure to satisfy the most remote application point from the paint mix building, sometimes referred to herein as a second pressure for comparison purposes. Due to the great distance and the viscosity of paint, this piping header must be large in diameter to decrease the amount of pressure loss experienced while conveying the paint through a pipeline of this distance. It is typical for this pipe header to be a two-inch diameter Schedule 5 pipe header or even larger. With this size pipe and having a pipe length in excess of one mile, the pump source may be required to pump paint at a pressure in the range of 250 pounds per square inch in order to maintain the desired industry standard velocity of 60 feet per minute minimum, and provide the required application spray pressure at the most remote paint application point. Therefore, the larger the paint high pressure supply header, the high pressure return header and, when applicable, the additional low pressure return header, the greater the volume of paint is required to maintain this velocity.
In summary, all types of previously known paint circulation systems require large diameter piping to reduce pressure drop and large volumes of paint supplied to the piping to meet minimum velocity requirements. The end result of these requirements can be summarized as five problem areas. First, these prior known systems create quality problems related to the paint application process. Second, the initial purchase price of these large size components and piping are expensive, and the installation labor cost to install a large and heavy system is expensive. Third, operational cost of these large systems is extremely expensive. Fourth, these large systems generate an enormous amount of hazardous waste, and therefore create environmental concerns, in addition to the economic concerns associated with disposing of hazardous waste. Fifth, these large systems are difficult to control in a manner that will produce the high quality finished product desired by present-day manufacturers.

Modular continuous flow paint delivery system


A method of programming a plurality of memory cells in a flash memory device from a first state to a second state includes verifying the plurality of memory cells using a verify voltage having a level increased according to an increase in a program loop number; and programming the plurality of memory cells using a program voltage having an increment decreased according to an increase in the program loop number, wherein the verifying and programming steps constitute a program loop, the program loop being terminated at a point in time when a level of the verify voltage reaches to a voltage range of the second state.

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor memory device and, more particularly, to a flash memory device capable of reducing the coupling between adjacent memory cells in the same row of the memory device.
In recent years, applications for storage devices such as volatile memories and non-volatile memories have been rapidly spreading to mobile devices, such as MP3 players, PMPs, cellular phones, notebook computers, PDAs, and the like. Such mobile devices typically require mass storage devices to provide their various functions, for example, a moving figure reproducing function. Many efforts have been made to satisfy such storage requirements. As one of such efforts, a multi-bit memory device has been proposed that stores 2-bit data or more data bits per cell. In the following a memory cell storing multi-bit data is called an MLC, and the mass storage devices can be implemented to integrate more memory cells per unit area according to advances in process technologies.
In the case of designing the MLC flash memory device, narrower threshold voltage distributions are required in order to secure wider read margins. In accordance with a well-known Incremental Step Pulse Programming (ISPP) technique, before performing the ISPP, a step-shape voltage is applied to a word line in order to shift the threshold voltages of the memory cells into a target threshold voltage. This is called a "convergence program operation". After the convergence program operation, the memory cells are programmed to have threshold voltages that are equal to or higher than a verify voltage.
FIG. 1A is a diagram for use in describing a program method according to a conventional flash memory device.
Referring to FIG. 1A, memory cells in a threshold voltage distribution 10 are programmed to have a threshold voltage distribution 20 using pulse voltages of a constant increment. A threshold voltage may be shifted through F-N tunneling in the case of a NAND flash memory and through CHE injection in the case of a NOR flash memory device. The threshold voltage distribution 10 indicates a distribution after the convergence program operation. As a pulse voltage with an increment Δ V of a constant magnitude is applied to a selected word line, a threshold voltage distribution of the memory cells may be shifted in this order of 10→11→12→13→ . . . →20, as shown in FIG. 1A. In an ideal case, a final width of the threshold voltage distribution 20 of programmed memory cells may become Δ V.
FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a variation of a program voltage applied to a selected word line. Referring to FIG. 1B, in order to obtain the final threshold voltage distribution 20 in FIG. 1A, a program voltage with a constant increment Δ V has to be applied to a selected word line. Then, whenever the program voltage is applied to the selected word line, a verify operation is carried out to confirm whether the memory cells of the selected word line are programmed, with a verify voltage being applied to the selected word line. When a result indicative of a program passage is obtained, the program operation may be ended.
On the other hand, a threshold voltage distribution 10 obtained after performing the convergence program operation may be widened in the event that the degree of integration is increased and the memory cells are shrunk. An increment of the program voltage may be reduced in order to make the widened threshold voltage distribution become programmed to have a threshold voltage distribution having a sufficient read margin. In the event that the increment is reduced, the threshold voltage distribution can be improved. On the other hand, a decrease in the increment causes an increase in the number of pulses. This forces a program loop number to increase. Accordingly, program speed is remarkably reduced.
As well known in the art, a flash memory device such as a NAND flash memory device has a relatively slower program speed than that of other memory devices. Accordingly, there are required a method and device that are capable of increasing the program speed through a decrease in a program pulse number, that are capable of securing sufficient read margins, and that are capable of guaranteeing a threshold voltage distribution.

Flash memory device and program method thereof


A pivotal multisocket comprising an outer socket body with two socket ends, at least one slidable sleeve with a interior passage, and a pivot hinge for pivoting the multisocket to multiple operational positions and a stowed position. The sleeves are user slidable between at least two usable positions to provide four or more gripping surface sizes for the pivotal multisocket.

The present state of the art for hand tools is very diverse. For wrenches and socket, they normally come in sets of five or more sizes. These sets usually come in a carrying case or other holding structure to keep the tools together. Socket sets allow the user to tighten and loosen rotary fasteners (bolts, screws, nuts, specialty fasteners, and etc.) in depressions and other hard to reach areas. Socket sets often include a ratchet wrench to turn a rotary fastener without having to remove the socket from the fastener. The disclosed multisockets as well as general wrench sockets can have many types of gripping surfaces. Wrench sockets in general can each come in a variety of gripping surfaces for use with different types of rotary fasteners. Some common socket gripping surfaces can comprise: 1) four-point standard (square shape), 2) six-point standard (hexagon shape), 3) eight-point (star shaped), 4) twelve-point standard (double hexagon), 5) twelve-point spline, 6) lobed gripping surfaces (both six and twelve point), 7) Torex® gripping surfaces, 8) asymmetric gripping surfaces, 9) variations on these basic gripping surfaces, and 10) many other shape specialty shapes for various purposes. This list of gripping surfaces is not exhaustive and many other gripping surface designs exist in the patent record that can be used with the disclosed sockets.
Most American homes have at least one socket set in their home. Prior art sockets include a multitude of ways of providing torque to various rotary fasteners, and can include a ratchet mechanism that can be bidirectional (selectively reversible) or unidirectional (ratchet action only in one direction). Single direction ratchet systems can be combined with the pivotal multisockets if the sockets can reverse their attachment to the ratchet. Along with the multiple socket sizes, this invention can also be combined with other tools, such as, but not limited to, hammers, screwdrivers, pry bars, scraping tools, box cutters, knives, saws, files (wood and/or metal), pliers, axes, and other hand tools. The socket heads themselves can have a pivot hinge pin or knobs that allow the multisocket to swivel to various angles to allow greater functionality, and can be designed to pivot to a low-profile position for stowage.
The use of the term "sockets" can be used in this patent to differentiate themselves from wrench head designs which during use have a much lower profile (height above rotary fastener during use) than a socket. Generally a socket has a longitudinal length (vertical height above the base of a rotary fastener during use) that is generally greater than its gripping surface rated size (i.e., ½ inch socket has a longitudinal length that is generally greater than ½ inch. For the double ended sockets disclosed here, the longitudinal length of the multisockets is generally greater than two times the socket's gripping size. The disclosed multisockets will generally be much longer than two times the largest socket size, and can provide a deep socket function by having a clear path down their center axis (see FIGS. 4A-B), however this open center axis (deep socket) is optional for the invention.
Wrench sockets are generally not hinged at the socket since this would make it difficult to connect and disconnect different sockets. Instead, some ratchet wrenches have built in hinges near the ratchet head to allow the socket to pivot to various angles when it is attached to that wrench. Such pivots or hinges can comprise a friction means and/or locking mechanism to help hold the ratchet head and socket at a particular angle with respect to the rest of the wrench (i.e., the wrench handle). These friction and locking means (stabilizing means) can comprise any mechanism that can be used with hand tool hinges to help hold the hinge's joint in place during use. The disclosed multisocket, because of its many gripping surfaces sizes do not need to be switched out for different sockets and can be permanently and pivotally attached to the end of the wrench. The wrench hinge(s) can include a friction and/or locking mechanism(s), as its particular use dictates.


CT imaging is enhanced by adaptively filtering x-ray attenuation data prior to image reconstruction. Detected x-ray projection data are adaptively and anisotropically filtered based on the locally estimated orientation of structures within the projection data from an object being imaged at a plurality of rotation positions. The detected x-ray data are uniformly low pass filtered to preserve the local mean values in the data, while the high pass filtering is controlled based on the estimated orientations. The resulting filtered data provide projection data with smoothing along the structures while maintaining sharpness along edges. Image noise and noise induced streak artifacts are reduced without increased blurring along edges in the reconstructed images. The enhanced image allows reduced x-ray dose while maintaining image quality.

This invention relates generally to computed tomography (CT) and more particularly the invention relates to processing of CT image data to reduce adverse noise effects in data acquired using a low x-ray dose.
Cross-sectional images of a patient using x-ray computed tomography have long been employed in medical practice. Briefly, computed tomography is the reconstruction by computer of a tomographic slice or a three-dimensional (3D) image volume of an object or patient. It is generated from multiple x-ray absorption measurements in a scan made around the object's periphery. These projections can be obtained using, for example, a conventional CT scanner with an x-ray source and a detector rotating at a relatively high speed, or with a source and a detector mounted on a C-arm that rotates more slowly around the patient. The fidelity of the image depends upon the nature of the x-ray source and the detectors, the number and speed of the measurements made, and details of the reconstruction algorithm.
An x-ray detector detects a beam of x-rays passing through the body which are attenuated by absorption and by scattering. The amount of absorption depends on the physical density, the atomic composition and the photon energy spectrum of the x-ray beam. For equivalent x-ray energy, a more dense material will attenuate the beam more than a less dense material. X-ray detectors with multiple rows of detector elements, or even a full two-dimensional (2D) matrix, will generate a 2D projection image at every rotation angle. Based on these obtained projections, a reconstruction algorithm computes an attenuation coefficient for each volume element or voxel in the slice.
With the acquisition of an increasing number of projections, it is essential to minimize the radiation dose used. Adaptive anisotropic filtering has the ability to reduce the noise level in low dose data without introducing noticeable blurring.
Three dimensional adaptive filtering as applied to magnetic resonance angiography subsequent to image reconstruction is described by Westin et al. in Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging 14: 63-7231 (2001). As described by Westin et al., multi-dimensional adaptive filtering is used as a technique for enhancement of images, image volumes, and volume sequences having temporal resolution. The multi-dimensional adaptive filtering method employs local orientation of structures within the image, such as lines, edges, and planes, to control a set of anisotropic filters. The method is divided into three main steps. The first step includes an estimation of the local orientation of every neighborhood in the original image by assuming that the local orientation can be described locally by a combination of simple features such as lines and planes. In a second step the orientation estimate is stabilized through low pass filtering. Finally, the orientation information is used to control the filtering of the original data in an adaptive fashion.
Li et al. U.S. Patent Publication No. US2006/0062485A1 and Spies et al. International Publication No. WO2005/091219A1 describe the use of filtering to enhance CT images including the use of processing subsequent to image reconstruction to reduce noise effects. However, post processing approaches will be less efficient in reducing for example noise induced streak artifacts compared to processing prior to image reconstruction. It is known to filter CT image data prior to image reconstruction, but it is not believed that adaptive anisotropic filtering utilizing filters that change their shape according to the input data, have been employed.

Adaptive anisotropic filtering of projection data for computed tomography

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


A D.C.--D.C. down converter utilizes a controlled converter primary switching circuit and a full-wave rectified secondary circuit employing synchronous rectification. An isolation transformer having split first and second secondary windings supplies current to the full-wave secondary circuit. The gating signals for synchronous rectification are produced by a switch conduction control including a secondary switch control receiving control signals from the primary switch control through a control current isolating transformer. The secondary switch control is powered by the secondary converter circuit. Through the use of a split secondary winding of the isolation transformer and a full-wave rectifying circuit, the secondary converter circuit of the D.C.--D.C. converter may readily generate drive voltages for supply to the secondary switch control, allowing the secondary converter circuit and load to be fully isolated from the primary converter circuit and input source.

DC--DC converters have long been utilized in a variety of electronic devices. Such DC--DC converters often utilize isolation transformers coupled with a controlled converter primary switching circuit for supplying alternating pulses through the isolation transformer and a converter rectification and filtering secondary circuit.
A variety of transformer isolated D.C.--D.C. converters employ diodes to perform signal rectification. In lower voltage applications Schottky diodes are commonly utilized for signal rectification in the converter secondary circuitry. This is because Schottky diodes have a relatively low forward conduction voltage drop of about 0.3 volts. D.C.--D.C. converters employing diode rectification in the secondary circuit are well known and are well described in the literature. However, the forward voltage threshold of approximately 0.3 volts in Schottkey diodes still results in substantial losses in power conversion efficiency, particularly in power supplies having a desired output voltage of about 3.3 volts.
D.C.--D.C. converters are commonly utilized to power integrated circuit electronics. Such integrated circuit electronics typically require a drive voltage of either 3.3 or 5 volts. In order to enhance converter efficiency the voltage drop present in Schottky diodes is desirably avoided in such low voltage DC to DC converters. One proposal for avoidance of the use of Schottky diodes is presented in a publication entitled "The Performance Of The Current Doubler Rectifier With Synchronous Rectification" by Laszlo Balogh, HFPC, May 1995 Proceeding, pg.216. This publication proposes the use of a current doubler rectifier secondary in D.C.--D.C. converters in place of known push-pull, half bridge, and bridge topologies. The publication further proposes to use synchronous rectification to increase converter efficiency in low voltage, current doubler converters by replacing the Schottky diodes with control driven MOS-FETs'. These transistors, according to the publication should be switched on before the conduction of the MOS-FETs body diodes, while avoiding a short circuit across the secondary winding which may be caused by two simultaneously conducting synchronous switches. Thus, the above-mentioned publication proposes to utilize control-driven MOS-FETs in a D.C.--D.C. converter having a current doubler rectifier secondary.
It is clear that the current doubler rectifier employed in the Balogh publication is intended to employ a common input and output ground in order to avoid complex gate drives schemes. Thus, the converter proposed in the Balogh reference cannot provide complete transfer isolation without a complex gate drive scheme. This is primarily due to the reference's avoidance of a center tap in the transformer employed with the current doubler circuitry in order to avoid the complication of a split secondary transformer.
Because of the lack of such a center tap, the voltage output from the transformer secondary in the current doubler circuit proposed by the Balogh reference is too high to feed the gating circuitry used to gate the rectifying MOS FETs. While the secondary transformer voltage may be voltage divided to the desired voltage level, this results in power loss, deteriorating the efficiency of the current doubler rectifier of the Balogh publication. In the circuitry contemplated by the Balogh publication, transistor gating circuit power is likely obtained from the circuit primary since, in the Balogh circuit, a common input and output ground is utilized to avoid such complex gate drive schemes. Thus, the Balogh publication utilizes a driving technique having substantial disadvantages if full isolation between converter primary and secondary circuits is to be achieved.
Half bridge rectifiers such as illustrated in Prior Art FIG. 1 of the present application have also been known. FIGS. 1(a)-(c) of the present application illustrate a Prior Art isolated DC--DC converter which employs a half bridge or push pull primary circuit and a full wave secondary circuit employing Schottky diodes D.sub.1,D.sub.2. Converters of this type utilize the first and second rectifying diodes D.sub.1,D.sub.2 not only as rectification diodes, but as fly-back diodes as well. This is best understood by an examination of the operation of the FIG. 1 circuitry.
The circuit of FIG. 1 operates in three primary modes illustrated in FIGS. 1(a)-1(c), respectively. A first primary transistor Q.sub.1 which, in the preferred embodiment is an MOS-FET is turned on in a manner that is well known. When the first primary transistor Q.sub.1 conducts, current flows between the positive and negative (+,-) terminals of the input supply voltage V.sub.IN through the conductive first primary transistor Q.sub.1, a primary winding TR.sub.1 P of isolation transformer TR.sub.1, and second ripple filtering capacitor C.sub.2. This current is transferred across the core of the transformer TR.sub.1 to a first isolation transformer secondary winding TR.sub.1 S.sub.1 where it is supplied to a load R.sub.L through the first rectifying and fly-back diode D.sub.1 and a low-pass filter including filtering or smoothing inductor L.sub.1 and secondary filtering capacitor C.sub.3. Thus, power is supplied to the load.
When the first primary transistor Q.sub.1 is switched off, the first rectifying and fly-back diode D.sub.1 continues to conduct due to the free-wheeling action of the filtering or smoothing inductor L.sub.1. At this time, when both of the first and second primary transistors Q.sub.1,Q.sub.2 are turned off, the second rectifying and fly-back diode D.sub.2 also begins to conduct as illustrated in FIG. 1(b). At this time, both diodes D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 are operating as fly-back diodes, supplying the residual energy stored in the filtering or smoothing inductor L.sub.1 to the load. Thus, the diodes D.sub.1,D.sub.2 operate in conjunction with the filtering or smoothing inductor L.sub.1 to form a free-wheeling or fly-back path through which the current within the inductor L.sub.1 can "free-wheel".
Subsequently, the second primary transistor Q.sub.2 is switched on, conducting current from the input supply voltage V.sub.in through capacitor C.sub.1, the isolation transformer primary TR.sub.1 P, and the second primary transistor Q.sub.2. This induces current along a loop including the second isolation transformer secondary TR.sub.1 S.sub.2, through the center tap CT of the secondary, the load R.sub.L, the filtering or smoothing inductor L.sub.1, and the second rectifying and fly-back diode D.sub.2. Once again, the filtering or smoothing inductor L.sub.1 and secondary filtering capacitor C.sub.3 function to low-pass filter this output voltage, smoothing it into a more nearly constant voltage V.sub.0. When transistor Q.sub.2 again becomes non-conductive, diodes D.sub.1 and D.sub.2 operate as fly-back diodes transferring the current from the filtering or smoothing inductor L.sub.1 to the load R.sub.L.
The converter of FIG. 1 exhibits the known efficiency problems of converters utilizing Schottky diodes for signal rectification in the secondary side of the converter, as mentioned above.
Applicants of the present application have discovered that DC--DC converters employing full wave secondary rectifying circuits are substantially advantageous over current doubler secondary circuits of the type disclosed in the Balogh publication when both high efficiency and full isolation is desirable. This is because such full-wave rectification secondary circuits employing a split secondary winding transformer exhibit intermediate voltages at the transformer secondary both accessible and of a level desirable for gate circuit drive, which voltages are not present in the current doubler circuitry of the aforementioned Balogh publication.
While the use of a current doubler secondary circuit of the type proposed by the Balogh publication produces efficient D.C. to D.C. conversion, the Balogh secondary may not be easily and efficiently gated by circuitry powered by the converter secondary circuit which is fully isolated from the converter primary circuit. However, Balogh considers the use of a full wave secondary to be distinctly inferior to use of a current doubler rectifier.
In a DC to DC converter having a full wave secondary and split transformer secondary windings designed to drive the electronic circuitry at a normal drive voltage of, for example, 3.3 or 5 volts, the output of either secondary winding of the transformer is of the voltage level desirable for supplying power to electronic circuitry. However, at low voltages, the forward voltage drop of the rectification diodes is undesirable. It is therefore desirable to employ synchronous gating in a D.C.--D.C. converter having a full wave secondary, as such a D.C.--D.C. converter can more easily obtain the desired drive circuitry supply voltages from the converter secondary circuit. For this reason, such a converter is preferable, particularly in applications which require complete isolation between the converter primary circuit and the secondary circuit and load. Thus, although the isolated full wave DC to DC converter of the present invention requires a transformer with a split secondary, a gating circuitry drive voltage of a desired level may be readily obtained across either of the secondary coils without substantial efficiency loss, while maintaining full primary/secondary isolation.

Double ended isolated D.C.--D.C. converter


An input shaft bearing retainer for use in a vehicle transmission assembly maintains an input bearing in a desired position without the use of external fasteners such as bolts. The bearing retainer includes an exterior portion having a radially extending flange that is engaged between a transmission case outer wall and a clutch housing outer wall. Since the clutch housing outer wall remains fixed relative to the outer wall of the transmission case, the input bearing retainer is also maintained in place. The interface between an opening through the transmission case and the bearing retainer includes a seal member in the form of an O-ring to maintain a fluid tight seal at the opening of the transmission case.

This invention generally relates to a retainer for maintaining a bearing in a desired position on an input shaft for a vehicle transmission.
Vehicle transmissions are well known. Vehicle transmissions typically include an input shaft that is adapted to be coupled to an engine output shaft through a master clutch. When the engine output shaft is coupled with the transmission input shaft, the engine provides a motive force for rotating the transmission input shaft. The transmission input shaft rotates through a gearing arrangement to provide a drive force on a transmission output shaft that operates to drive the wheels of the vehicle.
The transmission input shaft rotates relative to other portions of the transmission, including a transmission case. Accordingly, bearings are provided to facilitate the rotation of the input shaft. The conventional manner of arranging bearings on an input shaft introduces several drawbacks and difficulties. Conventionally, input shaft bearings have typically been held in place using an assembly that includes a plurality of bolts or other fasteners to hold the input bearings in place. These bolts and fasteners render the overall assembly more time-consuming for assembly and disassembly when it is desirable to service or repair the transmission. In addition to rendering a transmission more difficult to service, the conventional manner of maintaining input shaft bearings in a desired position has placed physical limitations on remaining portions of the transmission that are less than optimum. For example, bearings associated with a countershaft in the transmission are necessarily restricted to certain dimensions because of the bolts or fasteners utilized to maintain the input shaft bearing in place.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved transmission assembly where the input shaft bearing is maintained in place and that avoids the shortcomings and drawbacks discussed above. This invention addresses those needs.


Systems, apparatus and methods are described including operations for a flexible neural network accelerator.

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems, or automatic speech recognizers, have become increasingly important as more and more computer-based devices use speech recognition to receive commands from a user in order to perform some action as well as to convert speech into text for dictation applications or even hold conversations with a user where information is exchanged in one or both directions. Such systems may be speaker-dependent, where the system is trained by having the user repeat words, or speaker-independent where anyone may provide immediately recognized words. Some systems also may be configured to understand a fixed set of single word commands or short phrases, such as for operating a mobile phone that understands the terms "call" or "answer". Other systems may have an extensive vocabulary such as for voice activated speech recognition interfaces for search engines such as those found on mobile devices. Due to these advantages, ASR is very desirable for wearables, smartphones, and other small devices.
To perform these functions, an ASR conventionally has a number of main components including a front end that identifies phoneme, an acoustic score unit that provides probabilities for each phoneme conventionally by using a Gaussian mixture model (GMM), and a decoder that often is a weighted finite state transducer (WFST) and that generates hypothesis utterances, words, or word sequences, and a score for each hypothesis. The WFST is often based on the use of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and/or GMMs as well. Finally, a language interpreter and execution unit (or interpretation engine) may be provided that determines the user intent and the final words from the results of the WFST. The decoder and interpretation engine may use neural networks to generate the final words, and therefore, can be very computationally heavy.
Since an ASR device or computer produces a large computational load while using neural networks, use of the device's processor to perform the neural network computations can cause an unacceptable latency noticeable by a user such as relatively long pauses from the time a user utters a word to the time an ASR device indicates recognition of the word either by having the device reply to a user's statement or perform some other action in response. These ASR neural computations also consume relatively large amounts of battery power and use a disproportionate amount of the processors time so that the operation of other applications may degrade. Also, many small devices with ASR systems, and especially those with large vocabularies, are server based such that the computations are performed remotely from the device which raises the risk of privacy and/or security breaches, or can result in even more delay. As yet another difficulty, many neural network propagation systems have software arranged to handle a certain type of neural network with layers in a certain format and arranged in certain orders. Such conventional systems offer little or no adaptability to use different types of neural networks or different types of neural network layers (such as a recurrent layer, a convolutional layer, etc.) with a variety of available formats and sequence orders, especially when fixed function hardware is used for neural network processing.

Flexible neural network accelerator and methods therefor


The present disclosure relates to a predicative power management system configured to adjust computer CPU clock rate by a computer user to conserve energy based on user category. In certain embodiments, the predicative power management system includes (a) a computer user profile creator module, and (b) a power management module. The computer user profile creator module is used to create computer usage profiles and each of the computer usage profiles has a profileID for a computer user with a computer userID. The power management module is used to set and adjust computer CPU clock rate, CPU voltage and device states based on computer users' category and the computer user's computer usage profile.

Modern technology makes the central processing unit (CPU) in a personal computer faster. Typically, the faster the speed of the CPU is, the higher the energy consumption will be. Although we can use different methods to reduce the energy consumption of our computers such as: hibernating the computer, turning off the display controller, turning off the wireless or Wi-Fi adapter, turning off or reducing the speed of the hard drives, and turning off multimedia accessories, but such activities may hamper the computer's functionalities and hinder users' ability to perform their duties. Everyone in an office may have different functions and they use computers in many different ways. Therefore, it is desirable to have a computer system that can reduce the power consumption by turning off those unnecessary components of the computer while maintaining a fully functional computer for each user based on their daily functions and computer usage patterns.
Therefore, heretofore unaddressed needs still exist in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Predictive power management based on user category


Product acceptance requires accurate measurement of product features. We augment machine control with true position feedback from an independent measurement system to allow such inspection to occur with conventional machine tools rather than expensive, special purpose, limited versatility Coordinate Measuring Machines.

This section has three parts. First, it will describe machine accuracy. Second, it will describe laser measurement systems. Third, it will describe product acceptance.
Machine tools exhibit dimensional positioning errors that are difficult to minimize. The primary contributors to these positioning errors are: (1) expansion and contraction of the machine structure and the workpiece (i.e., the part) because of thermal changes in the factory during machining, and (2) mechanical misalignments of and between individual axes of the machine. The accuracy of the machine is often so uncertain that post-machining inspection of the dimensions of the parts must be made using an independent measuring method. Such inspection traditionally requires special tools and skilled workers as well as significant factory space. It slows the production process. Failing inspection, parts must be reworked or scrapped. Post-production inspection, rework, and scrap are the result of poor design or manufacturing processes.

Method for product acceptance by improving the accuracy of machines


Pulses from a mode-locked Yb-doped laser (12) are spectrally broadened in an optical fiber (28), and temporally compressed in a grating compressor (32), then frequency-doubled (34) and used to pump an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) (40). The OPO output is tunable over a wavelength range from about 600 nm to about 1100 nm. Mode-locking in the Yb-doped laser (12) is accomplished with a SESAM (14) or by Kerr-lens mode-locking with a Kerr medium (82) and a hard aperture (84).

Multi-photon excitation using ultrafast lasers is a common technique for generating 3D images of biological tissue with a spatial resolution in the sub-micron range. A usual laser source for this application is a tunable Ken-lens mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser with an average output power between 1 and 3 Watts (W) at a pulse-repetition frequency (PRF) of about 80 Megahertz (MHz) and a pulse duration between about 70 and 140 femtoseconds (fs). The typical tuning range of such a laser covers a wavelength range between about 680 nanometers (nm) and about 1080 nm. Extension of the tuning range into the infrared (up to 2 um) can be accomplished by using the output of the laser to pump an external optical parametric oscillator (OPO).
One significant disadvantage of a Ti-Sapphire laser is that it must be pumped at a wavelength of 532 nm using a frequency doubled diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser with an output power in a range between about 5 W and 20 W to generate the gain in the Ti:Sapphire gain-medium of the laser and to achieve an output power of greater 1 W. Such a frequency-doubled DPSS laser is relatively expensive, and can have a cost comparable to the Ti:Sapphire resonator.
There is a need for a more cost effective ultrafast laser source that is tunable over several hundred nm in the visible and infrared (IR) and can deliver pulses having a duration of 100 fs or shorter. One possible approach is to use a laser having a gain-medium that has a wide gain-bandwidth, for example 10 nm or greater that can be pumped by standard diode-lasers and is power-scalable to several Watts of output power. Ytterbium (Yb) doped gain-media in bulk or fiber form meet these requirements. However, while output powers exceeding 100 W range have been achieved with 9XX-nm diode-pumped mode-locked Yb-doped fiber MOPAs (master-oscillator power-amplifiers) and Yb-doped solid state thin-disk lasers, it is technically difficult to achieve sub-100 fs pulse durations at 80 MHz PRF at these power levels.
FIG. 1 is a plot summarizing published average-power and pulse-duration results for mode-locked lasers including various bulk Yb-doped gain-media. Results for media in disk form are indicated by a letter D beside symbols identifying the gain-media. Yb-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Yb:YAG), yttrium-doped potassium gadolinium tungstate (Yb:KGW), yttrium-doped potassium yttrium tungstate (Yb:KYW), yttrium-doped potassium lutetium tungstate (Yb:KLuW), yttrium-doped lutetium oxide (Yb:Lu2O3), and yttrium-doped lutetium scandium sesquioxide (Yb:LuScO3). Other less commonly used materials are collectively summarized under the symbol for Yb:XXX. Pulse repetition frequencies of the examples are in a range between about 60 and 100 MHz. It can be seen from the plot that the gain-media in thin-disk form provide the highest powers, but, in general, it can be seen that whatever the form of the gain-medium, higher power is accompanied by longer pulse-duration.
Pulses having a duration of less than 100 fs have been demonstrated using mode-locked Yb-doped fiber ring-lasers. However, these fiber ring-lasers use nonlinear polarization rotation as the mode-locking mechanism, and this mechanism is very sensitive to environmental changes and is not suitable for lasers which will be used in a commercial environment. Yb Fiber MOPAs and oscillators have also achieved sub 100 fs pulse durations, but due to strong nonlinear effects in the fiber amplifiers, the pulse shapes of these lasers usually comprise undesirable sidelobes.
In order to provide a cost effective tunable ultrafast laser it will be necessary to overcome above discussed scaling problems of mode-locked Yb-doped laser sources.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Optical parametric oscillator pumped by femtosecond thin-disk laser


A pulse radar apparatus is disclosed. The pulse radar apparatus includes a pulse generation unit, a receiver unit, a synchronization unit, and a switch unit. The pulse generation unit generates a pulse based on a transmission trigger signal having a transmission pulse repetition period, and sends the pulse to a target via a transmission antenna. The synchronization unit generates the transmission trigger signal using an external reference clock, provides the transmission trigger signal to the pulse generation unit, and generates a plurality of clock signals having a time delay with respect to the transmission pulse trigger signal using the external reference clock. The switch unit selects any one clock signal from the plurality of clock signals in response to an external selection signal, and provides the selected clock signal to a receiver unit which utilizes a sampler with provided sampling clocks.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a pulse radar apparatus and, more particularly, to a pulse radar apparatus that is capable of receiving an echo signal returned from a target.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pulse radar sends transmission pulses at a pulse repetition frequency (PRF), and obtains information about a target by receiving an echo signal returned from the target and by analyzing the echo signal.
A conventional pulse radar receiver has a limitation to acquire high resolution because whether or not a pulse is present is determined based on a single transmission pulse and thus distance resolution is determined by pulse width. Although, among conventional pulse radar reception schemes, there is a scheme for increasing the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of a received pulse by receiving a plurality of transmission pulses, this scheme also has a limitation to obtain high resolution.
In a conventional range gating method, delay is varied by disposing a delay element in the receiver of a radar, so that whether or not a target is present within a specific range is determined and then a range can be swept. However, this conventional range gating method has a limitation in the improvement of the resolution of a range that is determined by a pulse width.
As a related technology, U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,110 entitled "Impulse Radar with Swept Range Gate" discloses a structure in which a specific range can be variably determined.
In the technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,110, a receiver is operated by delaying the signal of a pulse generator and inputting the delayed signal to a range gate, and thus the receiver is operated as a variable range receiver.
As another related technology, U.S. Pat. No. 7,675,459 entitled "Equivalent Time Sampling Radar" discloses a technology in which a reference signal is dithered using a noise signal and input pulses are sampled using the dithered signal, together with a sweep signal generator.
In the technology disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,675,459, transmission pulses are generated using a signal obtained by dithering a reference clock, sampling pulses are generated using a sweep signal generator and a transmission dithering signal, and a signal received from a target is received by a sampling and hold circuit.

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE


The present invention relates to a device for determining an analyte in a fluid sample in an assay. The device comprises a lid having a plurality of elements and a membrane. The elements have openings which allow passage of fluid to the membrane. The membrane is supported by the lid and covers the openings of the elements. The undersurface of the membrane is in contact with a porous wick which contains a first zone which includes binder attached to a particulate label and a second zone containing salt. The wick extends downward from the membrane and is in contact with the fluid sample.

Immunoassay, which takes advantage of natural immunological reactions, is a well-recognized technique in quantifying biological analytes that are present in biological fluids. Such analytes include, but are not limited to, antigens, antibodies, therapeutic drugs, narcotics, enzymes, hormones and proteins. In many instances immunoassay has made possible the detection of biological compounds that are present in trace quantities too low for traditional chemical and enzymatic techniques.
The most commonly known immunoassay techniques provide for a determination of the presence and/or concentration of either a specific antigen, a specific antibody or a specific antigen/antibody complex. For example, given a known amount of antibody or antigen, the level of its corresponding antigen or antibody can be determined. When the concentration of antibody or antigen is too small for direct measurement, a label can be affixed to a known fraction of the antibody or antigen. This label, which is present and measurable at the requisite concentration, acts as a marker for the extent of antibody/antigen binding between the unknown antibody or antigen and its complementary antigen or antibody. The distribution of label between the bound and unbound antibody or antigen can then be used to calculate the amount of unknown that was present in the liquid sample.
In an alternative type of immunological assay commonly referred to as a sandwich assay, an antibody is contacted with a sample containing an analyte to cause the analyte to bind to the antibody. This complex is then contacted with a solution of a labeled antibody which reacts with the bound analyte. The amount of bound labeled antibody is directly proportional to the amount of bound analyte.
Devices useful in testing samples containing antibodies are known and examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,645, U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,901 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,925 all of which are incorporated by reference herein. Currently, antibody containing samples can be tested singly against many different antigens by setting up individual assays in plates. Alternatively, many antibodies can be tested against single antigens using plates with that antigen attached. Single samples can be tested rapidly using membrane based devices.
What is still lacking in the art, however, is a means for incorporating the simple, rapid membrane-based immunoassay techniques with the large sample techniques of microplate assay systems.

Device for determining an analyte in a sample


A terminal device may determined whether the terminal device has been established a wireless connection with an access point. In a case where it is determined that the terminal device has been established the wireless connection with the access point, the terminal device may send first connection information to the communication device, the first connection information being for establishing a wireless connection between the communication device and the access point. In a case where it is determined that the terminal device has not been established the wireless connection with the access point, the terminal device may communicate second connection information with the communication device, the second connection information being for establishing a wireless connection between the terminal device and the communication device not via the access point.

A Device Provisioning Protocol (hereinafter termed "DPP"), which is a wireless communication protocol established by Wi-Fi Alliance, is known. The DPP is a wireless communication protocol for easily establishing a wireless connection between a pair of devices. More specifically, according to the DPP, a first device (that is, "Configurator") sends information of an access point a second device (that is, "Enrollee"). Accordingly, a wireless connection between the second device and the access point may be established by using the information of the access point.

Terminal device and non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing computer readable instructions for terminal device


This invention relates generally to a novel serine/threonine protein kinase, specifically to hormonally up-regulated, neu-tumor-associated kinase (HUNK); and to the nucleotide sequence encoding it. The kinase is temporally expressed during postnatal mammary development in a spatially heterogeneous manner in certain subsets of cells, and overexpressed in a subset of primary breast cancers. The invention further relates to an analysis of a correlation between carcinogenesis and postnatal development, particularly mammary development, especially associated with parity; to methods of using the kinase, or gene encoding it, as markers, prognostic tools, screening tools and therapies, in vitro and in vivo, that are based upon that correlation; and to the regulation of pregnancy-induced changes in the mammary tissue that occur in response to estrogen and progesterone.

A wealth of epidemiological evidence indicates that ovarian hormones play a crucial role in the etiology of breast cancer (Kelsey et al., Epidemiol. Rev. 15:36-47 (1993)). Specifically, the observations that early menarche, late menopause and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy are each associated with increased breast cancer risk, whereas early oophorectomy is associated with decreased breast cancer risk, have led to the hypothesis that breast cancer risk is proportional to cumulative estradiol and progesterone exposure (Henderson et al, Cancer Res. 48:246-253 (1988); Pike et al., Epidemiol. Rev. 15:17-35 (1993)). As such, elucidating the mechanisms by which hormones contribute to mammary carcinogenesis is a central goal of breast cancer research.
In addition to their roles in the pathogenesis of breast cancer, estradiol and progesterone are the principal steroid hormones responsible for regulating the development of the mammary gland during puberty, pregnancy and lactation (Topper et al., Physiol. Rev. 60:1049-1106 (1980)). For example, estradiol action is required for epithelial proliferation and ductal morphogenesis during puberty, whereas progesterone action is required for ductal arborization and alveolar differentiation during pregnancy (Bocchinfuso et al., J. Mamm. Gland Biol. Neoplasia, 2:323-334 (1997); Humphreys et al., J. Mamm. Gland Biol. Neoplasia, 2:343-354 (1997); Topper et al., 1980). The effects of estradiol and progesterone in a given tissue are ultimately determined by the activation and repression of their respective target genes.
Protein kinases represent the largest class of genes known to regulate differentiation, development, and carcinogenesis in eukaryotes. Many protein kinases function as intermediates in signal transduction pathways that control complex processes such as differentiation, development, and carcinogenesis (Birchmeier et al., BioEssays, 15:185-190 (1993); Bolen, Oncogene, 8:2025-2031 (1993); Rawlings et al., Immunol. Rev., 138:105-119 (1994)). Accordingly, studies of protein kinases in a wide range of biological systems have led to a more comprehensive understanding of the regulation of cell growth and differentiation (Bolen, 1993; Fantl et al., Annu. Rev. Biochem., 62:453-481(1993); Hardie, Symp. Soc. Exp. Biol., 44:241-255 (1990)).
Not surprisingly, aberrant expression or mutations in several members of the protein kinase family have been reportedly involved in the pathogenesis of cancer both in humans and in rodent model systems (Cardiff et al., Cancer Surv., 16:97-113 (1993); Cooper, Oncogenes, Publ., Jones & Bartlett, Boston, Mass., (1990); DiFiore et al., Cell, 51:1063-1070 (1987); Muller et al, Cell, 54:105-115 (1988)). Protein kinases function as molecular switches in signal transduction pathways that regulate cellular processes, such as proliferation and differentiation. In addition, some protein kinases are expressed in a lineage-specific manner, and are therefore useful markers for defining cellular subtypes (Dymecki et al., Science, 247:332-336 (1990); Mischak et al., J. Immunol., 147:3981-3987 (1991); Rawlings et al, 1994; Schnurch et al., Development. 19:957-968 (1993); Siliciano et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 89:11194-11198 (1992); Valenzuela et al., Neuron, 15:573-584 (1995)).
A key role played by serine/threonine kinases in regulating diverse cellular processes is exemplified by studies of SNF1-related kinases. The SNF1 family of protein kinases is composed of at least two subfamilies. The first subfamily includes SNF1 and its plant homologues including NPK5, AKin10, BKIN12, and Rkin1, as well as the mammalian SNF1 functional homologue, AMPK (Alderson et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 88:8602-8605 (1991); Carling et al., J. Biol. Chem., 269 11442-11448 (1994); LeGuen et al., Gene, 120:249-254 (1992); Muranaka et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 14:2958-2965 (1994)). More recently, additional mammalian SNF1-related kinases have been identified that define a second subfamily. These include C-TAK1/p78 (involved in cell cycle control), MARK1, MARK2/Emk, SNRK (involved in adipocyte differentiation), and Msk (involved in murine cardiac development), as well as the C. elegans kinase, PAR-1 (Becker et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 235:736-743 (1996); Drewes et al., Cell, 89:297-308 (1997); Peng et al., Science, 277:1501-1505 (1997); Peng et al., Cell Growth Differ., 9:197-208 (1998); Ruiz et al., Mech. Dev., 48:153-164 (1994)). Less closely related to either subfamily are Wpk4, Melk, and KIN1, SNF1-related kinases found in wheat, mice, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, respectively (Heyer et al., Mol. Reprod. Dev., 47:148-156 (1997); Levin et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 87:8272-8276 (1990); Sano et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91:2582-2586 (1994)).
SNF1 is composed of a heterotrimeric complex that is activated by glucose starvation and is required for the expression of genes in response to nutritional stress (Carlson et al., Genetics, 98:25-40 (1981); Celenza et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 9:5045-5054 (1989); Ciriacy, Mol. Gen. Genet., 154:213-220 (1977); Fields et al., Nature, 340:245-246 (1989); Wilson et al., Curr. Biol., 6:1426-1434 (1996); Yang et al., Science, 257:680-682 (1992); Yang et al., EMBO J., 13:5878-5886 (1994); Zimmermann et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 154:95-103 (1977); Hardie et al., Semin. Cell Biol., 5: 409-416 (1994)). In fact, SNF-1 itself has been found to mediate cell cycle arrest in response to starvation (Thompson-Jaeger et al., Genetics, 129:697-706 (1991)).
Like SNF1, the mammalian SNF1-related kinase, AMPK, is involved in the cellular response to environmental stresses, particularly those that elevate cellular AMP:ATP ratios. Once activated, AMPK functions to decrease energy-requiring anabolic pathways, such as sterol and fatty acid synthesis while up-regulating energy-producing catabolic pathways such as fatty acid oxidation (Moore et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 199:691-697 (1991); Ponticos et al., EMBO J., 17:1688-1699 (1998)). AMPK complements the snf1 mutation in yeast and phosphorylates some of the same targets as SNF1 (Hardie, Biochem. Soc. Symp., 64:13-27 (1999); Hardie et al., Biochem. Soc. Trans., 25:1229-1231 (1997); Hardie et al., Biochem. J., 338:717-722 (1999); Woods et al., J. Biol. Chem., 271:10282-10290 (1996)). Like SNF1, AMPK is a heterotrimer composed of a, b, and g subunits that are homologous to the subunits of SNF1 (Hardie, 1999). Thus, AMPK and SNF1 are closely related both functionally and structurally, demonstrating that the regulatory pathways in which they operate have been highly conserved during evolution.
For instance, C-TAK1/p78 appears to be involved in cell cycle regulation based on its ability to phosphorylate and inactivate Cdc25c (Peng et al., 1997; Peng et al., 1998). Since Cdc25c controls entry into mitosis by activating cdc2, inactivation of Cdc25c by C-TAK1 would be predicted to regulate proliferation negatively. Consistent with this model, C-TAK1/p78 is down-regulated in adenocarcinomas of the pancreas (Parsa, Cancer Res. 48: 2265-2272 (1988)).
Perhaps the most compelling evidence that SNF1 kinases are involved in development is the observation that mutations in the C. elegans SNF1-related kinase, PAR-1, result in an inability to establish polarity in the developing embryo (Guo et al., Cell, 81:611-620 (1995)). Specifically, par-1 mutations disrupt P granule localization, asymmetric cell divisions, blastomere fates, and mitotic spindle orientation during early embryogenesis.
In an analogous manner, the mammalian PAR-1 homologue, MARK2/Emk, is asymmetrically localized in epithelial cells in vertebrates, and expression of a dominant negative form of MARK2 disrupts both cell polarity and epithelial cell—cell contacts (Bohm et al., Curr. Biol., 7:603-606 (1997)). In addition, overexpression of either MARK2 or its close family member MARK1 results in hyperphosphorylation of microtubule-associated proteins, disruption of the microtubule array, and cell death (Drewes et al 997). Thus, members of the SNF1 kinase family have been demonstrated to regulate a variety of important cellular processes.
In light of these findings, it is clear that prior to the present invention, there was a need to identify and study the role of protein kinases in mammary development and carcinogenesis, as well as provide insight into the regulation of pregnancy-induced changes in the mammary tissue that occur in response to estrogen and progesterone.

Hormonally up-regulated, neu-tumor-associated kinase

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