A tape cassette and a leader-trailer tape therefor capable of ensuring safe and positive connection between a leader-trailer tape and a magnetic tape, to thereby permit the magnetic tape to travel in a cassette casing with high reliability. The leader-trailer tape is provided thereon with a pressure-sensitive or heat-sensitive adhesive layer, so that the leader-trailer tape may be joined directly to the magnetic tape by heating or pressurizing while overlapping the tape body. Thus, the handling of the leader-trailer tape and the joining between the leader-trailer tape and the tape body may be facilitated without using any splicing tape and without causing any trouble such as sticking of the adhesive to a cutter.

This invention relates to a tape cassette such as a magnetic tape cassette or the like and a leader-trailer tape therefor, and more particularly to a leader-trailer tape used for a tape cassette having a tape body such as a magnetic tape, a cleaning tape or the like arranged therein and a tape cassette including such a leader-trailer tape.
Conventionally, a tape cassette such as an audio tape cassette, a video tape cassette, a cleaning tape cassette or the like is generally assembled while winding a tape body such as a magnetic tape, a cleaning tape or the like on hubs arranged in a cassette casing in such a manner as disclosed in Japanese Publication No. 21784/1976 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,719. More particularly, a tape body or magnetic tape which has a width as produced or is cut into a width suitable for a final product is connected at each of both ends thereof to a leader-trailer tape by means of a splicing tape having an adhesive applied thereto and then wound up on hubs arranged in a cassette casing, resulting in a tape cassette being assembled in the form of an audio tape cassette, a video tape cassette or the like.
In the cassette assembling process described above, for example, a leader-trailer tape cassette is prepared in advance which comprises a cassette casing called a C-O half in audio applications and a T-O half in video applications in the art and a leader-trailer tape of a length as short as about 50 cm received in the cassette casing while being mounted at both ends thereof on a pair of hubs arranged in the cassette casing. Then, the tape body is incorporated in the leader-trailer tape. For this purpose, the leader-trailer tape is drawn out at the intermediate region thereof from the cassette casing by means of a winder. Then, the drawn-out region of the leader-trailer tape is cut at substantially the central portion thereof into two tape sections, of which one end is free and the other end is mounted on the hub. Then, the tape body such as a magnetic tape is abutted at one end thereof against the free end of one of the two cut tape sections of the leader-trailer tape and then a splicing tape is applied to the boundary between the tape section and the tape body in a manner to stretch over both tapes, to thereby join the tape section and tape body to each other.
Subsequently, the tape body is wound up on the hub through the leader-trailer tape section, during which the length of winding-up of the magnetic tape is detected by a tape length detector. When the tape body is wound up in a predetermined length, it is cut. Then, the cut end of the tape body is abutted against the free end of the other leader-trailer tape section and a splicing tape is applied to the boundary between the tape body and the leader-trailer tape section in substantially the same manner as described above. Thereafter, the other leader-trailer tape section is wound up on the other hub, resulting in the tape cassette such as a magnetic tape cassette being assembled.
Unfortunately, the use of the splicing tape for connecting the tape body to the leader-trailer tape causes gaps to be formed between the ends of both tapes, resulting in an adhesive layer applied to the splicing tape being exposed at the gaps. This leads to sticking of the adhesive to various components of the tape cassette to obstruct positive operation of the tape cassette. Also, the gaps cause both tapes to overlap each other at the joint therebetween. Further, the adhesive deposited on the splicing tape generally comprises a soft adhesive, so that it is softened to a degree sufficient to exhibit much flowability at an elevated temperature and hardened to a degree sufficient to lose its adhesive strength at a low temperature. Thus, the adhesive tends to run out from the splicing tape at a high temperature and fail in joining both tapes to each other at a low temperature, resulting in the assembling of the tape cassette being troublesome and the operation of the cassette lacking smoothness and reliability. In addition, this causes the adhesive to stick to a cutter used for cutting the splicing tape, leading to a failure in continuous assembling of the tape cassette.

Tape cassette and leader-trailer tape therefor


A non-volatile memory wherein bad columns in the array of memory cells can be removed is described. Additionally, substitute redundant columns can replace the removed columns. Both of these processes are performed on the memory in a manner that is externally transparent and, consequently, need not be managed externally by the host or controller to which the memory is attached. An inventory of the bad columns can be maintained on the memory. At power up, the list of bad columns is used to fuse out the bad columns. The memory may also contain a number of redundant columns that can be used to replace the bad columns.

The principles of the present invention have application to various types of non-volatile memories, those currently existing and those contemplated to use new technology being developed. Implementations of the present invention, however, are described with respect to a flash electrically-erasable and programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), wherein the storage elements are floating gates.
A number of architectures are used for non-volatile memories. A NOR array of one design has its memory cells connected between adjacent bit (column) lines and control gates connected to word (row) lines. The individual cells contain either one floating gate transistor, with or without a select transistor formed in series with it, or two floating gate transistors separated by a single select transistor. Examples of such arrays and their use in storage systems are given in the following U.S. patents and pending applications of SanDisk Corporation that are incorporated herein in their entirety by this reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,095,344, 5,172,338, 5,602,987, 5,663,901, 5,430,859, 5,657,332, 5,712,180, 5,890,192, 6,151,248, 6,426,893, and 6,512,263.
A NAND array of one design has a number of memory cells, such as 8, 16 or even 32, connected in series string between a bit line and a reference potential through select transistors at either end. Word lines are connected with control gates of cells in different series strings. Relevant examples of such arrays and their operation are given in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,522,580, that is also hereby incorporated by reference, and references contained therein.
A memory will often have defective portions, either from the manufacturing process or that arise during the operation of the device. A number of techniques exist for managing these defects including error correction coding or remapping portions of the memory, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,602,987, that was incorporated by reference above, or U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,315,541, 5,200,959, and 5,428,621, that are hereby incorporated by reference. For instance, a device is generally thoroughly tested before being shipped. The testing may find a defective portion of the memory that needs to be eliminated. Before shipping the device, the information on these defects is stored on the device, for example in a ROM area of the memory array or in a separate ROM, and at power up it is read by a controller and then used so that the controller can substitute a good portion of the memory for the bad. When reading or writing, the controller will then need to refer to a pointer structure in the controller's memory for this remapping. Having the controller manage this process has the disadvantage of requiring a lot of exchange of information between the controller and the memory portion, and, even within the controller itself, requires the pointer to be read whenever data is transferred. Furthermore, there are embedded embodiment applications for such non-volatile memories which lack a controller.

Flexible and area efficient column redundancy for non-volatile memories


A locking, reversible blade, screwdriver is provided. The screwdriver incorporates a reversible blade; one end is a flat blade for latches or any application that requires a durable flat blade screwdriver, the opposing end is a drive bit holder which could be a magnetic bit holder, C clip bit holder, ball type bit holder etc., or any combination which will accept a variety of drive bit types. The blade can be inserted into the handle with the desired end exposed, where it is secured in place with a ball lock. One hand digital intervention releases the blade. A threaded removable end cap at the opposite end of the handle exposes a selector. This selector, when rotated allows access to one of several tubes holding drive bits for the bit holder end of the blade. The end cap has a wide comfortable flat base with a perimeter recess which acts as a finger grip and the flat base allows the screwdriver to sit on its end for one handed fastener loading on a drive bit.

There been many prior art patents related to screwdrivers. Some fixed blade screwdrivers, some reversible blade screwdrivers and some screwdrivers with bit holding mechanisms, where a variety of different tips will insert into the bit holder making the screwdriver very versatile. The problem is there are many applications where a durable flat blade screwdriver is required along with the versatility of the bit holder screwdriver. One example, though there are many, would be in the aviation industry. Mechanics are required to work with many fasteners such as, Phillips, straight slot, Tri wing, Torque, Airbus, Allen and etc., which are all in various sizes. The drive bit holder screw driver which accepts these drivers is a required tool. On the other hand the mechanic is also required to open many latches such as on oil service doors, engine cowlings, engine pylon panels, fuselage panels, as well as wing and tail panels. These latches are designed to be opened with a flat blade screwdriver and cannot be opened with a bit holder screwdriver. These latches place a spring loaded grip on the blade as the latch is pried open. For this reason the blade must be firmly seated in the handle, so as not to dislodge when the blade is removed from the latch. Thus, with tool space being limited, the mechanic is required to carry two screwdrivers to accomplish his task.
Other devices which incorporate a duel end blade include U.S. Pat. No. 1,552,361 to Trombley. This patent provides a rotating, locking, dual purpose blade but does not have a drive bit holder or bit storage and the handle will not support other tools.
Another type of screwdriver mechanism with a duel end blade is U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,824 to Cushman which also rotates but does not offer a positive handle lock, drive bit holder or bit storage.
Yet another duel tipped screwdriver is U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,246 to Elliston showing an anti-rotating device, but also does not offer a, positive handle lock, a drive bit holder, drive bit storage, drive bit storage selector etc.


An apparatus for cyclical temperature processes with automatic monitoring and adjusting of the temperature of a water bath, including a reactor space with a water bath in which a plurality of sample containers with samples to be examined can be placed. The desired temperatures and periods during which each adjusted temperature should be maintained are adjustable by an adjustment means, wherein a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the water bath is provided and a control unit controls the temperature of the water bath in dependence on the measured temperature and time. At least one magnetron tube is provided in the reactor space for heating the water bath and the sample containers placed in the same. The water bath is connectable to a water conduit through a water supply conduit wherein the control unit controls the magnetron tube and the valve in dependence on the desired temperature and time.

An apparatus of this type is used recently mainly for applying a technique receiving a lot of attention and generally indicated by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This technique is based on a cyclically repeated DNA synthesis by means of a thermostable DNA polymerase. For applying this PCR technique the sample containers with the samples to be treated should be able to be maintained at three different temperatures during three different periods. Further passing through these temperatures should be cyclically repeated a number of times. As an example a cycle can be mentioned of subsequently 95.degree. C. during 1 minute, 37.degree. C. during 30 s and 65.degree. C. during 3 minutes, which cycle should be passed through 32 times.
In a known apparatus of this type the water bath is filled each time from one of three reservoirs in which water with the respective desired temperature is contained, in order to realize the three desired temperatures. Thereby the known apparatus has a rather complicated construction. Moreover the water in the different reservoirs has to be maintained at the desired temperature, wherein the water at the high temperature of 95.degree. C. evaporates quickly, while the water at the low temperature of 95.degree. C. evaporates quickly, while the water at the low temperature of 37.degree. C. forms an ideal medium for pollutants. Further this known apparatus has the disadvantage that the sample containers are heated indirectly by the water, whereby it takes a long time before the samples themselves have reached the desired temperature. The overall process thereby takes a lot of time.
In an other known apparatus Peltier elements are used for realizing the different desired temperatures. This known apparatus also has the disadvantage that the desired temperature of the samples themselves is reached only slowly due to the indirect heating. Further the temperature distribution along the carrier for the sample containers heated by the Peltier elements is not uniform.

Apparatus for cyclincial temperature process with automatic monitoring and adjusting of the temperature of a water bath


A vehicular recording device for computerized recording of mileage expenses. This device provides a unique and useful device for storing a significant amount of data about trips made in a vehicle, including mileage, the characterization of the mileage as personal, business, charitable or other, expenses incurred during travel in the vehicle such as for gasoline, oil and other vehicular expenses and also non-vehicular expenses incurred during a trip. Once the information is recorded into the recordation and storage device it can be transferred to a personal computer to provide a detailed printout of all expenses and other data related to the travel. This new and unique device has significant application for both car and truck travel, it provides a significant number of options for the data to be entered into the device.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to vehicular recording devices. In particular, this invention relates to a vehicular recording device for the computerized recordation of mileage and expenses.
2. Prior Art
Devices for the recording of mileage in vehicles have been in existence for many years, particularly in the well known odometer field. In addition, devices which record time, distance and a charge for time and/or distance are quite common, specifically in vehicles such as taxicabs. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,188,647, 3,809,312, 4,643,787 and 3,742,514.
In addition, devices have been manufactured which display vehicle performance characteristics, such as vehicle speed, lapsed trip distance, engine rpm, fuel consumption, rate of fuel consumption and the like as a function of time, specifically for use with trucks. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,188,618, and 4,644,368.
Further, there have been designed devices to record mileage and expenses of trips. Businessmen have, by necessity, kept trip logs to record business miles, personal miles, charitable miles and expenses relating to each of these types of activities. For Internal Revenue Service purposes, breakdowns of mileage in these various categories must be contemporaneously kept and must provide an accurate list of all types of expenses incurred. As a result, there has been a need for a device which will record this type of information. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,167, 4,067,061, 4,072,850, 4,344,136 and 4,593,263.
Of particular interest in this area are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,547,781 and 4,755,832 which disclose devices for installation in a motor vehicle for recording distances traveled on business or personal trips. These patents disclose a device for measuring the distance traveled by a motor vehicle, a means for indicating that distance traveled, a keyboard consisting of exactly two separate keys, one to enter a character indicative of business and the other to indicate a character indicative of personal use, a decimal keypad, a keypad for entering the information, a clock for entering the time and a paper printer or paper supply means for printing out the information. This paper printer and paper supply method is replaced in the '832 patent with a readable, removable information storage system in the form of a non-volatile memory pack.
Each of these devices provides some useful elements for measuring characteristics of a vehicular trip. However, none provide the capability of storing and displaying through a programmable personal computer all of the following information in a readily accessible manner: current day's mileage for business, personal, charitable or other purposes; current weeks, months or year's mileage for business, personal, charitable and other purposes; current date, current time, an expense record showing the fuel expense, travel expense, repair and maintenance expense on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis as well as time designations. All of this information can be contained within computer memory storage within the instant invention in a random access memory component until such data is transferred to to a personal computer using custom software. This new and innovative device eliminates many of the mechanical flaws of previously designed products, lowers the cost of the product, eliminates the necessity of a magnetic storage device or a printer, is easy to operate, easy to maintain and produces a document containing all of the information necessary for Internal Revenue Service reporting, and for the personal records of the individual.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a device for the storage and reproduction of data related to the operation of a vehicle.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a device for the recording of vehicular information which is easy to use and inexpensive to produce.
It is a still further object of this invention to produce a device for the storage and reproduction of data relating to vehicular use which can easily and simply transfer that data to a personal computer for printout or storage.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a device for the recordation, storage and reading of information relating to the operation of a moving vehicle which is easy to operate because of its menu driven capability.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description, drawings and claims. The description, along with the accompanying drawings, provides a selected example of construction of the device to illustrate the invention.

Device for the computerized recording of mileage and expenses in vehicles


A method of forming α-alane. The method includes reacting aluminum trichloride and an alkali metal hydride to form an alane-ether complex solution. An aqueous diethyl ether solution is optionally added to the alane-ether complex solution to form a partially hydrolyzed ether/alane-ether complex solution. A solution of a first crystallization additive is added to the alane-ether complex solution or to the aqueous ether/alane-ether complex solution to form a crystallization solution. The first crystallization additive is selected from the group consisting of polystyrene, polybutadiene, polystyrene-co-polybutadiene, polyisoprene, poly-alpha-methylstyrene, polystyrene-co-polyindene, poly-alpha-pinene, and mixtures thereof. Optionally, a second crystallization additive is added to the crystallization solution. The second crystallization additive is selected from the group consisting of squalene, cyclododecatriene, norbornylene, norbornadiene, a phenyl terminated polybutadiene, 2,4-dimethyl anisole, 3,5-dimethyl anisole, 2,6-dimethyl anisole, polydimethyl siloxane, and mixtures thereof. Solvents are removed from the crystallization solution to crystallize the α-alane.

Aluminum hydride ("AlH3") or alane is formed as numerous polymorphs: the α, alpha prime ("α"), beta ("β"), delta ("δ"), epsilon ("ε"), zeta ("ζ"), or gamma ("γ") polymorphs. Each of the polymorphs has different physical properties and varying stability. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,338 to Petrie et al. ("Petrie") and Brower et al. ("Brower"), "Preparation and Properties of Aluminum Hydride," J. Am. Chem. Soc., 98(9):2450–2453 (1976), α-alane is the most thermally stable polymorph and its crystals have a cubic or rhombohedral morphology. In contrast, α′-alane forms needlelike crystals and γ-alane forms a bundle of fused needles. γ-alane is produced with the β polymorph, both of which convert to α-alane upon heating. δ-alane and ε-alane are formed when trace amounts of water are present during crystallization. ζ-alane is prepared by crystallization from di-n-propyl ether. The α′, δ, ε, and ζ polymorphs do not convert to α-alane and are less thermally stable than α-alane. Therefore, the α′, δ, ε, and ζ polymorphs are typically not used in explosive or pyrotechnic compositions.
Alane includes about 10% hydrogen by weight and has a higher density of hydrogen than liquid hydrogen. Due to the high hydrogen density and highly exothermic combustion of aluminum and hydrogen, alane is commonly used as a fuel for propellants or as an explosive. When used in a propellant, the alane provides an increased specific impulse compared to propellants that use aluminum alone.
As disclosed in Petrie and Brower, α-alane is typically synthesized by reacting aluminum trichloride ("AlCl3") and lithium aluminum hydride ("LAH") in diethyl ether. The aluminum trichloride is dissolved in diethyl ether at −10° C. A minimum of three mole equivalents of LAH is added to the aluminum trichloride solution to produce a solvated alane-ether complex and a precipitate of lithium chloride ("LiCl"). To desolvate the alane-ether complex, 0.5–4 mole equivalents of a borohydride salt, such as lithium borohydride or sodium borohydride, is mixed with the solution including the alane-ether complex. The mixture is filtered and the filtrate is diluted with toluene or benzene to provide an ether to toluene or benzene ratio of 15:85. The mixture is heated to 85° C.–95° C. to desolvate the alane-ether complex and the diethyl ether is subsequently removed by distillation. The precipitated alane is recovered by aqueous acid quenching, filtration, and washing. Brower also discloses that the reaction is conducted in the absence of water, oxygen, and other reactive species because if water is present, the δ and ε polymorphs are undesirably formed.
However, the borohydride salts used to desolvate the alane-ether complex are expensive and are not recovered, making this synthesis of α-alane expensive. The borohydride salts also generate byproducts that require disposal. Furthermore, the alane produced by the method of Petrie or Brower is typically contaminated with undesirable polymorphs and is prone to decomposition during heating. More importantly, since the α-alane is contaminated with the other alane polymorphs, this method of producing α-alane gives variable and irreproducible results.
Alane may also be synthesized from aluminum and hydrogen at a high pressure (0.5–6.5 GPa) and temperature (100° C.–700° C.), as disclosed in Konovalov et al., "High Pressures in the Chemistry of Beryllium and Aluminum Hydrides," Russian J. Inorg. Chem., 37(12):1361–1365 (1992). However, preparative quantities of the alane are not produced by this synthesis due to the difficulty of creating gas holders for the hydrogen.
It would be desirable to reproducibly produce a high yield of α-alane using a low-cost synthetic method.


A railway car yoke having a rear end portion, a body portion, a top forward portion and a bottom forward portion. Each of the top forward portion and the bottom forward portion include a thickened portion through which one aperture is formed to receive a connecting pin therein. A bottom strap portion of such body portion includes an aperture therein to enable adjustment of a blockout device contained within such yoke.

In the railroad industry, prior to the introduction of the more powerful and efficient diesel engine in locomotives, such railroad locomotives were generally underpowered. Consequently, in order for these underpowered locomotives to start a train consist, having several cars, in motion, it was necessary to provide each end of a railway car with a draft gear assembly. These draft gear assemblies provided a requisite amount of slack required in the coupling arrangement between adjacent ends of the several cars making up the train consist. As is generally well known, in the railway art, this slack enabled start-up movement of the lead car and each of the following cars in succession. In other words, during start-up the locomotive would begin taking up the slack between it and the lead car first, then the slack in each following car in turn would be taken up. This start-up procedure enabled the lower powered locomotive to gain sufficient momentum to start the train consist in motion.
In addition, it is equally well known, in the railway art, that the buff and draft forces generated and applied to the railroad cars in such a coupling arrangement, during in track operation of the train consist were normally absorbed by these draft gear assemblies. Such draft gear assemblies were mounted in a draft gear pocket located in a yoke positioned within the center sill member of the railway car. The railway car coupler mechanism is connected to the yoke by means of a striker plate casting. Nevertheless, these prior art coupling arrangements resulted in undesirable dynamic loading on both the car bodies and their contents. These dynamic loadings usually result in considerable wear of the various coupling components on the car and depending upon the contents of such car they can even result in damage to such contents. It is obvious that wear of the coupling required considerable maintenance.
Since the introduction of the more powerful diesel locomotive in the modern railroad industry, it has been discovered the slack is no longer necessary to start the train consist in motion. In other words, a diesel locomotive provides the capability of starting the movement of a train consist, containing multiple cars, without the need for considerable amounts of slack being provided by the draft gear assemblies in the car coupling arrangements. As a result, slackless drawbar assemblies have come into widespread use in the railroad industry as the connecting means for joining together adjacent ends of a pair of railway cars. It has been demonstrated that these slackless drawbar assemblies enables the buff and draft forces generated by in-track movement to be distributed throughout the car center sill member to all of the railway cars in the train consist with less damage to both the car components and cargo.

Yoke for coupling railway cars utilizing a drawbar assembly


The use of one or more device health values to indicate the health status of a computing device may enable operating system developers to directly manage the security configuration of the computing device. The generation of a device health value involves initializing hardware components of a computing device and loading the operating system according to configuration settings during boot up of the computing device. The device health value is then generated based on a state of the hardware component and/or a state of a software stack that includes the operating system at boot up. The device health value may be compared to a reference health value to determine whether the computing device is in a secured state.

Typically, a computing device makes use of a security module to monitor the hardware platform and the operating system of the computing device during boot up. The security module is often a dedicated processing chip that receives state inputs from various components of the computing device as the computing device boots up. In turn, the security module provides the state inputs to applications on the computing device. The applications generally use the state inputs to verify that the computing device is a secured platform for the execution of the applications, e.g., the operating system is up-to-date and free from known security problems.
However, in many instances, the security module receives a large number of inputs from the hardware and software platform during boot up due to the large number of hardware components that are initialized. Furthermore, many applications are incapable of processing the state inputs that are received from the security module. The development of applications that are capable of processing state inputs from a plethora of computing devices with various hardware configurations to distinguish between secure and compromised computing devices typically call for a significant outlay of resources. Often, application developers lack or are otherwise unwilling to commit such resources. As such, while the security module is intended to assist in creating a secured computing platform, the state inputs that are provided by the security module are often ignored by a large number of applications on the computing device.
Accordingly, applications executing on the computing device despite the fact that the state inputs are reflective of a compromised computing device. The execution of such applications often inadvertently allows a malicious party to take control of the computing device and/or steal user data from the computing device.


A securable game ball storage bag includes a bag member having a hollow interior for reception of a game ball and various accessory items such as a wallet and keys. The interior is accessible with a zipper having a pull tab with a latch adjacent thereto. A shoulder strap includes a first end permanently secured to the bag exterior and a free second end. The free end includes a buckle insert that is secured within an appropriate slot on a lock housing by a spring-biased, solenoid driven pin. The zipper tab and latch member are likewise secured within receptacles on the lock housing. The pins are moved out of locking engagement with the buckle insert by entering a predetermined code into a keypad; the pins are released from the zipper tab and latch by speaking a predetermined verbal command into a microphone.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to game ball storage bag including a locking means for securing the contents thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Basketball players and other similar athletes often transport their own balls to and from a gym or playing surface. Because the player usually transports valuables such as keys, cell phones, wallets and other items, such items must be stored while the player participates in a game. However, leaving such items unattended can result in theft or tampering. Accordingly, there is currently a need for a device that secures both a game ball and valuables therein. The present invention provides a uniquely designed game ball bag having a voice and keypad activated locking means that provides selective access to the bag interior.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A logging system and method for use in a wellbore formed in an earth formation. A tubular conduit that extends from the surface into the wellbore is included in the system. The conduit includes a stabilizer with sensors to obtain data from the wellbore. A communication interface is used to communicate data from the stabilizer to the logging tool string. Also, a surface communication and control device, along with a telemetry device can be included in the system. The telemetry device could be used to send and receive data to and/or from the surface communication and control device, if needed. Also provided is a logging tool string that is capable of passing from a position within the conduit to a position outside the lower end of the conduit. In addition, a memory storage device used to and store data collected from the wellbore for further analysis and communication.

It is useful to know certain characteristics of a borehole for drilling operations. In order to gather info about the borehole, drillers often use wireline or logging while drilling (LWD) tools that retrieve data and produce logs or even images representing the characteristics of the formations penetrated by the borehole. Gathering data can be done using a variety of logging tools. Some logging tools measure a number of geological characteristics including density, porosity, resistivity, magnetic resonance, and formation pressure. These logging tools are used as part of a logging system.
Logging systems used for logging earth formations can include wireline operated logging tools and wireless logging tools. Typically, wireless logging tools are battery powered and are provided with an electronic memory for storing the logging data. After conducting a logging run, the tool is retrieved to surface where the logging data are read out from the electronic memory.
One problem relating to the use of wireless logging tools is that during logging no information is available to the operator with regard to the functioning of the logging tool. For example, in case the logging tool is not correctly deployed in the borehole during the logging operation, the operator will notice the incorrect deployment only during read out of the electronic memory. Notice of this incorrect deployment may not be discovered until after one or more logging runs have been carried out. In such unfortunate situations, valuable drilling rig time is lost, especially when one is required to re-run the logging tool in the same wellbore interval. In addition, some circumstances may prevent re-running the logging tool in the same wellbore interval, leading to the loss of useful logging data for the interval.

Downhole data communication and logging system


A method of producing an optical device from a volume of a curable composition, includes the following steps: —polymerizing a first portion of the volume by irradiating an external surface of the volume with a light irradiation, thereby increasing a transmittance of the first portion for the light irradiation; —polymerizing a second portion of the volume by irradiating the second portion with the light irradiation through the external surface and the polymerized first portion, wherein the light irradiation has a light intensity varying over the external surface between a first light intensity and a second light intensity distinct from the second light intensity. A corresponding system is also described.

It has been sought to produce optical devices such as optical lenses using 3D printing technologies, which could offer significant advantages over conventional methods.
Some 3D printing technologies may however not be well suited to produce optical devices, owing in particular to the internal transparency and accurate shape at interfaces necessary for this kind of products.

Method of producing an optical device and a corresponding system

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE


A method and system for transforming information between data formats. According to one embodiment, a transformation engine receives an indication of an input data format and an output data format, identifies, based on the input data format, an input transformation program from a set of input transformation programs, each program in the set of input transformation programs configured to transform information arranged according to a distinct data format to a standard format, utilizes the identified input transformation program to transform an information source arranged according to the input data format to the standard format, identifies, based on the output data format, an output transformation program from a set of output transformation programs, each program in the set of output transformation programs configured to transform information arranged according to the standard format to a distinct data format, and utilizes the identified output transformation program to transform the information source arranged according to the standard format to the output data format.

In today's complex software environment, information may be represented in a myriad of different formats, each of which define a particular arrangement of data that can be processed and/or stored by a computer. For example, a letter may be represented by a format defined by a particular word processing application, such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect; an image may represented by one of the many available graphics formats such as JPG and BMP; a song may represented by one of the many available digital audio formats such as music CD, MP3, WAV and AIFF; a video may represented by one of the many available digital video formats such as MPEG and DVD.
Even information pertaining to source code may be represented in different formats. For example, computer programming class information may be represented in a class file or database table format defined by a particular programming language, such as Java or ABAP, respectively, and it may also be represented in a standard format such as UML ("Unified Modeling Language"), which is provided by the Object Management Group and describes object-oriented systems. This standard UML format may be implemented through software such as IBM's Rational software (better known as "Rational Rose"), which stores UML model information in ".mdl" files.
Given the growing complexity of software development, it is not unusual for several components of a software application to be developed in different languages and runtime environments. Because of this complexity, it has become useful for developers to create tools that directly transform information pertaining to the software application between different formats, such as transforming class information to ".mdl" UML model files and HTML documentation.
However, existing transformation programs contain a lot of duplicate code and transformation knowledge, which leads to great redundancy and difficulty when enhancing or maintaining such programs. Further, some transformation programs do not exist for desired transformations between particular source and destination formats. With each additional format to be supported, the number or permutations of new transformation programs to be created increases dramatically. Mathematically speaking, if there are n source formats and m destination formats, n*m transformation programs would have to be implemented and maintained. Given the growing number of different formats in use today and being created, the current state of enhancing and maintaining such transformation programs can clearly hinder the application development process.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved system and method for transforming information between data formats.

System and method for transforming information between data formats


A fragment capture device for use in explosive containment. The device comprises an assembly of at least two rows of bars positioned to eliminate line-of-sight trajectories between the generation point of fragments and a surrounding containment vessel or asset. The device comprises an array of at least two rows of bars, wherein each row is staggered with respect to the adjacent row, and wherein a lateral dimension of each bar and a relative position of each bar in combination provides blockage of a straight-line passage of a solid fragment through the adjacent rows of bars, wherein a generation point of the solid fragment is located within a cavity at least partially enclosed by the array of bars.

This invention relates to a fragment capture or suppression device for use in explosive containment. One of the fundamental issues for fragmenting explosive devices and munitions in containment vessels is the damage that high-speed fragments generated during explosion of the device or munition can cause to the mechanical integrity of the containment vessel. In addition to the structural outer walls of the containment vessel, some vessels comprise an inner lining comprising some type of blast-attenuation means to reduce the impact of blast-generated fragments on the structural outer walls. In some cases, the blast attenuation means is a solid metal liner insert that is placed within the containment vessel. Frequently, such large, heavy fragment-suppression systems are employed on a one-use basis to slow and capture fragments. For containment vessels of considerable size, such a liner can be very heavy and cumbersome to replace when it has exceeded an acceptable level of damage from blast fragments. In some cases, the blast attenuation means can be an inorganic material, such as gravel, or a polymeric material, such as foam. While replacement of the latter materials may be relatively easy, they are not suitable for many applications where issues other than simple fragment capture or suppression are important.
In some cases, the explosive device/munition may contain dangerous chemical, biochemical, or biological agents that must be contained and destroyed within the explosive containment vessel. In such cases, protection of the structural integrity of the containment vessel is especially important to avoid personnel exposure resulting from to vessel puncture or rupture. Additionally, containment devices that must also provide for the safe destruction of the chemical, biochemical, or biological portion of the explosive device tend toward a much higher degree of structural complexity that may not allow easy use of combustible organic materials such as foams or granular materials such as gravel.


A transmission apparatus updates the encryption method in the event the encryption method is broken. The tool ID of a decryption tool for encrypted data is acquired, the presence of the tool is confirmed and the tool is then acquired and updated, and encrypted data is processed and transmitted based on rights information associated with the encrypted data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for sending and to an apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast signal having multiplexed program information and video content coded for image compression.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a prior art transmission apparatus 502 and receiving apparatus 503. As shown in FIG. 15 the transmission apparatus 502 has an MPEG-2 Video-compliant (ISO/IEC 13818-2) video encoder 56, an MPEG-2 Audio-compliant (ISO/IEC 13818-3) audio encoder 57, program-specific information generator 59, and an MPEG-2 Systems-compliant (ISO/IEC 13818-1) multiplexer 66.
The receiving apparatus 503 has a demultiplexer 107, video decoder 112, and audio decoder 113.
Also shown in the figure are the digital video input signal 49, digital audio input signal 50, audio bitstream 64, video bitstream 76, program-specific information 500, multiplexed bitstream 501, video bitstream 110, audio bitstream 126, digital video signal 111, and digital audio signal 114.
The video encoder 56 of this prior art transmission apparatus 502 compresses the digital video input signal 49 according to the MPEG-2 Video standard to output video bitstream 76. The digital audio input signal 50 is similarly compression-coded by the audio encoder 57 to output MPEG-2-compliant audio bitstream 64. The program-specific information generator 59 generates program-specific information ("PSI" below) 500 describing the relationship between the video bitstream 76, audio bitstream 64, and program number. The multiplexer 66 then multiplexes the video bitstream 76, audio bitstream 64, and PSI 500 and outputs multiplexed bitstream 501.
The demultiplexer 107 of this prior art receiving apparatus 503 then demultiplexes the received multiplexed bitstream 501 into the video bitstream 110 and audio bitstream 126. The video bitstream 110 is then decompressed by the video decoder 112 and output as digital video signal 111. The audio bitstream 126 is likewise decompressed by the audio decoder 113 and output as digital audio signal 114.
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
A problem with the prior art system described above is that the audio and video bitstreams are not encrypted, and can be easily stolen by an unauthorized receiving apparatus.
Another problem is that even if the bitstreams are encrypted there is no protection against the encryption method itself being broken. More specifically, there is no means for preventing unauthorized reception of data sent by the transmission apparatus.
The present invention is directed to solving these problems, and an object of this invention is to provide protection assuring that data sent by the transmission apparatus can be safely received by the receiving apparatus.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


For time zone conversion an analog radio clock is provided with a switch device (31), preferably a rotary switch, through which an hour correction value is continuously provided. The UTC-Time received from a time signal transmitter is corrected corresponding to this hour value in a differential establishing step (33). Additionally the analog radio clock is provided with the possibility, to decode whether the time signal transmitter transmitted information is at that instant in a summer or winter time period. Insofar as summer time is decoded, the correction value from the switch device (31) is automatically increased by a value of 1. The output signal from the differential establishing step (33) is employed for step control of the analog radio clock, which thus automatically indicates the instantaneous correct local time upon corresponding setting of the switch device (31).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns an analog radio clock with a receiver and decoder assembly for receiving and decoding a time message transmitted by a time signal transmitter, including an adjustment device by means of which the indicator or display of the radio clock can be adjusted or set to a clock time in accordance with the decoded time message, and including an hour correction device, by means of which the clock time received from the time signal transmitter is adjustable in hourly increments via a manually operated switch assembly, with which an hour correction value is subtracted from the received clock time.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of radio clock having a time zone conversion possibility has already been known. For example, in DE 42 19 257 A1 a radio clock with an analog indicator mechanism is described. The radio clock is suitable for receiving time messages which are transmitted by a time signal transmitter. For this the radio clock makes use of a receiver and decoder assembly, through which the time message sent by the time signal transmitter can be decoded. In accordance with the decoded clock time, the indicator or display of the analog clock is adjusted. For time zone conversion this known radio clock employs a switch mechanism external of the housing, preferably two push button switches. Upon manipulation of one of the two push button switches, the content of a summation register is increased or decreased. The content of the summation register corresponds to an hour correction value, and the actual content of the hour information of the received time message is increased or decreased in accordance therewith.
For error free time zone selection and programming of the appropriate time zone for the clock time displayed at the moment, the known radio clock has an electro-optic display with cartographic representation of adjacent time zones. The electro-optic display is coupled to the switch for time zone conversion, so that the user of the radio clock can determine without difficulty, to which time zone the instantaneously exhibited time display of the indicator of the radio clock corresponds.
Problems with this type of known radio clock include on the one hand the relatively complex investment of technical resources necessary for the cartographic representation of adjacent time zones through the electro-optic medium. Beyond this the user is not able to determine, in the case of failure of the electro-optic indicator, to which time zone the instantaneously displayed clock time of the display corresponds.
A further problem with this known type of radio clock is comprised therein, that a normally UTC-time transmitting time message transmitter transmits a clock time, which is calibrated to world time that is, Greenwich Mean Time. If the radio clock as known from DE 42 19 257 A1 is employed in the USA, which is obviously intended to be the case since the example shows with the graphic indicator in the figure represents the four time zones of the United States of America, then in that case the push buttons must be exercised four times, in order to display the correct local time in the radio clock. If for example, the radio clock is employed in New York, then in that case as a result of the time displacement of minus 5 hours the push button must be operated 5 times, in order that a hour correction value of minus 5 is entered in the therein provided summation register. Should the owner of the radio clock stop over in San Francisco, then he must operate the push button 8 times, in order that the time displacement of minus 8 hours with respect to UTC-Time is entered in the radio clock. This manipulation is quite inconvenient.
A further problem occurs in this known radio clock when the time signal transmitter transmits as normal the UTC-Time, but at the location of the corresponding time zone however a daylight savings time is in effect. Even when with this known radio clock the correct time zone is entered by using the push buttons, a false display can result for the reason that the hour indicator of the radio clock is not advanced one hour to correspond to the appropriate summer time. If in this case the hour indicator is manipulated in order to set the correct summer time, then the result would be a false time zone indication.
This problem occurs particularly in the USA, since there the time signal sender routinely transmits UTC-Time as the time message and supplements the time message with status bits corresponding to the presence of a summer or winter time period. A direct adjustment of the hour indicator with the transmitted time message is not possible in the United States as a result of the various time zones.
From EP 0 372 432 B1 a further radio clock is known, which is provided with a time zone converter. However, in this case the therein described radio clock is a radio clock with digital indicator. The radio clock is provided with a manually operable hour selector, which provides an hour correction in the hour correction register by repeated operation of a push button or rotation of a rotary knob. The display of the digital radio clock indicates the hour correction value, so that the user of this radio clock knows the number of hours which at any point in time the displayed clock time differs from the clock time of the time signal sender. This radio clock operates on the precondition, that the summer or winter time-change be included directly in the hour information of the time display clock time.
A problem with this type of known radio clock is that these do not automatically adjust themselves to the correct local time when, for example, a battery is placed into the clock. In the case that a battery is installed, the hour correction register is set on the value of zero. As the display, the value transmitted by the time signal sender is simply displayed. The user of the clock must then, on the basis of his own clock, determine whether a deviation exists. In the case that a deviation exits, this time displacement or differential must be entered into the radio clock by means of the hour correction switch.

Analog radio clock with time zone conversion


This invention relates to a rotary dryer with multi-drying chambers which is developed and improved for drying materials such as cassava chip, paddy, corn, various crops, longan, fertilizer, biomass and mining industry with better drying efficiency.

Rotary dryers are currently used for drying of ore, wood chip, fertilizer, nut and other crops. The rotary dryer is usually designed to have its drying drum being in an inclined horizontal axis to let moist material flow in at one side and dried material flow out at the other side. Commonly, the drying medium is hot gas or hot air controlled to flow in either the same direction or counter direction with material flow direction. However, sometimes it is designed to have transverse flow (hot gas or hot air flows in a transverse direction with material flow direction). In general, rotary dryers have mixed drying aspects between flash dryer and tray dryer by using heat conduction of rotary drum wall and heat convection of hot gas flow. The said dryers have various limitations such as the drying rate falls off after some moisture of the material has been removed, problems with drying time and drying cost, etc. An alternative method for improving the drying rate is to increase the temperature of hot gas used in the drying, increase the contacting surface area between hot gas and material and manage hot gas in the drying chamber to allow hot gas evenly contact with the material, so that the dried material is uniformly dried using less drying time, also quality of the dried material meets the drying standard. Although the efficiency of drying is direct variation with the temperature of the drying gas, too high temperature may cause negative results in burning, cracking or over drying of the material.
As from the study of the above-mentioned dryers, such as the dryers for cassava chip, paddy, corn, various crops, biomass and ore, there have been no disclosure of a rotary dryer with multi-drying chambers particularly the dryer with hot gas flows in a direction that is the same or counter with material flow direction which is able to dry cassava chip, paddy, corn, various crops, longan, biomass and ore using less drying time.


A fabric conditioning composition comprising;. i) a quaternary ammonium fabric softening compound containing at least one ester group and; PA1 ii) a polymeric nonionic surfactant with a molecular weight of less than 15,000 and having two long chain alkyl groups in which the two long chains are separated from each other by a hydrophilic moiety.

Rinse added fabric softener compositions are well known, however one of the problems associated with fabric softening compositions is that the viscosities of the formulations are difficult to control.
EP 0 358 749 (Unilever) discloses an aqueous fabric conditioning composition comprising a cationic fabric softener and a polymeric thickening materials such as nonionic polymers based on polyoxyalkylene or polvinylalcohol hydrophilic backbones to which a small number of alkyl groups have been attached. The application teaches that it is preferred if the polymeric thickening materials have a high molecular weight.
Hydrophobically modified nonionic cellulose ethers are used to thicken aqueous fabric softening compositions in EP 0 331 237 (Unilever).
We have found that it is possible to control the viscosity of a fabric conditioning composition with a greater degree of control than previously thought possible. We have also found that by including certain polymers, rinse conditioners can be prepared using conventional processes without needing a separate processing step for the addition of the viscosity control agent.


If a telop-character recording mode is selected, then, in response to depression of a shutter-release button, the image of a subject is sensed and voice enters from a microphone for a fixed period of time so that data representing voice is obtained. Character data for indicating the content of voice by characters is generated from the data representing voice. Image data representing the image of a subject, the voice data and the character data is recorded on a memory card. When an image is reproduced, the character data is combined with the image data and the characters represented by the character data are combined with the image and displayed together with the image. The content of voice can be ascertained by telop characters even with a playback device that is incapable of outputting voice.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a digital still camera and to a method of controlling the operation thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital still cameras capable of recording voice data on a recording medium are now well on their way to being realized. Such digital still cameras are capable of sensing the image of a subject, recording image data representing the image of the subject on a memory card and recording voice data, which represents voice contained in sensed image of the subject, on the memory card. By reading the image data and voice data that has been recorded on the memory card from the memory card, voice represented by the voice data can be output while the image represented by the image data is being displayed.
In order to output voice, however, the device that reproduces the image must be equipped with a speaker or the like for outputting voice. In the absence of a speaker, voice cannot be output even if voice data has been recorded on the memory card.

Digital still camera and method of controlling operation of same


An electromagnetic clutch capable of reducing attracting noise generated when an armature plate is attracted to the friction surface of a rotor, wherein the thickness of the projected part (32) of an elastic member (31) in the state of being compressingly held by an inner plate (26) and the armature plate (12) is increased more than the thickness of the projected part (33) of the elastic member (31) in the state of being compressively held by an outer plate (17) and the armature plate (12), whereby the volume of the projected part (32) of the elastic member (31) can be increased relative to that of the projected part (33).

Electromagnetic clutches in the known art include the electromagnetic clutch disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. H 2-2537. This electromagnetic clutch includes a hub having a flange and connected to a rotating shaft, an inner plate fixed onto the flange, an armature plate which is attracted to a rotor member so as to rotate together with the rotor member when a field coil is excited, an outer plate fixed onto the armature plate so as to constitute a part thereof and an annular rubber cushion member disposed between the inner plate and the outer plate and fixed onto the two plates.
To describe the electromagnetic clutch in further detail in reference to the drawings and the like included in the publication, the hub and the inner plate constituted as separate elements from each other are connected via a rivet. In addition, the surfaces of the outer plate and the inner plate facing toward the armature plate are aligned along the radial direction. While the portion of the surface of the rubber member facing toward the armature plate, which is on the outer plate side, is not in contact with the armature plate, the portion of the surface of the rubber member on the inner plate side facing toward the armature plate includes a projected part made to project further outward along the axial direction relative to the portion on the outer plate side and the projected part is in contact with the armature plate. The gap between the inner plate and the armature plate is eliminated by inserting a washer at the rivet having a measurement along the axial direction substantially equal to the measurement by which the projected part of the rubber cushion member on the inner plate side is made to project out and then by firmly holding the washer between the armature plate and the outer plate when locking the armature plate to the outer plate with the rivet.
The extent of the engagement noise that occurs when the armature plate is attracted to and contacts the rotor in an electromagnetic clutch needs to be minimized. Such engagement noise may be reduced by increasing the volume of the portion of the rubber cushion member on the inner plate side. However, if the volume is increased in the structure adopted in the electromagnetic clutch disclosed in the publication quoted above by, for instance, increasing the thickness of the rubber cushion member on the actuator side, the distance between the outer plate and the armature plate is bound to become more significant, which necessitates a larger number of washers to fill the gap and leads to a problem in that the electromagnetic clutch itself and ultimately the slave device such as a compressor cannot be provided as compact units.
In addition, while the extent of the engagement noise is likely to be reduced by fixing the portion of the rubber cushion member on the outer plate side in a compressed state onto the armature plate, the portion of the rubber cushion member on the outer plate side is not in contact with the armature plate in the electromagnetic clutch disclosed in the publication and thus, the structure achieved by fixing the rubber cushion member on the outer plate side in the compressed state onto the armature plate cannot be adopted in the electromagnetic clutch in the publication.
In order to lower the production cost of on-vehicle air-conditioning systems, electromagnetic clutches need to be manufactured at lower cost, which necessitates the functions of the various parts of the electromagnetic clutches to be scrutinized thoroughly to eliminate any nonessential parts.
Furthermore, the epoxy coating that is sprayed over the entire rubber cushion member to prevent corrosion normally coats the surface of the projected part of the rubber cushion member that comes in contact with the armature plate. In addition, a cationic coating is normally applied to the armature plate for rust prevention. If the epoxy coating is left on the contact surface of the projected part of the rubber cushion member which comes in contact with the armature plate, the projected part of the rubber cushion member becomes stuck to the surface of the armature plate coated with the cationic paint particularly under high-temperature, which may prevent the armature plate from becoming attracted to the rotor.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electromagnetic clutch with which the extent of the engagement noise occurring when the armature plate is attracted to the rotor is reduced, the number of required parts can be reduced and the armature plate can be attracted to the rotor with a higher degree of reliability.


Circuitry stress tests a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) by connecting a sense amplifier of the DRAM to at least two pairs of complementary bitlines within the same sub-array of the DRAM through two pairs of isolation transistors activated at substantially the same time. The circuitry thus provides for the stress testing of memory cells associated with sense amplifiers connected to only one sub-array within a DRAM or other semiconductor memory. The apparatus also provides an alternative to conventional methods for stress testing memory cells associated with sense amplifiers connected to more than one sub-array within a DRAM or other semiconductor memory.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to semiconductor memories and, more specifically, to stress testing of such memories.
2. STATE OF THE ART
As shown in FIG. 1, a portion 10 of a conventional Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) (not shown in its entirety) includes sense amplifiers 12 and 14 shared by a pair of sub-arrays 16 and 18. During some read operations within the sub-array 16, an isolation signal ISO.sub.-- 2 activates isolation NMOS transistors 20 so logic bits on bitlines 22 within the sub-array 16 can be sensed by shared sense amplifiers 12 and 14. Meanwhile, another isolation signal ISO.sub.-- 3 deactivates isolation NMOS transistors 24 so signals on bitlines 26 within the sub-array 18 do not reach the shared sense amplifiers 12 and 14 during the read operations. Of course, some read operations in the sub-array 18 are performed in a complementary manner, with the isolation NMOS transistors 24 in an activated state and the isolation NMOS transistors 20 in a deactivated state.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,273 to Taguchi, one method for stress testing the conventional DRAM involves reading a logic bit from one of the sub-arrays 16 and 18, for example, while both the isolation NMOS transistors 20 and the isolation NMOS transistors 24 are activated. This loads a memory cell (not shown) outputting the logic bit with approximately twice the normal bitline capacitance C.sub.bitline. When the memory cell is weak, its stored charge q cannot overcome the doubled bitline capacitance C.sub.bitline to produce a voltage V.sub.sense at one of the sense amplifiers 12 and 14 that is of sufficient magnitude to be sensed (i.e., V.sub.sense =q.div.C.sub.bitline, so that when C.sub.bitline doubles and q remains constant, V.sub.sense is cut in half). As a result, the logic bit may be misread, thereby identifying the memory cell as being weak. The row or column (not shown) containing the weak memory cell can then be replaced with a redundant row or column (not shown), or the DRAM can be scrapped.
Unfortunately, the Taguchi method described above does not work with sense amplifiers 28 and 30 positioned outside the sub-arrays 16 and 18, because these amplifiers 28 and 30 are each connected to only one of the sub-arrays 16 and 18. As a result, memory cells (not shown) connected to the sense amplifiers 28 and 30 through bitlines 32 and 34 and isolating NMOS transistors 36 and 38 (activated by isolation signals ISO.sub.-- 1 and ISO.sub.-- 4) cannot be loaded with double their normal bitline capacitance, and thus cannot be stress tested, using the described Taguchi method.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method in a semiconductor memory, such as a DRAM, for stress testing memory cells associated with sense amplifiers connected to only one sub-array within the memory.

Method and apparatus for stress testing a semiconductor memory


A system and method for allocating and/or utilizing spare computing system (e.g., personal computing system) resources. Various aspects of the present invention may, for example and without limitation, provide a system and/or method that communicates incentive information with computing systems, and/or representatives thereof, regarding the allocation of computing resources for utilization by other computing systems and/or incentives that may be associated with such utilization. Various aspects of the present invention may, for example, allocate one or more resources of a computing system for utilization by another computing system based, at least in part, on such communicated incentive information.

Personal computing systems comprise any of a variety of resources, which are often utilized inefficiently. For example, such resources are generally purchased and then not utilized to their full potential.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

System and method for allocating spare system resources


A 3D object modeling system and method system and method captures a 2D representation of the object to be modeled and breaks the 2D image into its geometric elements. The 3D stereoscopic image is then fitted to the geometric elements generated from the 2D image to generate the final model. The 3D stereoscopic image may be compared with the geometric elements to detect distortions in the object, allowing the distortions to be corrected in the final model to ensure that the model accurately depicts the original object.

Designing replacement parts, such as aircraft engine and helicopter airframe sheet metal parts, require accurate three-dimensional (3D) CAD models to provide an accurate tool path for machining the replacement parts. Ideally, the 3D CAD model precisely defines all the geometric elements in a given part, their dimensions and the connectivity relationships between them.
One known 3D CAD modeling technique involves measuring an existing master part and creating a CAD model manually from the measured dimensions. This manual process tends to be very time-consuming and error prone. Further, if the master part is distorted and/or has additional features like holes, slots, etc. on distorted surfaces, the manual process will introduce these errors into the model, making replacement parts produced from the model inaccurate and difficult to assemble onto existing parts.
Another known modeling technique creates a 3D CAD model by scanning the original paper drawings, which are two-dimensional (2D) projections. This is also a time-consuming, error-prone process because the drawings may not be accurate or complete and do not reveal connectivity relationships between features, making automation of the modeling process difficult. In cases where the original part has been modified onsite to solve an assembly problem, these modifications are often not reflected in the master drawing, making replacement parts made from the drawing unfit for proper assembly.
Yet another technique uses a scanning system normally used to reproduce complex surfaces like airfoil shapes. Scanning systems are particularly appropriate for sculpted, parametric surfaces. However, sheet metal parts are not sculpted surfaces, but are a combination of regular geometric surfaces (e.g., planes and cylinders) and are therefore less complex. Scanning systems employed in airfoil scanning will reproduce the geometries faithfully, including any distortions in the part. This results in a sculpted surface and not a regular geometric surface. Thus, the tool path produced using this method will be useful for machining sculpted surfaces and not for regular geometric surfaces because the tool path created is more complex and, paradoxically, more error-prone due to the distortions in the resulting model.
For example, a planar surface with even slight imperfections (e.g., a dented sheet metal plane) will result in a multi-faceted parametric surface because even minor imperfections on the surface being scanned are assumed to be part of the sculpted surface and therefore faithfully reproduced by a sculpted point cloud model. Thus, the scanning system requires a complex multi-axis machine to reproduce even simple surfaces. Deriving a simpler CAD model out of this to reproduce the standard geometric surfaces adds further complexity to the modeling process.
There is a desire for 3D CAD modeling system and method that can generate an accurate 3D model that is an exact replica of an original part while optimizing processing resources and time.


In a communication device, user activation of a speed-dial button causes a context-sensitive menu to be displayed. The menu lists available options, or communication modes, for contacting the party associated with the speed-dial button. The user can select an item from the menu in order to initiate communication with the selected party using the communication mode associated with the menu item. In various aspects, the invention provides additional functionality for redialing previously called contact numbers, assigning speed-dial buttons to other commands and functions, and displaying presence information for contacts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to user interfaces for communication devices, and more particularly to configuring and activating communication modes in a unified manner.
2. Description of the Background Art
Communication devices, such as telephones, often include one or more user-programmable speed-dial buttons that provide easy access to commonly used telephone numbers. Such buttons take many different forms and modes of operation. For example, on some phones a set of physical buttons is provided, each of which may be programmed to automatically dial one or more numbers. These buttons may also be programmed to dial additional numbers or perform other functions when preceded by a "shift" key or similar modifier key. On other phones, a single speed-dial button is provided: the user can dial a number by pressing the speed-dial button followed by a number key or number sequence. The number key or sequence specifies which telephone number should be dialed.
Some phones provide more sophisticated speed-dial button functionality. In some phones a scrollable list of previously stored telephone numbers appears on a display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). The user may select a number from the list by pressing arrow keys, rotating a jog/dial control, or the like; once the desired number is selected, the user may dial the number by pressing an activation or "dial" key. Such a scheme is often used in mobile telephones such as cellular phones. An advantage of such an arrangement is that the number of stored numbers is not limited by the number of physical buttons on the device.
In other phones, a display may present a number of "soft" buttons that are shown as on-screen representations of physical buttons. Each soft button may be programmed as a speed-dial button. The user may activate one of the soft buttons by touching the screen at the appropriate location; alternatively, arrow keys, jog/dial control, or other mechanisms may be available for selecting and activating one of the buttons. Modifier keys may be provided for accessing alternative functionality for each of the soft buttons. For example, a user may press a button to switch among several "banks" of telephone numbers. Once the desired telephone number is shown on the screen, the user may activate the corresponding soft button to dial the number.
Typically, each speed-dial button, whether implemented as a physical button, an item in a scrollable list, or a soft button, operates to dial a specific telephone number associated with an individual or a company. If a user wishes to store more than one telephone number for a particular individual, such as for example a work number, a home number, and a mobile number, the user must generally program three separate speed-dial buttons. Conventional speed-dial buttons do not offer any functionality for allowing the user to easily select among two or more previously programmed telephone numbers for reaching the person or company associated with the speed-dial button. Furthermore, conventional speed-dial buttons are not generally assignable to other functions, such as launching applications or initiating messaging with a contact.
In addition, conventional speed-dial buttons do not generally allow a user to select alternative modes of communication. For example, if a user wishes to contact a person by text messaging or email, the user must typically navigate to a separate area of functionality on the telephone (or other communication device). Speed-dial buttons do not generally offer an integrated mechanism for accessing multiple modes of communication with a particular person or company.
Some communication devices offer a "last number redial" capability that allows a user to redial a recently called number. Generally, such functionality is provided via a separate button, command, or menu, and is not integrated with other calling or communication functions.
In addition, conventional speed-dial buttons and telephone directories in communication devices fail to provide an indication as to whether an individual is on the phone, online, or otherwise available (or unavailable) to receive a telephone call or other communication. Thus, a user is required to attempt to initiate the communication (such as by dialing the telephone number) before finding out whether or not the recipient is able or willing to receive the communication.
What is needed, then, is an improved speed-dial button scheme for communication devices, which provides easy access to two or more telephone numbers for an individual or company associated with the speed-dial button. What is further needed is a speed-dial button scheme that provides an integrated mechanism for accessing and initiating multiple modes of communication with a particular person or company. What is further needed is a button scheme that provides an integrated mechanism for accessing speed-dial features and other features, by allowing buttons to be assigned to functions other than dialing telephone numbers.
What is further needed is a mechanism for redialing previously called telephone numbers, and for accessing related functionality including alternate communication modes for previously called telephone numbers, without requiring a user to use a separate button or control.
What is further needed is a technique for displaying presence information, such as a contact's current availability to receive certain types of communication, in an integrated manner in connection with speed-dial buttons, directories, and other contact lists in a communication device.


A method includes performing, responsive to entry into a cell, with a selected interval a number of measurements during a time period. The method also includes ceasing, after expiration of the time period, to perform the measurements that were performed responsive to the entry into the cell. The selected interval may be a maximum interval during which a measurement should be performed. Another method includes determining information to be used by a user equipment to perform, responsive to entry by the user equipment into a cell, a number of measurements using a selected interval during a time period. This other method includes signaling the information to the user equipment. Apparatus, computer program products, and systems are also disclosed.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented or described. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:                3GPP third generation partnership project        DRX Discontinuous Reception        E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN        HetNet Heterogeneous Network        HO Handover        HW Hardware        ISD Inter-Site Distance        PDCCH Physical Downlink Control CHannel        Rel Release        RF Radio Frequency        RLF Radio Link Failure        RRC Radio Resource Control        RSRP Reference Signal Received Power        RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality        SW Software        TS technical standard        UE User Equipment        UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
E-UTRAN mobility in RRC connected mode contains certain challenges, as the mobility concept is based on connected mode mobility as this was defined in UTRAN. E-UTRAN mobility in RRC connected mode only supports UE-assisted network controlled mobility by use of a hard handover. This means that the mobility basically is based on the network configuring the UE with a given measurement configuration, which the UE is then required to follow according to requirements specified in 3GPP TS 36.331 and 3GPP TS 36.133, i.e., the UE performs the measurements as instructed and sends measurement reports to network according to given configured events. The network may then use the received measurement reports for initiating mobility, e.g., causing the UE to initiate handover from a current cell to stronger neighbor cells, based on the received measurement report. The basic approach in the early definition of E-UTRAN mobility was that the mobility was to be optimized for intra-frequency mobility in a homogeneous macro deployment.
Introduction of connected mode power savings through the use of DRX has lead to less frequent measurement sample requirements for the UE in order to enable full advantage of the power saving options (i.e., the UE is allowed to take fewer mobility measurement related samples when applying DRX than if continuous reception is ongoing). This approach means that even in a macro-cell layout, care has to be taken from the network side in order to ensure that the network configures the UE with mobility related parameters that are suitable for the applied DRX configuration. In general, this is a challenge for long DRX cycles in homogeneous macro layer deployment, but it is possible.
Adding a HetNet scenario to this situation adds to the challenges of mobility in E-UTRAN RRC connected mode. A heterogeneous network is a network containing cells with different characteristics such as transmission power and corresponding RF coverage area. Typically, a HetNet contains macro cells with a larger RF coverage area, and small cells with smaller RF coverage areas generally inside the larger RF coverage area of the macro cells. The smaller cells have names based typically on their RF coverage areas, such as micro, pico, and femto cells (from the largest area of the micro cell to the smallest area of the femto cell). The HetNet scenario therefore requires consideration for handover and DRX of small cells and macro cells, further adding challenges to mobility in, e.g., E-UTRAN RRC connected mode.

Mobility improvement using increased number of mobility measurements for a time period


A method and computer program product are disclosed for recognizing italic text in an optical character recognition system. A plurality of digital images of alphanumeric characters are created from a block of text, each comprising a plurality of rows of digital pixels. The digital images are preprocessed such that each image is normalized to equal size and the pixels within each image have a first value, such as “black,” or a second value, such as “white.”

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to a system for recognizing italicized text in an optical character recognition (OCR) system. OCR systems rely on pattern recognition devices (classifiers) for character recognition.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of transforming written or printed text into digital information. Pattern recognition classifiers are used in sorting scanned characters into a number of output classes. A typical prior art classifier is trained over a plurality of output classes using a set of training samples. The training samples are processed, data relating to features of interest are extracted, and training parameters are derived from this feature data. During operation, the system receives an input image associated with one of a plurality of classes. The relationship of the image to each class is analyzed via a classification technique based upon the training parameters. From this analysis, the system produces an output class and an associated confidence value.
Characters with abnormal posture, such as italicized characters, can distort the features used in image recognition. While such characters may be treated separately from the standard posture of the character for the purposes of classification, this greatly increases the number of necessary output classes and unnecessarily retards system performance. Accordingly, it would be useful to develop less resource-intensive methods of detecting text of abnormal posture.

Method and computer program product for recognizing italicized text

Abstract: The position of the left-most pixel with a first value in each row is determined for each image. The position of each left-most pixel with a first value is recorded as an ordered pair including the row number and ordinal position within the row. A best-fit line and a corresponding slope are calculated for the ordered pairs via linear regression. The calculated slope is then compared to a predetermined threshold.


Disclosed are a two-component type developer which is supplied to an area where a bias voltage of at least 250 V is applied, and a developing process using this developer. In this developer, by adjusting the particle size distribution of carrier particles within a specific range, occurrence of the so-called carrier dragging phenomenon of the transfer of the carrier together with the toner to a photosensitive material can be prevented. This adjustment of the particle size distribution is such that the content of carrier particles having a size smaller than 250 mesh is less than 8% by weight based on the entire carrier particles, the diameter D.sub.50 of the weight average particle size corresponding to 50% of the weight of the entire carrier particles is in the range of from 80 to 120 .mu.m and the difference between D.sub.25 and D.sub.75 is in the range of from 5 to 20 .mu.m.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developer and a developing process. More particularly, the present invention relates to a two-component developer comprising toner particles and carrier particles supporting the toner particles, and a developing process using this developer. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a developer and developing process characterized in that even by a developing mechanism in which the voltage difference between a photosensitive material and a developing sleeve (developer-supporting member) is small, an image having a high density is obtained at a high resolution and so-called carrier dragging is not caused. Still further, the present invention relates to a developer and developing process characterized in that even if a toner having a low electroconductivity is used, an image having a high density is obtained at a high resolution and so-called carrier dragging is not caused.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In the field of commercial electrophotography, magnetic brush development using a two-component magnetic developer is widely adopted for developing an electrostatic image. As the two-component type magnetic developer, there is widely used a mixture comprising a magnetic carrier composed of an iron powder or sintered ferrite particles and a toner composed of particles formed by dispersing additives such as a colorant and a charge-controlling agent in a binder resin.
An ordinary developing mechanism in which a developer as described above is used has a structure as shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, a box-shaped toner supply mechanism 4 is arranged on the developing mechanism 2 and a toner is supplied from above. The toner 6 is fed into a developing device 10 disposed below through a supply opening 8 equipped with a feeder and is stirred together with a carrier in the developing device 10 by stirrers 12 to form a two-component type developer 14.
A developing sleeve (developer-supporting member) 16 equipped with many magnetic poles is arranged in the developing device 10. The developer 14 having the frictionally charged toner is supplied into the developing sleeve and a magnetic brush 18 of the developer is formed on the surface of the sleeve by a magnetic force. The length of the magnetic brush 18 is adjusted by a brush-cutting mechanism (doctor blade) 20, and a uniform layer of the developer is formed on the surface of the developing sleeve 16. This developer layer is delivered to the nip position to a surface photosensitive layer 24 of an electrophotographic photosensitive material drum (image carrier) 22. The photosensitive material drum 22 is arranged apart by a distance DD-S from the developing sleeve 16, and the developing sleeve 16 and photosensitive material 22 are rotatably supported and are driven so that the moving directions of the sleeve 16 and drum 22 are the same at the nip position (the rotation directions are reverse to each other).
A corona charger 26 connected to a variable high voltage power source 25 and an optical system 28 for the light exposure are arranged around the photosensitive material drum 22 upstream of the developing device 10 to form an electrostatic latent image having a predetermined surface voltage. A bias power source 33 equipped with a voltage-adjusting mechanism 30 is connected between the photosensitive drum 22 and the developing sleeve 12 so that an optional value voltage (bias voltage) which has the same polarity as that of the surface voltage and is lower than the surface voltage is applied onto the photosensitive layer 24. A transfer mechanism 34 for transferring a toner image to a copying paper is arranged around the photosensitive layer 24 downstream of the developing zone.
In the above-mentioned structure, the developer 14 forms the magnetic brush 18 on the developing sleeve 16 and at the nip position, this magnetic brush 18 reacts with the electrostatic latent image of the photosensitive layer 24 to form a visible image of the toner on the photosensitive layer 24.
At this image-forming step, it is required that the optical density of the image area should be high and the adhesion of the toner to the background (so-called fogging) should be small. The reason is that this fogging includes a risk of the transfer of the lowly charged toner to the background. As the means for obtaining an image having reduced fogging, there can be considered a method of increasing the bias voltage. If the bias voltage is increased, the quantity of light necessary for the photosensitive layer can be reduced, and therefore, the development speed can be increased.
However, the increase of the bias voltage results in enhancement of the charge repulsion between the magnetic carrier and the developing sleeve, and therefore, the phenomenon of so-called carrier dragging, that is, the phenomenon that the carrier is transferred together with the toner to the photosensitive material, is often caused.
As regards the developing conditions adopted in the conventional Se type photosensitive material drum for the development, the distance DD-S between the photosensitive drum and the developing sleeve and the cutting length of the magnetic brush (the distance between the developing sleeve and the doctor blade) are adjusted to more than about 1 mm, and the development voltage difference is set at such a high level as 550 to 600 V. Under these conditions, troubles such as carrier dragging are not caused even if a conventional developer is used.
Recently, diminishment of the DD-S width is tried for improving the image density. However, if the DD-S width is diminished, the above-mentioned carrier dragging is caused.
An organic photosensitive material which has a good processability and is advantageous in the manufacturing cost and has a large freedom of the design of functions is recently used as the photosensitive material for the electrophotography. The organic photosensitive material includes a negatively chargeable type and a positively chargeable type. Since the negatively chargeable type often induces contamination of the copying environment, use of the positively chargeable organic photosensitive material is now expected.
In this positively chargeable photosensitive material, however, the residual voltage is apt to become larger than in the conventional Se type photosensitive material, and therefore, in the case where the positively chargeable photosensitive material is used, the bias voltage should be maintained at a level higher than 250 V. As shown in FIG. 2, if the bias voltage is high, it is obvious that the carrier loss is frequently caused in case of the conventional developer (broken line .DELTA.). Recently, under the necessity of increasing the bias voltage of the photosensitive material, it is required that the development voltage difference, that is, the difference between the surface voltage and the bias voltage should be up to 500 V. In case of the conventional developer and developing process, however, if the development voltage difference is controlled to 500 V or less, reducti on of the image density is caused and no satisfactory results can be obtained.
When a color image is formed, a dye or pigment of a desired color, other than a black dye such as carbon, is selected, and in this case, the kinds of toners that can be selected are limited and the electric resistance (the reciprocal of the electroconductivity) of the color toner tends to increase. Therefore, it sometimes happens that the image density (ID) cannot be maintained at a high level. According to the conventional technique, in order to solve these problems, the particle size of the magnetic carrier is reduced and the feed quantity of the toner is increased, or the electric resistance of the magnetic carrier is reduced.
However, even if the physical properties of the magnetic carrier are thus changed, a sufficient image density cannot be given to the color image, and especially in case of a red toner having a low electroconductivity, it often happens that no satisfactory image density can be obtained. Furthermore, there can be considered a method in which the DD-S width is reduced below the DD-S width in the conventional technique to increase the density of the color image. In this method, however, a stress is imposed and carrier dragging is caused.

Magnetic brush developing process and developer