Various aspects relate to flexible mobility for a user equipment (UE) based on supported mobility modes of a network and UE conditions. A network may support one or more of a downlink based mobility mode, an uplink based mobility mode, or a hybrid mobility mode for a connectivity state of a UE. A UE may determine a serving cell based on at least one downlink signal. The UE may determine based on the at least one downlink signal, a set of supported mobility modes for the serving cell, including at least one of a downlink based mobility mode, an uplink based mobility mode, or a hybrid based mobility mode. The UE may follow a mobility procedure based on a selected mobility mode from the determined set of supported mobility modes. Other aspects relate to a base station transmitting synchronization signals to support flexible mobility.

Aspects of this disclosure relate generally to telecommunications, and more particularly to signals used for mobility in wireless communication systems.
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems.
These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and even global level. For example, 5G new radio (NR) communications technology is envisaged to expand and support diverse usage scenarios and applications with respect to current mobile network generations. In an aspect, 5G communications technology includes enhanced mobile broadband addressing human-centric use cases for access to multimedia content, services and data; ultra-reliable-low latency communications (URLLC) with strict requirements, especially in terms of latency and reliability; and massive machine type communications for a very large number of connected devices and typically transmitting a relatively low volume of non-delay-sensitive information. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, however, there exists a need for further improvements in 5G communications technology and beyond. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.
Known communications systems such as long term evolution (LTE) and high-speed packet access (HSPA) may use downlink based mobility procedures to change a serving cell of a UE. In a downlink based mobility procedure, the UE may measure downlink signals from a serving cell and/or neighbor cells. The UE and/or the network may then determine whether the UE should change cells based on the quality of the downlink signals.
It is envisaged that 5G NR will, in some cases, allow a user equipment (UE) to transition between connectivity states for radio resource control (RRC). An RRC-Idle state may be an initial state where the UE has no context in a radio access network (RAN) and is not assigned any air interface resources. An RRC-Common state may be used when a UE has little traffic. In the RRC-Common state, the UE may have a context in the radio access network but no assigned air interface resources. An RRC-Dedicated state may be used when a UE has large amounts of traffic (e.g., active applications or streams). In the RRC-Dedicated state, a UE may have a context in the radio access network and be assigned air interface resources.
In some cases, a downlink based mobility procedure may not be ideal for a UE. In an uplink based mobility procedure, one or more base station may measure a signal transmitted by the UE. The network may then determine whether to change the serving cell for the UE. Due to the various connectivity states in 5G NR, there is a need for the UE to be able to obtain information to complete either a downlink, uplink, or hybrid mobility procedure in various connectivity states.

Synchronization and reference signal for uplink based mobility


A driven sheave and variable torque limiting clutch assembly for a CVT that includes a drive sheave, a driven sheave, a VTL clutch and a hydraulic system is provided. The driven sheave is operationally coupled to a drive sheave via belt of the CVT. The driven sheave includes a fixed sheave member and a movable sheave member. The driven sheave is operationally coupled to a drivetrain. The VTL clutch is coupled between the driven sheave and the drivetrain to selectively couple torque between the driven sheave and the drivetrain. The hydraulic system is configured to manipulate both the movable sheave member of the driven sheave and the VTL clutch with shared hydraulic pressure.

A typical continuously variable transmission (CVT) includes a drive or primary sheave that is rotationally coupled to a motor and driven or secondary sheave that is rotationally coupled to a drive train. The drive and driven sheaves are rotationally coupled to each other with the use of a belt. Steel belt CVTs are capable of delivering a wide gear ratio range from a single device. This enables the engine to operate at peak efficiency or peak power at a wide range of vehicle speeds. However, it also means that the torque, that must be transmitted by the driven sheave of a CVT, can range from a multiplier less than the peak engine torque to a multiplier greater than the peak engine torque. Moveable sheave members on the drive and driven sheave may be controlled with hydraulic pressure. The hydraulic clamp load and the running radius of the belt determine the maximum torque that can be transmitted to the driven sheave before major slip occurs at the belt/sheave interface. This type of slip can be damaging to the steel belt CVT (SBCVT) and should be prevented.
SBCVT's are currently employed by the auto industry in passenger car applications. In these applications, torque spikes coming from the wheels are typically of low magnitude. The automotive industry is able to prevent slip due to these spikes by over-clamping at the drive and driven sheaves, thus allowing the sheaves to transmit the torque spikes without major slip.
In more strenuous applications, such as in trucks or off-road vehicles, torque spikes to the driveline from the wheels are more common. Torque spikes and reversals are caused by rough roads, rolling bumps and vehicle jumping activities. These spikes can be equal to several times the maximum wheel torque provided by the prime mover. Over-clamping to protect against spikes of this magnitude would lead to unacceptable drivetrain inefficiency due to friction losses between the sheaves and the belt.

Variable torque limiting clutch for a steel belt continuously variable transmission


Disclosed are rootstock plants, and methods of producing the rootstock plants, characterized by improved grafting success, enhanced root growth and other performance parameters.

Plant grafting is an important technique for horticultural and silvicultural production. Grafting is a technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. Grafting is most commonly used in asexual propagation of commercially grown plants. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion while the lower part is called the rootstock. Desirable scions can be grafted on rootstocks that are adapted to certain soil conditions such as wet or dry soils, or that are resistant to soil-borne pests and diseases. In tree fruit production, grafting of scions to rootstocks is used to produce dwarf trees, enhance disease resistance, increase fruit yield and quality, combine production of multiple varieties on a single tree, and enhance fertilization
However, many rootstock plants suffer from low grafting success rates, poor rooting, or undesirable lateral bud outgrowth. For example, many woody plant species with excellent rootstock characteristics are difficult to root from stem cuttings. Lateral buds released from rootstock have been shown to negatively affect scion growth and thus grafting success. Also, the undesirable outgrowth of lateral buds from rootstocks after grafting is a common phenomenon. If lateral shoots from rootstock are not suppressed or removed, healing of the graft union can be adversely affected and rootstock's lateral shoots compete with scions for light and nutrients, reducing the rate of grafting success and scion growth. Chemical treatments or manual removal may be used to eliminate lateral shoots from rootstock but these procedures are time consuming and expensive.
Traditional breeding efforts have made impressive progress towards improving rootstock performance in numerous plant species, but continued improvement remains limited to selection of existing traits within the gene pool of rootstock cultivars. Hybridization breeding is also limited, as some elite traits may be lost in the process. Progeny production, through sexual crossing and subsequent selection, is a lengthy and labor-intensive process that can take a decade to reach fruition. For perennial fruit trees, such as walnut, breeding cycles can be 20-30 years. In contrast to traditional breeding, transgenic plant technology can be used to introduce completely new traits into rootstock lines and at a much faster rate, sometimes within months. There is a need for rootstock plants characterized by improved grafting success, enhanced root growth and other performance parameters, as well as a need for methods of making and using said rootstock plants.

Method of producing novel rootstock plants having improved grafting traits


A mechanism is provided for controlling a solid state storage device in which the solid state storage comprises erasable blocks each comprising a plurality of data write locations. Input data is stored in successive groups of data write locations, each group comprising write locations in a set of erasable blocks in each of a plurality of logical subdivisions of the solid state storage. The input data is error correction encoded such that each group contains an error correction code for the input data in that group. Metadata, indicating the location of input data in the solid state storage, is maintained in memory. An indication of validity of data stored in each data write location is also maintained. Prior to erasing a block, valid input data is recovered from the group containing write locations in that block. The recovered data is then re-stored as new input data.

This invention relates generally to data management in solid state storage devices (SSDs), and more particularly to methods and apparatus for controlling data storage and erasing procedures in SSDs.
Solid-state storage is non-volatile memory which uses electronic circuitry, typically in integrated circuits (ICs), for storing data rather than conventional magnetic or optical media like disks and tapes. SSDs such as flash memory devices are currently revolutionizing the data storage landscape. These devices are more rugged than conventional storage devices due to the absence of moving parts, and offer exceptional bandwidth, significant savings in power consumption, and random I/O (input/output) performance that is orders of magnitude better than hard disk drives (HDDs).
In SSDs, the storage is organized into storage areas, or "blocks", each of which contains a set of storage locations to which data can be written. In the following, various operational characteristics of SSDs will be described with particular reference to NAND-based flash memory devices. It will be understood, however, that similar principles apply to other types of SSD. Flash memory, for example, is organized into storage blocks containing data write locations known as "pages". A typical flash page is 4 kB in size, and a typical flash block is made up of 64 flash pages (thus 256 kB). Read and write operations can be performed on a page basis, while erase operations can only be performed on a block basis. Data can only be written to a flash block after it has been successfully erased. It typically takes 15 to 25 μs to read a page from flash cells to a data buffer inside a flash die. Writing a page to flash cells takes about 200 μs, while erasing a flash block normally takes 2 ms or so. Since erasing a block takes much longer than a page read or write, a write scheme known as "write-out-of-place" is used to improve write throughput and latency. With this scheme, a stored data page is not updated in-place in the flash storage. Instead, the updated page is written to another free flash page, and the associated old flash page is marked as invalid by setting a validity flag in the metadata stored as part of each page.
The write-out-of-place scheme, as well as other flash storage characteristics, requires certain "housekeeping" operations to be performed for internal management of the flash storage. For example, as pages are updated and old pages invalidated, a follow-up process is required to eliminate invalid data and release storage locations for new input data. This internal management process is commonly known as "garbage collection". The garbage collection process involves selecting an occupied flash block and recovering all still-valid data from that block. The valid data pages are copied to another place in the flash storage, and the block is then erased. Blocks are typically selected for garbage collection based on the number of invalid pages they contain. However, garbage collection and block erasures can also be performed as part of other internal management processes which involve, in effect, moving data within the solid state storage. Wear-leveling is one example of such an internal management process. This process addresses the wear-out characteristics of flash memory. In particular, flash memory has a finite number of write-erase cycles before the storage integrity begins to deteriorate. Wear-leveling procedures aim to distribute write-erase cycles evenly among all available flash blocks to avoid uneven wear, so lengthening overall lifespan. In particular, wear-leveling functionality governs selecting blocks to which new data should be written according to write-erase cycle counts, and also moving stored data within the flash memory to release blocks with low cycle counts and even out wear.
Data placement and internal management operations are typically performed by dedicated control apparatus, known as a flash controller, which accompanies the flash storage. The flash controller manages data in the flash memory generally, controlling all internal management operations, and maintains address metadata in controller memory to track the location of data in the flash storage. In particular, the flash controller runs an intermediate software level called "LBA-PBA (logical block address—physical block address) mapping" (also known as "flash translation layer" (FTL) or "LPN-FPN (logical page number-flash page number) address mapping". This maintains metadata in the form of an address map which maps the logical addresses associated with input datablocks from upper layers, e.g. a file system or host in a storage system, to physical addresses (flash page numbers) on the flash. This software layer hides the erase-before-write intricacy of flash and supports transparent data writes and updates without intervention of erase operations.
The internal management functions performed in SSDs lead to so-called "write amplification". This arises because data is moved internally in the storage, so the total number of data write operations is amplified in comparison with the original number of data write requests received by the SSD. Write amplification is one of the most critical issues limiting the random write performance and write endurance lifespan in solid-state storage devices. Another key issue is error performance. Error correction (EC) coding is performed in SSDs by adding redundancy at the write-unit level. Specifically, an EC code is computed for the input data written to each page, or each sector within a page, and this EC code is recorded in that page, or sector, with the input data. This coding allows recovery from errors within individual data pages. However, solid state storage systems can employ additional EC coding to protect against failures at the device level. This coding is performed by managing a collection of devices in the manner of a RAID (redundant array of independent devices) array as commonly employed in HDD storage systems. SSD systems employing RAID-like protection are discussed in US Patent Application publication number US 2008/0320214A1, and "SSD Controllers by Start-Up Sandforce". In one scenario, a storage system can employ multiple SSDs, each operating as described above with a controller managing its own local storage. The collection of SSDs can then be managed at a higher level like a RAID array. The basic operating principles of such a system will be illustrated below with reference to FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary RAID-like SSD-based storage system 1. In this system, multiple SSDs 2 operate under storage controller 3 which services read/write requests received from hosts. Each SSD 2 operates as already described to manage data in its internal storage 4. In general, storage 4 may consist of one or more storage channels each having one or more chips or packages of chips, where each chip may contain one or more solid state storage dies. The host LBA (logical block address) space is logically partitioned in storage controller 3 and one segment of each logical block is allocated to a respective SSD 2. Redundancy is added at this stage to allow addition of RAID parity. Specifically, storage controller 3 EC codes each input host datablock (corresponding to a given host ("global") LBA), and the resulting RAID parity is added to the host datablock. The parity-coded block is then partitioned by controller 3 into "unit datablocks". Each unit datablock is supplied under an assigned unit LBA (uLBA) to a respective SSD 2 for storage. The mapping of global LBAs (gLBAs) to uLBAs in the set of SSDs is recorded by controller 3 in a gLBA-uLBA mapping table. Each SSD stores its respective unit datablock and records the physical storage location in a uLBA-PBA mapping table as usual. As a result of this process, RAID codewords are distributed across the array of SSDs 2 as illustrated schematically by the shaded section in the figure. This provides an additional level of EC coding which protects against failures at the SSD level. Within each SSD 2, a local controller performs internal management of storage 4 as described above, but this functionality, and the consequent remapping of uLBAs to PBAs, is transparent to storage controller 3 in this architecture.
FIG. 1 illustrates a so-called "outer RAID" configuration where the RAID codewords span multiple SSDs and hence multiple controllers. An "inner RAID" system can also be employed, in addition or alternatively to outer RAID. Inner RAID is implemented within an SSD controller. In the controller, the LBA space is logically partitioned and one segment of each logical block is assigned to a different sub-unit of the overall storage space. Redundancy is again added to allow addition of inner RAID parity, so that inner RAID codewords are partitioned and distributed among the set of sub-units. Specifically, an inner RAID codeword is partitioned into sub-unit datablocks, and each sub-unit datablock is assigned a sub-unit LBA (suLBA) in the address space of a respective sub-unit. The mapping of LBAs to suLBAs is recorded by the controller in a LBA-suLBA address map. Each subunit datablock is then stored in the respective storage sub-unit at a physical storage location which is recorded in a suLBA-PBA mapping table for that unit. This process provides EC coding which protects against failures at the sub-unit level in an SSD. Like outer RAID systems, the controller performs internal management (garbage collection, wear levelling, etc) independently within each storage sub-unit so that this functionality, and the consequent remapping of suLBAs to PBAs, operates at a lower logical level than the RAID coding at the logical block level.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Data management in solid state storage devices

International Business Machines Corporation


A sliding member includes a superficial portion forming a sliding surface. The superficial portion includes an oxygen-containing alloy containing at least one metallic element selected from the group consisting of molybdenum and tungsten in an amount of from 2 to 80% by weight; and oxygen in an amount of from 0.5 to 15% by weight. The sliding member sustains lubricating characteristics given to the sliding surface over a long period of time to maintain a low friction coefficient and durability.

Automotive combustion engines are driven over a wide range of oil temperatures, revolution speeds and loads. Therefore, in order to improve the mileage, the lubricating oils are required to be good in terms of the friction characteristic under a wide range of service conditions. Accordingly, it has been difficult to cover a wide range of service conditions only by conventional lubricating oils in which a variety of additive agents, beginning with friction modifying agents, are combined. For example, when the oil temperatures are low, they have not carried out the formation reaction of sliding products sufficiently, or have worn to be unable to stay on the sliding surface so that they cannot lower the friction resistance stably.
On the other hand, from the aspect of sliding members, a method is disclosed in which inorganic composite films containing manganese phosphate or oxides of molybdenum or tungsten are formed by chemical conversion treatment. However, since the films are thin chemical conversion films whose thickness is a couple of micrometers, it is possible to secure the initial adaptability, but it has been difficult to maintain the lubricating characteristic over a long period of time because said thin films have been consumed. Moreover, a method has been taken in which solid lubricants are applied on the surface of sliding members, but, when solid lubricants are simply applied on the sliding surface, the solid lubricants are consumed so that they are removed from the sliding surface, and accordingly it has been difficult to maintain the lubricating characteristic over a long period of time.
In general, in machinery provided with sliding parts, lubricating oils have been used in order to make the operation smooth. Most of the lubricating parts of engines are put into fluidically lubricating states. However, in the top and bottom of dynamic valve systems or pistons, the wear inhibition has been generally given by the addition of zinc dithiophsophate or zinc dithiocarbamate.
In internal combustion engines, as the measure of friction loss reduction or mileage, lubricating oils have been used, in lubricating oils which a variety of additive agents, beginning with friction modifying agents, are combined as set forth in Japanese Examined Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 3-23,595 and the like, for example. Conventionally, in order to lower the friction coefficient of lubricating oils, the addition of organic molybdenum compounds, the combined compounding of organic molybdenum compounds and metallic cleaning agents (Japanese Examined Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 6-62,983, for instance), the combined compounding of organic molybdenum compounds and sulfuric compounds (Japanese Examined Patent Publication (KOKOKU) No. 5-83,599, for example) or the like has been known.
In the sliding between engine cams and shims, the lowered friction coefficient aiming at improving the mileage and the anti-wearability aiming at the durability have been required strongly. Conventionally, shims have been subjected to manganese phosphate treatments aiming at improving the initial adaptability in sliding. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 2001-73,167 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. 9-209,189, there is disclosed a method in which inorganic composite films whose surface contains iron phosphate at least and further oxides of molybdenum and/or tungsten are formed on the surface of iron or steel sliding members by chemical conversion treatment.

Sliding member and method for manufacture thereof


A vise for clamping an elongated workpiece to be bent on a die (2) of a bending machine includes a movable jaw (35), provided with a clamping portion (51) approachable to and removable from the circumferential groove (4) of the die (2). The movable jaw (35) has a pivoting end (7) and a retaining end (8) opposite to the pivoting end (7). The pivoting end (7) is rigidly connected to a spindle (9) rotatable about an axis (X) at right-angles to the rotation axis (Y) of the die (2), so that the clamping portion (51) of the movable jaw (35) is displaced by an operating device (90) from an opened position, far from the elongated workpiece to be bent, to a closed position in which the clamping portion (51) mates with the elongated workpiece. A retaining device (28) is able to grip the retaining end (8) of the movable jaw (35) and to maintain the movable jaw (35) in its closed position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bending machine die provided with a vise for clamping an elongated workpiece to be bent.
2. Description of Related Art
A vise close to that one described below is produced by Jesse Engineering in Tacoma, Wash. (USA). The vise of Jesse Engineering is installed by a support member on the top of a die of a bending machine. Such a support member frontally holds a pivoting axis located above a die groove. A jaw is mounted swinging about this pivoting axis. The clamping portion of the jaw is under the pivoting axis, and above the latter there is a connection to the rod of a hydraulic cylinder mounted behind on the same support member of the jaw.
A clamping vise of the type above mentioned is certainly effective for elongated workpieces, also called tubes below, that are a small diameter and then capable of being deformed by a low deformation work.
However, if one considers that what retains a tube in the die groove is the cylinder rod urging on the jaw, it should be understood that it is only the hydraulic cylinder to counteract an opening of the same jaw. Actually, the hydraulic cylinder chosen by Jesse Engineering is not small and occupies great space in the working zone of the bending machine.
The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks.

Bending machine die provided with a vise for clamping an elongated workpiece to be bent


A process capable of forming an inorganic film which can be used at a relatively large thickness equivalent to, or greater than, the thickness of an organic SOG, without being subjected to oxidation by O.sub.2 plasma treatment used in a fabrication process of a semiconductor device. Polysilazane is first coated on a base, and the resulting polysilazane film is converted to a silicon dioxide film.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for forming a silicon dioxide film. Since the silicon dioxide film obtained by the process of the present invention can be formed by the use of polymer materials soluble in an organic solvent, a base step can be made flat. Since it is not oxidized by an oxygen plasma treatment employed during a fabrication process of semiconductor devices, it can be used as an insulating film in place of, or in combination with, a CVD film that has been used in the past. The silicon dioxide film obtained by the process of the present invention can be used at a greater thickness than an inorganic SOG material, and can make a base step sufficiently flat.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the improvement in the integration density of semiconductor integrated circuits in recent years, a surface step after device formation has become greater, and the thickness of wirings must be increased so as to prevent a drop in wiring capacity resulting from miniaturization of wirings. The latter means that the step after wiring becomes greater. Accordingly, a formation method of an insulating film capable of providing excellent flatness has become necessary. To satisfy this requirement, an inorganic SOG consisting of trifunctional siloxane units or an organic SOG consisting of tetrafunctional siloxane units and trifunctional siloxane units is used as a flattening material for an inter-level insulating film. However, since the inorganic SOG is likely to undergo cracking due to heat-treatment, it; is used in the form of a thin film of below 0.1 .mu.m on a wiring substrate. The organic SOG is likely to undergo oxidation cracking due to oxygen plasma treatment, and is therefore used in a sandwich structure in combination with a CVD film using an etch-back step. A process in which polysilazane is heat treated and used as a silicon oxynitride film (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 62-88327) and a process in which polysilazane is heat treated in a vapor atmosphere and converted to a silicon dioxide film (Japanese Patent Application No. 3-279633) have been proposed.
As described above, flattening of the base step by the use of the SOG materials has been examined in the past. However, since the inorganic SOG can be used only in a thin film of below 0.1 .mu.m, a satisfactory flattening effect cannot be obtained for the base step. Even when used in a relative thick film of not greater than 0.5 .mu.m, the organic SOG does not undergo cracking due to the heat-treatment, but cracks easily occur when the organic SOG is oxidized by the O.sub.2 plasma treatment used for the fabrication process of the semiconductor device. For this reason, a process of use which does not expose the SOG film on the through-hole side surface, that is, as shown in FIG. 1, a process which coats SOG on the CVD film and then etches back the entire surface so as not to leave the SOG film on the step, has been employed. In FIG. 1, 1 denotes a silicon substrate, 2 denotes an aluminum wiring, 3 denotes an organic SOG film, and 4 denotes a CVD film.
The silicon oxynitride film formed by using polysilazane, that has already been reported, involves the problem that emission of an amine type gas is observed at the time of re-heating (FIG. 3). According to the process which effects heat-treatment in the vapor atmosphere, corrosion of the aluminum used for the wiring material due to vapor or the amine type gas is observed. Therefore, this process is not free from the drawback that a film having high water resistance formed by an expensive apparatus such as an ECR plasma CVD apparatus must be used.

Process for forming silicon dioxide film


An electronic musical apparatus is of a data processing type which boots up when a power is supplied and shuts down when the power is removed. The apparatus comprises an internal clock which is not backed up by an uninterruptible power supply and stops counting time when the power supply to the apparatus is shut down. Upon boot of the apparatus or as preparation for execution of processing which needs a reference time-of-day clock counting, the apparatus acquires time-of-day clock counting information, and corrects the internal clock to run with the time-of-day counting based on the time-of-day information acquired externally, so that the apparatus can execute processing which needs a reference time-of-day clock counting, even though it is not equipped with a backup power supply for the internal clock. In case the acquisition of time-of-day information has not been successful, the execution of such processing will be prohibited, or the internal clock may be corrected based on a default time-of-day or on a user-set time-of-day.

Various types of musical apparatuses including an internal clock are known in the art, which execute various data processing such as processing of musical contents which need reference time containing time-of-day information, by using the time-of-day counting provided by the internal clock. An example of such musical apparatuses is disclosed in unexamined Japanese utility model publication No. S56-007989, in which a so-called automatic rhythm performance control device executes processing of musical contents to automatically generate predetermined rhythm tones by comparing the previously set time-of-day with the running time-of-day on the internal clock equipped therein and starting the rhythm performance tones at the intended (i.e. the previously set) time-of-day, for example, so that the apparatus may work as an alarm clock. According to the recent progress of the communication networks, wired and wireless, such as Internet, there are some data processing terminals which receive standard time-of-day information from an external standard time server via a communication network and correct the internal clock by such external standard time-of-day information to keep the internal clock running with the correct time-of-day counting.
With a conventional musical apparatus or terminal device having an internal clock therein, however, the internal clock needs a back up power supply such as a battery or a capacitor so that the internal clock will be kept running with correct time-of-day clock counting. In other words, the internal clock keeps good time-of-day counting as long as the apparatus or the terminal device is connected to an external power supply such as a service power outlet so that the internal clock is driven by the supplied power, whereas the internal clock cannot keep time-of-day counting when the apparatus or the terminal device is disconnected from the external power supply and the internal clock is no longer driven by a power. In order to overcome such an inconvenience, most of the apparatuses and the terminal devices have a backup power supply for the internal clock so that the internal clock can keep running correctly while the apparatus or the terminal device is disconnected from the external power supply. Considering that the apparatus or the terminal is usually connected to an external power supply when it is used to execute processing which needs reference time-of-day clock counts, it will be a kind of waste to provide a backup power source only for the internal clock to keep time-of-day counting during the absence of an external power supply to the apparatus or the terminal device. The provision of such a backup power source, on the other hand, will increase the size and the weight, and consequently the cost, of the apparatus or the terminal device, which will be a disadvantageous problem in connection with the conventional apparatus and terminal device.

Electronic musical apparatus having volatile internal clock to be corrected by external clock and computer program therefor


A method for controlling torsional oscillation includes detecting angular position of a wound field synchronous generator machine, extracting information indicative of torsional oscillation, selecting synchronous torsional oscillations, compensating for the synchronous torsional oscillations with an exciter signal, and controlling field current in the wound field synchronous generator using the exciter signal. A damping controller includes a damping module with a synchronous selective compensator and a synchronous notch filter for generating torsional oscillation compensation signals for asynchronous torsional oscillation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates synchronous machines, and in particular wound field synchronous generator machines.
2. Description of Related Art
Hybrid vehicles utilize electrical power generation systems coupled to variable speed internal combustion engines for propulsion. Such propulsion systems require a highly regulated electrical power supply, typically provided by a wound field synchronous generator machine. The engine couples to the generator through a drivetrain that can include an optional gearbox with an interconnecting shaft. The shaft transmits mechanical energy from the engine through a shaft to rotate a rotating portion of the synchronous machine, thereby generating electricity. A conventional voltage regulator controls the generator to provide a constant output voltage.
The inertias associated with the prime mover and optional gearbox in combination with the mechanical compliance of the drivetrain and synchronous machine rotor, e.g. spring rates, create a distributed mechanical spring-mass system with torsional resonances. As the synchronous machine presents a near constant mechanical load to the drivetrain, the synchronous machine provides negative damping for frequencies within the synchronous machine voltage regulation bandwidth. However, the synchronous machine can be subject to large load transients at frequencies outside of the machine voltage regulation bandwidth. These can alter the mechanical loading on the drivetrain, induce undesirable torsional oscillations in the system, and under certain circumstances, cause mechanical failures in the system.
Similarly, periodic fuel combustion within the engine and the generally nonlinear engine geometry result in torque disturbances and crankshaft speed oscillations that transfer to the rotating part synchronous machine through the drivetrain. These are typically not compensated for with voltage regulation. Instead, conventional vehicle systems incorporate mechanical devices such as a flywheel coupled to the crankshaft to reduce pulsation in the rotational speed of the crankshaft. While generally satisfactory, this adds to vehicle weight and size and adversely affects vehicle efficiency.
Conventional synchronous machines for hybrid vehicles have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purposes. However, there is a need in the art for systems and methods of damping torsional oscillation in such synchronous machines and vehicle drivetrains without size and weight penalties. There also remains a need in the art for systems and methods of damping torsional oscillation in synchronous machines that are easy to make and use. The present disclosure presents a solution to these needs.

Systems and methods for controlling torsional oscillation in wound field synchronous generator machines


A flow through cell (100) for use in a spectrophotometer for analysis of dissolved chemical substances in a flowing liquid stream is made up of at least an intermediate body member (114) located between two other body members (112, 116). The body members are of regular shape, for example rectangular parallelepiped and are clamped together, for example by machine screws (134, 136). Thus the cell is relatively easily manufacturable. The clamped together body members define a flow through passage which includes a hole (118) through the intermediate body member (114) and a liquid inlet region at one end of the hole and a liquid outlet region at the other end of the hole, which regions may be provided by galleries (150, 152) in scaling gaskets (130, 132) between the body members. The two other body members each include an optically transparent window (142, 146) at an end of the hole (118) thereby providing an optical pathway (A, A′) through part of the flow through passage. The liquid inlet and outlet regions at the ends of hole (118) are such that the liquid flow on entering and leaving the optical pathway (A, A′) occurs adjacent the optical windows transversely of the flow along the optical pathway. Thus the liquid flow sweeps across the optical windows (142, 146) and flushes the hole (118) of the optical pathway by successive increments of the liquid with minimal mixing.

The following discussion of the background to the invention is included to explain the context of the invention. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge in Australia as at the priority date established by the present application.
It is frequently useful to detect and to determine the concentrations of various dissolved chemical substances present in varying concentrations in a flowing liquid stream such as, for example, the effluent of a high-performance liquid chromatograph. If such chemical substances absorb light of characteristic wavelengths they can be detected by spectrophotometry. It is convenient to pass the flowing liquid stream (or a representative portion thereof) through a flow through cell for continuous spectrophotometric measurements. To obtain good resolution of different chemical substances eluted from the column of a chromatograph it is important that the effluent stream should undergo as little mixing as possible in its passage through the flow through cell. This is favoured by keeping the volume of the cell small and by ensuring that all parts of the conduit or passage through the cell are efficiently swept by the flowing liquid. An example of a flow cell having such characteristics is disclosed by Berick and Magnussen, Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,620 (Feb. 22, 1983). Another example is disclosed by Magnussen, Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,287 (Nov. 12, 1991). In the flow cell of each of these disclosures, means are provided adjacent the entrance end of a flow through passage and surrounding that passage to modify the flow characteristics of a liquid entering the passage. Such means evenly distributes the flow circumferentially as it enters the passage to thereby reduce undesirable mixing of the flow. However both of these flow through cells are difficult to manufacture.

Flow through cell for optical spectroscopy


The invention in some aspects relates to methods and compositions for assessing the effectiveness of miRNA inhibitors. In other aspects of the invention, methods and compositions for treating cholesterol related disorders are provided. In one aspect of the invention, miRNA inhibitors against miR-122 and rAAV-based compositions comprising the same are provided.

Dyslipidemia is associated with defects in cholesterol metabolism and represents a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. One common inherited form of dyslipidemia is the metabolic defect in low density lipoproteins (LDL) [familial hypercholesterolemia (FH)] caused by genetic mutations in the LDL receptor (LDLR) gene. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that are important in development and progression of disease. It is understood that certain microRNAs have a role cholesterol metabolism. A highly abundant miRNA in the liver, miR-122, which does not directly target LDLR mRNA, regulates cholesterol metabolism by an unknown mechanism. A locked nucleic acid based oligonucleotide inhibitor of miR-122 has been shown to reduce total plasma cholesterol levels in a dose dependent manner (See, e.g., Elmen J, et al. Nature, 2008, 452: 896-900.) However, such oligonucleotide based inhibitors require doses impractical for a therapeutic agent. Furthermore, since the oligonucleotides are administered in finite quantities, repeated administration is required to maintain a long term inhibitory effects, which are necessary for many cholesterol-related disorders, like FH. Notwithstanding the link between miRNAs and cholesterol, and prospects of effective therapeutic agents that treat cholesterol-related disorders by modulating miRNA function, the development of effective and safe approaches for miRNA inhibition in the treatment of cholesterol related disorders has been a significant scientific and therapeutic challenge (See, e.g., Czech, M P. N Engl. J. Med. 354; 11 pg. 1144-1145. (2006).)

AAV-based treatment of cholesterol-related disorders


A device for stabilizing a disassembly device during use is disclosed. The disassembly device has a plurality of engaging/attaching members for gripping a workpiece and a cross member interconnecting the engaging/attaching members. In accordance with the present invention, the stabilizer device has a main shaft, at one end of which a handle is disposed and at another end of which a pair of fingers is disposed. The stabilizer device is used to grip the cross member of the disassembly device at two points along a length of the cross member so as to stabilize the disassembly device and the workpiece while a rotating motion or force is imparted to the disassembly device in order to perform the disassembly operation. The stabilizer device has an upper block and a lower block, and a portion of the main shaft of the stabilizer device is mounted so that, as the fingers are used to exert a pulling force on the cross members of the disassembly device, the main shaft exerts a pushing force on the disassembly device, thereby stabilizing the disassembly device during the disassembly operation.

Various disassembly devices, such as pullers and pushers, are well known in the prior art. In fact, numerous types of such devices are present in the marketplace.
For example, pullers of the prior art have a plurality of engaging or attaching members (e.g., jaws) which, when the puller is in place for operational use, grip a workpiece at its circumference. In order to perform the pulling operation, a centrally disposed threaded member of the puller, which is mounted in a threaded bore centrally disposed with respect to the engaging/attaching members and connected thereto by cross members, is rotated in a clockwise direction so as to cause a distal end of the threaded member to contact and push a central portion of the workpiece assembly while the engaging/attaching members of the puller are exerting a pulling force on the outer circumference of the assembly. As a result, the workpiece is disassembled.
A problem with conventional pullers and other similar devices resides in the fact that, in order to carry out the disassembly operation, a substantial rotating force must be applied, via a hex wrench or other similar tool, to the device (e.g., the centrally disposed threaded member of a puller). As a result, a turning or rotating force is applied to the disassembly device as a whole, and this tends to destabilize the engaging/attaching members as they attempt to grip the workpiece at its outer circumference.
The following patents are considered to be representative of the prior art relative to pullers and generally related devices: U.S. Pat. Nos. 729,508; 1,352,990; 2,024,891; 2,272,636; 2,589,075; 3,986,242; 4,781,086; 5,138,917; and 5,226,208. None of the aforementioned patents provides a solution to the above-described problem.
Therefore, there is a need in the prior art for the development of a method or device for stabilizing a disassembly device during use. More particularly, there is a need in the prior art for the development of a method or device which will prevent the disassembly device from becoming destabilized due to the production of undesirable rotating or turning forces during the disassembly operation.

Device for stabilizing a disassembly device during use


A process for producing an alkoxysilane-based compound having the general formula:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing an alkoxysilane-based compound in an industrially applicable manner, which uses a secondary alcohol or a tertiary alcohol as a raw material.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the most commonly known process for producing an alkoxysilane-based compound is a process in which, as shown below, an alcohol and a halogenated silicon compound are subjected to a dehydrohalogenation reaction in the presence of a tertiary amine.R—OH+ClSi(CH3)3+(C2H5)3N→R—OSi(CH3)3+(C2H5)3NH+Cl−(wherein, R represents a monovalent hydrocarbon group)
In those cases in which a primary alcohol such as methyl alcohol is used as a reaction raw material, the reaction of the above process proceeds substantially quantitatively, enabling an efficient production of the target compound.
However, in the above process, if a secondary alcohol or a tertiary alcohol is used as the reaction raw material, then the reaction rate of the above reaction slows significantly compared to the case in which a primary alcohol is used. Particularly in cases where an attempt is made to react a dichlorosilane compound with a 2-fold mol equivalent of a secondary alcohol or a tertiary alcohol to form a disubstituted product, or in cases where an attempt is made to react a trichlorosilane compound with a 3-fold mol equivalent of a secondary alcohol or a tertiary alcohol to form a trisubstituted product, an extremely long reaction time is needed, the reaction yield is poor, and because the product also contains residual unreacted raw materials, as well as partially reacted components such as monosubstituted products, the target product must be isolated by distillation, which further reduces the yield of the target compound.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent publication No. 2,688,469 discloses a process for producing a (meth)acrylic functional group-containing organosilicon compound through a dehydrohalogenation reaction of (meth)acrylic acid and a haloalkyl group-containing organosilicon compound, wherein the reaction is conducted in the presence of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undecene-7 (hereafter referred to as "DBU"), which functions as a hydrogen halide acceptor.
However, DBU is expensive, and the use of large quantities of DBU as an industrial raw material is undesirable from a cost perspective, and in addition, a step for isolating and recovering the DBU is necessary, using filtration to separate the salt of DBU and the hydrogen halide produced in the reaction, and then washing the isolated salt with an aqueous alkali solution, and so even from a process perspective, the use of DBU is unfavorable.

Process for production of alkoxysilane-based compound

Abstract: wherein, R1 is an unsubstituted or substituted monovalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 20 carbon atoms which may contain an ether linkage oxygen atom, or a group of a formula: R2O— where R2 is an unsubstituted or substituted monovalent hydrocarbon group of 1 to 20 carbon atoms which may contain an ether linkage oxygen atom, R3 has an identical definition to that of R1, a is 0 or 1, and n is 1, 2, or 3, wherein (a) an alcohol compound of the formula (1):

Abstract: wherein, R1 and a are as defined above, and (b) a halogenated organosilicon compound of the general formula (2):Xn—SiR3)4−n  (2)wherein, R3 and n are as defined above, and X is a chlorine, bromine or iodine atom, are subjected to a dehydrohalogenation reaction in presence of (c1) a tertiary amine other than (c2) described below, and (c2) 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undecene-7 and/or 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]nonene-5.


A modular vehicle frame assembly includes a first generally U-shaped front cradle having a base portion and a pair of spaced apart leg portions extending forwardly from the base portion. A second generally U-shaped front cradle has a base portion and a pair of spaced apart leg portions extending rearwardly from the base portion. The second front cradle is secured to the first front cradle. A pair of axially extending side rails are secured to the leg portions of the second front cradle and extend rearwardly therefrom. A third generally U-shaped rear cradle has a base portion and a pair of spaced apart leg portions extending rearwardly from the base portion. The third rear cradle is secured to the side rails.

This invention relates in general to vehicle frame assemblies. In particular, this invention relates to a modular vehicle frame assembly which includes up to three hollow, U-shaped cradle frame subassemblies connected by a pair of open channel side rails.
Virtually all land vehicles in common use, such as automobiles and trucks, include a frame which serves as a platform upon which the remainder of the vehicle is built. Many vehicle frame structures are known in the art. Most of these known vehicle frame structures are formed from a number of individual metallic components which are permanently joined together. For example, a typical perimeter vehicle frame assembly is composed of a pair of longitudinally extending side rails which are joined together at the front by a forward cross member, at the rear by a rearward cross member, and at intermediate locations by one or more intermediate or auxiliary cross members. The cross members not only connect the two side rails together, but also provide desirable lateral and torsional rigidity to the vehicle frame assembly. In some vehicle frame assemblies, the side rails and cross members are formed from open channel structural members, i.e., structural members which have a noncontinuous cross-sectional shape (C-shaped channel members, for example). In other vehicle frame assemblies, the side rails and cross members are formed from closed channel structural members, i.e., structural members which have a continuous cross-sectional shape (box-shaped channel members, for example). Regardless of the specific structure of the structural members, the side rails and cross members, once joined together, form a rigid frame for supporting the remaining portions of the vehicle thereon.
Typically, the cross members extend transversely relative to the two parallel side rails, and the ends of the cross members are permanently secured to the side rails to form a generally rectangular vehicle frame assembly. The cross members are usually secured to the side rails by initially welding brackets to the side rails, then connecting the ends of the cross rails to the brackets by bolts or rivets. The brackets not only support the cross member on the side rails, but also prevent lateral movement of the cross members relative to the side rails. Once the vehicle frame assembly is completed, the remaining components of the vehicle, including the body, drive train, and suspension, can be mounted thereon in a known manner. The side rails for a full perimeter frame structure are typically manufactured to a predetermined length which is appropriate for the particular vehicle. The side rails can be formed as a single member which extends most or all of the length of the vehicle. Alternatively, the side rails can be formed from two or more pieces which are overlapped and then bolted, welded, riveted, or otherwise secured together to form the desired length of the side rail. Once the side rails are made to length, the full perimeter frame is assembled by joining the appropriate number of cross members to the side rails to form a single structure.
It is known that the length of the side rails will vary with different models of vehicles. In addition, it is likely that the number of cross members, and the attachment points of such cross members to the side rails, will also vary for different models of vehicles. In order to produce several different models of full perimeter frame structures on an assembly line, a significant inventory of various side rails and cross members needs to be kept on hand. Maintaining a large inventory of frame assembly parts is both costly and inefficient. Ideally, it would be desirable to provide a modular full perimeter vehicle frame assembly which includes both interchangeable subassemblies and subassemblies which are easily modified for use with a specific vehicle. The use of such a modular vehicle frame assembly would allow more design flexibility while decreasing the amount of inventory required to produce several different models of vehicles.


A method is described for transmitting channel status information by a user equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system. A radio frequency (RF) signal is received from a plurality of downlink component carriers. Each downlink component carrier has a respective center frequency. A channel measurement result of at least one downlink component carrier from among the plurality of downlink component carriers is reported via an uplink. Downlink subframes available for measurement are contiguous on a downlink component carrier in an activated state. Downlink subframes available for measurement are non-contiguous on a downlink component carrier in a deactivated state.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary wireless communication system. Referring to FIG. 1, a wireless communication system 100 includes a plurality of Base Stations (BSs) 110a, 110b and 110c and a plurality of User Equipments (UEs) 120a to 120i. The wireless communication system 100 may include homogeneous networks or heterogeneous networks. Heterogeneous networks refer to networks in which different network entities coexist, such as a macro cell, a femto cell, a pico cell, a relay station, etc. A BS is usually a fixed station that communicates with UEs. Each BS 110a, 110b or 110c provides services to its specific geographical area 102a, 102b or 102c. For the purpose of improving system performance, the specific service area of the BS may further be divided into a plurality of smaller areas 104a, 104b and 104c. These smaller areas may be called cells, sectors or segments depending on communication systems. One base station may consist of one or more cells, each of which may provide different bandwidth.
The UEs 120a to 120i, which are mobile or fixed, are generally distributed over the wireless communication system 100. Each UE may communicate with at least one BS on a downlink and an uplink at a point of time. The communication may be conducted in Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Single Carrier-FDMA (SC-FDMA), Multi Carrier-FDMA (MC-FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), or a combination of them. Herein, a downlink refers to a communication link directed from a BS to a UE and an uplink refers to a communication link directed from the UE to the BS.

Method of measurement over multiple downlink carriers and apparatus therefor


Proposed are a substrate that comprises an easily producible soft magnetic backing film and can reduce spike noise from the soft magnetic backing film, and a method for producing the substrate. More specifically, provided are a substrate for a perpendicular magnetic recording hard disk medium, comprising an Si single crystal substrate (1) having a diameter of 65 mm or less, a thickness of 1 mm or less and an average surface roughness (Rms) of 1 nm or more and 1000 nm or less; an under-plated layer (2) formed on the substrate, the layer (2) comprising one or more metals selected from a group consisting of Ni, Cu and Ag and having a thickness of 1 nm to 300 nm; and a plated soft magnetic layer (3) formed on the under-plated layer, the layer (3) having a thickness of 50 nm or more and less than 1000 nm, a coercivity of 20 Oe(oersteds) or less and a saturation magnetization of 1T or more, wherein the average surface roughness (Rms) of the plated soft magnetic layer is 0.1 nm or more and 5 nm or less.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate for use in a perpendicular magnetic recording hard disk and a method for producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the field of magnetic recording, information recording by hard disk apparatus is indispensable for primary external storage apparatuses in computers including personal computers. In recent years, the improvement in magnetic recording density in hard disk apparatus has been significant, rising at a rate of 100% or more per year. The recording density has reached close to 60 Gbits/inch2 at research levels and 30 Gbits/inch2 even at product levels.
This high recording density has been attained by remarkable improvement in the performance of various mechanical and electronic elements such as electronic components constituting hard disk apparatus and related software. In particular, this high recording density is largely attributed to the progress of magnetic heads (thin-film heads, MR heads, GMR heads, etc.) for reading/writing recorded information and the progress of error correction methods (software) for improving the reliability of signals having been read. Nevertheless, there are no particular changes in the basic recording system and the configuration of the apparatus, that is, the apparatus is configured on the basis of the horizontal magnetic recording system.
However, because of the improvement in magnetic recording density, the volume of a recording layer per bit for magnetic recording has decreased abruptly. In order to improve the recording density, it is necessary to improve both the linear recording density in the radial direction. However, problems are caused particularly in the improvement in the linear recording density because of reasons in the principle of the magnetic recording system. This will be described below in detail.
The magnetic recording system is broadly divided into the horizontal magnetic recording system and the perpendicular magnetic recording system as schematically shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 depending on the magnetic unit (bit) arrangement system for holding information on a recording medium.
The horizontal magnetic recording system is a system for carrying out recording so that the magnetic information units formed of S-N magnetic poles become parallel with the plane of a recording medium, and this system is used for conventional hard disk media. On the other hand, the perpendicular magnetic recording system is a system for carrying out recording so that the magnetic information units become perpendicular to the plane of a recording medium, and this system is widely used for videotapes and the like requiring high-density recording.
In the case when the recording density per unit area is improved in magnetic recording, it is necessary to reduce the volume of the magnetic recording unit (bit), as a matter of course.
However, because of problems in the principle of magnetic theory, when the volume of the magnetic substance generating the effects of a ferromagnetic material for carrying out recording is decreased, it is known that stability is not always maintained as the volumes decrease. Owing to the competitiveness between thermal energy kT (k: Boltzmann constant, T: absolute temperature) at room temperature and anisotropic energy KuV (Ku: anisotropic energy, in particular, crystalline magnetic anisotropic energy in the case of magnetic recording, V: the volume of a unit recording bit) for holding the ferromagnetic substance in one direction, it is known that the volume of the magnetic recording unit is extremely small and that the magnetized state of the ferromagnetic substance becomes unstable even at room temperature when kT˜KuV is nearly established. In the case when the magnetized volume per bit is extremely small as described above, the state wherein a ferromagnetic substance becomes a paramagnetic substance is referred to as super paramagnetism. It is known that there is a limit dimension (critical volume) at the time when the ferromagnetic substance becomes super paramagnetic, although the dimension differs depending on the magnetic recording material.
In actual magnetic recording, when the recording unit volume is decreased close to the critical dimension by raising the recording density, a problem becomes manifest before the super paramagnetism is reached. In other words, a problem of deteriorating magnetically recorded information (reducing the S/N ratio of the signal read by the magnetic head) occurs, since the ferromagnetic state by magnetic recording decays with time in a relatively short time and the magnetization direction becomes random. If this phenomenon occurs in a magnetic recording, recorded information that was written becomes unable to be read after a lapse of some time or writing itself cannot be carried out. In recent years, this decaying of recording bits owing to this super paramagnetism, referred to as a "Brownian motion" problem, has become an extremely serious problem resulting in determining the limits of magnetic recording.
Although the specific numerical value of the recording limit owing to Brownian motion in the conventional horizontal magnetic recording system is not known, it is assumed to be approximately 100 Gbits/inch2 in terms of the recording density of a hard disk medium.
As systems for solving the problem of the recording limit owing to Brownian motion in the conventional horizontal magnetic recording disk medium, various new recording systems have been proposed. A system regarded and examined as the most promissing system is the perpendicular magnetic recording system. In the perpendicular magnetic recording system, the magnetic field from adjacent bits becomes the same direction as the magnetization direction, whereby the stability of the recorded and magnetized bits is supported. In other words, a closed magnetic circuit is formed between adjacent bits, whereby a self-demagnetizing field (hereafter referred to as a demagnetizing field) by self-magnetization in the perpendicular magnetic recording system is small in comparison With the horizontal magnetic recording system, and the magnetized state becomes stable. On the other hand, in the horizontal magnetic recording system, as the linear recording density is raised, adjacent recording bits become closer to each other, and the demagnetizing field becomes larger. In order to raise the linear recording density further, it is necessary to extremely reduce the thickness of the magnetic recording layer so that a rotation magnetization mode does not occur inside the magnetic recording layer. In the horizontal magnetic recording system, as the recording density rises, the volume of the recording bit decreases three-dimensionally. In the perpendicular magnetic recording system, it is not necessary to reduce the thickness of the magnetic film in accordance with the improvement in recording density. In consideration of these, in the perpendicular magnetic recording system, the demagnetizing field can be reduced and the value of KuV can be obtained securely, whereby the stability of magnetization against Brownian motion is high. Therefore, it is possible to say that the perpendicular magnetic recording system is a recording system that can extend the recording limit much further. The recording medium for the perpendicular magnetic recording system is highly compatible with the horizontal recording medium, and technologies basically similar to those used conventionally can also be used for writing and reading of magnetically recorded information.
However, in detail, there are some points causing problems in commercialization of the perpendicular magnetic recording system. One of them is the construction of a magnetic medium. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the film construction of a horizontal magnetic recording medium, and FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing the film construction of a perpendicular magnetic recording medium. In the horizontal magnetic recording medium shown in FIG. 2, a nonmagnetic under layer 103 having a thickness of 20 to 30 nm and a recording layer 104 having a thickness of 20 to 30 nm are formed on a substrate 101. In the perpendicular magnetic recording medium shown in FIG. 3, a soft magnetic layer 105 having a thickness of 100 to 500 nm and a recording layer 104 having a thickness of 20 to 30 nm are formed on a substrate 101.
As substrates for the horizontal magnetic recording system, Al—Mg alloy substrates plated with NiP are mainly used for 3.5-inch substrates, and glass substrates are mainly used for 2.5-inch substrates. On each substrate, a nonmagnetic under film (mainly made of Cr or Cr alloy), a recording film (mainly made of Co—Cr-based alloy), a protection film (mainly made of DLC: diamond-like carbon), a lubrication film, etc., are formed.
In reality, one or more buffer layers are frequently formed between the substrate and the under film or between the under film and the recording film. In a typical construction of films with respect to the thickness values thereof, the thickness of the under film is approximately up to 30 nm and the thickness of the recording film is approximately up to 20 nm at a density of approximately 20 Gbits/inch2.
On the other hand, a perpendicular magnetic recording medium comprises a soft magnetic backing layer (typically made of permalloy or the like), a recording film (candidate materials include a CoCr-based alloy, a multi-layer film obtained by alternately laminating a PtCo layer and ultra-thin films of Pd and Co to form several layers, and a SmCo amorphous film.), a protection film, a lubrication film, etc., on a substrate. There are two significant differences between the horizontal magnetic recording medium and the perpendicular magnetic recording medium, that is, the Cr-based nonmagnetic under layer for the horizontal magnetic recording medium and the soft magnetic backing layer for the perpendicular magnetic recording medium, and the compositions of the recording layer. In particular, the backing. layer of the perpendicular recording medium is required to have soft magnetism and a thickness of approximately 100 nm to 500 nm. The soft magnetic backing film is a path for magnetic flux from the upper recording film and also a path for writing magnetic flux from the recording head. Hence, the film plays the same role as the iron yoke of a permanent magnetic circuit. The film is required to be relatively very thick in comparison with the film of the horizontal recording medium as described above.
Forming the soft magnetic backing film of the perpendicular recording medium is not easy in comparison with forming the nonmagnetic Cr-based under film of the horizontal recording medium.
Usually, all the films of the horizontal recording medium are formed by a dry process (mainly magnetron sputtering). Even in the perpendicular recording medium, film formation by a dry process is a natural trend.
However, forming the soft magnetic backing layer of the perpendicular recording medium by sputtering has problems. Magnetron sputtering is a physical deposition process widely used to form not only magnetic recording media but also metallic thin films. In this process, a target is placed in an atmosphere of thin inert gas, an electrode placed near the target or the target itself is used as an electrode, and target atoms are physically driven away by gas plasma obtained by applying a high frequency wave across the electrodes thereby to form a film. In order to increase the. speed of film formation, a method wherein a permanent-magnet magnetic circuit is disposed on the rear side of the target and the magnetic force leakage to the front side is used to raise the density of plasma is generally used. However, in the case when an attempt is made to form a soft magnetic layer for perpendicular magnetic recording by this magnetron sputtering system, many problems occur. Since the target has soft magnetism, most of the magnetic flux generated from the magnetic circuit passes through the inside of the target and hardly leaks to the outside of the surface of the target. When the leakage amount of the magnetic flux is low, generated plasma becomes weak and unstable, whereby the film formation speed by sputtering cannot be sufficiently attained. In addition, the magnetic flux leakage portion of the target is preferentially subjected to sputtering. However, the leakage of the magnetic flux at the portion subjected to sputtering is larger than that at the fringe portion because of the magnetic flux having intrinsically passed through the inside of the target, and the leakage portion is increasingly subjected to sputtering and is pitted, whereby partial wear of the target occurs. In other words, when a soft magnetic target is subjected to magnetron sputtering, the sputtered portion is worn in the shape of a V-groove, and the backing plate is exposed in a relatively short time, whereby the life of the target is shortened. On the other hand, if a thin target is used in order to increase the leakage of magnetic flux on the target, the life of the target is shortened, and the target is required to be exchanged frequently. If an attempt is made to increase the thickness of the target in order to extend the life of the target, most of the magnetic flux from the magnetic circuit at the bottom passes through the inside of the target, and the external leakage of the magnetic flux becomes nearly lost. Therefore, the thickness cannot be increased significantly. Since the leakage of the magnetic field cannot be made large and since local sputtering is apt to occur, the number of sputtering vacuum baths serving as components of the sputtering apparatus is required to be increased. Otherwise, thick films cannot be formed. Furthermore, partial wear of the target affects the uniformity of the thickness of a formed film and the uniformity of the composition of an alloy. On the other hand, since the recording layer formed on the soft magnetic backing film is relatively thin, film formation is possible without problems in a dry process and any other process. Although the forming of the soft magnetic backing film for a perpendicular recording medium can be carried out in principle by the conventional sputtering method, the film formation has big problems in mass production efficiency and productivity as described above.
Moreover, as a problem peculiar to the perpendicular magnetic recording medium, noise occurs from the magnetic film of the perpendicular recording medium. The noise is broadly divided into medium noise from the recording magnetic film and spike noise from the soft magnetic backing film. The former also occurs in the case of horizontal recording. However, the latter, that is, the spike noise from the soft magnetic backing film, is peculiar to the perpendicular recording film. It has been recently thought that the spike noise occurs since the magnetic head picks up the magnetic field leaked from magnetic domain walls present in the soft magnetic backing layer. Reducing the spike noise from the soft magnetic backing film is one of the critical points required to be attained in order to commercialize the perpendicular recording film.

Substrate for perpendicular magnetic recording hard disk medium and method for producing the same


An organic electroluminescent compound and an organic electroluminescent device using the same. The organic electroluminescent compound having Formula 1 can be used as blue electroluminescent compound. The organic electroluminescent device using the organic electroluminescent compound having Formula 1 has improved luminous efficiency and color purity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blue electroluminescent compound and an organic electroluminescent device using the same, and more particularly, to a blue electroluminescent compound containing a phenoxazine-based unit and an organic electroluminescent device having improved luminous efficiency and color purity by using the blue electroluminescent compound as a light-emitting component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Organic electroluminescent devices are active matrix emission type display devices in which, when an electrical current is applied to a fluorescent or phosphorescent organic compound layer (hereinafter, referred -to as an organic layer), electrons and holes are combined in the organic layer to emit light. Organic electroluminescent devices are light and comprise simple components and thus may be manufactured in a simplified process, and also have a wide view angle and display high quality images. Further, they can display high quality moving pictures with high color purity, and can be suitably used for portable electronic devices with low power consumption and low driving voltage.
Organic electroluminescent display devices can use either low or high molecular weight compounds, depending on characteristics of materials for forming organic layers and manufacture.
Many studies have been made about high molecular weight compounds since the discovery of the electroluminescence of poly(1,4-phenylenevinylene)(PPV), a π-conjugated polymer by Cambridge group in 1990. π-Conjugated polymers have an alternating chemical structure of single bonds (or σ bonds) and double bonds (or π bonds) , so that the polymers have delocalized π electrons capable of freely moving along with the polymer chain. The π-conjugated polymers have semi-conductive properties, and thus the whole visible light region corresponding to the HOMO-LUMO (highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest occupied molecular orbital) energy band-gap of polymers can be easily obtained through molecular design of the π-conjugated polymer, when the polymers are employed in an electroluminescent layer of an electroluminescent device. In addition, a thin film of polymer can simply be formed by spin coating or printing. Accordingly, the manufacturing process is very simple and cost-effective. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of a thin film of a π-conjugated polymer are excellent due to its high glass transition temperature. However, the device using high molecular weight compounds has several problems, including low color purity, high driving voltage, and low efficiency. Many studies have been made to overcome these problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,163 describes a method of copolymerizing fluorene-containing polymers to improve electroluminescent characteristics of organic electroluminescent devices. However, the improvement achieved is not satisfactory.
In manufacturing the device using low molecular weight compounds, an organic layer can be formed by vacuum deposition, the light-emitting materials can be easily purified to a high degree, and color pixels can be easily obtained. For practical application of the devices using low molecular weight compounds, however, there is still open for improvement in quantum efficiency and color purity, and a need to prevent crystallization of thin layers. Various studies on such electroluminescent displays using low molecular weight compounds have been actively undertaken, especially in Japan and the U.S.A. For example, Idemitsu-Kosan Co., Ltd. of Japan first exhibited in 1997 a 10-inch full color organic electroluminescent display using a color-changing medium. Pioneer Corporation of Japan presented a 5-inch passive matrix (PM) full color organic electroluminescent display. Recently, Pioneer Corporation and Motorola Inc. have arrived at an agreement concerning the mass production of cellular phones with an organic electroluminescent display, thus low molecular weight electroluminescent displays will be commercially viable in the near future.
Accordingly, there is an increasing need for a low molecular weight light-emitting compound which can simply form a thin film by vacuum deposition and spin coating or printing, similar to a high molecular weight compound, be used in dry and wet processes, and have an excellent blue light-emitting property.

Blue electroluminescent compound and organic electroluminescent device using the same


Methods of treating a subterranean formation with a treatment fluid comprising a swellable organic polymer coated onto proppant particulates. The swellable organic polymer is water-swellable, having a swelled configuration when contacted with water and an unswelled configuration in the absence of water contact. The treatment fluid may be introduced into the subterranean formation, where the swellable organic polymer adopts the swelled configuration and is placed in a fracture. During hydrocarbon production, the swellable organic polymer adopts the unswelled configuration.

The present invention relates to methods for enhancing well productivity and minimizing water production using swellable polymers.
Various methods are known for fracturing a subterranean formation to enhance the production of fluids. In a hydraulic fracturing operation, a pressurized fracturing fluid can be used to hydraulically create and propagate a fracture within the subterranean formation. Fracturing fluids can also carry and deposit solids such as proppants into the fracture. Inside the fracture, the proppants can form a tightly packed permeable mass (sometimes referred to as a "proppant pack"). The proppant pack serves as a physical barrier that prevents the fracture from fully closing and as a conduit through which production fluids can flow. The degree of success of a fracturing operation depends, at least in part, upon the fracture conductivity once the fracturing operation is stopped, the hydraulic pressure is removed, and production is begun. The conductivity of these proppant packs may be limited because of the relatively small interconnected interstitial spaces between the packed proppant.
A fracturing approach that involves placing a much reduced volume of proppants in a fracture has been used to increase the size of the interconnected interstitial spaces in proppant packs. In such operations, the proppant particulates within the fracture may be widely spaced but still sufficient to hold the fracture open and allow for production fluids to flow. An increased fracture conductivity may result due to the fact that the produced fluids may flow around widely spaced proppant rather than through the relatively small interstitial spaces within a proppant pack. While this fracturing concept has been investigated in the industry, its widespread usefulness is still somewhat limited for a number of reasons. Among other things, settling of proppant can be particularly problematic when fracturing with a reduced volume of proppants. Proppant settling may lead to a fracture or a top portion of a fracture closing, which can lower the conductivity of the propped fracture and result in proppant aggregation, rather than discrete proppant pillars, thereby defeating any added benefit of the widely spaced proppant. Water encroachment depends on the location of the water zone with respect to the oil producing interval and the rate at which oil is produced. Generally, the closer a water zone is to an oil producing interval and the higher the rate of oil production, the more likely water encroachment will occur. The resulting water production may lead to a number of issues including poor hydrocarbon recovery efficiencies, completion inefficiencies, and well maintenance problems including, but not limited to, sand production, sand separation, sand disposal, water separation, or water disposal. Therefore, a method of preparing widely spaced proppant in proppant packs that are not susceptible to partial or complete fracture closure and that are capable of reducing or minimizing water encroachment during fracturing and production operations may be of benefit to one of ordinary skill in the art.

Methods for enhancing well productivity and minimizing water production using swellable polymers


An apparatus and method are provided for transmitting data in a station of a wireless local area network (LAN) system. In the apparatus, a data queue stores transmission data, and a data processor processes data output from the data queue. A radio frequency (RF) module up-converts a signal output from the data processor to a frequency band of the wireless LAN system, and transmits the up-converted signal as an RF signal. A scheduler performs scheduling such that a specific stepping index decreases each time a backoff time reaches ‘0’ so as to determine whether to transmit the data, and the data is transmitted when both the stepping index and the backoff time reach ‘0’. A backoff stepping generator determines an initial value of the stepping index within a predetermined range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for transmitting data in a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for preventing collision occurring during data transmission in a wireless LAN system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, wireless communication systems can be classified as a mobile communication system, a wireless LAN system, or a Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) communication system. Of these systems, the wireless LAN system has been developed from the wire LAN system with the rapid progress of technology, thereby meeting increasing user demands. The wireless LAN systems are used not only for constructing home networks, but also for constructing small-scale communication networks in companies.
The latest key issue in the wireless LAN system is related to a scheme for improving Quality of Service (QoS). The improvements in QoS are being made in various fields, and one of the fields provides a scheme for decreasing a delay and increasing throughput of the system. However, the throughput of the system cannot be increased by simply increasing only the data rate because of the increase in the number of users using the wireless LAN system. More specifically, the development of technology makes it possible to construct home networks at lower costs and construct small-scale networks in companies. Therefore, the number of stations (or terminals) constituting the networks has increased. Due to the increase in the number of stations, generation of transmission data frequently occurs for each station, causing an increase in the number of cases where different stations simultaneously transmit data.
If multiple stations simultaneously transmit data as stated above, collision occurs between the data transmitted by the stations, raising the problem that access nodes (ANs) or receiving stations of the wireless LAN system cannot normally receive the data. In this case, therefore, the stations may perform retransmission. However, the retransmission causes a reduction in the throughput and occurrence of transmission delay, leading to a decrease in the QoS.
With reference to FIG. 1, a description will now be made of a process of transmitting data using a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for a Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) and an Enhanced Distributed Coordination Function (EDCF) in an IEEE 802.11/802.11e system, which is a standard of the current wireless LAN system.
FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a process of transmitting data according to a MAC protocol of the IEEE 802.11 standard.
A MAC protocol processor of a transmitter determines in step 102 whether there is any transmission data in a transmission queue. If it is determined that there is transmission data, the MAC protocol processor generates a backoff time in step 104. The backoff time is generated in the EDCF by unconditionally generating a specific number as a random number in an initial contention window regardless of a state of the network. After generating the backoff time, the transmitter determines in step 106 whether the generated backoff time has a value of '0'. If it is determined that the backoff time has a value of '0', the transmitter transmits data stored in the queue, in step 110. However, if the backoff time does not have a value of '0', the transmitter decreases the backoff time in step 108, and returns to step 106 to determine whether the decreased backoff time is '0'. That is, the transmitter generates a backoff time using a random number in step 104, sequentially decreases the backoff time generated as a random number through steps 106 and 108, and transmits the data in step 110 if the generated random number is '0'.
Thereafter, the transmitter waits for a predetermined time until a response signal is received in reply to the transmitted data in step 112. The transmitter may either successfully receive or fail to receive the response signal from a receiver within the predetermined time as detected in step 114. This is because if the transmitted data suffers collision, the receiver cannot recognize the collision and thus, cannot transmit the response signal. However, if the transmitted data is normally received at the receiver, the receiver transmits the response signal. The receiver transmits only the acknowledge signal (ACK) as the response signal. That is, the receiver transmits the response signal using a CSMA/CA scheme in which the receiver transmits the response signal only when it successfully receives the transmitted data.
Therefore, the transmitter fails to receive the response signal when the receiver suffers reception failure or fails to normally receive the data due to collision. In this case, the transmitter returns to step 104 where it again generates a backoff time in a doubled contention window and then repeats the remaining steps. However, if the receiver normally receives the transmitted data and thus transmits an ACK, the transmitter returns to step 102 where it again determines whether there is any transmission data in the queue.
In the case of transmitting data using the backoff time, a decrease in the number of stations noticeably decreases the probability that collision will occur between backoff times generated as random numbers. However, an increase in the number of stations increases the probability that random numbers generated as backoff times in the stations will be equal to each other. If generation of the same backoff times increases due to the increase in the number of stations, the data throughput decreases in the system according thereto, and the transmission data suffers a corresponding transmission delay, causing a reduction in the QoS.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for preventing collision occurring during data transmission in a wireless LAN system.

Apparatus and method for transmitting data in a wireless local area network

Sungkyunkwan University Foundation for Corporate Collaboration


The invention relates to a process for the production of a multi-layered coating in which the aqueous top coating composition contains a water-dilutable polyacrylate resin which has a hydroxyl number of 40 to 200, an acid number of 20 to 100 and a glass transition temperature (T.sub.G) of -40.degree. C. to +60.degree. C. and can be prepared by adding a mixture (I) of a (meth)acrylic acid ester and a copolymerizable monomer containing hydroxyl groups to an organic solvent, subjecting the mixture to free radical polymerization and, when the addition of mixture (I) has ended, adding a monomer containing carboxyl groups and polymerizing the mixture further.

The invention relates to a process for the production of a multi-layered protective and/or decorative coating on a substrate surface, in which
(1) a suitable pigmented base coating composition is applied to the substrate surface,
(2) a polymer film is formed from the composition applied in stage (1),
(3) a transparent aqueous top coating composition containing a water-dilutable polyacrylate resin as the binder and an aminoplast resin as the crosslinking agent is applied to the base layer thus obtained, and
(4) the base layer is then stoved together with the top layer.
The invention also relates to aqueous coating compositions, water-dilutable polyacrylate resins and a process for the preparation of water-dilutable polyacrylate resins.
The process for the preparation of a water-dilutable polyacrylate resin is known. It is used in particular for the preparation of automobile metallic effect lacquerings (compare, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,147, DE-A-33 33 072 and EP-A-38,127).
For economic and ecological reasons, it is desirable to employ aqueous top coating compositions in stage (3) of the so-called "base coat clear coat" process described above.
It must be possible to apply the top coating compositions by spraying with the aid of automatic lacquering lines. For this, they must have such a high solids content at the spraying viscosity that lacquer films of adequate layer thickness are obtained with one to two spray passes (cross passes), and they must produce stoved lacquer films which exhibit a good appearance (good flow, high gloss, good top lacquer status...).
The aqueous top coating composition disclosed in Example 2 of EP-A-38,127 does not meet all the abovementioned requirements.

Process for producing a multi-layer coating using aqueous coating compound aqueous coating compounds


Embodiments of a method in a base station for precoding a downlink transmission are disclosed. In some embodiments, the method comprises obtaining, for a time instant k, an estimate of a channel matrix for a wireless channel for a downlink from the base station to a wireless device and projecting the estimate of the channel matrix onto one or more sets of spatial orthonormal functions, thereby obtaining respective sets of coefficients. The method further comprises, for each set of spatial orthonormal functions, filtering the set of coefficients for the time instant k based on a filtering parameter that is specific to a downlink channel to be transmitted. The method further comprises generating beamforming weights using the filtered set of coefficients for at least one of the sets of spatial orthonormal functions, and precoding the downlink channel using the beamforming weights.

In cellular systems such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, and New Radio (NR), a User Equipment (UE) typically feeds back information regarding a preferred signal precoding matrix to a respective network node (e.g., enhanced or evolved Node B (eNB) in LTE and LTE-Advanced or NR base station (gNB)). The precoding matrix is used by the network node to transmit multiple information data streams and/or beamform the information data streams in a preferred spatial direction towards the UE. The precoding matrix is derived by the UE from an estimated downlink channel matrix, where the downlink channel matrix is derived by the UE using reference signals transmitted by the network node in a subframe or over multiple subframes.
Typically, the feedback is not specific to each downlink physical channel type such as a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), etc. The feedback is derived based on the estimated transmission channel matrix to achieve a specified performance. For example, the performance criterion can be a specified target Block Error Rate (BLER).
However, in a practical deployment, there are different requirements for different downlink physical channels. For example, PDCCH may be required to be less error prone than PDSCH. This requirement is very demanding when the downlink signal is beamformed or precoded to match the estimated downlink channel. The precoding/beamforming waveform should be modified such that the target performance criterion is satisfied for each physical downlink channel. In general, a physical downlink channel is characterized by the type or importance of the information that is transmitted to the UE on that physical downlink channel.
One straight-forward way to provide precoding/beamforming to satisfy different target performance criteria for different physical downlink channels is to obtain multiple feedbacks from the UE, one for each physical downlink channel. However, this would substantially increase the feedback overhead. For example, one way to beamform PDCCH transmissions is to request UE feedback specifically for PDCCH transmission, where this feedback is separate from feedback for physical downlink traffic channel (e.g., PDCCH) transmission. The feedback for PDCCH transmission can then be used to derive an appropriate precoder for PDCCH transmissions for each Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected UE. However, this solution involves additional computational complexity and a substantial increase in feedback overhead. Furthermore, the feedback delay may cause beamforming to lag, which in turn can result in unwanted loss of detection of the PDCCH at the UEs.
Therefore, there is a need for systems and methods for downlink precoding or beamforming that is able to satisfy different performance requirements for different physical downlink channels without a substantial increase in computational complexity and feedback overhead.

Beamforming in cellular systems using the same feedback information for different physical channels