An intravascular electrode line is provided with a shaping suitable for fixing in a blood vessel. The shaping is three-dimensional and has line portions enclosing an elongated hollow space, with a pitch direction that is different in relation to the longitudinal direction of the hollow space.

Electrode lines or leads, which for example are inserted into blood vessels or through blood vessels into a chamber of a heart, are basically known. Such electrode lines generally carry electrodes which serve to deliver electrical pulses to body tissue surrounding the electrode line or lead, or to receive electrical signals from the body tissue. For example, stimulation electrodes for cardiac pacemakers are known.
It is also known for electrode lines to be deformed two-dimensionally, for example in a coil form, so that the outer arcs of the electrode line formed as a coil bear against the walls of a vessel and thus provide the electrode line with a hold in the vessel, as is shown for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,374,527, 5,922,014 and 5,925,073. An electrode line which is three-dimensionally deformed in such a way that it provides a hold for the line in the atrium of a heart is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,876. In that case the electrode line is shaped in such a way that electrodes bear against the myocardium in the region of the atrium.
In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,387,233 and 6,129,750 disclose electrode lines which are wound in a helical configuration and which are adapted for insertion into a blood vessel, more specifically into the coronary sinus, and bear with the turns of the helix against the vessel walls of the coronary sinus.
The present invention primarily relates to intravascular electrode lines, that is to say electrode lines for elongate blood vessels such as arteries or veins. In contrast to for example heart chambers with their bulging recess configurations which provide a hold for a line, the task involved in providing a hold for electrode lines in elongate blood vessels is a different one. The walls of the blood vessels should as far as possible not be damaged, and in addition the blood vessel should still remain capable of passing blood and not blocked by the electrode line.
Taking the above-depicted state of the art as its starting point, the object of the invention is to provide an intravascular electrode line of an alternative configuration affording a hold therefor.

Biotronik Mess-und Therapiegeraete GmbH & Co.


A channel normalization apparatus includes: a characteristic extraction unit extracting MFCC characteristics and outputting rows of frames according to time; a characteristic parameter average calculation unit calculating an average value of the rows of the outputted MFCC characteristics; a channel variation estimation unit configuring a codebook based on a database of speech signals with attenuated channel variations and estimating a channel variation for each frame by calculating a distance between a MFCC parameter for each frame and an individual median value of the codebook when a MFCC of a channel distorted speech signal is inputted; and a smoothing operation based channel normalization unit smoothing another average value of the channel variation from the characteristic parameter average calculation unit and the channel variation from the channel variation estimation unit, subtracting the other average value from the MFCC of each frame and outputting rows of channel normalized MFCC characteristics.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a speech recognition technology, and more particularly, to an apparatus for normalizing a channel variation for robust speech recognition, wherein the channel variation is generally caused by various factors including different microphone types and variations in communications systems, and a method therefore.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a speech recognition apparatus includes a characteristic extraction unit 10 and a speech recognition unit 20. The characteristic extraction unit 10 extracts characteristics of an inputted speech signal. The speech recognition unit 20 recognizes a speech based on data related to the characteristics extracted from the characteristic extraction unit 10. Although the characteristic extraction unit 10 can be implemented based on various methods, a mel-frequency cepstrum coefficient (MFCC) method or a perceptual linear prediction cepstrum coefficient (PLPCC) method is mainly employed. A hidden markov model (HMM), a dynamic time warping (DTW) method and a neural network method are frequently employed for the speech recognition unit 20.
FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary conventional characteristic extraction unit for extracting a speech characteristic based on the MFCC method. As illustrated, the characteristic extraction unit includes: a spectrum analysis unit 11; a filter bank unit 12; a logarithmic compression unit 13; a discrete cosine transformation unit 14. The spectrum analysis unit 11 extracts information on a frequency spectrum of a speech signal. The filter bank unit 12 estimates an envelope curve of a simplified spectrum from the spectrum estimated by the spectrum analysis unit 11. The logarithmic compression unit 13 implies the size of the simplified spectrum based on a logarithmic function. The discrete cosine transformation unit 14 performs a discrete cosine transformation (DCT) operation to an output of the logarithmic compression unit 13 and calculating a cepstrum coefficient.
A channel variation typically occurs in a speech signal due to differences in microphone types, telephone networks and communication systems and personal variations. A cepstral mean subtraction (CMS) method, a signal bias removal (SBR) method and an affine transform of cepstrum (ATC) method are commonly known methods for compensating the channel variation. Due to a limitation in an amount of computation, most of the introduced channel variation compensation methods, which can improve a speech recognition function by compensating the channel variation, are not applied to a speech recognition signal but to a specific characteristic parameter for each time period after extracting characteristics.
On the basis of the fact that a channel variation is expressed as one constant in a mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) region, which is a representative speech characteristic, the most widely employed method is the cepstral mean subtraction (CMS) method that calculates an average value of MFCC parameters for each time period and subtract the calculated average value from each MFCC parameter. Although this CMS method is simple and effective, there is a limitation in that the individual MFCC parameter can be viewed as a channel variation in respect of each time period. Also, the CMS method may result in a removal of a speech component for recognition.
In more detail of the CMS method, since the overall average value of the MFCC parameters is subtracted from the MFCC parameters, the individual MFCC parameter can be often viewed as a channel variation. For instance, in the case that a signal expressed as 'sin(t)+a' is changed into a signal expressed as 'sin(t)+a+b' due to a channel variation, the application of the CMS method causes a removal of an average value of 'a+b', thereby outputting a value of 'sin(t)'.

Channel normalization apparatus and method for robust speech recognition

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Methods, systems, and devices may be used for assigning names and bootstrapping of security credentials for Smart Objects inside a Digital Home environment. Methods, systems, and devices for identification and security bootstrapping of a smart object within a digital home environment may include automated assignment of a device level ID and security credential for each smart object in the home using a resource directory.

Machine-to-Machine (M2M) technologies have enabled various applications in different areas, such as system status monitoring, automatic energy metering, home automation, wireless monitoring in intelligent buildings, personal area networks, monitoring of parameters, positioning, and real time location in medical technology, among other things.
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication is a form of data communication between entities that, when deployed, do not necessarily require direct human interaction. One challenge of M2M communication is establishing a protocol so that that deployed equipment may be managed efficiently.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Smart object identification in the digital home


A conductive (electrical, ionic, and photoelectric) polymer membrane article, comprising a non-woven membrane of polymer fibers, wherein at least some of the fibers have diameters of less than one micron; and wherein the membrane has an electrical conductivity of at least about 10−6 S/cm. Also disclosed is the method of making such an article, comprising electrostatically spinning a spin dope comprising a polymer carrier and/or a conductive polymer or conductive nanoparticles, to provide inherent conductivity in the article.

A number of studies have shown that conducting polymers processed into films and coatings can be used in a wide variety of applications. These applications include corrosion protection, static dissipation from polymer fibers, textile/fiber reinforcement to provide microwave-absorbing materials with stable radioelectric properties, radar absorbing composites and photovoltaic materials. The principal barrier to the commercial use of conductive polymers in these types of applications and others has been the lack of a viable and economically feasible processing technique that can fabricate these polymers into mechanically tough, stable and high surface area architectures.
Conducting polymer films are typically produced by casting or deposition from solution. Films produced in these manners are fragile, have a relatively low surface area, and are not porous.
Conductive polymers are also spin deposited into coagulating solutions to form conductive fibers. This process produces relatively gross fibers having diameters of around 10–100 um. These fibers are also weak, and have relatively low surface area.

Conductive (electrical, ionic, and photoelectric) polymer membrane articles, and method for producing same

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


The present invention is directed to providing an organized memory which is accessed by multiple memory controllers while still exploiting the efficiencies which the organized memory was intended to provide. In accordance with exemplary embodiments, optimal efficiency in using the shared memory is achieved by buffering memory accesses which will not increase overhead during a memory write cycle. As a result, interruptions by one controller while another controller is accessing the shared memory are reduced to a minimum.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to controlling access to a memory which is shared by multiple controllers, such as a memory shared by a graphics controller and a system controller.
2. State of the Art
As memories become increasingly more dense, memory control required to efficiently use memory space has become more sophisticated. For example, a document entitled "Cache and Memory Design Considerations For The Intel 486.TM. DX2 Microprocessor", by Taufik T. Ma dated January, 1992, describes the use of a paged memory system wherein storage areas of the memory are divided into separate pages. As described in the Ma document, data is formed into double words, or "Dwords", which can each consist of, for example, 32 bits. In a memory formed with 512 rows and 512 columns, each row can be considered a page of the memory for storing multiple Dwords.
A paged memory system allows for enhanced speed in back-to-back read or write cycles. Back-to-back cycles occur when multiple accesses to the memory are made, with sequential storage areas in the memory being written during consecutive access cycles. To realize the benefits associated with organized memories, access to these memories has been limited to a single memory controller. Organized memories have not been used as shared memories, because any arbitration scheme used to arbitrate memory access among multiple controllers would undermine the efficiencies which the organized memory was created to provide.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to use an organized memory, such as a paged memory, as a shared memory which can be accessed by multiple controllers. In so doing, it would be desirable to assign each of the controllers a hierarchical priority in accessing the memory without detrimentally affecting the efficiencies associated with the use of an organized memory.

Method and apparatus for enhancing access to a shared memory


Embodiments of the invention provide a first component with a compliant interconnect bonded to a second component with a land pad by a metal to metal bond. In some embodiments, the first component may be a microprocessor die and the second component a package substrate.

To make an integrated circuit device, such as microprocessors or other related computer components, a microelectronic die is often bonded to another component, such as a package substrate. Interconnects between the die and the package substrate transmit electrical signals between the two components. For performance and other reasons, modern semiconductor packages and MEMS (micro electromechanical systems) often employ ultra low k (dielectric value) interlayer dielectric layers, which typically have low mechanical strength. Accordingly, the interlayer dielectric layers are more sensitive to stress. Further, solders typically used in part to form the interconnects between the components can cause harmful effects and may be, in some cases, unlawful to use in the near future.

Metal-metal bonding of compliant interconnect


One of the objects of the present invention is to suppress a short circuit due to metal deposition in an insulating layer in a secondary battery in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are disposed to face each other via the insulating layer. The secondary battery comprises a battery element including at least one positive electrode 11 and at least one negative electrode 12, and a casing that seals the battery element together with an electrolyte. At least one of the positive electrode 11 and the negative electrode 12 comprises a current collector, an active material layer formed on at least one surface of the current collector, and an insulating layer 112 formed on the surface of the active material layer. The electrolyte comprises an electrolyte component and a crosslinked gelling agent. The gelling agent exists at least between the active material layer of the positive electrode 11 and the active material layer of the negative electrode 12, and the ratio Rg of the gelling agent to 100% by mass of the electrolyte component in between the active material layer of the positive electrode 11 and the active material layer of the negative electrode 12 is 0<Rg≤5% by mass.

Secondary batteries are widely used as power sources for portable electronic devices such as smart phones, tablet computers, notebook computers, digital cameras, and the like. In addition, secondary batteries have been expanding their application as power sources for electric vehicles and household power supplies. Among them, since lithium ion secondary batteries are high in energy density and light in weight, they are indispensable energy storage devices for current life.
A conventional battery including a secondary battery has a structure in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode, which are electrodes, are opposed to each other with a separator interposed therebetween. The positive electrode and the negative electrode each have a sheet-like current collector and active material layers formed on both sides of the current collector. The separator serves to prevent a short circuit between the positive electrode and the negative electrode and to effectively move ions between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. Conventionally, a polyolefin system microporous separator made of polypropylene or polyethylene material is mainly used as the separator. However, the melting points of polypropylene and polyethylene materials are generally 110° C. to 160° C. Therefore, when a polyolefin system separator is used for a battery with a high energy density, the separator melts at a high temperature of the battery, and a short circuit may occur between the electrodes in a large area, which cause smoke and ignition of the battery.
Therefore, in order to improve a safety of the battery, a battery is known in which an insulating layer serving as a substitute for the separator is disposed between a positive electrode and a negative electrode. For example, Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-241657) discloses a battery in which an insulating material particle aggregate layer in which insulating material particles are bound by a binder is formed on a surface of a positive electrode active material layer and a surface of a negative electrode active material layer as an insulating layer. Patent Literature 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-244818) discloses a battery in which a porous layer containing heat-resistant fine particles is formed on a surface of a negative electrode active material layer as an insulating layer. Patent Literature 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-069457) discloses a battery in which a porous layer containing inorganic fine particles is formed on a surface of a positive electrode active material layer or a negative electrode active material layer as an insulating layer.
Patent Literature 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-262785) discloses a battery in which a porous insulating layer containing a material having no shutdown characteristic is formed on a surface of a positive electrode active material layer or a negative electrode active material layer. Patent Literature 5 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-527090) discloses a battery in which an organic/inorganic composite porous coating layer is formed on a surface of a positive electrode or a negative electrode as an insulating layer.
Patent Literature 4 describes that a gel electrolyte or a solid electrolyte may be used as an electrolyte. Further, Patent Literature 5 describes that a gel-type organic/inorganic composite electrolyte can be formed by a reaction of an electrolytic solution and a polymer by injection of the electrolytic solution when a polymer capable of gelation at the time of impregnation of the electrolytic solution is used as a component of the organic/inorganic composite porous coating layer which is an insulating layer. Generally, the gel electrolyte is used for the purpose of suppressing the liquid leakage of the secondary battery.

Secondary battery and method for manufacturing the same


An optical system for stereoscopic rigid endoscope is provided with first and second objective optical systems arranged to have a predetermined clearance therebetween and an optical path combining system that polarizes light passed through the first and second objective optical systems in directions perpendicular to each other. The optical path combining system parallelly shifts the optical axes of the first and second objective optical systems so that they coincide with each other. The shifting directions of the optical axes form an angle less than 90 degrees. A relaying optical system is provided inside the insertion unit of the endoscope. An optical axis of the relaying optical system is coaxial with the combined optical axes. An optical image separating system separates the light passed through the relaying optical system into first and second components that passed through the first and second objective optical systems and polarized by the optical path combining system, respectively.

The present invention relates to an optical system incorporated in a stereoscopic rigid endoscope.
Conventionally, a rigid endoscope has been widely used to observe inside of human bodies, machines, debris and the like. Conventional rigid endoscope has been provided with a single optical system and observation is performed with one eye. With such a conventional rigid endoscope, only a two-dimensional view can be observed. In order to carry out various treatment inside the object precisely, a three-dimensional view of the object is desired. For this purpose, recently, a stereoscopic rigid endoscope has been developed and used. An example of such a stereoscopic rigid endoscope is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 05-341207.
The stereoscopic rigid endoscope system described as a first embodiment in the publication is provided with a pair of object optical systems each including a polarization plate and a pair of eyepiece optical systems which respectively include polarization plates. According to the first embodiment, light passed through the objective optical systems are reflected by a pair of mirrors, which are arranged at opposite positions with a half mirror therebetween. The light reflected by the pair of mirrors is directed to the half mirror, by which the optical paths are combined to a single path. Then, the light is introduced to a tip end surface of a relay optical system. The light passed through and emerges from the proximal side end surface of the relay lens is divided to proceed along two different optical paths and is introduced into the pair of eyepiece optical systems, respectively. With use of the polarization plates, the polarized directions of the objective optical system and eyepiece optical system for right eye are aligned with each other, and the polarized directions of the objective optical system and eyepiece optical system for left eye are aligned with each other. Further, the polarization directions of the optical systems for right eye and left eye are adjusted to be perpendicular to each other.
According to a second embodiment in the publication, the stereoscopic rigid endoscope is provided with a single relaying optical system fixed in an insertion unit of the endoscope. In the vicinity of the distal end of the relaying optical system, an objective lens and a circular polarization plate are provided. In the vicinity of the proximal end of the relaying optical system, a polarization direction selecting device is provided. According to the second embodiment, the polarization plate is configured such that the polarization directions of a semi-circular area and the other of the semi-circular area are perpendicular to each other. The polarization direction selecting device is configured to alternately transmit two polarization components of the light emerging from the relaying optical system.
According to a third embodiment of the above-described publication, a pair of objective optical systems, which do not have the polarization plates, are provided at a tip portion of the insertion unit of the endoscope, and a polarization selecting device is provided in the vicinity of the proximal end of a relaying optical system which is fixed inside the insertion unit. According to the third embodiment, distances from the tip end surface of the insertion unit to each of the objective optical systems are the same, and the optical axes thereof are parallel with each other. Further, the optical axis of one of the objective optical systems coincides with the optical axis of the relaying optical system. The optical axis of the other objective optical system is finally arranged to coincide with the relaying optical system after bent by a mirror and polarization beam splitter in order. Further, the polarization beam splitter is configured such that the polarization direction thereof when the light is transmitted and the polarization direction when the light is reflected is perpendicular to each other.
As described above, in the stereoscopic rigid endoscope according to any one of the three embodiments, a single relaying optical system is used for both right and left eyes. Therefore, differences in optical performance for right and left eyes are suppressed.
However, according to the first embodiment, since the pair of mirrors are arranged on opposite sides of the half mirror. Therefore, it is difficult to downsize the tip end radius of the insertion unit.
According to the second embodiment, the right and left images are obtained by dividing a pupil of a single objective lens. Therefore, a substantially half of the diameter of the incident pupil of the objective optical system is regarded as a base length. The focal length of the objective optical system for the rigid endoscope is generally very short. Therefore, the incident pupil diameter is very small, and the stereoscopic rigid endoscope according to the second embodiment may not have a sufficient base length.
According to the third embodiment, an optical path lengths of the objective optical systems to the relaying optical system are different. Therefore, if the objective optical systems have the same optical performance, the incident pupils thereof do not locate on a same plane and object distances become different, which results in the difference of magnifications between the right and left optical systems. In other words, according to the third embodiment, the objective optical systems having the same optical performance cannot be used.

Optical system for stereoscopic rigid endoscope


An actuator position control system includes an electronic controller and encoder that control and monitor an actuator's position between its position limits, while mechanically actuated limit switches prevent attempts to exceed the actuator's position limits, even if there is a loss of calibration, software error, or electronic controller failure. When actuated, the limit switches provide position calibrating information to the electronic controller. Embodiments can control linear and/or rotary actuators. The encoder can include intermeshed gears and magnetic Hall-effect position sensors. A mechanically driven position indicator can visually indicate the actuator's position. An electromechanical control system can be included that can transition the actuator between its limits even in the event of electronic controller failure. Embodiments can alert a user if the electronic controller fails.

Electrically driven position control devices are used very widely to control and regulate actuator positions for many different types of apparatus in many different environments. In the case of linear actuators, there are virtually always upper and lower limits to the range of possible actuator positions, and similar limits also apply to many rotary actuators, such as actuators that open and close rotary valves. Often, it is desirable to electronically monitor and/or control the position of an actuator when it is between these limits.
Unfortunately, electronic control systems are sometimes prone to failures that can significantly damage an actuator and associated apparatus by attempting to force the actuator to exceed one of its position limits. This can occur, for example, if accumulated mechanical errors and/or faulty software cause an electronic control system to become uncalibrated, such that it erroneously believes that the actuator is within its limits when, in fact, it is being forced outside of its limits. Also, many applications require that controllers and actuators be located outdoors and/or in locations where power sources are subject to large fluctuations and surges, for example due to lightning strikes. In the worst case, such power issues can cause an electronic control system to fail in a manner that leaves a positioning motor in an operating state, such that the actuator is driven until it exceeds one of its limits.
One approach is to forgo electronic control, and instead to implement a simple, electromechanical control system that is able to transition the actuator between its limits, but does not provide control of the actuator between those limits. For example, an electrical (or mechanical) trigger can be used to activate one or more positioning drive motors, which then operate continuously until the flow of power to the drive motor(s) is interrupted by a mechanical limit switch when the actuator reaches one of its position limits. A mechanical pointer and scale, or other mechanical indicator, and/or an electromechanical or electronic position monitoring system can be included so as to provide a visual and/or electrical indication as to the position of the actuator during the transition between limits.
This approach is simple and reliable, is not subject to loss of calibration, and can be implemented in a manner that is insensitive to issues such as power surges and fluctuations. However, this simplified approach does not provide for control of the actuator between its position limits, but instead only allows the actuator to be transitioned back and forth between its position limits. In the case of a rotary valve, for example, this approach only allows the valve to be "opened" and "closed," without allowing for adjustably controlling a rate of flow of fluid through the valve.
What is needed, therefore, is an actuator position control system that provides control of an actuator's position between its position limits, while avoiding virtually any possibility of damaging the actuator and/or associated devices by attempting to force the actuator to exceed its position limits due to a loss of calibration, software error, and/or electronic hardware failure of the control system.

Redundant actuator position control device


A bolt retainer, to position a bolt within a bolt receiving element of a component, is disclosed. The bolt retainer may include a tube structure. The bolt retainer may further include bolt engaging elements that extend from an inner surface of the tube structure to engage with the bolt. The bolt retainer may additionally include component engaging elements that extend from an outer surface of the tube structure to engage with the component.

Ground engaging tools may be secured in place to a work implement of a machine, such as a mining machine, a construction machine, an earth moving machine, and/or the like. For example, the ground engaging tools may be secured using bolts positioned within the ground engaging tools. In light of the significant size and weight of the work implement and the ground engaging tools, the work implement may be suspended (e.g., using a crane or other suspension mechanism) during the process of securing the ground engaging tools to the work implement. In this regard, securing the ground engaging tools to the work implement may require one or more workers to position the bolts within the ground engaging tools while manually supporting the suspended work implement.
A fastener assembly for installation within a work piece is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,740,530 issued to Arconic Inc ("the '530 patent"). The '530 patent discloses that the fastener assembly comprises a bolt, a retainer ring, and a housing that houses the retainer ring. The '530 patent further discloses that the housing is positioned at and engages one side of the work piece, while the bolt is inserted into a hole of the work piece on an opposite side thereof. The '530 patent additionally discloses that the retainer ring engages the bolt such that a plurality of pressure pads extending from a plurality of corresponding spring beam elements of the retainer ring reside in an annular groove of the bolt. The '530 patent discloses that the housing captivates the bolt onto the work piece while providing a positive hold out of the bolt.
The bolt retention configuration of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.

Bolt retainer configuration to hold a position of a bolt within a component


This invention relates to optimization of processing with a pulse plasma. The frequency at the initial period of rise of each pulse is shifted higher than that in the steady state in accordance with the ON timing of a plasma excitation RF power pulse. With this setting, the RF power pulse is matched to a high resonance frequency used when no plasma exists in a processing chamber, or a plasma is weak, thereby enhancing the ignition performance of the pulse plasma. In this invention, a biasing RF power pulse is controlled to adjust the maximum, minimum, or average value of a potential on the processing surface of a substrate to be a predetermined value or less. A means for this control includes a means for controlling the output waveform of the biasing RF power pulse, and a means for controlling the frequency of the biasing RF power pulse. By this control, the damage to the substrate due to collision of ions with the substrate is reduced, and uniform plasma processing is performed.

The present invention relates to a plasma processing apparatus for performing plasma processing such as etching, ashing, or CVD processing for a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD substrate.
As an apparatus for performing plasma processing such as etching for a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD substrate, various plasma processing apparatuses including a parallel plate plasma processing apparatus, an ECR (Electron Cyclotron Resonance) plasma processing apparatus, and an inductive coupled plasma processing apparatus have conventionally been known.
The parallel plate plasma processing apparatus will be exemplified. The parallel plate plasma processing apparatus comprises a processing chamber arranged in an airtight processing vessel, upper and lower electrodes arranged opposite to each other within the processing chamber, and a power supply for applying an RF power having a predetermined frequency to either one of the upper and lower electrodes. A predetermined processing gas introduced into the processing chamber is converted into a plasma by the RF power to perform predetermined plasma processing for a substrate with this plasma.
In this plasma processing apparatus, when the RF power having a predetermined frequency is continuously applied to either one of the upper and lower electrodes, the electron temperature in the processing chamber increases to excessively progress dissociation of the processing gas. As a result, the selectivity and the etching rate in a hole undesirably decrease. In the conventional processing apparatus, increases in selectivity and etching rate in the hole are limited. To cope with the increase in integration degree and size reduction of recent semiconductor devices, demand arises for a technique capable of micropatterning (e.g., hole processing with a high aspect ratio). To meet this demand, the above limitations must be overcome.
An improved apparatus forms an RF pulse train (pulse train formed by ON/OFF-controlling or high-level/low-level-controlling an RF signal, and each pulse in the pulse train including an RF component). This RF pulse train is amplified to form an RF power pulse train, which is applied to either one of the upper and lower electrodes to form a pulse plasma (plasma formed intermittently).
This apparatus can form an intermittent pulse plasma in the processing chamber, suppress an increase in electron temperature within the processing chamber, and dissociate a processing gas at an arbitrary rate. Therefore, the selectivity and the etching rate in the hole can be increased.
While no RF power is supplied, no plasma exists between the upper and lower electrodes. While the RF power is at low level, or after glow discharge occurs, the plasma density between the upper and lower electrodes is low. During these periods, since the capacitance between the upper and lower electrodes is smaller than that in occurrence of a plasma, the resonance conditions differ from those in occurrence of a plasma. For this reason, the resonance conditions are not matched in the conventional apparatus wherein the RF power pulse train having a predetermined frequency is applied to the upper or lower electrode. The plasma generation efficiency decreases during the above periods, resulting in a low plasma processing rate.
Immediately after each pulse of the RF power pulse train rises, or during the OFF period, the impedance between the upper and lower electrodes abruptly changes. A conventional matching circuit cannot follow this abrupt change in impedance, and a reflected wave generated upon application of the RF power to the electrode is difficult to relax.
In the conventional apparatus, during a period immediately after each pulse of the RF power pulse train rises, the electron temperature may abruptly increase to damage the substrate.
A plasma processing apparatus wherein a pulse plasma is uniformly drawn into a substrate by applying a biasing RF power pulse train to a lower electrode mounting the substrate thereon is proposed. In this plasma processing apparatus, when each pulse of a plasma generation RF power pulse train rises or is in the OFF state, the maximum and minimum voltage values (V.sub.PP) of the RF power applied to the substrate, or the average voltage value (V.sub.DC) of the RF power applied to the substrate abruptly changes to damage the substrate such that a gate oxide film of a semiconductor wafer is destructed.


Provided a method and device for efficiently retransmitting packets of which transmissions failed in wired/wireless network including detecting continuity by detecting whether or not a sequence ID of a received packet is continuous with a start sequence ID or an end sequence ID of packets included in reception blocks which are generated in advance of the received packet; depending on the result of the detection, manipulating reception blocks to renew or delete the reception blocks or generate a new reception block by using the sequence ID of the received packet; and transmitting an EBN (Explicit Block NACK) for requesting retransmission of lost packets in units of a block when discontinuity is detected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for retransmitting packets in a wired/wireless network, and more particularly, to a method and device for efficiently detecting packets for which transmission has failed in a wired/wireless network and transmitting a negative acknowledgement message (NACK) only once for a block of packets for which transmission has failed many times, so that it is possible to efficiently retransmit packets.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a wired/wireless network, a transmission apparatus transmits packets, and when a reception apparatus does not receive the transmitted packets the transmission apparatus retransmits the packets. The wired/wireless network includes an Ethernet, an Ad-hoc network, and a sensor network. In each network technology, retransmission is needed, and a packet transmission rate is affected by a retransmission method.
A method of transmitting and receiving an acknowledgement message (ACK) is generally used as a packet retransmission method. For example, in the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for the sensor network, when an ACK is not received within a predetermined time after transmitting a packet, retransmission is attempted.
However, in the method of transmitting the explicit ACK for each packet, the ACK transmission and reception occupies transmission media, and thus there is a problem in that a data packet transmission rate decreases. In addition, due to an ACK algorithm, the amount of overhead calculation increases.
In order to increase the packet transmission rate, a method of using an ACK algorithm which has high performance and is complex is used. However, in this method, the overhead of the ACK algorithm increases, and thus there is a problem in that the method cannot be used in a subminiature device such as a sensor node.
An invention "Method and Apparatus for Transmitting Block ACK Frame" disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060048034 (publication date 2006 Mar. 2) proposes a method and apparatus for transmitting a block ACK. In this method, a block ACK is transmitted to a transmission apparatus using a compressed bitmap format, and the size of the block ACK is reduced, so that transmission time and error probability can be reduced. However, a compression algorithm and bitmap manipulation are required, and calculation complexity is high, and thus there is a problem in that the method cannot be used in the subminiature device.

Method and device for efficiently retransmitting packets in wired/wireless network


The present invention relates to a process for the conversion of cobalt(II)hydroxide into cobalt(III)oxidehydroxide (CoOOH) by reaction of the cobalt(II)hydroxide with oxygen in the presence of certain metal compounds. The invention further relates to the use of cobalt(III)oxidehydroxide thus prepared in the preparation of catalysts or catalysts precursors, especially catalysts or catalyst precursors for the conversion of synthesis gas into normally liquid and normally solid hydrocarbons and to normally liquid or solid hydrocarbons, optionally after additional hydrotreatment, obtained in such a conversion process.

The catalytic preparation of hydrocarbons from synthesis gas, i.e. mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, is well known in the art and is commonly referred to as Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. Catalysts often used for this process comprise one or more metals, together with one or more promoters and a support or carrier material. These catalysts can be made according to one or more well known processes, for instance one or more of precipitation, impregnation, kneading, melting, extrusion and spray drying. Usually these processes are followed by drying, calcination and/or activation.
The products which can be prepared by using these catalysts usually have a very wide range of molecular weight distributions, and in addition to branched and unbranched paraffins, often contain considerable amounts of olefins and oxygen-containing organic compounds, while occasional also aromatic compounds may be formed. Most Fischer-Tropsch reaction result in the formation of longer hydrocarbon chains. Usually only a minor portion of the products obtained is made up of middle distillates, especially when relatively low temperatures are used. Of these middle distillates not only the yield but also the pour point is unsatisfactory. Hydrotreatment (hydrogenation, hydroisomerisation and/or hydrocracking) of the product or part of the product results in a larger amount of desired middle distillates with improved cold flow properties.
Supported catalysts suitable for use in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process typically contain a catalytically active metal of the Groups 8, 9 or 10 of the Periodic Table of the Elements. In particular, iron, nickel, cobalt and ruthenium are well known catalytically active metals for such catalysts. Reference may be made to EP-A-398420, EP-A-178008, EP-A-167215, EP-A-168894, EP-A-363537, EP-A-498976 and EP-A-71770. In recent patent publications the emphasis is on cobalt based Fischer Tropsch catalysts for the production of (very) heavy paraffinic product, followed by the hydrocracking of the Fischer Tropsch wax thus obtained to produce middle distillates (in general naphtha, kero and/or gasoil).
There is a continuous interest in finding catalysts which provide a further improved selectivity in the conversion of carbon monoxide into valuable hydrocarbons, in particular hydrocarbons containing 5 or more carbon atoms ("C5+ hydrocarbons" hereinafter), and which minimize the formation of carbon dioxide, which is a carbon containing by-product of low value.
It has now surprisingly been found that cobalt(II)hydroxide can be converted at least partly in the presence of certain transition metals into cobalt(III)oxidehydroxide (CoOOH), which cobalt(III)oxidehydroxide, optionally in combination with unconverted cobalt(II)hydroxide and optionally in the presence of one or more promoters, can be used for the preparation of supported Fischer Tropsch catalysts which show an increased C5+ selectivity.

Catalytic process for the conversion of Co (II)hydroxide in Co (III)oxidehydroxide


A battery is provided. The battery includes a battery pouch including at least one conductive terminal exposed to the outside, a printed circuit board electrically connected with the at least one conductive terminal and including a signal area and a non-signal area, a protection circuit electrically connected with the battery pouch, disposed on the signal area, and a heat dissipation plate connected with the non-signal area.

An electronic device may have a battery pouch of an in-cell type for waterproofing. The battery pouch may include a battery cell, a PCM, a pouch, and a connecting unit.
The battery cell may have electricity charged therein and may supply the electricity to an electronic device through a positive electrode tap and a negative electrode tap as electric power.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

Battery including heat dissipation plate and electronic device having the same


An electrical connector capable of being connected with a FPCB and a PCB stably, includes an insulating housing defining a receiving space at a top portion thereof. A plurality of terminals is received in the insulating housing and each terminal has a contacting portion projecting into the receiving space for being connected with the FPCB. A reinforcement board is received in the receiving space for being fastened together with the FPCB. A slide cover slidably covers on the insulating housing and presses against the reinforcement board. When the electrical connector is soldered to the PCB, the FPCB is electrically connected with the PCB stably for the slider cover pressing against the reinforcement board to make the FPCB connected with the terminals steadily.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector capable of being connected with a flexible printed circuit board and a printed circuit board stably.
2. The Related Art
In general, two methods are known to obtain an electrical connection between a printed circuit board (PCB) and a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB). One is employing a receptacle connector electrically connected to a plug connector. The receptacle connector is mounted on the PCB (or FPCB) and the plug connector is connected to the FPCB (or PCB). The electrical connection between the PCB and the FPCB is achieved when the receptacle connector is mated with the plug connector. The other one is forming a folding cover at a conventional electrical connector mounted on the PCB for keeping the FPCB in the conventional electrical connector to obtain the electrical connection between the PCB and the FPCB.
However, disadvantages of the above-mentioned manners are exposed. The former connection structure is complex and the latter causes the conventional electrical connector to occupy much space when the folding cover is unfolded. Moreover, the plug connector would likely depart from the receptacle connector when the assembly thereof suffers an outside force to bring about a disconnection between the PCB and the FPCB, also the folding cover is easily opened which results in a same consequence if the conventional electrical connector suffers a force from outside.


A dough moulder for producing moulded dough products of a desired size and/or shape. The moulder includes guide plate (155, 156) which are selectively insertable through respective pairs of slots (151, 152, 153) formed in a pressure rolling board (150). The guide plates (155, 156) extend through the pressure rolling board (150) to define a channel of selectable width depending on which pair of slots (151, 152, 153) is selected. The variable width channel enables dough products of a desired size and/or shape to be rolled.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dough moulder.
In particular, the invention relates to a dough moulder which is particularly suitable for, but not limited to, moulding dough of different volumes/weights to suit a range of bread and/or breadstick sizes.
2. Prior Art
Bread moulders are conventionally used to receive a piece of pre-weighed dough and mould it to a desired shape for a specific bakery product, before the dough is "proved" and then baked.
Small retail bakeries, or the bakery departments in supermarkets, may wish to produce a range of bread loaf sizes, together with stick-products, which are sold to the public.
Conventional dough moulders are not readily adjustable to enable moulding of the different dough piece sizes. For an example, a moulder manufactured by "Mono" (Trade Mark), which is arranged to be able to mould the dough for three different loaf sizes, has respective moulding sections for each loaf size, and gate means operable to selectively direct the dough pieces to the appropriate moulding section. A separate dough moulder is required to mould the dough for stick-type bakery products e.g., French sticks.
While it is known to have adjustable side plates on the inlet mouth to the moulding rollers to accommodate different size dough pieces, there is a tendency for pieces of the dough to form "strips" at the ends of the moulded dough pieces which result in an unattractive appearance.


An attachment ring for clamping a globe having a flanged neck to a lighting fixture. The attachment ring comprises an encircling member which is configured as a "C" in an open condition. The encircling member is L-shaped in cross section, the bottom of the "L" providing a ledge on which the flange of the flanged neck of the globe will come to rest. An actuator constricts the C-shaped encircling member until it is closed, thereby attaining configuration of an "O" in a closed condition. When moving to the closed condition, the encircling member frictionally engages a tubular member of the lighting fixture from the outside of the lighting fixture. Simultaneously, the ledge moves under the flange of the globe, so that the globe is constrained against falling downwardly. The actuator is operated by a manual lever, and includes a locking feature maintaining engagement of the globe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for attaching a depending spherical lens or globe to an associated lighting fixture. More specifically, the invention comprises a connector engaging both the globe and that portion of the lighting fixture intended to receive the globe. The connector comprises a constrictable ring which replaces the screws traditionally employed to secure the globe in place on the fixture.
2. Deascription of the Prior Art
Cylindrical, globular, and other lenses depending from lighting fixtures are typically secured in place by screws. These screws are arranged to project radially inwardly towards the longitudinal center of the lighting fixture. When threaded in a predetermined distance, they engage an outwardly turned flange formed in the neck of the cylindrical, globular, or other lens. For brevity, such lenses will be referred to as globes hereinafter. After engagement by the screws, the globe is prevented by interference between the screws and the flange of the neck of the globe from escaping engagement with the lighting fixture and falling down.
These screws are notoriously awkward to insert and tighten, as the task is best performed while holding the globe upright in place while attempting to grasp and tighten a succession of screws. Screws are also small parts susceptible to loss. They may be difficult to start, or initially engage a threaded hole.
The prior art has suggested various arrangements of encircling clamps and bands for replacing these screws. Clamps and bands generally either include or act on a member which constricts, in the sense of moving radially inwardly towards a vertical axis centered with respect to the lighting fixture where a lamp or light bulb is located. The member which has moved by constricting moves to a location interfering with downward motion of the globe. A globe is usually provided with a neck bearing outwardly turned flange for engaging screws or members replacing screws.
An example is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 1,677,164, issued to George Arras on Jul. 17, 1928. The device of Arras comprises an encircling band having two inner bands disposed inside the circumference of the encircling band. The inner bands interfere with downward motion of a globe retained thereby. The interfering members of the device of Arras are not radially symmetrical, as is an interfering member in the present invention. Also, Arras closes his clamp with a screw, which requires a tool. By contrast, the present invention utilizes a manual pull latch featuring an overcenter arrangement for opposing release of the globe.
A shade holder shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,538,830, issued to Andrew Lasky on May 19, 1925, features a similar member disposed inside the circumference of the encircling band. Lasky's member comprises a coil spring, which complements an inwardly directed fixed flange. A globe is placed against the spring and maneuvered into appropriate engagement with the flange and the spring. By contrast, the present invention has a radially adjustable flange which constricts about the flange of the globe. No complicated maneuvering is required in the present invention. Rather than constantly exerting inward pressure, as results from the coil spring of Lasky, the present invention has a manual control for spreading the flange during insertion and removal of the globe.
An attachment device seen in U.S. Pat. No. 1,692,029, issued to James Barrett Epstein et al. on Nov. 20, 1928, engages a globe at three points of support symmetrically spaced about the inner perimeter of a circumferential band. Two of the three points comprise permanently fixed fingers which project inwardly. The third point is a member which is inwardly and outwardly adjustable. This third member is withdrawn when installing and removing the globe. The globe is then maneuvered past the fixed fingers. This construction requires tilting the globe when maneuvering. If not properly positioned during maneuvering when installing the globe, the globe could fail to be seated on both fixed fingers prior to moving the adjustable member into the supporting position. By contrast, the present invention has a supporting member extending entirely around the inner perimeter of its circumferential band. The globe is moved merely upwardly into position. No maneuvering and possible ineffective seating of a globe result.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,049,533, issued to Frank V. Risinger on Jan. 7, 1913, is generally similar in concept to the device of Epstein et al. Risinger provides two screws and one pivotally mounted lever to provide three points of support for a globe. By contrast, the present invention has a supporting member extending entirely around the inner perimeter of its circumferential band. The globe is moved merely upwardly into position. No maneuvering and possible ineffective seating of a globe result.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,391,711, issued to Souren R. Kazanjian on Dec. 25, 1945, shows a retainer for a lamp shade which employs plural circular members, one of which extends well over three hundred sixty degrees around the neck of the globe, preferably almost seven hundred twenty degrees. Constriction is accomplished by a screw anchored in a swivel joint. By contrast, the present invention has only one circular member which does not extend over three hundred sixty degrees as it encircles the neck of the globe. Constriction in the present invention is accomplished by a manual lever.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A biocompatible, mechanical, micromachined pressure sensor and methods of manufacturing such a pressure sensor are provided. The pressure sensor of the current invention includes a high-aspect-ratio curved-tube structure fabricated through a one-layer parylene process. The pressure sensor of the current invention requires zero power consumption and indicates the pressure variation by changes of the in situ in-plane motion of the sensor, which can be gauged externally by a direct and convenient optical observation. In one embodiment, the pressure sensor of the current invention has been shown to work as an IOP sensor for eye implantation where the intraocular in-plane motion of the sensor can be recorded from outside of the eye, such that the intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients can be constantly monitored.

Glaucoma is a debilitating disease that results in loss of vision for an estimated 65 million people worldwide. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and the leading cause of preventable blindness. Yet, only half of the people with Glaucoma know they have the disease. Glaucoma is principally defined by damage to the optic nerve, the ultimate pathway for visual information after processing by the retina at the posterior aspect of the eye. Of the many risk factors for this optic neuropathy, perhaps the most significant is elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Because IOP is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, and because treatment involves lowering patients' IOP, methods of precisely monitoring real-time pressure changes are critical for treatment of this disease. This task is complicated by the very sensitive pressure measurements required to detect abnormal pressures in the eye (e.g., normal eye pressure typically ranges from 10–21 mmHg, averaging about 15 mmHg with a ±mmHg deviation), and the invasive nature of current intraocular pressure sensors.
There is no known sensor on the market for the constant real-time measurement of these small intraocular pressures. The potential of such a sensor is that measurements can be made for years for ongoing monitoring of glaucoma treatment. For example, current tonometry techniques involve indirect measurement of IOP. The tonometers used in common practice are difficult to implement for regularly monitoring pressure fluctuations and treatment progress because they rely on skilled operators using external measurement devices that requires constant out-patient treatment and provides only intermittent monitoring of the IOP. In response to the deficiency of current measurement methods, many micromachined or "MEMS" pressure sensor designs have been proposed. MEMS devices are of interest because in principal the small scale of MEMS devices allows for the implantation of a sensor for constant IOP monitoring. These microfabricated devices can provide accurate and precise pressure readouts, but conventional designs all require electrical circuitry and hermetic sealing, a significant impediment to their implementation. None of the IOP sensors proposed solve the two principal difficulties of these devices; power consumption and biocompatibility.
Accordingly, an improved sensor for providing faithful IOP measurement inside the eye without the twin problems of power consumption and biocompatibility is needed.

Implantable mechanical pressure sensor and method of manufacturing the same


A container assembly includes a container defining a sealed chamber, a solid state electrolyte disposed in the chamber, and a hydrophobic substance protecting the solid state electrolyte. A method for preparing a solid state electrolyte includes positioning a solid state electrolyte in a chamber of a container, protecting the solid state electrolyte using a hydrophobic substance, and sealing the chamber. A method for extracting a solid state electrolyte includes positioning the container assembly of in a dry atmosphere, unsealing the chamber, and removing the solid state electrolyte from the chamber to the dry atmosphere.

Solid-state electrolytes have gained interest in recent years for all-solid-state battery applications. However, most solid-state electrolytes are sensitive to moisture, carbon dioxide and oxygen in the air which can have a negative effect on their performance if exposed thereto. Therefore, measures are needed to be taken to reduce the risk of degradation.

Systems and methods for storing, transporting, and handling of solid-state electrolytes


A method and an apparatus for controlling weft inserting without depending on any operation skill, such control being on the basis of at least two kinds of information having mutually different frequencies for correcting weft inserting. A plurality of control rules prepared according to control algorithms, a plurality of data tables for weft inserting prepared according to the control algorithms or approximate expressions are used for calculating the control conditions of an actuator for weft inserting, and the weft inserting actuator is controlled on the basis of the calculated control conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling weft inserting in an air jet loom, a water jet loom or the like, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for controlling weft inserting in a jet loom provided with an actuator for weft inserting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been proposed such a technique for controlling weft inserting so as to make fabrics get the predetermined qualities by correcting control conditions, that is, control parameter such as a pressure of the fluid jetted from a main nozzle (designated as "main pressure" in the present invention) or a pressure jetted from a subnozzle (designated as "subpressure" in the present invention) and then controlling actuators thereof on the basis of either one of running information such as the rotational angle (arrival angle) of a main shaft when a weft inserted into a warp shed reaches the predetermined position, the stopping machine information such as the causes for stopping the weaving machine and the stop frequency thereof and quality information such as slack filling in woven fabrics and the frequency thereof.
Now, the correction of the control conditions due to the running information is practiced in a short period (one period as the shortest cycle) during the operation of the weaving machine. On the other hand, since the correction of the control conditions due to the stopping machine information or quality information is practicable only when the weaving machine happens to be stopped or when the product quality is lowered, these corrections are practiced in longer period. The directions to be corrected may sometimes be different depending on the running information, the stopping machine information and the quality information.
Consequently, even though the corrections of the control conditions based on such a plurality of kinds of information may be employed simultaneously, the corrections due to these kinds of information are mutually cancelled and the corrections due to these information cannot be made use of altogether. In other words, for example, even though the control conditions may be corrected on the basis of the stopping machine information after a stop of the weaving machine, the control conditions are thereafter returned to the control conditions before a stop of the weaving machine by the correction of the control conditions on the basis of the running information under the operation of the weaving machine.
As described above, the techniques known per se only correct the control conditions using a single information selected from the group consisting of the running information, the stopping machine information and the quality information, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Public Disclosure (KOKAI) Nos. 56-107046 and 63-75149. Therefore, since the control conditions could not be corrected by using a plurality of kinds of information, the correction of the control conditions by using a plurality of kinds of information is performed manually by operator skill without relying on any automatic corrections.

Method and apparatus for controlling an actuator for weft inserting in a jet loom


A printer is provided with a transmit electrode and a receive electrode with a dry-toner cartridge located therebetween. The transmit and receive electrodes act as two plates of a capacitor, with the toner within the toner cartridge making up a portion of the dielectric between the two capacitor plates. An oscillating transmit signal is then applied to the transmit electrode, and a signal corresponding to the capacitance between the opposing electrodes is detected. The changing capacitance due to the changing toner quantity causes a change in the received signal. The value of the received signal is then converted into the quantity of toner residing between the opposing electrodes, and this quantity is displayed to the user. Arrangements of transmit and receive electrodes may be employed within the printer to not only sense the overall quantity of toner but the distribution of toner within the toner cartridge.

Laser printers and copying machines typically use electrophotographic techniques to transfer dry toner particles to a rotating drum or to a sheet of paper by electrostatic attraction. After the toner is transferred to the paper, the paper is then heated to melt the toner so that the toner permanently adheres to the paper. There are many well-known types of these devices, and details of their operation need not be presented here.
Usually, the dry-particle toner is replenished by replacing a toner cartridge in the printer. The toner cartridge is typically a plastic receptacle containing the dry toner.
FIG. 1 illustrates one of many prior art toner cartridges, which is a replaceable unit in electrophotographic printers, such as laser printers and copiers. The techniques of the present invention may be used with any type of known toner cartridge. Toner cartridge 10 includes a plastic housing 12, which is normally opaque but is shown as transparent for purposes of this disclosure.
Powdered toner 14 is shown contained within housing 12. For monochrome electrophotographic printing devices, toner 14 is typically a fine, black, resinous powder. The toner is either deposited directly on charged paper or transferred from a charged surface, such as a drum, belt, or roller, to ordinary paper, then fused to the paper by heating. Toner 14 can be any known toner and need not be further described herein.
Conventional toner cartridges, such as cartridge 10, include a stirring rod 16, which may take many forms such as a rotating bar or paddle which slowly agitates the toner 14 near the bottom of a sloped trough 18 to prevent clumping of the toner and to provide even feeding of the toner into physical elements of the printing process. A typical rotation speed of stirring rod 16 is 10-30 rpm in a 24 page-per-minute printer.
Cartridge 10 includes a developer roller 20 that attracts a thin layer of toner 14 on its surface and transfers the toner particles to a photoreceptor drum (not shown) in the printer. The photoreceptor drum is selectively charged using a laser or other technique such that toner 14 only adheres to the drum in selected areas. The toner on the drum is then transferred to a sheet of paper. The paper is then heated to fuse the toner to the paper.
In other existing toner cartridges, such as cartridge 22 in FIG. 2, along with a stirring rod 24 is a primary charger roller 26 and an organic photoconductor (OPC) roller 28 proximate to the charger roller. The primary charger roller 26 charges the OPC roller 28, and a laser selectively exposes the OPC roller 28 in a pattern that produces the desired recorded image. A developer roller 20 supplies a thin layer of toner to the OPC roller 28 in the selected areas. The toner on the OPC roller 28 is then transferred to a sheet of paper to record the image onto the paper. The paper is then heated to fuse the toner completing the process. An exemplar of this toner cartridge is the C3909A LaserJet cartridge for the Hewlett Packard 5SiMX LaserJet printer.
A metal wire 32 runs proximate to the developer roller 20. A sensor (not shown) connected between wire 32 and the developer roller 20 senses the capacitance between wire 32 and the developer roller 20. When the quantity of toner is depleted to the extent that it exposes wire 32, the detected capacitance undergoes a significant change, and this is used to generate an indication to the user that the toner level is low.
Other elements may also be incorporated in toner cartridges.
It is important that an indication of toner quantity be available to a printer user either for a local or networked printer. This indication can be presented as a display on the printer or a display or message visible to the user whenever the printer is invoked by an application program. Knowledge that the remaining quantity of toner is inadequate for a printing task is of significant value to a user and to service personnel. Some solutions in the current art, in addition to that described with respect to FIG. 2, include providing a toner cartridge with a window through which the user or a photosensor may observe toner quantity, incorporating electrodes into the toner cartridge to detect a threshold quantity of toner, or other techniques which require a modification to the toner cartridge such as floats, paddles, or other physical sensors known in the art operating in contact with the toner. Modifying existing toner cartridges to include a means for sensing the toner quantity adds cost to each cartridge. In addition, all methods currently in practice do not operate over the full range of toner quantity from full to empty and offer poor accuracy.
What is needed is a more economical and accurate technique for measuring the toner quantity in a toner cartridge.

Toner quantity measuring technique in an electrophotographic printer


A method and system for distributed roaming in a wireless mesh network are disclosed. Cells are able to track and predict a users movement throughout the network. The user's roaming profile is forwarded to predicted future cells before the user actually enters those cells. When the user enters a new cell, roaming is completed without communication to any other cells. Thus, handoff time is reduced and users may more seamlessly move throughout the network coverage area.

Many wireless mesh networks have the following characteristics in common: highly dynamic, autonomous, peer-to-peer, multi-hop, limited bandwidth and computing power, etc. Wireless mesh networks are highly dynamic for two reasons. First, the routers themselves may move (e.g. in mobile or hybrid wireless mesh networks), generating quick response times to topological changes. Second, even if the routers themselves do not move (e.g. in fixed wireless mesh networks), the radio link qualities can change very quickly because of interference, geographical and environmental factors. Traditional routing protocols (e.g. OSPF, RIP), designed for wired infrastructures, cannot handle such quick changes in signal strength. Many of the ad hoc routing protocols (e.g. AODV) lack the ability to flexibly adapt to radio link quality changes.
Wireless networks are becoming increasingly common in peoples' lives. The most popular wireless networks to date are mobile phone networks. Such networks are typically broken down into a number of "cells," as indicated by the term "cellular phone networks." Each cell has a set of antennae that send and receive signals to and from cell phone users. Communication lines interconnect the cells to form a cellular network. A commonly-used communication line is a fiber optic line, though alternatives are widely accepted in the field.
In a cellular network, when a user moves from one cell to another, their mobile phone call can continue communication only if a connection to one or more antennae is maintained. The process of transferring a user's connection from one cell to the next is called "roaming." Roaming is essential to enable a user to stay connected while moving across different cells without dropping calls.
Cellular networks are traditionally not built as "mesh," but in some form of hierarchical topological. (e.g. a tree topology, or a set of trees) A mesh, on the other hand, is a network where every cell is virtually connected to every other cell in the network. An example of a mesh is a grid map or the Internet. A wireless mesh network consists of cells interconnected by wireless backhaul such that each cell is in virtual communication with every other cell. Wireless mesh networks can also have gateways connected to wired networks. With the popularity of IEEE 802.11 wireless devices, wireless mesh networks have become increasingly popular. An 802.11 mesh network can incorporate inexpensive and relatively low powered 802.11 devices (access points, routers, etc) to form a high throughput and reliable distributed network. The advantages of such a network are analogous to those in distributed PC networks, which generate enormous computing power beyond that obtained with independent PC's.
Roaming is the process by which a user switches between cells in a wireless mesh network. In a large wireless mesh network capable of handling Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) traffic, a roaming solution needs to be scalable, reliable, and provide fast handoff between different cells. Such a roaming solution should scale to at least thousands of network cells, though the limit for future applications is unpredictable. The key to scalability is lower roaming overhead, reducing the burden on the system at each handoff. The wireless mesh network should also be resilient to cell failures in a way similar to the Internet. This resiliency requires the network to take full advantage of the connectivity across the entire mesh. At present, the latency needs to be less than 50 ms to be undetectable to VoIP users.
Existing roaming solutions fall short of these requirements. Roaming solutions in mobile cellular networks cannot be applied because they require hierarchical tree-like topologies. A recent proposal termed "micro-mobility" utilizes solutions such as the Cellular IP and Hawaii protocols derived from cellular phone networks. Micro-mobility solutions are typically designed for a strictly hierarchical network. A hierarchical network introduces bottlenecks due to poor load balancing and is vulnerable to cell failure, among other problems. The main weakness of hierarchical networks, though, is the lack of scalability. Hierarchical networks require significant cache and exchange state information storage among duplicative cells in the system. The amount of information exchanged and maintained grows exponentially with the size of the network and with the amount of roaming activities among users. Thus, such a hierarchical network is not scalable, and becomes impracticable as the number of cells increases.
Another prominent solution (and IEEE standard) on IP networks is called Mobile IP, created by the Internet Engineering Task Force. Mobile IP is scalable, but can suffer from long handoff latency due to the way it forwards data to a mobile user. Optimization techniques to reduce handoff latency require changes on client software, which could be a serious impediment to user adoption.
Prior wireless mesh networks enable a user to switch between mesh routers. When a user device senses that a stronger signal is available than the one currently being used to access the network, a roaming process enables the device to switch to the stronger signal. To roam, the device must contact a cell, sometimes called a home agent, that contains the user's roaming profile. A home agent is typically a server, and resides somewhere within the entire network. To contact the home agent, the user device may have to travel long paths through a multitude of cells. Further, each time the user roams, the home agent must be contacted. This introduces long delays and signal degradation from the users end.

Method and system for distributed roaming services for mobile users on wireless mesh networks


The invention relates to a high-silicon-content corrosion-resistant austenitic steel, characterized by alloying contents (in % by weight) of. ______________________________________ max. 0.2% C 10 to 25% Ni 8 to 13% Cr 6.5 to 8% Si 0 to 10% Mn and/or Co max. 0.010% S max. 0.025% P ______________________________________. residue iron and the usual admixtures and impurities due to manufacture.. The steel is suitable as a material for the production of corrosion-resistant articles for the handling of highly concentrated hot sulphuric acid, highly concentrated hot nitric acid and other strongly oxidizing media, such as chromic acid, in the form of rolled plates, strips, pipes, rods, wires and other forms of product.

The invention relates to a high-silicon-content corrosion-resistant austenitic steel and its use for the handling of strongly oxidizing media, such as hot highly concentrated sulphuric acid and hot highly concentrated nitric acid.
More particularly for the handling of highly concentrated hot nitric acid, the steel X2CrNiSi1815 was developed, which contains 3.7 to 4.3% silicon in addition to 17 to 18% chromium and 14.5 to 15.5% nickel (all details in % by weight). High resistance to corrosion in superazeotropic, more particularly highly concentrated nitric acid can be achieved only by a minimum silicon content of 3.7% (E. M. Horn, A. Kugler, Z. Werkstofftechnik, Vol. 8, 1977, pages 362 to 370, 410 to 417). In that case the chromium content is approximately I8%, so that passivation can take place in other aqueous solutions also. The relatively high nickel content of approximately 15% is necessary to achieve an austenitic base structure. The effect of higher silicon contents than approximately 4% was also investigated in the past (E. M. Horn, R. Kilian, K. Schoeller, Z. Werkstofftechnik, Vol. 13, 1982, pages 274 to 285). German OS 28 22 224 discloses a steel containing 2.5 to 5% silicon, 15 to 20% chromium, 10 to 22% nickel, max. 2% manganese, max. 0.1% carbon and additions of a further alloying component consisting of tantalum, zirconium or a mixture of niobium and tantalum and/or zirconium for the production of corrosion-resistant spring plates. British Patent 2 036 077 discloses inter alia an austenitic steel of improved resistance to oxidation at elevated temperatures which consists of 1 to 5% silicon, 15 to 30% chromium, 7 to 35% nickel, not more than 3% manganese, max. 0.10% carbon, residue iron and impurities, the sulphur content also being limited to max. 0.003%. A steel is also commercially available which has a silicon content raised to 5 to 5.6%, the nickel content being increased to approximately 17.5%, to enable an austenitic structure still to be established. British Patent 2 122 594 claims the use of such a steel for parts of installations required for the production of sulphuric acid. Nevertheless, as a rule in the prior art no higher silicon content than approximately 4.5% is selected, since with chromium contents of approximately 18% the precipitation of carbides and intermetallic phases as a whole is accelerated by increasing silicon contents.
The steel containing approximately 4% silicon is included under Case 1953 in the ASME Boiler und Pressure Vessel Code, Sect. VIII, Div. 1. The strong tendency to precipitation demands inter alia special steps during welding (R. R. Kirchheiner, F. Hofmann, Th. Hoffmann, G. Rudolph, Materials Performance, Vol. 26, No. 1, 1987. pages 49-56). Furthermore an austenitic steel containing 3.5 to 4.5% silicon, 16 to 18% chromium, 8 to 9% nickel, 7 to 9% manganese, max. 0.10% carbon and 0.08 to 0.18% nitrogen is offered on the market as a particularly wear-resistant material under the name Nitronic 60.
In addition to the aforementioned austenitic silicon-containing Steels, European patent 0 135 320 discloses a silicon-containing austenitic-ferritic steel which is supposed to be particularly suitable for the handling of such solutions of nitric acid as are used in the processing of nuclear reactor fuel elements. Its composition is stated as 2 to 6% silicon, 20 to 35% chromium, 3 to 27% nickel, 0.1 to 2% manganese, max. 0.03% nitrogen, max. 0.04% carbon, at least one of the elements niobium, titanium or tantalum in a quantity 8 times the carbon content or more, but at most 1%, residue mainly iron. With a view to the same field of application, European Patent 0 135 321 discloses a silicon-containing austenitic steel having improved resistance to corrosion caused by nitric acid, its composition being stated as follows: 2 to 6% silicon, 20 to 35% chromium, 17 to 50% nickel, 0.01 to 8% manganese, max. 0.03% nitrogen, max. 0.03% carbon, at least one of the elements niobium, titanium and tantalum in a quantity 8 times the carbon content or more, but 1% at most, residue mainly iron.
However, an overall consideration of the aforementioned silicon-containing corrosion-resistant steels shows that even with Si contents up to 6%, resistance is inadequate in highly concentrated hot sulphuric acid at temperatures above 100.degree. C., taking in account a maximum corrosion rate of 0.3 mm per annum, which is tolerable for practical applications.
According to British Patent 1 534 926 a corrosion rate lower than 0.3 mm per annum, tested in 95.6% sulphuric acid at 110.degree. C., can be achieved with the following alloy composition: 4.1 to 12% silicon, 6 to 22% chromium, 10 to 40% nickel. 0.6 to 4% copper, max. 4% manganese, max. 1.5% molybdenum plus 1/2 tungsten, max. 0.2% nitrogen, max. 0.06% carbon, total max. 2% for the elements niobium, tantalum, zirconium and vanadium, residue mainly iron. According to this Patent Specification the optimum silicon content is normally supposed to be 7.5 to 10%, the chromium content being preferably 9 to 14%, the nickel content preferably 14 to 20% and the copper content 2 to 3%.
However, at test temperatures of 150.degree. C. and above, the corrosion rates appreciably exceed the limit value of 0.3 mm per annum relevant in practice, as tests carried out at a neutral Institute showed in the testing of commercially available steels having the composition stated in the analysis given in British Patent 1 534 926. In those tests the most favourable corrosion rate in 96% sulphuric acid at a test temperature of 150.degree. C. was 0.5 mm per annum.
Moreover, due to its high silicon content in combination with the copper content this steel is difficult to work, so that rolled products of relatively large dimensions, such as plates and pipes, can be produced only to a limited extent. To improve hot workability, a total of up to 0.5% magnesium, aluminium and calcium and also up to 0.2% rare earth metals must be added to that steel.
Starting from this prior art it is an object of the invention to provide a satisfactorily workable silicon-containing austenitic steel which can be processed into rolled products of relatively large dimensions, such as plates and pipes, and which is adequately corrosion-resistant for practical use in the handling of highly concentrated hot sulphuric acid, highly concentrated hot nitric acid and other strongly oxidizing media (rate of corrosion below 0.3 mm per annum).
This problem is solved by an austenitic steel having alloying contents of max. 0.2% carbon, 10 to 25% nickel, 8 to 13% chromium, 6.5 to 8% silicon, 0 to 10% manganese and/or cobalt, max. 0.010% sulphur, max. 0.025% phosphorus, residue iron and usual admixtures and impurities due to manufacture (all details in % by weight).

I.P. Bardin Central Research Institute of Iron & Steel


The present disclosure provides a feedback control system and method for a bidirectional VCM. The system employs an analog core that is common to both the PWM and linear modes of operation. The analog core includes a feedback mechanism that determines the error in the current flowing through the motor. The feedback mechanism produces an error voltage that corresponds to the current error, and applies the voltage to a control driver. The control driver then controls the motor, based on the error voltage, in either a PWM or linear mode. By sharing a common core, the switching time between modes is improved. Furthermore, the output current error between modes is reduced.

Voice coil motors (VCMs) are actuators used to drive electromagnetic loads. Applications typically use VCMs due to their small size, low cost, and shock resistance. Moreover, VCM applications frequently require both forward and reverse VCM operations. For example, VCMs are used to move the read/write head in hard disk drive applications and are used to focus lenses in imaging applications.
Generally, VCMs include at least a permanent magnetic circuit and a coil. In a closed loop feedback system, a VCM interacts with a bridge circuit that drives a current through an electromagnetic load of the VCM.
To drive the current, a first set of analog circuitry that provides a dynamic, or linear, driving operation is often used in conjunction with the VCM. Dynamic drivers provide reliably linear drive signals to the electromagnetic load. However, dynamic drivers are inefficient as they dissipate a relatively large amount of power. Designers generally use dynamic drivers only in circumstances in which it is important to minimize noise and in which electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is critical.
As an alternative to drive the current, a second set of circuitry that provides a pulse width modulation (PWM) driving operation is used in conjunction with the VCM. PWM drivers are more efficient and dissipate relatively less power than dynamic drivers. However, PWM drivers generate a great deal of radiative and conductive noise that can interfere with sensitive circuit operations proximate or connected to the VCM.
Previous VCM driving schemes generally provide systems that use only the dynamic driving operation or the PWM driving operation. In some circumstances in which both the dynamic and the PWM driving operations are used with respect to the same motor, it is often the case that the motor cannot also be operated in both a forward direction and a reverse direction for each of the dynamic and the PWM driving operations.
In some other circumstances in which both the dynamic and the PWM driving operations are performed with respect to the same motor, each driving operation is associated with a different set of core analog components in the feedback loop. Switching between the different sets of core analog components requires a transition period of time between the implementation of the different modes. Additionally, switching between the different sets of core analog components introduces an output current error between modes.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved voice coil motor driver that is capable of driving a load using both a PWM mode and a linear mode.

Analog Devices International Unlimited Company


Detection of higher order mode transverse modal energy is suppressed for an acoustic wave propagating longitudinally through a duct. First and second microphones are placed in respective first and second nodal planes of the second higher order mode, and the outputs of the microphones are summed. For the first higher order mode, the output of the first microphone is equal in amplitude and opposite in phase to the output of the second microphone, and the resultant sum is zero. For the second higher order mode, the output of each of the first and second microphones is zero, and the resultant sum is zero.

The invention relates to acoustic systems including a duct guiding an acoustic wave propagating longitudinally therethrough and having higher order mode transverse modal energy, and more particularly to a system suppressing detection of such energy.
The invention arose during continuing development efforts relating to active acoustic attenuation systems, including the subject matter shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,665,549, 4,677,676, 4,677,677, 4,736,431, 4,815,139, 4,837,834, 4,987,598, 5,022,082, and 5,022,082, and allowed U.S. application Ser. No. 07/468,590, filed Jan. 23, 1990, all assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference.
A sound wave propagating axially through a rectangular duct has a cut-off frequency f.sub.c =c/2L where c is the speed of sound in the duct and L is the longer of the transverse dimensions of the duct. Acoustic frequencies below the cut-off frequency f.sub.c provide plane and uniform pressure acoustic waves extending transversely across the duct at a given instant in time. Acoustic frequencies above f.sub.c allow non-uniform pressure acoustic waves in the duct due to higher order modes.
For example, an air conditioning duct may have transverse dimensions of two feet by six feet. The longer transverse dimension is six feet. The speed of sound in air is 1,130 feet per second. Substituting these quantities into the above equation yields a cut-off frequency f.sub.c of 94 Hertz.
In circular ducts similar considerations apply when the duct diameter is approximately equal to one-half of the wavelength. Exact equations may be found in "Higher Order Mode Effects in Circular Ducts and Expansion Chambers", L. J. Eriksson, Journal of Acoustic Society of America, 68(2), August 1980, pp. 545-550.
Active attenuation involves injecting a canceling acoustic wave to destructively interfere with and cancel an input acoustic wave. In the given example, the acoustic wave can be presumed as a plane uniform pressure wave extending transversely across the duct at a given instant in time only at frequencies less than 94 Hertz. At frequencies less than 94 Hertz, there is less than a half wavelength across the longer transverse dimension of the duct. At frequencies above 94 Hertz, the wavelength becomes shorter and there is more than a half wavelength across the duct, i.e. a higher order mode with a non-uniform sound field may propagate through the duct.
In an active acoustic attenuation system, the output acoustic wave is sensed with an error microphone which supplies an error signal to a control model which in turn supplies a correction signal to a canceling loudspeaker which injects an acoustic wave to destructively interfere with the input acoustic wave and cancel same such that the output sound at the error microphone is zero. If the sound wave traveling through the duct is a plane wave having uniform pressure across the duct, then it does not matter where the canceling speaker and error microphone are placed along the cross section of the duct. In the above example for a two foot by six foot duct, if a plane wave with uniform pressure is desired, the acoustic frequency must be below 94 Hertz. If it is desired to attenuate higher frequencies using plane uniform pressure waves, then the duct must be split into separate ducts of smaller cross section or the duct must be partitioned into separate chambers to reduce the longer transverse dimension L to less than c/2f at the frequency f that is to be attenuated.
In the above example, splitting the duct into two separate ducts with a central partition would yield a pair of ducts each having transverse dimensions of two feet by three feet. Each duct would have a cut-off frequency f.sub.c of 188 Hertz.
The above noted approach to increasing the cut-off frequency f.sub.c is not economically practicable because active acoustic attenuation systems are often retrofitted to existing ductwork, and it is not economically feasible to replace an entire duct with separate smaller ducts or to insert partitions extending through the duct to provide separate ducts or chambers.
One solution to the above noted problem is shown and described in above incorporated U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,139. The present invention provides another solution.
In the present invention, higher order modes are permitted in the duct, but measurement thereof is prevented, or at least minimized. Rather than allowing the control system to observe transverse energy which it cannot control, the invention instead suppresses detection of transverse modal energy to avoid observation thereof. Since the control system does not observe higher order modes, it does not generate same.
The invention can be used with modes that have non-uniform pressure distribution in both transverse dimensions of a rectangular or other shape duct. The invention may also be used with modes that have non-uniform pressure distribution in both the radial and circumferential dimensions of a circular duct. The invention has application in areas other than active noise control, for example active vibration control, impedance tube acoustical measurements, or other applications where it is desired to suppress detection of higher order modes.

Acoustic system suppressing detection of higher order modes


A method and apparatus are disclosed for negotiating and managing one or more personalities in a wireless communications system. The method comprises advertising one or more supported initial protocol set identifiers. Furthermore, the method comprises selecting a starting initial protocol set identifier from the advertised initial protocol set identifiers. In addition, the method comprises establishing a session based on the selected starting initial protocol set identifier. The method also comprises establishing a connection between an access terminal and an access network based on the selected initial protocol set identifier.

In a typical wireless communications system utilizing the 3GPP or 3GPP2 protocol standards, a network access terminal (AT) connected to a network (AN) routinely requires a change to its existing state. To accomplish such a change in the AT, the AT and the AN must communicate with each other. In particular, a protocol process of the AT known as the Session Configuration Protocol (SCP)—a protocol process responsible for coordinating and managing the configuration of other protocol processes—must communicate with its corresponding peer on the AN. Likewise, other non-SCP protocol processes of the AT requiring change must communicate with their corresponding peer on the AN.
Therefore, there is a needed for a method which defines a standard by which an AT requiring configuration change coordinates its protocol processes to relay its need to change the existing configuration status of one or more of its protocol processes to the AN. The method should also define a standard by which the SCP of the AT informs the protocol process requiring a change in its status that it is allowed to execute the change.

Method and apparatus for negotiating personalities in a wireless communications system


A cover for an electronic module that has a housing holding a electrical component and a circuit board for operating the electrical component includes a cover plate having an interior surface and an exterior surface. The cover plate has a dielectric body. A majority of at least one of the interior surface and the exterior surface includes a conductive layer to provide electrical shielding for the cover plate. A connector portion is formed integrally with the cover plate defining a unitary structure. The connector portion includes a plurality of contact channels and a shroud extending from the exterior surface that surrounds a receptacle configured to receive a plug connector therein. Contacts are held in corresponding contact channels that have mating ends positioned in the receptacle and mounting ends exposed beyond the interior surface for mounting to the circuit board.

The subject matter herein relates generally to covers for electronic modules.
Electronic modules, such as lamp assemblies, typically have a housing or enclosure that houses electrical components, such as a lighting element, a circuit board for controlling operation of the electrical components and wires or electrical connectors that supply power to the electrical components. Conventional lamp assemblies typically include a header connector that is mounted to the circuit board. A cover includes an opening therethrough and a shroud configured to receive a plug connector. In at least some known lamp assemblies, the housing is manufactured from a metal material to provide electrical shielding. The header connector is aligned with and passes into the shroud for electrical connection to the plug connector. However, alignment of the header connector with the opening in the cover is problematic and misalignment may lead to contact stubbing. Furthermore, sealing of the opening is typically required between the interior shroud surface and the header connector, leading to tight tolerances of the location and sizing of the header connector and the shroud.
To overcome the alignment problems with some conventional assemblies, at least some known assemblies attach the header connector to the cover prior to coupling the cover to the enclosure. The header connector is made to precisely fit in the opening in the cover for sealing of the header connector to the cover. The two-piece design requires time for assembly and requires the parts to be manufactured to tight tolerances, which increases the overall cost of the product. Additionally, problems arise over time of the header assembly vibrating out of the shroud after continued use, which leads to failure of the lamp assembly.