In order to manufacture a dynamic pressure bearing device, there are provided a shaft member, and a thrust plate formed with a press-fitting portion into which the shaft member is press-fitted. At least two relief portions are formed in at least one of the press-fitting portion of the thrust plate and a part of the shaft member which corresponds to the press-fitting portion. The shaft member is press-fitted with the press-fitting portion such that the thrust plate extends perpendicular to an axial direction of the shaft member, while making the relief portions absorb press-fitting stress.

The present invention relates to a dynamic pressure bearing device applicable to apparatus rotating at high speed, for example hard disk drivers, rotary polygon mirror drivers and so forth and methods of manufacturing such a device, and more particularly to a thrust dynamic pressure bearing device and a method of manufacturing the same.
Among apparatus rotating at high speed such as hard disk drivers, there is one using a dynamic pressure bearing so arranged that rotors can rotate without contacting bearing members by causing dynamic pressure to be generated in lubricating oil lying between the rotors and the bearing members while the rotors are rotating upon the respective bearing members. Such a dynamic pressure bearing includes a radial dynamic pressure bearing for supporting the rotor in the direction in which it rotates and a thrust bearing for supporting the rotor in the axial direction.
As for a known thrust bearing, it is formed by press-fitting a disk-like thrust plate into a rotary shaft in order to secure the thrust plate thereto.
The dynamic pressure bearing device will be briefly described by the use of an example of a hard disk driving motor shown in FIG. 6. The structure of the thrust bearing shown in FIG. 6 conforms to what is based on the present invention and though the motor structure is well known, the following description will be given to make clear problems to be solved by the invention.
In FIG. 6, a motor frame 8 has a hole for fixing a sleeve 4 and the lower end portion of the sleeve 4 is securely press-fitted into the hole. The sleeve 4 is a cylindrical member having a central shaft hole, and a small-diameter and a large-diameter recessed portions 13 and 14 are formed round the central shaft hole in the lower end portion of the sleeve 4. The central hole of a stator core 12 is placed in the outer periphery of the sleeve 4 and fixedly bonded thereto or fixed by a proper member. The stator core 12 has a proper number of radially projected poles and a driving coil 23 is wound on each projected pole.
A rotary shaft 1 is inserted into the central hole of the sleeve 4. A disk-like thrust plate 5 has been secured to the lower end portion of the rotary shaft 1 by press-fitting. The thrust plate 5 is disposed in the small-diameter recessed portion 13 of the sleeve 4. A counter plate 6 forming a fixed-side dynamic pressure bearing part is fixedly fitted in the large-diameter recessed portion 14 so as to positioned the thrust plate 5 in the small-diameter recessed portion 13.
Herringbone dynamic pressure grooves are formed on upper and lower surfaces 51 and 52 of the thrust plate 5 in the circumferential direction. There are very small gaps respectively between the upper surface 51 of the thrust plate 5 and the opposed sleeve 4 and between the lower surface 52 of the thrust plate 5 and the opposed counter plate 6. Lubricating fluid such as lubricating oil lies in these gaps, thus forming a dynamic pressure thrust bearing. When the thrust plate 5 together with the rotary shaft 1 rotates, the lubricating fluid is compressed in the dynamic pressure grooves, so that the dynamic pressure is generated in the thrusting direction. Moreover, a very small gap is also present between the outer periphery of the rotary shaft 1 and the central shaft hole of the sleeve 4, dynamic pressure grooves are formed in at least one of the outer peripheral face of the rotary shaft 1 and the inner peripheral face of the central shaft hole of the sleeve 4. Consequently, a radial dynamic pressure bearing part 40 is formed with lubricating fluid lying between the gap above. As the rotary shaft 1 rotates, the lubricating fluid causes dynamic pressure is generated in the radial direction.
The rotary shaft 1 projects from the upper edge face of the sleeve 4, and the central hole of a rotor hub 2 like a cup placed upside down is secured by press-fitting to the projected portion of the rotary shaft 1. The outer peripheral wall of the rotor hub 2 covers the stator core 12, and a cylindrical rotor magnet 7 is secured to the inner periphery of the outer peripheral wall. The central hole of a one or a plurality of hard disks (not shown) is placed with the outer peripheral face of the rotor hub 2 as a guide, and the hard disk(s) is mounted on a flange 21 formed on the outer peripheral face of the rotor hub 2. The hard disk is fitted integrally to the rotor hub 2 with a proper cramp member.
Supply of power to each driving coil 23 is controlled in accordance with the rotational position of the rotor magnet 7, whereby the rotor magnet 7, the rotor hub 1, the rotary shaft 1 and the thrust plate 5, these integrally forming rotating parts, are rotated. With their rotation, the aforementioned thrust and radial dynamic pressures are generated and the rotary shaft 1 makes non-contact rotation relative to the sleeve 4 and the counter plate 6 forming the fixed-side dynamic pressure bearing part. Therefore, the frictional resistance is reduced to make possible the smooth and high-speed rotation of the rotary shaft 1.
With respect to the formation of the thrust dynamic pressure bearing part, the rotary shaft 1 is press-fitted into and integrated with the thrust plate 5, for example. FIG. 7 shows how the rotary shaft 1, the thrust plate 5 and the counter plate 6 are combined together in the related art. As seen from FIG. 6, the right angles at which the rotary shaft 1 meets the thrust plate 5 are important and unless the degree of the right angle is satisfactory as shown in FIG. 8, the gap in the thrust dynamic pressure bearing part would lack uniformity, thus making the generation of the dynamic pressure unstable. The method heretofore used to increase the degree of the right angle is to raise the precision of jigs when the rotary shaft 1 is press-fitted into the thrust plate 5.
The degree of the right angle between the rotary shaft and the thrust plate may be considered to be made accurately achievable by shaving the shaft without press-fitting the rotary shaft into the thrust plate. Under this method, the degree of the right angle can be attained precisely and there is no problem arising from causing the thrust plate from warping. However, the disadvantage of the shaving method includes making the working troublesome, requiring a lengthy working time, wasting much raw material and increasing costs.
These problems will be developed from not only the shaft rotating type but also a shaft fixed type.
An object of the present invention made to solve the foregoing problems concerning the related art is to provide a dynamic pressure bearing device having a shaft and a thrust plate forming a thrust dynamic pressure bearing part which is mounted to the shaft in a direction perpendicular to the shaft, in such a manner as to integrate the shaft and the thrust plate by press-fitting so that the thrust plate can be set free from warping and the gap between the thrust plate and the fixed-side dynamic pressure bearing part is uniformized, whereby a stable thrust dynamic pressure is obtainable, and to provide a method of manufacturing the same.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a dynamic pressure bearing device, comprising:
a shaft member;
a thrust plate, formed with a press-fitting portion into which the shaft member is press-fitted such that the thrust plate extends perpendicular to an axial direction of the shaft member;
a bearing member, being opposed to the thrust plate for forming a thrust dynamic pressure bearing portion; and
at least two relief portions, for absorbing press-fitting stress, the relief portions provided in at least one of the press-fitting portion of the thrust plate and a part of the shaft member which corresponds to the press-fitting portion.
In this configuration, a portion which is equivalent to the press-fitting margin is relieved when the shaft member is press-fitted into the thrust plate. Therefore, the stress axially applied to the thrust plate after it has been press-fitted into the shaft is reduced without causing the thrust plate to warp. Thus, the gap between the thrust plate and the opposed bearing member is uniformized and the shaft member after the generation of the dynamic pressure is determined with stability, so that a highly reliable dynamic pressure bearing device becomes obtainable.
Preferably, the relief portions are formed with equal intervals in a circumferential direction of the shaft member.
In this configuration, the press-fitting margin portion can be relieved with a well balance, which resulting in obtaining a stable dynamic pressure with the warping of the thrust plate effectively reduced.
More preferably, the relief portions are provided as notched grooves which extend entirely in the thrust plate, in parallel with the axial direction of the shaft member.
Preferably, the thrust plate is made of a material which can be subjected to coining process, and dynamic pressure grooves are formed on the thrust plate by the coining process.
Although such a material may be easily deformable, that is, easily warped at the time of press-fitting, the warping of the thrust plate can be efficiently eliminated by forming each relief portion for absorbing the press-fitting stress.
In order to manufacture the dynamic pressure bearing device, there are provided a shaft member, and a thrust plate formed with a press-fitting portion into which the shaft member is press-fitted. At least two relief portions are formed in at least one of the press-fitting portion of the thrust plate and a part of the shaft member which corresponds to the press-fitting portion. The shaft member is press-fitted with the press-fitting portion such that the thrust plate extends perpendicular to an axial direction of the shaft member, while making the relief portions absorb press-fitting stress.
Preferably, the relief portions are formed when the coining process is conducted to form the dynamic pressure grooves on the thrust plate.
In this configuration, the relief portions can be formed without increasing the number of processing steps.

Dynamic pressure bearing device and method of manufacturing the same

Kabushiki Kaisha Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho


An expandable pallet which includes a pair of deck members which have at least one column member extending therebetween. The pair of deck members are expandably movable along the column member between a first and second position. The first position is defined by a minimum predetermined distance between the deck members, and the second position is defined by a maximum predetermined distance between the deck members. The column may comprise a cylindrical member having a radially extending upper flange and lower flange.

This invention relates to a pallet which is capable of expanding or obtaining a larger package height.
Typical pallets have a predetermined package height. This height is often substantial in order to provide clearance for the forks of a lift truck or fork lift. However, this predetermined height does not lend itself to efficient or compact storage for times when the pallet is not in use or is not being transported by a lift truck.
Accordingly, there is a need for pallet which provides the desired clearance for accommodating a fork lift or lift truck during transport of the pallet, but also allows for an efficient and compact pallet height when the pallet is not in transport via a fork lift of lift truck, or when the pallet is in storage or is otherwise not in use.
It is an object according to the teachings of the present invention to provide a pallet that provides the desired clearance for a fork lift or lift truck during transport and also allows for an efficient and compact pallet height when not in transport.
In keeping with the goals and objects according to the present invention, provided is an expandable pallet which comprises a pair of deck members which have at least one column member extending therebetween. The pair of deck members are expandably movable along the column member between a first and second position. The first position is defined by a minimum predetermined distance between the deck members, and the second position is defined by a maximum predetermined distance between the deck members. The column may comprise a cylindrical member having a radially extending upper flange and lower flange. Also, relative to this pallet, one the pair of deck members may have a first and second radially extending flange portion, and the other of the pair of deck members has a third and fourth radially extending flange portions, such that the upper flange of the column is moveable between the first and second flange portions, and the lower flange of the column is moveable between the third and fourth flange portions. Further, the pair of deck members may include an insert member disposed proximate the column and which has an I-beam cross-section. For this pallet, the deck members include corresponding openings aligned concentrically with the column member, and also have flanges projecting into the corresponding openings for providing support to the column members.
In further keeping with the teachings according to the present invention, provided is an expandable pallet comprising a lower deck member and an upper deck member which is disposed above the lower deck member and is movably attached to the lower deck member. The upper deck member is movable axially relative to the lower deck from a minimum position wherein the upper deck member is disposed proximate the lower deck member, to an expanded position wherein the upper deck member is spaced apart from the lower deck. In a preferred embodiment, the upper and lower decks are movably attached to each other by a column member extending therebetween, wherein the column member includes an inwardly extending upper flange and lower flange. Further, the upper deck has a first and second radially extending flange portions, the lower deck has a third and fourth radially extending flange portions, such that the upper flange of the column is moveable between the first and second flange portions of the upper deck, and the lower flange of the column is moveable between the third and fourth flange portions of the lower deck.
In addition, the upper deck and lower deck include corresponding openings aligned concentrically with each other, and an insert member disposed concentrically within the corresponding openings, wherein the insert member has an I-beam cross-section, and also wherein the upper deck and lower deck have corresponding openings aligned concentrically with the column member. The upper deck and lower deck have flanges which project into the corresponding openings for providing support to the column members.
Also provided in accordance with the present invention is an expandable pallet which is adapted to be transported by a device having a fork member. The pallet includes a lower deck member and an upper deck member disposed above the lower deck member in a parallel plane and movably attached to the lower deck member, the upper deck member defining at least one side opening with the lower deck member for receiving the fork member. The upper deck member is movable with respect to the lower deck from a minimum position wherein the upper deck member is disposed proximate the lower deck member, to an expanded position wherein the upper deck member is spaced apart from the lower deck upon entry of the fork member in an interference fit. The upper and lower decks are movably attached to each other by a column member extending therebetween.
Also provided is a pallet comprising a top deck and a bottom deck which are movably connected to each other. The bottom deck has an upper surface, and the top deck has a lower surface facing the upper surface of the bottom deck, wherein in a first orientation, the upper and lower surfaces are disposed proximate each other, and wherein when in a second orientation, the upper and lower surfaces are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance. The top and bottom decks are movably connected to each other by a column member extending therebetween.
The objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of the best modes for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals correspond to like components.


A storage system includes a storage operating system configured to provide two-step data deduplication in which, during a data storage operation and prior to committing data to a storage medium of the storage system, context-aware data deduplication is performed on the data to obtain context-aware deduplicated data, and, subsequent to committing the context-aware deduplicated data to the storage medium, a context-independent data deduplication operation is performed on the context-aware deduplicated data to obtain context-independent deduplicated context-aware deduplicated data, for commitment to the storage medium.

For as long as computer systems have been in use, there has been a need to store data associated with such systems. The data may be intended for input to a computer system (e.g., for processing by that system as part of its operation under the control of one or more application programs), temporary data produced by the computer system (e.g., in the form of intermediate results of calculations while operating on the input data), or produced as output by the computer system (e.g., as a result of the operations on the input data and/or the intermediate results). As the volume of information processed by computer systems has increased, so too has the need for efficient means of storing that data.
Because infinite resources for storing data do not exist, there have been developed several approaches for reducing the volume of data to be stored. One such approach is compression of the data from one form to another, with the resulting form requiring less storage space than the original form. Data compression schemes operate by applying mathematical algorithms to data in order to simplify large or repetitious parts of a data object—effectively making that object smaller. In such a scheme, for a given finite storage space more total data can be stored if the data is first compressed than otherwise would be the case. Of course, this scheme is only useful if the data can be recovered (or decompressed) sufficiently to discern the original information content. Many compression techniques have been developed to allow for such operations.
An alternative to data compression is data deduplication. Like compression, data deduplication is an approach for reducing the volume of data to be stored. Indeed, data deduplication is sometimes called "intelligent compression" because it reduces storage needs by eliminating redundant data. That is, only one unique instance of any data object is actually retained on a storage medium, such as disk or tape. Redundant data is replaced with a pointer to the unique instance thereof.
As an example, consider a corporate email system in which there are 100 instances of a single email containing a one megabyte (MB) attachment. If the email system is backed up or archived, all 100 instances of the subject email (each having a copy of the attachment) are saved. Thus, 100 MB of storage space are required just for this single email. The situation may be somewhat improved if data compression techniques are employed prior to the archiving operation, but there will still exist 100 instances of the email and its attachment. The total storage space required will be some fraction of 100 MB (determined in large part by the degree to which the attachment can be compressed), but still much greater than just the 1 MB occupied by a single copy of the email. With data deduplication, however, only a single instance of the subject email and its attachment is actually stored. For all other copies of the email, all that is stored is a reference or pointer to the one saved copy. In this example then, a 100 MB storage demand could be reduced to only 1 MB.
While data deduplication provides benefits in terms of reducing the storage space needed to archive information, there are drawbacks to these techniques. Notably, data deduplication processes can consume significant time and processing resources. This is because different data deduplication processes operate at different levels of information objects (e.g., the file, block, or even the bit level), and must analyze each new instance of those information objects to determine if they match existing copies thereof before committing the information objects to a storage medium. For large volumes of data, these processes can take a long time to complete, especially if the deduplication processes operate at the level of very small data objects.
Consider, for example, the difference between data deduplication at the file level and at the bit or block level. File level data deduplication is relatively straightforward: one copy of the file is stored, but each subsequent iteration of the file is replaced by a pointer to the already saved copy. Because the data is being saved within the context of its data container (i.e., the file), this form of data deduplication is referred to as context-aware data deduplication. Such processes generally operate quickly, but space savings tend to be limited because the change of even a single bit within the data object results in a totally different copy of the entire object being stored.
By comparison, data deduplication at the block level examines the data within a data object (e.g., a file) and saves unique instances of each block. Blocks can, of course, be of varying size depending upon the type of data being stored or the type of storage system. Now, if a data object (such as a file) is updated, it is likely that many of the individual blocks within that data object will remain unchanged and so only the changed blocks need by saved as new instances. The unchanged blocks can still be replaced by pointers to the previously saved instances thereof. This behavior makes block-level (or context-independent) data deduplication more efficient than context-aware data deduplication, but it requires more processing power and takes longer than its context-aware counterpart (in part because context-independent data deduplication uses a much larger index to track individual data blocks than is needed to track entire files).

Combining context-aware and context-independent data deduplication for optimal space savings


An exhaust-gas cleaning device for an engine comprises an HC-adsorbing catalytic converter disposed in an exhaust passage, the HC-adsorbing catalytic converter including an HC-adsorbing material which adsorbs HC contained in exhaust gas at low temperatures and releases adsorbed HC as the temperature increases, an oxygen storage material which occludes oxygen when the concentration of oxygen in the exhaust gas is high and releases occluded oxygen as the oxygen concentration drops, and a three-way catalys metal layer which oxidizes HC released from the HC-adsorbing material, and an oxygen concentration controller which controls the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas on the upstream side of the HC-adsorbing catalytic converter in such a manner that oxygen is released from the oxygen storage material when the engine is in an operating condition in which HC is released from the HC-adsorbing material.

The present invention relates to an exhaust-gas cleaning device for an engine capable of decreasing hydrocarbons (HC) contained in engine exhaust gases, the exhaust-gas cleaning device comprising an HC-catalytic converter which adsorbs and converts HC.
An example of a conventional air-fuel ratio control device for an internal combustion engine is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-82111, in which an HC-catalytic converter including an HC-adsorbing material and a three-way catalyst layer formed on top of the HC-adsorbing material is placed in an exhaust passage, the air-fuel ratio control device having an air-fuel ratio controller for controlling the air-fuel ratio of an intake air-fuel mixture of the internal combustion engine in such a manner that the air-fuel ratio of exhaust gas at a downstream end portion of the HC-catalytic converter is increased (air-fuel mixture gas becomes "lean") by a specified amount during release of HC from the HC-adsorbing material. In this air-fuel ratio control device, the air-fuel ratio at the downstream end portion of the HC-catalytic converter is controlled to increase by the specified amount during release of HC taking into account the difference between a rate at which HC released from the HC-adsorbing material dissipates into the three-way catalyst layer and a rate at which oxygen contained in the exhaust gas is taken into the three-way catalyst layer, so that at least such an amount of oxygen that is necessary for oxidizing the released HC is adsorbed on the surface of the three-way catalyst layer and HC released from the HC-adsorbing material is converted.
In the aforementioned air-fuel ratio control device which is so constructed as to control the air-fuel ratio of the intake air-fuel mixture of the internal combustion engine such that the air-fuel ratio at the downstream end portion of the HC-catalytic converter is increased (air-fuel-mixture gas becomes "lean") by the specified amount during release of HC from the HC-adsorbing material, it is possible to decrease HC released from the HC-adsorbing material by causing it to react with oxygen contained in the exhaust gas if a catalytic element provided in the HC-catalytic converter is activated. It is to be noticed, however, that although the HC-adsorbing material begins to release HC at temperatures of about 150° C. to 200° C., the catalytic element of the HC-catalytic converter is activated at about 250° C. or above even when a low-temperature-activation catalyst is used. This produces a problem that HC released from the HC-adsorbing material before activation of the catalytic element cannot be decreased by causing sufficient reaction with oxygen in the exhaust gas.


A test apparatus for a tape automated bonded component. The test apparatus includes a horizontally positioned printed circuit board having a plurality of conductive traces on an upper surface in an array corresponding to the leads of a tape automated bonding frame. The printed circuit board includes a central opening for entrance of a metallic heat transfer member. The tape automated bonding frame is aligned such that the component rests atop the heat transfer member and the leads of the frame are precisely positioned atop the conductive traces of the contact board. A reciprocating member is disposed above the frame for providing mechanical, electrical and thermal coupling of the frame to the test apparatus. A first elastomeric member is brought to bear on the backside of the component by cam action to thermally couple the component to the heat transfer member for purposes of burn-in testing and of channeling heat away from the component during testing other than burn-in. After thermal coupling has been achieved, a second elastomeric member provides a predetermined contact force to the leads of the frame at the region in which the leads are atop the conductive traces of the contact board, thereby providing the mechanical and electrical coupling. Input/output signals are channeled from a test performance board to the contact board via contact pins.

The increasing complexity and density of circuitry on a printed circuit board and of components on the printed circuit board increases the difficulty of diagnosing, servicing and repairing improperly functioning printed circuit boards. Even with stringent quality control measures, circuit components have a certain probability of failure. Pretesting components increases product yield, but various circuit components are difficult to test prior to electrical connection to a printed circuit board. For example, an individual integrated circuit chip may have hundreds of closely spaced contact pads, rendering pretesting an arduous task.
One interconnection technique which permits pretesting of chips is referred to as "tape automated bonding." This fabrication procedure utilizes a continuous insulated tape which is similar to photographic film to provide a planar substrate for chips that are attached to individual sections, or frames, of the tape. A spider-like metal pattern of conductive traces is etched on each frame. The traces may either "fan out", i.e., radiate from the center of the frame to the four edges, or may consist of four sets of parallel lines, with each set extending perpendicularly from one edge of the chip. The chip is carefully aligned with the center of the frame so that the contact pads of the chip are precisely located at corresponding conductive traces in the central portion of the frame. The chip is then attached to the tape automated bonding frame. This connection of the chip contact pads to the inner portion of the frame is referred to as "inner lead bonding."
After the inner lead bonding has been performed, the integrated circuit chip may be tested. U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,672 to Shreeve teaches a method for testing the reliability of integrated circuit chips bonded to tape automated bonding frames. Prior to splicing of the continuous insulated tape into the individual lead frames having integrated circuit chips, the chips are subjected to pre-burn-in testing. The continuous insulated tape is then placed on reels and mounted within an oven. The temperature in the oven is raised to approximately 150.degree. C. and a dc bias voltage is applied to the reels to cycle each of the integrated circuit chips for a predetermined testing time. A post-burn-in test of the integrated circuit chips is then performed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,526 to Newton et al. teaches that one difficulty with the reel-to-reel system of testing integrated circuit chips on a continuous insulated tape involves maintaining the burn-in temperature during testing. The Newton et al. patent teaches that high temperature testing requires that the temperature be maintained by plus or minus 1.degree. C. during the test. To overcome this problem, the prior art patent teaches use of a carrier for a tape automated bonded semiconductor device. The carrier includes alignment posts which engage sprocket holes of an individual tape automated bonding frame. The carrier provides a handling medium for pretesting of the tape automated bonding semiconductor device. The Newton et al. device is to be used with existing test equipment in the semiconductor industry.
As described in Newton et al., the test equipment used in the semiconductor industry typically includes probes which are biased to provide a contact force on the individual leads of a tape automated bonding frame. The spring-actuated probes provide the inputting and outputting of signals to the many leads of the frame. However, testing often requires repeated insertion and removal of the frame into the test equipment. For example, there may be continuity, pre-burn-in, burn-in and final-performance tests on the same frame. Each insertion of the frame jeopardizes the leads of the frame as the spring-actuated probes are pressed against the leads. Moreover, the use of the probes provide a long electrical path which is detrimental to high speed performance. A third problem is that this requirement of individually contacting the leads of the frame with spring-actuated probes limits the minimum distance between adjacent frame leads.
Some of the difficulties encountered in the use of spring-actuated probes to electrically contact leads of a tape automated bonding frame are reduced by use of manufacturing the frame with test pads at an outer periphery. The probes can then make contact with the test pads, rather than final-contact regions of the frame leads. While this signicantly reduces the likelihood of the test equipment damaging a frame lead, over a period of time the scrubbing action caused by the sideways motion of the probes will wear the probes and affect the electrical contact with the test pads. Additionally, the manufacture of tape automated bonding frames to include the test pads increases the cost of manufacture and further increases the length of a signal path during testing.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a test apparatus which includes mechanical, electrical and thermal coupling of a tape automated bonding frame and its electronic component with a reduction in signal path lengths and with an interconnection scheme which does not jeopardize the structure of the tape automated bonding frame leads.

Tape automated bonding test apparatus for thermal, mechanical and electrical coupling


Disclosed are exemplary embodiments of systems and methods for evaluating payment applications based on associated vulnerability risks. In an exemplary embodiment, a method generally includes soliciting, by a computing device, application data associated with a payment application via a vulnerability questionnaire interface, validating, by the computing device, the application data against criterion, and determining, by the computing device, a vulnerability risk score of the application based on the application data. The method also includes approving, by the computing device, the application when the vulnerability risk score satisfies an approval threshold, denying, by the computing device, the application when the vulnerability risk score satisfies a denial threshold, and referring, by the computing device, the application for manual decision when the vulnerability risk score satisfies a manual decision threshold.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Development of applications for use with sensitive user information, such as payment applications, has become increasingly popular as developers attempt to provide increased functionality to users of mobile devices, such as, smartphones, tablets, laptops, appliances, and the like. The developed applications may require access to a user's sensitive information, such as payment account information, as well as sensitive information associated with payment account issuers, which is known to impose a risk that the sensitive information may be compromised when transferred and/or stored by these applications. Because such applications are developed by a variety of different developers, issuers and/or others involved with payment applications often require validation and/or testing of the security of each application as part of the development.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Systems and methods for use in evaluating vulnerability risks associated with payment applications


A switch device includes a busbar, a switch knob, a movable contact sliding part in the busbar, a movable contact configured to slide while elastically contacting the movable contact sliding part, root parts in the movable contact sliding part, and a fixed contact. The root parts are engaged with the movable contact. An engaging position of the movable contact is shifted from the one of the root parts to another one so as to switch connecting relation. A groove part and a rib are formed in the busbar between the one of the root parts and another one of the root parts. The rib is configured to abut against the movable contact to deform the movable contact in an opposite direction to a direction where the movable contact is engaged with the root parts, in a state where the movable contact is positioned at the groove part.

As the switch device which is used for this purpose, there is, for example, a switch device of seesaw type as disclosed in PTL 1. FIG. 18 shows an example of the switch device of the seesaw type which is disclosed in PTL 1.
This switch device includes a functional part 102 having a bulb as a light source, and a switch lever 101 for connecting and disconnecting electric power to the bulb, and a decorative part 105 having a cover lens 103 covering the functional part 102, and a switch knob 104 for operating the switch lever 101. The switch lever 101 is mounted on the functional part 102 so as to swing, and the switch knob 104 is mounted on the decorative part 105 so as to swing. When the functional part 102 and the decorative part 105 are assembled together, a shaft part 106 which is a pivotal shaft of the switch lever 101 and a shaft part 107 which is a pivotal shaft of the switch knob 104 are aligned to be integrated. Accordingly, when the switch knob 104 is swung, the switch lever 101 swings thereby enabling the electric power to be connected or disconnected to the bulb. In this switch device of the seesaw type, a spring and a locking ball are used to give a feeling of click (switching feeling) to a user.
Moreover, there is such a switch device of sliding type that a sliding contact piece having a cantilever structure is slid along a printed board to be brought into contact with an electrically conductive pattern on the board (PTLs 2, and 3). Further, there is such a switch device of sliding type that a sheet of spring metal plate is folded in opposite directions, and slid along terminals in a zigzag shape which are arranged in parallel at an interval (PTL 4).


This invention relates to an improved device for supporting arms. More particularly, this invention relates to an improved device to be worn by runners to support arms and to guide arm movements so as to increase running efficiency.

Running, particularly jogging, has become a widespread phenomenon. With the onset of this phenomenon, more attention has been paid to the mechanics of and equipment for running. For example, significant developments and improvements have been made during the past five to ten years with regard to running shoes, lightweight and breathable shirts and shorts, as well as lightweight and protective outer gear.
In the typical running motion, the arms of an individual runner alternately swing back and forth. With regard to most runners, particularly recreational runners, the arms do not swing in relaxed, perfect synchronization with legs and respiratory system. Inefficient expenditure of energy is a result; more particularly, the arms themselves tend to become quite tired and to lose suppleness. In fact, general fatigue results from this situation because arm muscles must always be tense to maintain the hands in an elevated position. This leads to a build-up of lactic acid in the muscles and bloodstream that drains oxygen from the bloodstream to convert it to glycogen. Fatigue is the primary problem when long distances are run.
To solve the problems of tired arms as well as general fatigue, a device was developed to allow the arms to swing naturally while running, without the usual tension in the biceps, deltoids, shoulder and chest interface muscles. The device developed consisted of a shirt having hanging therefrom two strap loops, one for each arm. The strap loops were intended to confine the motion of each swinging arm to a more natural, continuous motion close to the body as well as to provide support for each arm, in effect transferring the tension of the arms to the strap loops. Another advantage of this device was that runners who used the shirt tended thereafter to swing their arms in a more natural motion when the shirt wasn't used. The natural motion of arms, when allowed to swing automatically, is continuous and somewhat elliptical in path.
In the device developed, each strap loop was attached by stitches, rivets, and the like, directly to a point adjacent to the respective side of the neck opening. However, a significant difficulty with this arrangement was that the point of attachment tended to tear or separate, often unexpectedly, after short periods of use. Also, the points of attachment could be uncomfortable, and, since the strap loops were integrally attached to the shirts, the shirts were not readily washable in standard washing machines. Furthermore, the shirts were not versatile because they did not permit the runner the option of attaching or removing the straps.


An antenna alignment apparatus and alignment method is used to effectively position an antenna used in a satellite communication system on the satellite orbital arc, and to ensure that a proper antenna polarization is achieved during installation or alignment of a remote station antenna. The apparatus includes a secondary receiving device mounted on the feed arm of the antenna at a specified distance from the primary receiving device located on the primary plane of the antenna. An antenna using this system and method may be properly aligned on the orbital arc using only simple receiving equipment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an antenna pointing apparatus and method used in connection with aligning radio-frequency (RF) emissions from an antenna, and further relates to improving antenna performance in a satellite communication system using only relatively simple equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, an installer desires to maximize or optimize, to the extent possible, a satellite earth station""s performance, including the performance of the antenna which propagates/receives radio-frequency energy to/from one or more satellites. Determining whether the earth station""s antenna""s performance is optimized as much as possible under the particular circumstances is not always a simple matter. Several steps must be accomplished in making that determination. These include, but are not limited to, for example, aligning the earth station antenna in azimuth and elevation so that the antenna xe2x80x9cboresightxe2x80x9d is pointing directly at a particular satellite of interest, and also adjusting the polarization orientation of the earth station""s antenna so that a cross-polarization isolation parameter measured at a hub station, for example, is acceptable for discriminating between signals having a different polarization than the polarization of a desired signal.
Other antenna parameters which may be of interest to installers and operators include gain, noise temperature, voltage standing-wave ratio (VSWR), power rating, receive-transmit group delay, radiation pattern, isolation, and so-called xe2x80x9cG/Txe2x80x9d, or antenna gain divided by system noise temperature. Many of these parameters are inherent in the fundamental antenna design, while others, such as cross-polarization isolation, may be adjusted to a specified value using an alignment procedure during antenna installation
The case of alignment of an earth station""s antenna to a geostationary satellite is a simplified version of the general case of tracking a satellite in a non-geo-synchronous orbit. There are typically two angles of interest between the earth station and the satellite: the elevation angle, and the azimuth angle. The elevation angle is the angle of the satellite above the horizon, as measured from the earth station, and the azimuth is the angle between the line of longitude through the earth station, and the direction of a sub-satellite point, i.e. the point at which a line between the satellite and the center of the earth intersects the earth""s surface. The angle of elevation depends on the latitude of the earth station, and will be relatively large towards the equator, and smaller toward the poles, while the azimuth angle is related to the latitude and longitude of the earth station. Thus, the elevation and azimuth angles define the xe2x80x9cboresightxe2x80x9d of the receiving antenna for a given receiver location, with respect to a particular geostationary satellite""s orbital position.
Conventionally, in order to measure and/or adjust the cross-polarization isolation of an antenna at an earth station, or xe2x80x9cremote stationxe2x80x9d, an installer must first align the antenna boresight to the specific satellite being used. This may be accomplished, for example, by merely roughly setting the azimuth and elevation angles based on a tabulation of angles corresponding to the satellite of interest, as a function of the latitude and longitude of the remote station. For more precise alignment, however, these settings could be used as an initial setting, and then a signal transmitted from the satellite could be monitored, and the azimuth and elevation angles could be more precisely adjusted based on xe2x80x9cpeakingxe2x80x9d or maximizing the received signal, or simply by ensuring that the received signal is greater than a desired threshold signal value. Typically, the maximum signal strength achievable is used in finally adjusting the azimuth and elevation of the remote station antenna to ensure that the boresight of the remote earth station is accurately aligned with the satellite.
After the azimuth and elevation angles of the remote station antenna are set, the person installing the antenna would activate the transmitter at the remote station to uplink to the satellite, and the satellite would then, in turn, downlink to the hub station or network operations center. Typical communication satellites may have multiple transponders that receive signals at one frequency from one or more remote stations, and then retransmit these signals at a different offset frequency to the hub. Further, each of these transponders may be configured to receive a signal having a particular type of polarization, e.g. a polarization type that is one of the general cases of linear, circular, or elliptical polarization. More specifically, the satellite transponders may receive horizontal or vertical linear polarization, or right-hand or left-hand circular polarization. Further, the satellite transponders may retransmit to the hub using a different type of polarization than the type originally received from the remote station. For example, in the case of linear polarization, a transponder may receive a horizontally polarized signal from a remote earth station, and may retransmit a vertically polarized signal to the hub station. This same type of transponder approach may be used in the reverse direction, i.e., in transmitting from the hub to one or more remote stations through the satellite and appropriate transponders.
Therefore, it is not enough to merely align the boresight of the remote station antenna to the satellite of interest. The remote station must also account for and align to the polarization type that the satellite transponder is configured to receive and/or retransmit. If the polarization of the remote station antenna is not properly aligned to the satellite transponder""s polarization (e.g. horizontal or vertical linear polarization), or is of the incorrect type, a reduction in signal strength most likely will occur at both the remote station and at the hub. In addition, cross-polarization interference may also occur between adjacent satellite transponders configured, in an interleaved fashion, to receive signals from other remote stations in the same frequency band, but with different polarizations, if the remote station is transmitting a signal with an undesired polarization. This interference will also then be received at the hub.
To preclude such cross-polarization induced interference problems, cross-polarization isolation may be determined at the hub by measuring, for example in the case of linear polarization, the signal strength of the desired linearly polarized signal being transmitted from one transponder on the satellite, and the signal strength of the undesired linearly polarized signal which is transmitted from an adjacent transponder on the satellite. The undesired linearly polarized signal is retransmitted by the transponder primarily due to misalignment of the remote station antenna polarization. If the remote antenna polarization is properly aligned, the undesired linearly polarized signal should theoretically be eliminated. Practically speaking, however, the undesired linearly polarized signal should be at least reduced by a typical value of at leastxe2x88x9230 dB (1/1000th) from the signal strength of the desired linearly polarized signal, as measured at the hub. To be able to actually meet this typical value of isolation, the polarization at the remote station is usually iteratively adjusted until the cross-polarization isolation is within the specified value.
Unfortunately, this procedure requires that fine adjustments in the remote station antenna alignment must continue to be made until cross-polarization isolation, is at the desired or best-achievable value under the circumstances. Such a procedure necessarily requires dedicated communication (e.g. by telephone) between the installer at the remote station and hub station personnel. This process, as represented by the flow-chart of FIG. 6, takes time, satellite resources, and hub site resources, possibly resulting in interruption of service, and, most likely, increased installation and operating costs.
A more reliable approach from a time and satellite resource viewpoint would be to greatly simplify this process. However, the known approaches to solving the problem of antenna alignment does not make use of simplified devices and procedures, and instead merely relies upon the xe2x80x9cbrute forcexe2x80x9d method of aligning the antenna which requires use of satellite and technical personnel resources to accommodate a downlink from the satellite to the hub to measure the desired parameter, e.g. cross-polarization, as discussed above.
What is needed, therefore, is a relatively low-cost, inexpensive, and reliable apparatus and method using simple equipment for simplifying antenna alignment, and improving system performance.
The present invention solves at least one of the aforementioned problems of establishing acceptable antenna alignment during system installation at a remote station, including antenna polarization alignment, which thereby achieves a desired cross-polarization isolation at a hub site, and which reduces the costs associated with installation time and use of satellite and hub station resources required for the installation at the remote station.
A first aspect of the present invention embodies an apparatus for aligning an antenna which includes a secondary receiving device arranged on the antenna and separated from a primary receiving device of the antenna by a particular offset distance, wherein the primary receiving device receives a first signal and the secondary receiving device receives a second signal, and wherein alignment of the antenna is made by pointing the secondary receiving device in a direction of the second signal.
In this aspect of the invention, the antenna is preferably aligned in azimuth and elevation to the desired satellite using a signal received by the primary receiving device along the antenna boresight. The proper antenna polarization with respect to the first signal may first be adjusted by aligning the secondary receiving device mounted on the antenna using a second signal transmitted by a second satellite adjacent to the desired satellite. The secondary receiving device then preferably receives the second signal at a scan angle offset from the antenna boresight, wherein the offset scan angle is determined, at least in part, by the particular offset distance of the secondary receiving device from the primary receiving device. In addition, the particular offset distance may be a variable offset distance which is adjustable by the installing technician, so that a variety of satellites adjacent to the primary or desired satellite may function as the second or adjacent satellite, depending on the variable offset distance chosen.
A second aspect of this invention is directed to a method of aligning an antenna, which preferably includes the steps of monitoring a received signal strength of a primary signal; adjusting a position of the antenna based on the received signal strength of the primary signal; monitoring a received signal strength of a secondary signal; and further adjusting the antenna based on the received signal strength of the secondary signal.
In this aspect of the invention, the polarization angle of the antenna may be brought into the proper alignment with respect to the desired satellite transmission by further aligning the antenna to xe2x80x9cpeakxe2x80x9d or substantially maximize the signal strength of the secondary signal received from a satellite adjacent to the desired satellite. In this method, a secondary receiving device is arranged in a position separated from a primary receiving device in such a manner that a rotational position of the antenna about its boresight axis aligns the primary receiving device along the boresight axis with the desired satellite, and also aligns the secondary receiving device with an adjacent satellite offset from the boresight by an offset angle. By using such an alignment method, the use of dedicated hub resources (personnel, equipment, and bandwidth) is not necessary, and the antenna polarization with respect to the desired satellite may easily be set using only simple test equipment and procedures.
The present invention has a number of features that distinguish it over conventional antenna alignment approaches that attempt to determine the proper polarization alignment by monitoring the signal levels of cross-polarized signals transmitted from the remote station to the hub through satellite transponders. For example, the method and system of the present invention uses simple and relatively inexpensive approach to remote station satellite antenna alignment, whereas conventional approaches to solving this problem have relied only upon the xe2x80x9cbrute forcexe2x80x9d method which requires extensive communication and coordination between the remote station and the hub, and which unnecessarily requires the use of channel bandwidth and technical personnel resources to align the remote station antenna after installation.
These and other objects of the present application will become more readily apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent from this detailed description to those skilled in the art.


A broad-bandwidth interferometric system that produces irradiance signals at multiple vertical-scanning positions as a function of optical path differences between a test and a reference surface. The effective peak of the envelope defined by the modulation component of the irradiance signal is estimated by finding the scanning position corresponding to the centroid of a function substantially equal to the square of the first-order derivative of the measured irradiance. The surface height at each pixel is determined directly from digital irradiance signals, thereby greatly reducing the data-processing steps and associated costs taught by the prior art and correspondingly simplifying the hardware requirements of the system for rapid on-line display of height measurements. The approach is free of the ambiguities inherent in multi-peak modulation functions, thereby producing surface maps with reduced artifacts. This improved technique produces results otherwise comparable with those obtained by standard techniques and requires no dedicated hardware for rapid on-line applications.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to the field of vertical-scanning interferometry and, in particular, to a novel approach for deriving surface-profile measurements from irradiance modulation signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vertical scanning interferometry (VSI) is a technique where broad bandwidth light, such as white light, is used as a light source in an interferometer and the degree of modulation, or coherence, of interference fringes produced by the instrument is measured for various distances between a test surface and the reference surface of the interferometer (each corresponding to a different optical path difference, OPD) to determine surface height. The method typically involves vertical scanning of the reference arm of the interferometer with respect to a stationary sample and calculation of the relative modulation of the intensity signal as a function of vertical position.
As illustrated in simple schematic form in FIG. 1 and described in further detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,306 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,734, herein incorporated by reference, typical vertical scanning interferometric equipment 10 comprises a light source 12 directing a beam L of light through an illuminator 14 toward a beam splitter 16, which reflects the light downward in the direction of a test surface S. The light reflected by the beam splitter 16 passes through a microscope objective 22 focused on the test surface S. The objective incorporates an interferometer 23, such as Mirau, comprising a beam splitter 24 and a reference mirror 26 adapted for relative movement with respect to the test surface, so that two light beams are generated for producing interference fringes. The beams reflected from the reference mirror 26 and the test surface S pass back up through the optics of the microscope objective 22 and upward through the beam splitter 16 to a solid-state detector array 28 in a camera 30 in coaxial alignment with the objective 22, so that two light beams produce interference fringes as a result of the optical path difference between the reference mirror and the test surface S. The imaging array 28 normally consists of individual charge-coupled-device (CCD) cells or other sensing apparatus adapted to detect and record a two-dimensional array of signals corresponding to interference effects produced by the interferometer as a result of light reflected at individual x-y-coordinate pixels in the surface S and received at corresponding individual cells in the array. Appropriate electronic hardware is provided to process the signals generated by each cell and transmit digitized light-intensity data D to a microprocessor for processing. The microscope objective 22, as well as the interferometer typically incorporated within it, is adapted for vertical movement (along the z coordinate) to focus the image of the test surface on the detector array 28. Thus, an interference-fringe map is generated by detecting the intensity of the light signal received in each cell of the array 28.
In vertical scanning interferometry, a profile of the surface S is produced by repeating irradiance measurement at different, normally constant-interval OPD's between the objective 22 and the test surface S (that is, at different elevations of the scanning mechanism), so as to provide information concerning the variation of light intensity at each pixel as the corresponding optical path difference is varied systematically with respect to an initial reference point. Thus, the position of the scanning mechanism corresponding to maximum interference at each pixel is determined and used, based on the distance from the reference point, to calculate the height of the surface at that pixel. Either the objective 22 or the test surface S is moved vertically to produce these repeated measurements (vertical scanning). It is noted that the present description is based on the configuration of a Mirau interferometer but, as one skilled in the art would readily understand, it is equally applicable to any of the other instruments used in vertical scanning interferometry, such as Michelson, Linnik or Fizeau.
The prior art discloses various ways by which VSI may be implemented to determine surface height by calculating the degree of fringe modulation, or coherence, of the interference fringes produced at the light detector for various OPD's between the test surface and the reference surface of the interferometer. All methods involve vertical scanning of the reference arm of the interferometer with respect to a stationary sample, or viceversa, and estimation of the vertical position corresponding to the peak of the modulation envelope from the intensity measurements collected during scanning.
When white light or broad-bandwidth light is used as the source of illumination in an interference microscope, the visibility of the fringes drops off rapidly from its maximum value at minimum OPD. FIG. 2 shows the modulation of a typical intensity signal I (irradiance) obtained from a detector cell in the image plane of the interferometer as the OPD is varied by vertically scanning the reference mirror (or the sample). A measurement of relative surface height at the vertical-scanning point corresponding to the fringe-visibility peak (also maximum fringe contrast) can thus be made. By simultaneously carrying out the procedure in parallel for each detector cell during vertical scanning, a three-dimensional height map can be obtained for the surface of the test sample.
In order to estimate the point of maximum fringe visibility from irradiance data, the amplitude-modulated carrier signal of FIG. 2 is demodulated and the scanning position corresponding to the modulation peak is calculated using one of several techniques. The detector array receives an amplitude-modulated input signal for the light intensity I, as illustrated in FIG. 2, which is given by: EQU I(z)=I.sub.o +m(z)cos(.omega..sub.o z+.alpha.), (1)
where I(z) is the light intensity at the detector, I.sub.o is the constant bias component of the signal (also known as the DC component), m(z) is the modulating signal, .omega..sub.o is the fringe signal, and .alpha. is the initial phase, which is assumed constant with respect to the vertical dimension z (the scanning coordinate producing a variable OPD).
It is known that the modulation signal m(z) approximates a bell-shaped function of the type illustrated in FIG. 3; therefore, the peak of the function m(z) corresponds to the maximum fringe visibility produced by the interferometer and to the scanning position z which is the target of the measurement. Note that the curve illustrated in FIG. 3 also corresponds to the upper envelope of the irradiance function of FIG. 2, shown in dotted line in that figure.
The peak of the modulation curve m(z) cannot be determined directly from the modulated carrier signals because these are not individually-measurable quantities and are not readily available from irradiance information. Therefore, all prior-art procedures utilize some form of the relationship of Equation 1 to estimate the peak of the modulation function m(z) from VSI light-intensity measurements and generate a corresponding height for the surface of the test sample S.
Several approaches have been developed for white-light scanning interferometry. For instance, see Caber, P. et al., "A New Interferometric Profiler for Smooth and Rough Surfaces," Proc. SPIE, Vol. 2088, 195-203, 1993; Kino, Gordon S. et al., "Mirau Correlation Microscope," Applied Optics, 29(26): 3775-3783, 1990; de Groot, Peter and L. Deck, "Three-Dimensional Imaging by Sub-Nyquist Sampling of White-Light Interferograms," Optics Letters, 18(17): 1462-1464, 1993; Danielson, Bruce L. et al., "Absolute Optical Ranging Using Low Coherence Interferometry," Applied Optics, 30(21): 2975-2979, 1991; Dresel, Thomas et al., "Three-Dimensional Sensing of Rough Surfaces by Coherence Radar," Applied Optics, 31(7): 919-925, 1992; and Davidson, Mark et al., "First Results of a Product Utilizing Coherence Probe Imaging for Wafer Inspection," SPIE Vol. 921, 100-114, 1988.
All of these publications describe elaborate approaches for determining the peak of the modulation function m(z) (Equation 1) from irradiance data I(z), deriving surface topography information from extensive processing of light intensity signals based on a determination of the OPD corresponding to the peak of the modulation curve illustrated in FIG. 3. In essence, they all strive to find the z value corresponding to the peak of m(z) by estimating the shape of the modulation envelope itself through a sequence of elaborate transformations and calculations. These processing steps require substantial electronic hardware dedicated to processing the light intensity signals produced by the interferometer in order to generate on-line height data corresponding to the peak of the modulation function envelope. Alternatively, in order to reduce hardware requirements and manufacturing costs, prior art apparatus and methods have also taken the approach of storing the irradiance signals in a memory on-line during scanning and subsequently processing the stored information by means of computer software. A typical computer-processing time for estimating the peak of the modulation function m(z) and for calculating the corresponding z utilizing these prior-art procedures is in the order of 10 seconds. Thus, the software approach reduces hardware costs but introduces a material delay in the availability of profiling results, which is very undesirable for on-line applications, such a when VSI is used for manufacturing quality control. Therefore, any faster and less hardware-dependent technique for determining height data from irradiance measurements would represent a valuable improvement in the art.
All prior-art techniques suffer from another drawback. In practice, depending on the roughness characteristics of the test surface and the scanning conditions, the modulation function m(z) is not always uniformly bell-shaped; rather, it usually exhibits multiple maxima that hinder a repetitive estimation of the peak corresponding to maximum fringe visibility. FIG. 4 is an illustration of such a modulation curve. In such cases it is difficult to distinguish one peak from another and no prior-art procedure provides an effective method for consistently selecting the same peak as the point corresponding to maximum fringe visibility. Therefore, inconsistent results are often obtained from rough interpixel surfaces. Similar modulation curves and results are also seen from inertial overshooting produced by very rapid motion during scanning.
As those skilled in the art readily understand, for the purpose of producing height data from VSI procedures it is not absolutely necessary to locate exactly the true peak of the modulation curve m(z), so long as the measured value of z is close to the z corresponding to the peak and its value can be obtained repetitively during a scanning operation. Therefore, the problem with the inability of prior-art procedures to consistently select the same peak when dealing with multi-maxima modulation curves lies in its lack of repeatability (or consistence of results), rather than in the actual deviation from the correct z value. Since vertical scanning produces relative positions, z values corresponding to off-peak modulations are acceptable so long as consistently repeatable. Therefore, any VSI technique that improved the repeatability of modulation-peak estimation would also be a very desirable improvement over the prior art.
This shortcoming of prior-art techniques in dealing with multi-peak modulation envelopes is particularly evident in measuring topographies with sharp, large steps occurring within a single pixel or a small number of adjacent pixels. When such profiles are scanned, the resulting irradiance signals tend to produce modulation envelopes with two distinct maxima (of the type shown in FIG. 4). This effect is believed to result from the high level of light scattering associated with sharp changes of elevation in the surface profile. In these situations, prior-art techniques seeking to determine a maximum point on the modulation envelope are inherently subjected to ambiguities that produce artifacts. This is particularly a problem in applications that require the ability to accurately measure sharp steps in the profile of a surface. It is noted, though, that the problem is not unique to the measurement of sharp steps, but it occurs whenever a surface contains significant interpixel variations, such as in the order of 10 nanometers or greater. This invention is directed at providing an approach that also improves prior-art techniques with respect to these problems.

Centroid approach for estimating modulation peak in broad-bandwidth interferometry


An information handling system (IHS) provides graphical user interface (GUI)-controlled virtual media between a networked management IHS and a managed IHS. At least one user input component is capable of manipulating and/or interfacing with one or more items on a GUI presented on a display device. A network interface enables communication with a network and a managed IHS that is in communication with the network and that controls a remote storage device. A browser application: (a) displays a control affordance on the display device; (b) receives from the at least one user input component a selection of the control affordance; (c) starting a network block device (NBD) server on the management IHS and prompting the managed IHS to start an NBD client kernel that communicates with the NBD server; and (d) maps the remote storage device as a virtual storage device on the GUI for read and write operations using the NBD components.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates in general to remote information handling system (IHS) administration, and more particularly to remote IHS administration of virtual media.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continue to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems (IHSs). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes, thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communication. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
One example of an information handling system is a server, which is typically dedicated to running one or more services as a host on a network. The advent of cloud computing in recent years has made the use of servers increasingly common. As a result, it is not unusual for hundreds, if not thousands, of servers to be deployed in a given data center. Historically, servers were locally managed by an administrator through a shared keyboard, video display, and mouse (KVM). Over time, remote management capabilities evolved to allow administrators to monitor, manage, update and deploy servers over a network connection.
One example of these capabilities is the use of a remote access controller (RAC), which is operably coupled to, or embedded within, the server and remotely accessed by an administrator via an out-of-band communication link. As an example, the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) from Dell, Inc. has its own processor, memory, network connection, and access to the system bus. Integrated into the motherboard of a server, the RAC can provide out-of-band management facilities that allow administrators to deploy, monitor, manage, configure, update, troubleshoot and remediate the server from any location, and without the use of agents. As an example, multiple servers (e.g., blade servers) may be associated with a server chassis.
Accordingly, the use of a RAC for remote management of a server, or multiple servers associated with a server chassis, in a data center can be advantageous. However, use of the RAC can also present challenges. Dell introduced its virtual console (vConsole) solution though Virtual Network Computing (VNC) based remote console. VNC is a graphical desktop sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Buffer protocol (RFB) to remotely control another computer. VNC transmits the keyboard and mouse events from one computer to another, relaying the graphical screen updates back in the other direction, over a network. VNC is platform-independent. There are clients and servers for many graphical user interface (GUI)-based operating systems and for JAVA. Multiple clients may connect to a VNC server at the same time. Popular uses for this technology include remote technical support and accessing files on a work computer from a home computer, or vice versa. However, customers who wants to use virtual media (vMedia) would need to launch a legacy third party application. The generally-known methods require plug-in installation and are platform dependent.
Current virtual media (vMedia) implementation is supported only through installation of an ActiveX or java plug-in at a management station. Local administrative rights for the management station is required. Also, the existing JAVA based interface looks outdated with limited user feedback. Present solution can attach only one vMedia device/image at a time, highly limiting modern use cases. For example, deploying an operating system (OS) image span across multiple ISO images requires user intervention at the middle of an OS deployment. An ISO image is an archive file of an optical disc, which is a type of disk image composed of the data contents from every written sector on an optical disc, including the optical disc file system. There is no drag and drop of file/image/media available with the existing solution.

Browser-based virtual media administration


Disclosed are a device and/or a method of location and event capture circuitry to facilitate remote vehicle location predictive modeling when global positioning is unavailable. In one embodiment, a predictive circuit of a vehicle includes event detection circuitry to initiate a timer circuit of the vehicle when a wheel of the vehicle is in a stationary state beyond threshold amount of time during an event; an event categorization circuitry to monitor a telemetry data of the vehicle to assign a category to the event; a data communication circuitry to communicate the event, the category, and/or a set of other events and categories to a predictive recommendation server on a periodic basis; and a repossession detection circuitry to determine that the vehicle is pending repossession based on the event, the category, the set of other events and categories, and/or a message communicated from the predictive recommendation server to the predictive circuit.

A borrower and a lender may enter into an agreement wherein the borrower may purchase or lease a vehicle which they make payments on over a period of time. When a borrower defaults on their payments, the lender may eventually be left with no other option but repossession. Once this point has been reached, it is in the best interest of the lender to repossess the vehicle as quickly as possible, to prevent costs associated with damage to the vehicle. In many cases, by the time repossession is being considered, the lender has spent time negotiating with the borrower. This may give the borrower time to locate and disable any sort of tracking device which the lender may rely on to locate the vehicle. This may complicate locating the vehicle for repossession.
A further complication stems from the fact that repossession may be extremely difficult, if not impossible, in certain circumstances, such as when the car is in a locked garage or the secured parking lot of an employer. Not only does the repossessor have to locate the vehicle, they must locate the vehicle at a time when it is obtainable. Additionally, vehicle repossession may be a very emotionally charged situation. An ideal scenario for repossessing a vehicle is one where the borrower is unaware of the repossession, or at the very least is in an environment which may inhibit a confrontation.

Location and event capture circuitry to facilitate remote vehicle location predictive modeling when global positioning is unavailable


The telephone network is adapted to supply name and number information to a voice mail system with a forwarded call. The voice mail system stores the name and number type caller ID information in association with the subscriber""s mailbox. The system may store this information even if the caller does not actually deposit a voice mail message. Later, while the subscriber reviews the mailbox contents, the system offers a verbal announcement of the name and number. A central office switching system may query a line identification database to obtain the name for a caller ID service to the customer premises, in which case, that switching system forwards the name and number to the voice mail system with the forwarded call. In an alternative embodiment, the voice mail system launches the query and receives the name in a response, through the interoffice signaling network.

The present invention relates to voice mail communication, more particularly to the ability to provide the complete set of information, normally provided as xe2x80x98Caller IDxe2x80x99 information on the subscriber line, as an announcement accompanying a recorded voice mail message from the caller. For example, the voice mail system can obtain and announce the number and an associated name, with each voice mail message or for each call even if the caller did not leave a message.
Network-based voice mail service has become commonplace in business environments and is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to answering machines for residential telephone customers. A voice mail system is a specialized computer or set of interconnected computers. The voice is generally digitized, usually at a much lower rate than the 64 Kb/s encoding that the central offices of the telephone network use for voice traffic through the switched network. The digitized voice is stored in compressed form on a hard disk that maintains the voice mail operating system, system prompts, and greetings, and the messages themselves. A processor controls the compressing, storing, retrieving, forwarding and purging of files. A comprehensive review of exemplary voice mail systems and voice messaging systems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,639 to Bartholomew et al.
Many voice mail systems today provide some information about the call with the stored audio signal. This voice mail identification is normally associated with the telephone number of the voice mail subscriber. As the ability to send return messages is a normal and expected attribute of voice mail communication, data message protocol provides for message headings to include both sending and receiving addresses. Thus, in conventional systems, the receiving voice mailbox typically gains access to the calling number information as part of its processing of each incoming call.
If received, the voice mail system stores the calling number and will announce that number to the subscriber during message retrieval and/or related mailbox access operations. The information may also be used to enable call-back to the party that left the message for the subscriber or for forwarding of a newly recorded message from the subscriber to a mailbox of the original calling party U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,432 to Wallace et al., for example, discloses a voice mail system with signaling connectivity to the interoffice signaling portion of the switched telephone network. This enables the voice mail system to query other network nodes, such as an end office switch or an intelligent signaling transfer point, to obtain routing information used to forward a reply message to an appropriate box of the original caller in a remote voice mail system.
However, the calling party information is not always available to the voice mail system. The information may be blocked, because of privacy concerns. More often, one of the carriers involved in delivering the call to the voice mail system does not have the capability, or for business reasons does not agree, to supply the calling party number to the serving end office switch. Hence, when the call comes in, the end office switch can not supply any such information to the voice mail system with the forwarded call. In many cases, a subscriber receives voice mail messages but receives no related network information about the calling party.
This situation can be a particularly bothersome where the voice mail message stored by the mail system is inadequate. The caller may have left an incomplete message, or the system may have received no audio message at all if the caller opted to hang-up quickly. A subscriber may find several xe2x80x98hang-upsxe2x80x99 recorded as messages in his or her voice mailbox with no attendant information about the calling party. As a result, the subscriber has no way to determine the nature of the calls or the identity of the callers for call-back or nuisance tracing purposes.
Caller identification or xe2x80x9ccaller IDxe2x80x9d is another increasingly popular telephone service. Caller ID is a telephone on-hook capability that provides a called party with information about the caller before the called party answers the incoming call. Conventionally, such information includes the date and time of the call and the caller""s telephone number. Essentially, the telephone network identifies the telephone number associated with the line or instrument used by the calling party and supplies the number and time to a display device at the called customer""s premises. Subscribers having integrated service digital network (ISDN) type service receive the caller ID data, for display at the time of an incoming call, in the form of a data message, which the end office switch transmits over the D-channel.
For analog telephone customers, however, existing caller ID utilizes in-band transmission technology similar to that described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,582,956 and 4,551,581 to Doughty. In such a system, the end office switch connected to the called party""s line transmits directory number data for the calling party""s telephone line as frequency shift keyed (FSK) data inserted in the silent interval between ringing signal pulses applied to the called party""s line. The receiving apparatus includes a line interface unit, a converter, a control circuit and a display unit. A frequency shift keyed (FSK) signal representing the special service information (e.g. date, time and number) is filtered from the ringing signals by the line interface unit. The converter detects the FSK signal and demodulates the special service information from the FSK signal. Following detection of the FSK signal, the control circuit receives and stores the information, for display and other purposes.
For several years, local telephone exchange carriers have offered an enhanced form of caller ID, sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cCaller ID Deluxexe2x80x9d service. This enhanced service utilizes intelligent network type call processing to access a Line Information Database (LIDB) to translate the calling party""s directory number into corresponding name data. The end office switch forwards the name data and the normal caller ID telephone number, as an ISDN data message (D-channel) or as FSK encoded data inserted in the silent intervals between ringing signals.
The terminal devices for caller ID normally retain the information at least for some period of time. Hence, over time the terminal builds-up a list of several of the most recent numbers and possibly names for calling parties. If calls rolled-over into voice mail from a ring-no-answer at the subscriber station, the caller ID data is delivered to the terminal in the normal fashion, before the forwarding. Hence, the terminal stores the number and name data in its memory. The subscriber can review the list and use the data to call-back at a later time. The terminal does not receive the caller ID data if the line is busy, unless the subscriber also has call waiting deluxe service (name and number delivery during call waiting). In the normal busy situation or if the subscriber has selectively activated forwarding to voice mail, the central office switch redirects the call to the voice mail system without delivering any type of caller ID information to the subscriber""s equipment.
Even if received on a call that terminated in voice mail, the information stored in the caller ID terminal may not be easy to correlate with messages retrieved from voice mail or xe2x80x98hang-upxe2x80x99 calls. The subscriber reviewing the voice mail messages would need to concurrently scan through the list of caller IDs in the terminal device, to see if there was any corresponding data relating to the messages in his/her voice mailbox. This is often impractical and inconvenient, even if all the data is present in the caller ID terminal memory. Also, the subscriber may want to retrieve voice mail messages while away from home or office, in which case the caller ID terminal with the relevant data is not available for concurrent review.
It would be preferable to obtain information similar to caller ID with stored voice mail messages. Typically, when the switch forwards a call over a line to a voice mail system, the switch sends various call-related information over a parallel data link, such as a simplified message desk interface (SMDI) link. The switch, however, generates the SMDI data stream from other information about the call and does not specifically use the same information as used for caller ID service. Hence, the full caller ID information is not provided to the voice mail system if the switch serving the subscriber forwards a call to voice mail. The switch instead relies on the calling party information retained from the initial delivery of the call to that switch, and conventionally the switch delivers only that number to the voice mail system via the SMDI link. In particular, with existing technologies, the SMDI link data for a forwarded call will not include the name information from the LIDB database. Hence, the voice mail system does not receive the name information from the subscriber""s Caller ID Deluxe service, even though the subscriber has paid the carrier to receive that information.
Some voice mail systems have offered name information with voice mail messages. Most existing systems with this feature, however, provide the information only for intra-system calls, that is to say between parties on the same or interconnected voice mails systems. Essentially, such.systems rely on the fact that the caller is a subscriber using the same node or interconnected nodes as used by the called-party subscriber. Because the system already knows the identity the party normally associated with the calling station, from its internal information, the system can store that information for later presentation with the message at time of retrieval. This type of approach, however, does not work with the general case where the caller is not a subscriber to the same voice mail service and does not serve to extend the subscriber""s caller ID service to their associated voice mailbox.
There have been attempts to address these types of issues in some related areas. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,094,574 to Vance et al. discloses a paging system that provides caller identification to the pager. The system includes an IVR unit for prompting a caller to enter a call back number and a caller base number. The base number is a number associated with the identity of the caller, such as the caller""s home telephone number or main business telephone number. The paging system further includes a caller identification server for obtaining caller identification information from a telephone listing database, shown as the line identification database (LIDB) of the public switched telephone network. The paging system may perform various steps to determine caller identification from the caller""s base number, such as searching a reverse look-up telephone directory to obtain a name associated with the base telephone number. If the data is not available in the reverse directory, the system then queries the LIDB database for name information. Name and number information is transmitted to and displayed on the pager. One embodiment also offers an associated voice mail option in which the caller may store a message for later review/retrieval by the paged subscriber. However, the Vance et al. system relies on the pager display to provide the caller ID information, essentially analogous to display on a caller ID terminal. The voice message is referenced by a message number. Apparently, the caller ID is only sent to the pager, without storing the data in association with the voice message. Consequently, the subscriber must use the pager to obtain that information at the time of listening to playback of the message. Vance et al. did not recognize the desirability of listening to the caller ID data at the time of reviewing stored messages or at the time of listening to an actual message.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,013 to Yue et al. discloses an automatic personal number communications system for a roaming subscriber. The service routes calls to various destinations in the wireless domain as well as to landline telephone stations. Certain features of the overall service are implemented on a service circuit node interfaced with the public switched telephone network, to provide ancillary services such as voice mail with call-back and paging. The voice mail service provides the subscriber with the calling line number of the message source and with correlated information as to the identity of the source. Apparently, the platform receives the calling line number with any call routed to the platform, and records that number for any call resulting in a default to the internal voice mail service. The platform seeks a match of the calling line number to a listing in a reverse white pages directory, to provide the identity of the calling party. If there is no match, the system preferably requests the caller to record identification information, such as the name of the caller. The Yue et al. system is specially tailored to the follow-me type service through a combination of wireless and landline networks and does not provide service to general telephone network subscribers who happen to also subscribe to voice mail. Also, the Yue et al. system must have access to a separate reverse white pages directory, rather than utilizing the full available network information, such as used in a Caller ID Deluxe type name and number service.
Hence, there is an ongoing need for a technique to provide essentially the same data as caller ID to a voice mail system, to allow replay thereof during voice mailbox access by a subscriber. The necessary information should include name and telephone number of the calling party line or station. Also, there is a need for such information to be provided to the voice mail system on a consistent basis, where ever and when ever the network possesses the desired calling party information, whether or not the call originated at a station participating in the same voice mail service.
The inventive concepts alleviate the above noted problems with voice mail technology and address the stated need with regard to providing calling party information. The invention actually encompasses a number of techniques for supplying name and number information to a voice mail system from a telephone network, while processing of a forwarded call originally intended for a voice mail subscriber. In this manner, the voice mail system can stored the name and number type caller ID information in association with the subscriber""s voice mailbox. The system may store this information even if the caller does not actually deposit a voice mail message. Later, while the subscriber reviews the contents of his or her mailbox, the system offers one of several options for verbal announcement of the name and number information derived during the forwarded call.
Hence, one aspect of the invention relates to a method of providing voice mail service with automatic caller identification through a telephone network comprising a traffic network with a plurality of central office switching systems and an interoffice signaling network. The method involves detecting a need to forward a call intended for a voice mail subscriber to a voice mail system that provides a mailbox for the subscriber, identifying a telephone number associated with a calling station, and obtaining name information corresponding to the telephone number. Preferably, the name information is obtained from a line identification database, for example via the interoffice signaling network, although the invention encompasses several different techniques for obtaining the data from that database or a similar database.
In the inventive methodology, the network forwards the call to the voice mail system. The voice mail system receives the telephone number and the name information from the network and records the name and number in association with the voice mailbox of the subscriber. The stored telephone number and name information are converted to an audible announcement,.and the voice mail system transmits that announcement through the telephone network to the subscriber, during a review of contents of the voice mailbox by the subscriber.
Other aspects of the invention relate to specific networks and network components for implementing the inventive voice mail service with enhanced caller ID functions. Several different network embodiments are disclosed, some of which present additional unique features.
For example, in one embodiment, the switch detecting the need to forward the call obtains the name information from the network database, e.g. to provide that information in a caller ID transmission to the subscriber""s terminal equipment. However, when the call is forwarded to voice mail, the switch has retained the caller ID information including the name data, and the switch forwards that same data to the voice mail system with the forwarded call.
In an alternate embodiment, the voice mail system itself has interoffice signaling capability and preferably the ability to recognize triggers to initiate query procedures. In response to the forwarded call, for example, the voice mail system itself may launch the query to obtain the name information. The query may go to the line identification database. Alternatively, an intelligent implementation of a signaling transfer point may provide the desired data about the name associated with the calling party telephone number.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.