The invention concerns a double-sheath rigid pipe for transporting hydrocarbons consisting of two respectively inner (2) and outer (3) coaxial tubes separated by an annular gap (5), said pipe being adapted to be wound and comprising a device limiting the propagation of a deformation occurring on the outer tube, wherein a radial stop device (10) linked to the inner tube (2) but not linked to the outer tube (3) allows a localized collapse of value G of the outer tube, G being selected to stop the propagation of a deformation of the outer tube (3).

The present invention relates to a device and to a method for limiting or arresting the propagation of a buckle in a double-walled (or double-sheath) pipe consisting of two, respectively inner and outer, coaxial tubes separated by an annular space, this pipe being a rigid pipe for transporting fluids such as hydrocarbons, and designed to be submerged.
A rigid pipe or tube is laid on the seabed usually from a vessel called a pipelaying barge. The laying is called S-laying when the pipe adopts the shape of an S between the pipelaying barge and the seabed and it is called J-laying when the pipe adopts the shape of a J. In the latter case, a guide ramp is provided on the pipelaying barge, which ramp may sometimes be partially immersed in the water.
The rigid pipe to be laid is stored on the pipelaying barge either in pipe sections of a given but relatively short length, the pipe sections being joined together as the laying progresses, or it is made as a very long pipe on land and then wound onto a storage reel located on the pipelaying barge, the pipe then being unwound from the said reel during the laying operation. These laying operations are described in the API (American Petroleum Institute) document "Recommended Practice 17 A" from 1987.
When the pipe has left the barge and while the said pipe is being laid, it is important for the latter not to undergo plastic deformation in bending, which would result in ovalization of the pipe, the said ovalization causing a "weak singularity" which would be conducive to the initiation of a collapse. Moreover, when the pipe is laid on the seabed at great water depths (typically greater than 300 m and possibly down to 2000 m and more), the hydrostatic pressure exerted on the pipe may be sufficient to initiate a radial buckle which has a tendency to propagate along the pipe, in both directions. Of course, the buckle will form preferentially at a "weak singularity" when one exists on the pipe. When the buckle occurs, it is then necessary to replace at least that section or portion of the pipe comprising the buckled or collapsed region. The buckle propagation pressure is given by the formula:A×σ0×(T/D)βwhere σ0 is the yield stress of the steel, T is the thickness of the pipe and D is the external diameter of the pipe and where the parameters A and β are given by the American recommendations API RP 1111 (namely, A=24, β=2.4) or Norwegian recommendations DNV OS/F100 (namely, A=26.7, β=2.5). To resist the propagation of a buckle, the corresponding pressure must be greater than the hydrostatic pressure.
To avoid this problem, it is possible to increase the thickness of the pipe so as to have a propagation pressure greater than the hydrostatic pressure, but this results in a considerable increase in both the cost and the weight of the pipe, most particularly in the case of double-walled rigid pipes.
To prevent the propagation of a local buckle or local buckles, it has also been proposed to provide the pipe with certain devices or means, called buckle arrestors. The API Recommended Practice 1111 gives various recommendations and formulae which indicate above which depth the arrestors are recommended, necessary or strictly indispensable. Such devices were firstly proposed within the context of single-walled rigid pipes.
The arrestor may be movable, as described in the document U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,356. According to that document it is proposed to link a cylinder to a cable, to lodge the cylinder inside a pipe section and then to simultaneously unreel the pipe and the cable so as to keep the cylinder in the pipe section while the latter is being laid, until the pipe comes into contact with the seabed. The cylinder is then brought back up so as to be lodged in another pipe section to be laid, which is joined to the previous section. Consequently, any buckle likely to occur, when laying the pipe, between the pipelaying barge and the seabed is immediately arrested and is therefore not allowed to propagate along the pipe sections. However, such an arrangement provides no solution or effectiveness for arresting buckles likely to be propagated after the pipe has been finally laid on the seabed.
This is why fixed arrestors have been proposed, these being positioned in places along the pipe. The distance separating two arrestors is defined according to the cost of these devices compared with the cost of replacing the crushed section between two devices. In general, these devices are positioned along the rigid pipe every 100 to 300 m. These devices, by locally increasing the inertia of the pipe, make it possible to arrest the propagation of a buckle.
According to a first solution, an inner, or preferably outer, reinforcing collar (possibly in two parts, constituting a "clamp") is used. Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,269, it is proposed that the stiffness of the pipe be increased locally by placing, at regular intervals, reinforcing collars whose length ranges between 1 m and 2.5 m. Such a solution is valid only for pipes laid in sections since the reinforcing collars can be mounted and fastened to the pipe sections in the factory and then transported by the pipelaying barge to the laying site. When the pipe is long and wound onto a storage reel, it then becomes virtually impossible to wind the pipe with its reinforcing collars onto a reel since they would result in straight or almost straight portions that cannot be deformed when winding the pipe onto the storage reel. To mitigate this difficulty, it is conceivable to mount and fasten the reinforcing collars during the laying operations. However, it would then be necessary to interrupt the laying, at regular intervals, so as to mount and fasten the reinforcing collars. According to an alternative solution known through this same patent or through documents GB 1 383 527 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,441, the localized reinforcement may take the form of a thicker intermediate sleeve welded to the ends of the pipe.
According to a second solution, a spiralled rod is used on the external wall of the pipe. Thus, to allow the pipe to be wound onto a reel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,692 proposes to wind a rod tightly around the pipe so as to form a certain number of turns which can be welded at their ends to the rod itself and/or to the pipe.
According to another embodiment, the turns may be individual turns, by welding their two ends and by regularly spacing them apart along that portion of the pipe to be reinforced.
As long as the pipe is a single-walled pipe, the increase in the diameter in the reinforced portions may be acceptable. However, when the pipe is of the double-walled or pipe-in-pipe type, that is to say one comprising an outer tube or carrier pipe into which the inner tube or flowline is inserted, the increase in the diameter of the outer tube is unacceptable when transporting and storing long lengths of double-walled pipe when the pipe is laid by the "unreeled rigid pipe" method.
In addition, when the rigid pipe to be laid is manufactured in long lengths on land and then wound onto a reel on the pipelaying barge, the solutions recommended in the aforementioned documents are not appropriate as they use either long reinforcing collars, having a length of about 1 to 2.5 m, as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,209, or the winding of a reinforcing rod around the rigid pipe, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,692.
In the case of double-walled pipes, the arrestor device generally consists of a collar mounted on the outer tube of the pipe. When the pipe is laid using a barge for laying an unreeled rigid pipe, this device must be mounted progressively with the laying operation (it is not reelable), thereby considerably increasing the cost of laying.
For the purpose of solving these problems and of obtaining double-walled pipes that can be wound, despite the propagation arrestors, the Applicant has already proposed particular devices.
According to Application FR 99/08540, a portion of flexible pipe or spring is welded to the internal wall of the outer tube in order locally to increase the inertia of the outer tube and form a flexible propagation arrestor which is reelable.
According to Application FR 99/15216, the propagation arrestor consists of an annular compartment filled with resin which is injected before or during the laying and which can be cured only after the laying if the length of the compartment for the resin is too great to allow winding in the cured state. The compartment serves to transfer the loads on the outer tube to the inner tube.
According to Application FR 00/00849, the arrestor consists of a steel partition which, as in the previous solution, transfers the loads from the outer tube to the inner tube.
All these buckle propagation arrestor devices therefore consist in reinforcing the outer tube, which may be subjected to this propagation, thereby directly or indirectly increasing the inertia of the outer tube.
The devices developed by the Applicant give very good results and are effective down to depths of the order of 2500 m. In some applications, when the depth is smaller, these devices may represent an excessive cost compared with the actual requirements.

Double-sheath pipe for transporting fluids, provided with a device for limiting propagation of a buckle of the outer tube and method for limiting propagation


Flexible message transformation and delivery includes authenticating a message consumer for access to messages of a publisher, receiving from the consumer a service topology label identifying a service topology of a service of which the message consumer is a part, where the service topology label is used in controlling provision of messages to members of the service topology, identifying an authority label for the consumer, the authority label being associated with transformation(s) to apply to messages, and based on obtaining a message from the publisher for publishing to consumers that are members of the service topology: determining that the consumer is a member of the service topology, identifying the transformation(s) based on the identified authority label for the consumer; applying to the message the transformation(s) to obtain a transformed message, and providing the transformed message to the consumer.

Messaging systems are widely used in various fields such as cloud computing, and, in particular, Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) frameworks and micro-services. Advanced Message Queuing Protocol (AMQP) is a message-oriented middleware (MOM) application layer protocol that is based on message brokering between message providers and clients without limitations on the specific product or language used. There are a large number of open source implementations of AMQP.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A jack with an optionally pivoting foot provides a trailer owner the ability to change between a wheel and a flat foot or a flat foot and a wheel upon a jack depending from a trailer tongue. The present invention has an optional foot attached to a jack that rotates from a horizontal position to underneath an existing foot. The foot has two parallel spaced apart flanges extending upwards from a base. The flanges have a bolt through a centered hole near the wheel about which the pivoting foot rotates. Opposite the base, the flanges have three holes about the perimeter through which a handle inserts. The handle secures the foot in either horizontal or vertical configurations. When in a vertical configuration, a wheeled jack does not move upon nor embed into the ground. A jack with a flat foot prevents a trailer from moving.

The jack with an optional pivoting foot relates to towed trailers in general and more specifically to the jack beneath the tongue of a trailer. A unique aspect of the present invention is an optional pivoting foot connected to the jack that rotates beneath the existing foot of the jack to change the jack from wheeled to a flat foot and vice versa. The optional flat foot embodiment increases the footprint of a wheeled trailer jack, prevents rolling, and reduces embedment of the wheel in soft soils or warm asphalt. The optional wheeled foot embodiment allows movement of the jack upon a surface while supporting the tongue load.
People enjoy the water and activities upon and adjacent to water. Many activities involve watercraft to take people upon the water. In the absence of a mooring facility, dock, or the like, an owner transports a boat from storage to a water body. Generally, boaters transport boats upon trailers towed by vehicles. A trailer has a frame to support the boat hull, a chassis to support the frame, an axle beneath the chassis for wheels to contact a road, and a tongue at the head of the chassis to connect with a vehicle. The tongue has one member, or two members that intersect at a point, to serve as the hitch. To support the tongue during hitching and unhitching to a vehicle, trailers have a jack.
The jack sits rearward of the tongue upon one or more members. The jack descends from the members towards the ground. Geared cranks, hydraulic cylinders, levers, and the like extend the jack to raise the chassis of the trailer and retract the jack to lower the chassis. Opposite the members, a jack has a wheel or a flat foot.
Boats also enter storage in many locations and display at dealers. On flat surfaces, warehouses, and dealership showrooms, owners and dealers secure trailers with wheel chocks on the rear axle and the wheeled jack. Chocks become misplaced or forgotten by dealership staff which raises the likelihood of a trailer—equipped with only a wheeled jack—rolling or other mishap.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art. That is, the art of the present invention, a jack with an optional pivoting foot, provides a jack with an exchangeable wheeled foot and a flat foot. A trailer owner, boater, or worker may choose the appropriate foot for the situation at hand. The boater need not dwell upon whether he brought the correct jack. Trailer owners with a wheeled jack may overlook and misplace a chock from time to time. While trailer owners with a flat footed jack cannot readily move the trailer tongue without lifting. The present invention reduces the need for separate wheel chocks and provides trailer owners the choice of wheeled or flat foot as an option for their jacks beneath the trailer tongue.
The difficulty in providing a jack with an optional pivoting foot is shown by a typical jack. A jack has either a wheel or a flat foot in contact with the ground. The jack supports the tongue during hitching and prevents the tongue from digging into the ground. A wheeled jack permits movement of the tongue as the trailer moves. The flat foot fixes the jack location for a secure and non-movable trailer. At present, a jack has either a wheel or a flat foot to support the tongue but not both. A trailer owner using the present invention can choose either the wheeled or flat foot for the jack to provide the appropriate foot upon the jack given the situation, pavement, or location.


High energy implantation through varying vertical thicknesses of one or more films is used to form a vertically modulated sub-collector, which simultaneously reduces both the vertical and lateral components of parasitic collector resistance in a vertically integrated bipolar device. The need for a sinker implant or other additional steps to reduce collector resistance is avoided. The necessary processing modifications may be readily integrated into conventional bipolar or BiCMOS process flows.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to bipolar junction transistors and in particular to bipolar junction transistors formed in the same integrated circuit with complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors (BiCMOS). Still more particularly, the present invention relates to formation of bipolar transistors with reduced vertical collector resistance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Silicon technologies that employ both complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) and bipolar devices on the same silicon substrate (BiCMOS) provide an excellent solution to many types of mixed-signal chip designs.
FIG. 1 depicts a known simple, low cost NPN bipolar device commonly employed in BiCMOS designs along with the mask levels used to form this device. The bipolar device 100 is formed in a heavily-doped substrate 102, on which a lightly doped epitaxial layer 104 has been deposited. A field oxide 106 is grown for device isolation. A silicon nitride layer (not shown) prevents growth of the field oxide 106 in the region of the device window 108.
Buried collector 110 is typically implanted, followed by formation of the collector region 112. A masking layer (not shown) is provided to allow base region 114 to be formed through a base region window 116 in the masking layer. Emitter region 118 and collector contact region 120 are similarly formed by windows 122, 124 through a masking layer (not shown). Emitter (E), base (B), and collector (C) contacts 126, 128 and 130, respectively, are formed through contact openings 132. The process results in vertically integrated NPN bipolar device 100.
Critical to the slew-rate performance of vertically integrated bipolar junction transistors is the collector resistance. FIG. 2 illustrates the collector resistance of vertically integrated bipolar junction transistors through the bipolar device of FIG. 1 and its equivalent circuit diagram. As shown in FIG. 2, the bipolar device of FIG. 1 may be represented as a bipolar transistor 202 with a resistor 204 at the collector having a resistance of R.sub.c. Collector resistance R.sub.c has both a vertical component, arising from the vertical distance (L.sub.4 -L.sub.2) between collector contact 130 and the body of the collector, and a lateral component, arising from the horizontal distance (L.sub.3 -L.sub.1) between the emitter and collector contacts 126 and 130. Both components are significant to bipolar device performance.
FIG. 3A depicts the prior art method of minimizing collector resistance to optimize device performance. Buried layer formation, producing a heavily doped layer (buried collector or subcollector 110) deep within the collector, reduces the lateral component of collector resistance R.sub.c. A "sinker" formation 302 in the collector contact region is typically used to minimize the vertical component of collector resistance R.sub.c. However formation of sinker 302 typically requires additional process steps.
It would be advantageous to be able to reduce both the vertical and lateral components of the collector resistance in a device without adding significantly to the process steps required to form a vertically integrated bipolar device. It would be desirable to be able to reduce both the vertical and lateral components of the collector resistance simultaneously.

Use of MEV implantation to form vertically modulated N+ buried layer in an NPN bipolar transistor


Systems and methods for resolving control conflicts in trunk protection links are provided. A method, in one implementation, includes identifying control conflicts among Network Elements (NEs) in an Optical Multiplex Section (OMS). The OMS may have a plurality of trunk protection links arranged in parallel and a plurality of Trunk Protection Switches (TPSs). Also, the trunk protection links and TPSs are configured to create a distributed 1:N trunk protection arrangement. The method also includes resolving the control conflicts by auto-negotiating a primary instance associated with enabling a first set of control actions to be conducted along a primary path in the OMS and auto-negotiating one or more follower instances associated with enabling a second set of control actions to be conducted along one or more secondary paths in the OMS subsequent to the first set of control actions.

Generally, a trunk cable is a fiber optic cable used in an optical communication network for transmitting photonic signals. Trunk cables may be used for terrestrial and/or submarine applications and may include any number and type of fiber optic lines. For example, some trunk cables may include dozens of optical fibers for transmitting signals within multiple channels (or wavelengths) on multiple parallel fiber paths. In some cases, the parallel paths may be used for protection (or backup) when an active fiber is faulty.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional trunk protection section 10 of an optical network. The trunk protection section 10 includes a channel multiplexer (mux) 12 at a section head and a channel demultiplexer (demux) 14 at a section tail. In this example, the trunk protection section 10 includes an active fiber span 16, a first backup fiber span 18, and a second backup fiber span 20. The fibers spans 16, 18, 20 are arranged in parallel.
In the conventional system, the trunk protection section 10 is limited in a number of ways. For instance, trunk protection in this case is only capable of protection with respect to a single fiber span (i.e., active fiber span 16). Also, the conventional trunk protection section 10 is constrained to the same fiber type, similar fiber losses, the same types of amplifiers on each fiber span, and the same or similar mux/demux configuration among all protection routes to ensure the same launch power and receiving spectrum. The conventional trunk protection section 10 also includes only the channel mux 12 and channel demux 14, which are fixed filters, and does not include spectrum-selective switches at the head and tail locations. Thus, there is typically little flexibility in this trunk protection section 10, which can lead to a tedious and manual setup process that will be the same for all routes. Therefore, there is a need for optical communications networks having greater flexibility for allowing variability in configurations, fiber types, etc., in the network paths, especially as a network is scaled over time with different types of components, nodes, and Network Elements (NEs).

Resolving control conflicts among trunk protection links


Provided herein are methods of formulating and engineering block copolymer (BCP) systems for directed self-assembly (DSA) processes. In some embodiments, the methods involve engineering a BCP material based on the interaction parameter (χ) of the material and the surface and/or interaction energies of its constituent blocks. Also provided are novel block BCP materials that can be used in DSA techniques. In some embodiments, the BCP systems described herein have micro-phase separating blocks, with at least one block including multiple types of repeat units. Also provided are structures formed by DSA, including structures having a sub-20 nm dimension. Applications included nanolithography for semiconductor devices, fabrication of cell-based assays, nanoprinting, photovoltaic cells, and surface-conduction electron-emitter displays.

Block copolymers (BCPs) are a class of polymers synthesized from two or more polymeric blocks. The structure of diblock copolymer A-b-B may correspond, for example, to AAAAAAA-BBBBBBBB. The interaction parameter χ of a BCP is related to the energy of mixing the blocks in a block copolymer and is inversely proportional to temperature. The graph in FIG. 14 shows an example of χN (where N is the degree of polymerization) as a function of the volume fraction, f, of a block (A) in a diblock (A-b-B) copolymer. FIG. 14 shows that at a particular temperature and volume fraction of A, the diblock copolymers microphase separate into domains of different morphological features. In the example of FIG. 14, when the volume fraction of either block is around 0.1, the block copolymer will microphase separate into spherical domains (S), where one block of the copolymer surrounds spheres of the other block. As the volume fraction of either block nears around 0.2-0.3, the blocks separate to form a hexagonal array of cylinders (C), where one block of the copolymer surrounds cylinders of the other block. And when the volume fractions of the blocks are approximately equal, lamellar domains (L) or alternating stripes of the blocks are formed. Representations of the cylindrical and lamellar domains at a molecular level are also shown. The phase behavior of block copolymers containing more than two types of blocks (e.g., A-b-B-b-C) also results in microphase separation into different domains. The self-assembly of block copolymer materials in bulk and the translation of ordered block copolymer domains into thin-films has emerged as a powerful approach to create functional nanostructures and templates for various applications.

Block copolymer materials for directed assembly of thin films

The Regents of the University of Minnesota


A method comprises identifying a component k of a codevector from a codebook C having one or more codevectors, the component k introducing highest variance for an input vector; allowing ordering of codevectors in the codebook C; and searching for a best match vector for the input vector using ordered codevectors.

[This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Quantization is one of the main tools of lossy signal compression. The quantization process consists of finding, for a given input data, a close representative that would enable the storage or transmission of the data with less bits. A quantization function can be written as f :D->C where D is the input space and C is the set of representatives, or the codebook. For a given input from D, a representative, or codeword, is selected from C, such that a given distortion measure between the input and the representative is minimized over the entire codebook. The process of finding the codeword minimizing the distortion measure is usually called the nearest neighbor search.
If the input space, as well as the codebook, is one-dimensional, the quantization is called scalar quantization; otherwise it is called vector quantization. The representatives are also called codevectors in the case of vector quantization.
The cardinality of the codebook, CC, is smaller than that of the input space, allowing the representation of the input data on fewer bits. The index, in the codebook, of the nearest neighbor codeword, could be represented on log2 CC bits. The quantization rate, if all the codewords were represented with the same number of bits, is R=log2CC/K bits per sample, where K is the data dimension.
Generally, the nearest neighbor search involves the evaluation of the distortion measure for each codeword, which, especially for the vector quantization case, may be very expensive from the computational point of view. Various fast nearest neighbor algorithms have been proposed, that reduce the number of distortion evaluations based on one or more conditions to stop the evaluations.
Vector quantization is a tool extensively used in signal processing applications, for example in applications employing speech/audio, image or video coding.

Method and apparatus for fast nearest neighbor search for vector quantizers


A chair adjustment mechanism is disclosed which allows a change of position in an unlocked state and maintains a position in a locked state. The mechanism, when used in conjunction with an adjustable chair part, may not be unlocked without a force being applied opposite to a force urging the part to a default position.

The present invention relates to adjustable chair parts and more particularly to a mechanism to allow a chair part to be adjusted and the adjustment to be maintained.
Chairs are known to have parts that are adjustable such as the arm rests, the seat and the backrest. The height of a backrest, for instance, may be adjusted up or down and, additionally, an angle a backrest makes with reference to the seat may be altered. In many chairs, a person seated in a chair who wishes to change the angle of a backrest moves a handle from a locked position to an unlocked position, releasing a mechanism that maintains the support bar for the backrest at a particular angle. The person may then find a new angle for the backrest support bar and, by returning the handle to a locked position, set the mechanism to maintain the new angle.
Typically, springs bias various adjustable parts to a default position. Unfortunately, when a part of an unoccupied chair is unlocked while significantly offset from its default position, a violent action may ensue as the part returns to its default position. This violent action could cause injury. It is desirable, then, to design a mechanism that avoids this problem.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided locking apparatus including a clutch plate and a locking bracket, the locking bracket having a passageway adapted to accept the clutch plate, the passageway including a first channel and a second channel, the first channel allowing movement of the clutch plate along the passageway, the second channel preventing movement of the clutch plate along the passageway.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a chair including: a chair base; a chair adjustment mechanism, mounted to the chair base, including a locking apparatus comprising a clutch plate and a locking bracket forming a passageway receiving the clutch plate, the passageway including a first channel and a second channel, the first channel allowing movement of the clutch plate along the passageway, the second channel preventing movement of the clutch plate along the passageway; a seat mounted to one of the locking bracket and the clutch plate of the chair adjustment mechanism; a backrest; and a backrest support bar supporting the backrest, mounted to another one of the locking bracket and the clutch plate of the chair adjustment mechanism.


A method of determining the size of a sub-array for an antenna array is described. The method includes choosing a number of elements of a sub-array of antenna elements. Further, the method includes determining a direction of arrival of the signal using data from the sub-array. The method also includes computing weights for the antenna array. Further still, the method includes determining whether the size of the sub-array meets a predetermined criteria.

In wireless communications, it is often desirable to be able to take advantage of directional communications in order to provide a higher quality of service than that available by using onmi-directional communications at the same power levels. This directionality provides greater gain in the desired direction causing fewer bit errors and the improved capability of acquiring a signal. For transmitting, all of the transmit power of a particular device may be focused toward the intended receiver. With respect to receiving signals, higher gain is directed on the source and very little gain is placed elsewhere. Beamforming using an adaptive antenna array is a method of realizing such a directional communication system.
An adaptive antenna array can provide higher gain in the direction required by digitally shifting the phases of the received signals from each antenna element (alternatively, the phase may be shifted using analog phase shifters as well). The logical solution to obtaining more gain and a narrower beam width is to increase the size and number of elements in the array. This poses a problem however, because the computational load to find sync on a signal with a large array increases exponentially as you increase the side length of the array. For example, a 4×4 element array may use 16 correlators to produce a correlation result for the received signal at each element of the array. These correlations could then be noncoherently summed and the peak of this correlation sum could then be used to find the sync position for the received signal. If a 100×100 element array were used, this would require 10,000 correlators running full time in order to find sync. At this size, the computational load may make using the array unpractical.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method for effectively using the gain and directionality of a large array by using the computations required by a small array. Further, there is a need for computationally simplifying the beamforming process for a large antenna array.
The techniques herein below extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned needs.

Method for efficiently computing the beamforming weights for a large antenna array


The apparatus for dispensing refrigerated products includes at least one containment tank (2) mounted above a base body (6) and suitable to contain the product to be dispensed. Inside the tank (2) a mixing device suitable to perform the continuous circulation of the product inside the tank (2) and a cooling device for cooling the product are arranged. A dispensing device (3) for the product, placed at the front zone of the containment tank (2) is provided with a tap (4) which can be operated by an external lever member (5). The base body (6) carries frontally applied a ventilation member (10) suitable to produce a hot airflow which comes out from lower openings (13).

Nowadays apparatuses which allow to prepare and dispense refrigerated products of the type of traditional water-based water ice or alternatively creamy products such as creamy ice-creams, sorbets, coffee creams and other frozen products are known.
Such known apparatuses are generally constituted by a tank suitable to contain the product to be dispensed, wherein a cooling device for cooling the product to the appropriate temperature and a mixing device which causes the continuous circulation of the product inside the tank are arranged. The circulation device, consisting for example of a screw member driven in rotation according to an axis longitudinal to the tank, is suitable to convey the cooled product towards a front zone, where a dispensing device for the product is arranged. The dispensing device is provided with an obturator element which can be operated by means of an external lever member.
The containment tank for the product is arranged above a base body of substantially prism-shaped profile, which is suitable to contain in its inside the actuation members of the apparatus, in particular the compressor of the cooling device and the motor member of the circulation device.
A problem existing in the specific field concerns the necessity of controlling in an appropriate manner the value of temperature inside the base body. As a matter of facts, when such temperature rises, the performance of the compressor of the cooling device lowers, while the consumption increases. Moreover a lower temperature assures a better endurance of the apparatus. Nevertheless, known solutions do not allow to easily satisfy such necessity.

Apparatus for dispensing refrigerated products


A method and system to facilitate a scalable scan system in the design of a system-on-chip. In one embodiment of the invention, the system-on-chip includes a controller and one or more clock gating units. The clock gating unit is added to each unique clock domain of each function or logic block in the system-on-chip. By having a controller that connects to each clock gating unit and the scan input and output signals in each logic block of the SOC, this allows a scalable scan system in the design of the SOC and allows frequent block level design changes in the SOC without extensive changes to the scan logic in one embodiment of the invention. In addition, the scalable scan system also allows at-speed scan write-through testing of a memory array that can improve the scan test coverage of the system-on-chip.

In the design of a system-on-chip, there are several design methodologies such as design for test (DFT), design for manufacturing (DFM), and design for debug (DFD), collectively known as DFX, for example, that can be used to increase the testability, fault coverage and manufacturing yield of the system-on-chip. Scan insertion, or the conversion of flip-flops into scan flip-flops to form scan chains, is a common technique used in digital integrated circuit design to allow production testers to check for any manufacturing faults of the integrated circuit using the aid of the scan chains.
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram 100 of a prior art system-on-chip 105. The prior art system-on-chip 105 has a processor 110 with a clock (CLK) unit 112 that provides a CLK 114 to the logic block 1 120 and the logic block 2 130. The prior art system-on-chip 105 also has a CLK unit 160 that provides a CLK 162 to the logic block 3 140. The input/output (I/O) block 150 controls the external access(es) to the prior art system-on-chip 105.
However, for the design of the prior art system-on-chip 105, scan insertion poses a potential problem as the current scan insertion techniques are not scalable and any addition of extra scan blocks or chains during the end stages of the design requires extensive and time-consuming changes. The current scan testing technique often bypasses a memory array(s) in the logic blocks using the scan flip-flops. The scan flip-flops inserted to bypass the memory arrays not only require additional chip area, they also do not allow scan testing to be performed through the memory arrays.

Scalable scan system for system-on-chip design


A method and apparatus for executing an instruction of a Java virtual machine are provided. The method includes extracting a bytecode of a method of a Java class, transforming the bytecode into a second code which comprises information regarding a location of an opcode handler and uses 16-bit memory elements, the opcode handler performing an operation corresponding to an opcode included in the bytecode, and executing the second code.

1. Field of the Invention
Methods and apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to executing an instruction of a Java virtual machine, and more particularly, to executing an instruction of a Java virtual machine in which bytecode executed in a Java virtual machine is transformed into a second code using 16-bit memory elements, thereby considerably improving the speed of executing instructions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Although Java programming language has rapidly proliferated as a standard object-oriented programming language since its advent in the mid-1990s, it has several disadvantages, including a lower execution speed than the C programming language or the C++ programming language. In order to speed up the execution of the Java programming language, a dynamic code generation system, such as a Java virtual machine adopting a just-in-time (JIT) compiler, and a static code generation system, such as a Java virtual machine adopting an ahead-of-time (AOT) compiler, have been developed.
A Java platform consists of a Java virtual machine and a plurality of classes. Each class consists of information corresponding to a data structure of the class, field information, and method information. Execution code of a method is written in bytecodes independent of a hardware device or an operating system.
Conventional Java virtual machines can be classified into interpreter-type Java virtual machines, JIT compiler-type Java virtual machines, interpreter-and-JIT compiler-type Java virtual machines, and AOT compiler-type Java virtual machines according to the types of their respective execution engines.
An interpreter-type Java virtual machine interprets a plurality of bytecodes of a method to be executed one by one, and executes an application program of the method.
A JIT compiler-type Java virtual machine compiles the bytecodes of the method to obtain machine codes dependent upon a Java platform, and executes the machine codes to execute the application program of the method.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a conventional Java class file.
Referring to FIG. 1, the Java class file includes a class or interface definition and is comprised of various attributes, field information, method information and so on that are defined in the class. The method information defines a byte stream, which is called a bytecode and can be executed in the interpreter. This bytecode can be obtained from compiling a file (e.g., a file having an extension of "java") containing a Java source language statement.
The bytecode is similar to a program module ready for execution because the bytecode is executed within a computer one byte at a time. However, the instructions of the bytecode are actual instructions transmitted to the logical and abstract Java virtual machine. The bytecode can be compiled again by the JIT compiler so that the bytecode can be compatible with a particular system platform. This also ensures that the byte code is interpreted by one byte only once, thereby accelerating the execution speed of the Java program.
FIG. 2 illustrates a bytecode to be executed in a conventional Java virtual machine.
Referring to FIG. 2, the instructions of the bytecode are composed of an operand and an opcode, both of which have a size of one byte to discriminate performed operations. One opcode may include several operands. Both the opcode and each operand are stored in the unit of one byte, so that they are represented as consecutive bytes in order to represent the operands having a size of one or more bytes. For example, a 16-bit value consists of two consecutive bytes, and a 32-bit value consists of four consecutive bytes.
In FIG. 2, the first line denotes the hexadecimal values of the actual bytecode, and the second line denotes the bytecode divided into opcodes and operands.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a method of executing each instruction code performed by a conventional Java interpreter.
An application class is loaded by a class loader of a Java virtual machine and goes through a linking process and an initialization process, and then associated information is stored in a data structure within a runtime system, and the method is executed by the execution engine such as an interpreter or a JIT compiler.
In a typical interpreter, the bytecode is executed in the manner shown in FIG. 3. When a method is invoked in the interpreter, a program counter indicating the bytecode of the method is incremented (S310). Next, it is determined whether the bytecode of the method is the last bytecode (S320). If it is determined that the bytecode of the method is not the last bytecode (NO in operation S320), a one-byte opcode is fetched (S330). Subsequently, the control goes to a handler corresponding to the fetched one-byte opcode using a switch statement in the program (S340), so that the handler is executed (S350). This process is repeated as many times as necessary depending on the size of the bytecode, and then the interpreting process for the method is terminated.
The process shown in FIG. 5 can be represented with a pseudo-code as follows:
Loop {  Op = *pc++;  switch (Op) {    case op_1:      // op_1's implementation      break;    case op_2:      // op_2's implementation      break;    case op_3:      // op_3's implementation      break;    ...     }
In the handler for the respective opcodes, if the data size of the operand required by the opcode is larger than one byte, the values of the operand are stored in consecutive bytes. Thus, the consecutive bytes are reconstructed into one significant value through an OR operator and a Shift operator according to each bit. For example, in a central processing unit (CPU) using the "little-endian" format, if operands required by a certain opcode A are in subsequent bytes byte1, byte2, byte3 and byte4, then byte4 represents the first bit to the eighth bit of a 32-bit value to be logically indicated, byte3 represents the ninth bit to the sixteenth bit of the 32-bit value to be logically indicated, byte2 represents the seventeenth bit to the twenty-fourth bit of the 32-bit value to be logically indicated, and byte1 represents the twenty-fifth bit to the thirty-second bit of the 32-bit value to be logically indicated.
Therefore, the 32-bit value actually required by the opcode A can be obtained by an operation like "(byte1<<24)|(byte2<<16)|(byte3<<8)|byte4". In the existing Java virtual machine, processes for combining such operands occur whenever the method is executed.
For the operand, when the data size of the operand is greater than one byte, the operand will be arranged in consecutive bytes, and the consecutive bytes will be reconstructed through the OR operator and the Shift operator according to each bit whenever the method is executed. This process may function as considerable overhead when the Java program is executed. Therefore, there is a need to improve the performance of the Java virtual machine by overcoming these restraints.

Method and apparatus for executing instructions of java virtual machine and transforming bytecode


A one-part moisture curable polyurethane adhesive composition comprises a blend of polyurethane prepolymers and one or more additives which unexpectedly improve the sag resistance and mechanical properties of the formulation. The final adhesive composition retains good stability in the absence of moisture for an extended period between manufacture and application of the adhesive, and has a relatively rapid and consistent cure rate in the presence of atmospheric moisture. The final cured composition exhibits good mechanical properties and generally is unaffected by ambient application and cure conditions.

Polyurethane compositions have been used as sealants or adhesives for many years. Polyurethane adhesives or sealants in general have relatively high bond strengths, flexibility, shock and impact resistance, fatigue resistance, and the like. This set of highly desirable properties primarily arises from a crosslinking reaction, known as curing, which is designed to occur once the adhesive or sealant is applied. As the adhesive or sealant cures, it transforms from a soft, workable liquid or semi-liquid to a firm, resilient, elastomeric solid. It is to be understood that hereinafter, the term adhesive will be used in the identification of the polyurethane composition of the present invention, and is meant to encompass the term sealant or any other term which might be used in identifying such polyurethane compositions as are described immediately above.
Polymeric adhesives therefore are sold in a non-cured form containing polymerizable components which are designed to cure upon application. Many such adhesives are created from a prepolymer component and a curative component. Typically for polyurethane compositions, the prepolymer component is the reaction product of a polyol and an organic polyisocyanate having isocyanate functional groups in a weight percent amount of from about 0.5% to about 10%, and more typically from about 1% to about 4% based on the weight of the prepolymer. The curative generally is a reactive hydrogen-containing material.
The prepolymer and curative components of the polyurethane adhesive composition can be packaged separately creating so-called two-part or two-step products. Two-step systems, which posses many desirable characteristics, generally require mixing just prior to application, and such mixing is often found to be inconvenient and problematic. Therefore, one-step systems containing all components of a polyurethane adhesive composition in a single package are preferred by many end users. Such one-step polyurethane compositions generally will cure due to ambient conditions, and most often due to moisture in the air. In polyurethane systems, ambient moisture can react with the isocyanate reactive sites and cause polymerization directly or can react with an intermediary, such as oxazolidine or ketimine, to produce a reaction product (typically an amine) which, in turn, causes curing. Even if the system is the one-part type, the adhesive composition usually also will contain sufficient urethane catalyst to produce a desired cure time. The above-described one- and two-part polyurethane adhesives are widely employed in many industries, including the motor vehicle and construction industries.
For application to vertically-oriented areas, such as wall surfaces or window frames, an adhesive material is required to have non-sag characteristics, i.e. be substantially free from or resistant to sagging or slumping after application. A non-sag type adhesive material should flow easily when subjected to external forces during its mixing and application, but should be free from flow when it is at a standstill and therefore should exhibit a substantial increase in apparent viscosity. Such behaviour is generally described as thixotropic or yield stress related. It is to be understood that for purposes of further discussion hereinbelow, the term "sag" encompasses two types of sag identified by those having ordinary skill in the art: (i) immediate sag which generally manifests itself immediately upon manufacture of the material, and (ii) latent sag, which develops during storage of the material.
Sag-resistant polyurethane adhesives generally are known in the art, but can have drawbacks. Such materials require a precisely optimized formulation which may be unforgiving if any errors occur during the manufacturing process. Moreover, these materials are sometimes also sensitive to the storage and curing temperatures which can adversely affect the anti-sag properties and the mechanical properties of the cured product.
Heretofore, the known methods of enhancing the non-sag characteristics in polyurethane adhesive-products included:
1. the use of special sag-resistant additives, usually castor oil derivatives; PA0 2. the utilization of highly structured fillers with high surface areas which tended to agglomerate, such as different grades of carbon black and amorphous silica; PA0 3. the use of high concentrations of certain fillers or filler combinations such as special grades of calcium carbonate; or PA0 4. the utilization of swellable polymers such as polyvinyl chloride. PA0 1. Castor oil derivatives and other commercially available non-sag additives are reactive with isocyanate groups, and therefore, the polyurethane products formulated therewith have limited storage stability which has a detrimental effect on their practical usefulness. PA0 2. Amorphous silica causes serious shrinkage problems during cure of the polyurethane product and frequently causes adhesion problems. PA0 3. Polyvinyl chloride requires a very precise manufacturing process and the final polyurethane product usually has limited ultraviolet light (UV) stability. PA0 4. Carbon black can be used for manufacturing of black polyurethane products only. PA0 5. In order to achieve the required non-sag properties, the concentration of carbon black or other fillers must be close to that of the critical pigment volume concentration value, and this may create some difficulties in manufacturing thereby adversely affecting the final mechanical properties of the polyurethane product.
Each of these non-sag enhancement systems of the known prior art have serious disadvantages:
Urethane materials known in the art generally comprise in addition to the urethane prepolymer, curative catalyst and conventional non-sag additive as described above, a plasticizer and/or solvent, fillers, an adhesion improver, pigment(s), UV stabilizers, and a moisture scavenger. The fillers contribute to increasing the volume of sealant material, and also to adjusting the mechanical properties such as hardness and tensile properties.
In particular, polyurethane adhesive compositions lacking fillers generally exhibit low sag resistance, and therefore fillers have generally routinely been incorporated therein to develop or increase sag resistance where such resistance is needed. Unfortunately, this technique also increases the viscosity of the component or components containing the filler. Therefore, loading with high levels of filler partially increases sag resistance, but typically results in difficulties in obtaining satisfactory mixing because shear mixing equipment and high pressure pumping equipment generally are needed. Furthermore, high filler loading in many cases tends to lower the strength of the adhesive bond and typically decreases elasticity. The increased viscosity typically makes the adhesive more difficult to apply.
As discussed hereinabove, polyurethane adhesives display many highly desirable properties primarily due to the crosslinking reaction or curing which takes place once the adhesive is applied. However, the mechanical properties of the cured adhesive are directly related to curing conditions. The mechanical properties of many known prior art polyurethane adhesive formulations are adversely affected by changes in ambient conditions during curing.
Conventional compounding techniques make it possible to vary the elastomeric properties and flow properties of a polyurethane adhesive composition, but it generally has been very difficult to achieve the desired combination of manufacturing ease, extrudability, non-sag properties, and good mechanical properties merely by judicious choice of compounding conventional ingredients.
Thus, the need exists for a moisture curable one-part polyurethane adhesive composition having good stability in the absence of moisture and a generally rapid cure rate in the presence of atmospheric moisture, and which is sag-resistant and exhibits suitable mechanical properties after cure despite variations in ambient conditions during application and curing of the adhesive.

Moisture curable polyurethane composition


In an image sensor chip (A), the number N of the image reading picture elements is defined as N=nxc2x7k (other than an integer multiple of 16). The n represents the number of image signals processed as a group when the image signals from the light receiving elements are subjected to level correction on a group-by-group basis. The k is the minimum: integer satisfying O less than (nxc2x7kxe2x88x92gxc2x7p) less than n. The g is the resolution defined as the number of image reading picture elements per predetermined unit length. The p is the minimum difference between required different reading widths as calculated on the basis of said unit length. When a plurality of such image sensor chips (A) are arranged in an array, the excess ratio of the array length of the image sensor chips (A) relative to a required reading width can be rendered constant.

The present invention relates to an image sensor chip for use as a component of an image reading apparatus. It also relates to an image reading apparatus employing such an image sensor chip.
An image sensor chip is known which is elongated in a direction and which has a surface portion integrally incorporating a plurality of light receiving elements for photoelectric conversion. Each of the light receiving elements has a light receiving surface for receiving light and for generating an image signal with an output level corresponding to the received amount of light. The respective light receiving surfaces serve as the picture elements of the image sensor chip and are arranged in a row at a constant pitch longitudinally of the image sensor chip.
The length of such an image sensor chip ranges from several millimeters to less than 20 millimeters, so that a single image sensor chip fails to read a document which is wider than it. Therefore, in actual use of the image sensor chip as a component of an image reading apparatus, a plurality of such image sensor chips are arranged in an array.
When using a plurality of image sensor chips in this way, they may suffer fluctuations in the output level of their image signals due to manufacturing errors of the image sensor chips and positional deviations relative to the lens of the image reading apparatus even if the light receiving elements receive an equal amount of light. Accordingly, image reading is performed by a plurality of image sensor chips, the image signals outputted from the plurality of light receiving elements are subjected to level correction to prevent unevenness in the output level. In this regard, if the level correction is performed individually for all signals from the light receiving elements, the process will be very cumbersome. Therefore, as a simple way to perform the level correction, the correction is performed collectively for each group of e.g. eight light receiving elements, wherein the image signal outputted from one of the eight light receiving elements in the group is used as the basis for the correction.
On the other hand, the number of the light receiving elements incorporated in a prior art image sensor chip is, for example, 32, 64 or 128 which is an integer multiple of 16. This is convenient for the above-described level correction because the light receiving elements of the image sensor chip can be exactly divided into plural groups of eight elements without any excess.
However, the prior art image sensor chip still has the following problems.
For image reading of a document by using an array of image sensor chips, the image sensor chip array is required to provide an image reading width (substantially equal to the combined length of the image sensor chips in the array) which is greater by an suitable excess than the document width. If the image reading width is excessively greater than the document width, the image sensor chips may be partially wasted, and the image reading apparatus becomes unnecessarily large. Conversely, if the excess of the image reading width is too small, the image sensor chip array may fails to read a side part of the document even due to a slight deviation of the document positioning. Here, in order for the above-described excess to be suitable, it should be relatively smaller for a narrower document but relatively larger for a wider document. This is because, in reading a narrow document accurately, the document is unlikely to positionally deviate too much in the primary scanning direction (or in the direction of the row of the image reading picture elements), whereas, in reading a wide document, the document is likely to positionally deviate in the primary scanning direction to a large extent.
However, the prior art image sensor chip is incapable of meeting the requirements. Taking an image sensor chip of 10.84 mm in length with a resolution of 11.8 dots/mm as an example, it has 128 image reading picture elements. In order for such an image sensor chip to meet a variety of reading width requirements, the specifications shown in Table 1 below are called for.
Taking an image sensor chip of 8 mm in length with a resolution of 8 dots/mm as another example, it has 64 image reading picture elements. In order for such an image sensor chip to meet various reading width requirements, the specifications shown in Table 2 below are called for.
As appreciated from Tables 1 and 2, when using a given number of conventional image sensor chips in an array for meeting the required reading width S, the excess Lb of the chip array length which is the difference between the required reading width S and the chip array length La becomes smaller as the required reading width S increases. Similarly, the excess ratio (R=Lb/S) also becomes gradually smaller. In this way, the use of the conventional image sensor chips directly contradicts the above-mentioned requirements, making it difficult to suitably adjust the excess Lb to the required reading width S. As a result, if an attempt is made to use a minimum number of conventional image sensor chips for saving, even a slight deviation of the document may cause difficulty in performing appropriate image reading due to an unduly small excess Lb. Further, the use of an excessive number of image sensor chips for overcoming such a problem will result in added cost while causing a size increase of the image reading apparatus as a whole.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an image sensor chip which is capable of eliminating or alleviating the problems described above.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus employing such a image sensor chip.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image sensor chip comprising: a plurality of light receiving elements for photoelectric conversion, the plurality of light receiving elements having light receiving surfaces serving as a plurality of image reading picture elements, the plurality of image reading picture elements being arranged in a row at a constant pitch on the chip; wherein the number N of the image reading picture elements is defined as N=nxc2x7k (other than an integer multiple of 16); wherein n represents the number of image signals processed as a group when the image signals from the light receiving elements are subjected to level correction on a group-by-group basis; wherein k is a minimum integer satisfying 0 less than (nxc2x7kxe2x88x92xcex3xc2x7p) less than n; wherein xcex3 is a resolution defined as the number of image reading picture elements per predetermined unit length; and wherein p is a minimum difference between required reading widths as calculated on the basis of said unit length.
Preferably, the chip comprises a semiconductor chip which as a rectangular shape elongated in a direction, and the plurality of light receiving elements are built in the chip as arranged in said direction.
Preferably, the image sensor chip further comprises a built-in circuit for operating the plurality of light receiving elements.
Preferably, n is 8, xcex3 is 11.8 dots/mm, and the number N of the reading picture elements is 152.
Preferably, n is 8, xcex3 is 8 dots/mm, and the number N of the image reading picture elements is 104.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus comprising: a plurality of image sensor chips carrying a plurality of light receiving elements for photoelectric conversion, the plurality of light receiving elements having light receiving surfaces serving as a plurality of image reading picture elements, the plurality of image reading picture elements being arranged in a row at a constant pitch on the chip; a substrate carrying thereon the plurality of image sensor chips arranged in an array; a light source for irradiating a reading line area of a document image with light; a lens for focusing the light, which is irradiated by the light source and reflected from the document, at the plurality of image reading picture elements; wherein the number N of the image reading picture elements is defined as N=nxc2x7k (other than an integer multiple of 16); wherein n represents the number of image signals processed as a group when the image signals from the light receiving elements are subjected to level correction on a group-by-group basis; wherein k is a minimum integer satisfying 0 less than (nxc2x7kxe2x88x92xcex3xc2x7p) less than n; wherein xcex3 is a resolution defined as the number of image reading picture elements per predetermined unit length; wherein p is a minimum difference between required reading widths as calculated on the basis of said unit length.
As the number N of the image reading picture elements satisfies the condition described above, the present invention has following advantages.
Firstly, when arranging a plurality of image sensor chips in an array for providing any one of the required reading widths which is an integer multiple of p, it is only necessary to use only a minimum number of image sensor chips whichever reading width is selected, whereby the excess of the image sensor chip array relative to the actual reading width can be kept at a constant ratio relative to the selected reading width. Therefore, the present invention allows the excess of the image sensor chip array to be smaller for a narrower document but larger for a wider document. Consequently, according to the present invention as opposed to the prior art, when using a plurality of image sensor chips in an array for providing a desired reading width, it is possible to reduce a waste with respect to the number and length of the image sensor chips, thereby reducing the cost while realizing a size reduction of the image reading apparatus incorporating such image sensor chips. Further, since the reading width of the image sensor chip array still has a reasonable excess, it is possible to avoid an image reading difficulty which may be caused due to a positional deviation of the document deviation.
Secondly, the number N of the image reading picture elements is an integer multiple of the number of the image signals processed together in a single group for group-by-group level correction, the plurality of image signals outputted from each image sensor chip can be divided into a plurality of groups without any remainder for the level correction. Therefore, according to the present invention, the plurality of image signals outputted separately from two image sensor chips need not be grouped together for correction even though the plurality of image sensor chips are arranged in an array. Thus, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage previously encountered with the prior in level correction.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Image sensor chip and image reading device provided with it


A heat retention device in the form of a heating pad includes an electrically resistive coil contained within a volume. The coil terminates at an electric coupler which is external of the volume. A phase change material is contained within the volume in thermal conductivity with the resistive element.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to thermal retention devices for storing thermal energy and releasing the thermal energy over time. More particularly, this invention pertains to a thermal retention device which utilizes a phase change material as a medium for storing and releasing thermal energy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes so-called phase change materials. A phase change material is a material which includes a substance which changes phase (for example, from solid state to liquid state or from a liquid state to a gaseous state) upon the application of thermal energy to the material. The process of changing phase results in energy (referred to as latent heat) being stored in the material. When the phase change reverses, the latent heat is released.
Phase change materials can be provided with a wide variety of phase change temperatures (i.e., the temperature at which the phase change material changes phase). An example of a phase change material is described more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,949 which describes a hydrocarbon dispersed within a finely divided silica. The phase change material stays in a powder form above and below the melting point of the hydrocarbon. The hydrocarbon melting point can be selected to be any one of a number of different temperatures. The phase change material results in an effective storing of thermal energy with energy being released at about the melting point of the hydrocarbon.
Numerous devices containing phase change materials are known in the prior art. For example, seat cushions are formed which will include a foam pad impregnated with a phase change material. The seat cushion is contained within an envelope of plastic such as vinyl or the like. The entire cushion may be placed in a source of thermal energy (for example, a conventional microwave oven). Energy is applied to the phase change material and the cushion will retain an elevated temperature for a substantial period of time (commonly one to four hours). U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,105 discloses a therapeutic pad containing a phase change material.
While prior art microwave thermal retention devices are acceptable for many uses, there are certain applications where such devices have limitations. For example, the user of such a device must have access to a source of the energy. In the case of a microwave thermal retention device, the user must have access to a microwave oven to supply the necessary energy to cause the phase change material to change phase and store the energy. For many users, access to a microwave oven is not practical. Also, for many users, there may be a substantial period of time between which the energy is applied to the phase change material and the device is to be used. An example of such an inconvenience is where a phase change device is to be used as a cushion for either outdoor activity or for stadium use at sporting events and the like. In such cases, there may be a substantial period of time between the application of energy to the phase change material and the use of the device.

Thermal retention device with outer covering receiving a warmer and food to be heated


The present invention provides parallel, cable based robotic manipulators, for use in different applications such as ultra high-speed robots or positioning devices with between three to six degrees of freedom. The manipulators provide more options for the number of degrees of freedom and also more simplicity compared to the current cable-based robots. The general structure of these manipulators includes a base platform, a moving platform or end effector, an extensible or telescoping central post connecting the base to moving platform to apply a pushing force to the platforms. The central post can apply the force by an actuator (active), or spring or air pressure (passive) using telescoping cylinders. The robotic manipulators use a combination of active and passive tensile (cable) members, and collapsible and rigid links to maximize the benefits of both pure cable and conventional parallel mechanisms. Different embodiments of the robotic manipulators use either active cables only, passive cables only, or combinations of active and passive cables. An active cable is one whose length is varied by means of a winch. A passive cable is one whose length is constant and which is used to provide a mechanical constraint. These mechanisms reduce the moving inertia significantly to enhance the operational speed of the robots. They also provide a simpler, more cost effective way to manufacture parallel mechanisms for use in robotic applications.

Robotic manipulators may be divided into two main categories, parallel and serial manipulators. Serial manipulators, which are more common in the industry, have several links in series usually connected by rotary or sliding joints. They are analogous to the human arm which has a series of links hinged at the shoulder, elbow and wrist. The configuration of serial manipulators necessitates the location of the driving motors to be at the joints themselves or the use of a heavy or complicated linkage for transferring the motion from the base of the robot to the joints. This is a disadvantage since it requires the movement of the large mass of the manipulator and drives even for a small payload. Further, the positional error of the end effector of a serial manipulator is the accumulation of the errors in the individual links so that by increasing the size or number of links the error associated with the position of the end effector increases.
In contrast to serial manipulators, the links of a parallel manipulator function in parallel to determine the movement of the end effector. A flight simulator and camera tripod are two examples of this kind of mechanisms. If one of the legs of a tripod is extended or moved, it changes the position of the end point. Parallel manipulators have relatively lower mass to payload ratio since the links work together and the actuators are mounted on a stationary base. They also have better precision since the error in the end effector is in the same order of actuators' error.
Low inertia, and therefore, high speed manipulation is one of the main applications of parallel robots. U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,5821 issued to Clavel, entitled 'Device for the Movement of and Positioning of an Element in Space', and reported further in Clavel, 'Delta, a Fast Robot with Parallel Geometry', Proceeding of International Symposium on Industrial Robots, pp. 91-100, April 1988, discloses one of the most successful mechanisms of this kind which produces movement with three pure translational degrees of freedom at its end effector. In this manipulator of Clavel, rotating arms are connected to the end effector using three parallelograms. The parallelograms constrain the end effector to be parallel to the base plate at all times and therefore, three pure translational movements are achieved.
Other manipulator designs such as disclosed in L-W. Tsai, 'Kinematic of a Three-DOF Platform With Extensible Limbs', Proceeding of the Conference of Recent Advances in Robot Kinematics, pp. 401-410, 1996, also provide pure translational movement of the end effector with three translational degrees of freedom. In the Tsai mechanism, three linear actuators connect the end effector to the stationary platform with universal joints. The specific configuration of the universal joints guarantees the three translational motions of the end effector.
There are also parallel mechanism robots with 6-DOF such as the hexa pod, see Griffis M., Crane C., et Duffy J., 'A smart kinestatic interactive platform', In ARK, pp. 459-464, Ljubljana, 4-6 Jul. 1994, and the hexa robot disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,514 issued to Toyama et al. entitled 'Parallel Robot'.
In general, parallel mechanism robots have higher stiffness to weight ratio, moment and torque capacity, and better accuracy. They also benefit from a simpler mechanism due to the elimination of drive trains and, also lower moving mass due to the stationary location of the actuators. Further reduction in the moving inertia of parallel mechanisms may be achieved by replacing the rigid links with tensile means such as cables. Replacing the rigid arms not only reduces the moving inertia but it lowers manufacturing cost and simplifies the mechanism structure by eliminating many joints.
Using cables in cranes such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,851 issued to J. R. Sperg entitled 'Cargo Handling Rig', and similar applications, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,72910 issued to G. F. Foes entitled 'Bottom Discharge Rotating Ring Drive Silo Unloader', is older than robotics, however in recent years several attempts have been made to design cable actuated manipulators. Some of these manipulators are designed to imitate human arms and can be considered as serial manipulators with parallel actuators, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,631,737 issued to F. E. Wells entitled 'Remote Control Manipulator for Zero Gravity Environment'; U.S. Pat. No. 3,497,083 issued to V. C. Anderson, R. C. Horn entitled 'Tensor Arm Manipulator'; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,773 issued to G. Diamond entitled 'Robotic Device'.
A pure parallel cable actuated mechanism is disclosed in S. Kawamura, W. Choe, S. Tanaka, S. R. Pandian, 'Development of an ultrahigh Speed Robot FALCON using Wire Drive System', Proceeding of IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 215-220, 1995. This manipulator has seven active cables to provide 6-DOF for the end effector. This mechanism does not have any rigid link in its structure and the cables are extended in both sides to maintain tension in the cables.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,362 issued to S. E. Landsberger and T. B. Sheridan entitled 'Parallel Link Manipulator' discloses a manipulator which uses six active cables and a passive collapsible link. The collapsible link applies a pushing force between the moving and stationary platforms in order to keep all cables in tension.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,854 issued to H. A. Akeel entitled 'Light Weight Robot Mechanism', discloses another combined cable-collapsible mechanism which moves the end point of the collapsible shaft in the space but does not have any control on its orientation.

Light weight parallel manipulators using active/passive cables


Novel apparatus and methods for a reusable, multi-layered diaper are disclosed. The diaper offers maximum health protection and ecological sensibility, with an ideal balance of comfort, cost and absorbency utilizing a unique multi-layered construction. The multi-layered construction comprises a first layer contacting a body, the first layer being a polyester wicking fabric. The multi-layered construction also comprises a middle layer associated with the first layer. The middle layer being significantly absorbent and characterized by the presence of viscose fibers to increase the absorbency of at least one middle layer. The multi-layered construction further comprises an outer layer associated with at least one middle layer. The outer layer being impermeable to liquids such that the diaper is waterproof. The present invention also comprises methods for making the reusable, multilayered diaper.

The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for a reusable, multi-layered diaper with wicking action and moisture retention. In particular, the preferred embodiment of the invention relates to apparatus and methods for a reusable, multi-layered diaper which employs a polyester wicking fabric to keep moisture away from the skin of an infant, and an ultra absorbent material to contain a previously collected amount of the wicked away moisture from the body of the infant.

Reusable, all-in-one, multi-layered diaper with wicking action, moisture retention, and methods for making and using same


A retracting tow system is disclosed which provides a spring loaded tow rope which automatically winds the tow rope around an included spool when not in use. The tow rope is affixed to a supplied shaft in a manner which prevents damage to the retracting mechanism while in use. An offset fairlead is also supplied which reduces the force on the shaft during a tow.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for towing vehicles and the like, and more particularly to a retracting towing system which retracts when not in use and eliminates stress on the retracting element.
2. Background Information
There are millions of vehicles in daily use in the USA and throughout the world. Most people who operate vehicles have experienced the distress of having the vehicle get stuck in mud or snow or in some other situation where the vehicle won't move under its own power. In many instances a stuck or disabled vehicle will have to be towed by a second vehicle. This usually involves hooking a two rope from the tow vehicle to the stuck or disabled vehicle so that the tow vehicle may tow the second vehicle. In other instances a vehicle may have an incorporated tow system such that the vehicle may be extracted when stuck by affixing the end of the tow rope to an object and using the tow system to pull the vehicle to a more favorable location.
A simple tow rope is, probably, most often used when a tow vehicle is towing a second vehicle. Most tow ropes are sturdy ropes with hooks affixed at either end. One end of the tow rope is affixed to the rear bumper or undercarriage of the tow vehicle and the other end is affixed to the front bumper or undercarriage of the second vehicle. The tow vehicle then pulls the second vehicle to an appropriate location. It will be understood that tow ropes and towing systems may be used for other purposes including pulling out stumps etc.
Simple tow ropes have a number of drawbacks. Such tow ropes must be removed after use and stored in some efficient manner. They also require that the tow vehicle move to pull or exert force on a second vehicle or object. During a tow it is nearly inevitable that one vehicle will, at some point, move at a different speed that the other. This causes slack in the tow rope which can lead to abrasion if the two rope drags on the ground or to the tow rope becoming tangled in brush etc.
A number of towing system inventions have been patented which attempt to solve problems relating to the use of simple tow ropes. One of the earliest of these is the patent to Silva (U.S. Pat. No. 1,591,686; Jul. 6, 1926). This invention discloses a case which encloses a shaft attached to a spring. A tow rope is also affixed to the shaft. The spring tends to rotate the shaft which rotates and winds the tow rope around the shaft when the tow rope is not in use.
The patent to MacMullan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,280; Dec. 19, 1995) discloses another retracting towing system. This device is similar to that shown in Silva in that it includes a spring loaded shaft around which the tow rope is wound when not in use. This patent discloses a common problem relating to retracting tow systems: stress upon the retracting element. That is, when a towing system is in operation, the relatively delicate retracting system is subjected to the stress from the tow rope when a tow vehicle is pulling a second vehicle. McMullan solves this problem by including a length of chain close to the towing vehicle. The chain is removably affixed to a hook when in use such that the stress is taken by the hook rather than the retracting system.
The patent to Colby (U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,751; May 6, 1975) discloses another method of preventing the tow stress from damaging the retracting elements. Colby includes stop fitting which hit a plate such that the tow stress is taken by the plate rather than by the retracting mechanism.
A fairlead is often found on retracting tow systems. The fairlead is usually a ring or similar element through which the tow rope passes just before it leaves the device. The fairlead acts to "center" the tow rope and prevents it from moving from side to side. In prior art devices the fair lead is aligned with the axle about which the tow rope is wound.
The instant invention is a retracting tow system which is unique, original, and solves all of the above noted problems relating tow ropes and retracting towing devices.
The ideal retracting tow system should provide for a secure tow rope which may be used for a variety of purposes including towing a second vehicle. The ideal retracting tow system should also provide a means for automatically retracting and storing the tow rope when not in use. The ideal retracting tow system should also provide for tension on the tow rope such that, when in use, the tow rope remains taught and does not become slack. The ideal retracting tow system should also provide a method of attachment for the tow rope which eliminates damage caused by stress on the tow rope without requiring the addition of additional elements to the retracting tow system. The ideal retracting tow system should also provide a fairlead which properly aligns the tow rope and also reduces stress created by the retracting apparatus. The ideal retracting tow system should also provide a retracting tow system which allows the hook of the retracting tow system to be held in place such that accidental tow rope extraction is prevented. The ideal retracting tow system should also be rugged, inexpensive, and easy to use.


A self-contained hydraulic three point hitch assembly including a plate; a pair of frame rail mounts, a pair of strut mounts, a pair of hydraulic actuator mounts, and a pair of lifting arm mounts on the plate; a pair of lifting arms, each pivotally attached to a lifting arm mount; a pair of hydraulic actuators each interconnected between a hydraulic actuator mount and a lifting arm; and a pair of struts, each attached on one end to a strut mount.

While agriculture and farming was at one time a very traditional way of life for many people around the world, the desire for higher output and efficiency has forced the industry to become highly mechanized. Todays farmers use a complex array of implements and machinery to maintain their farms and process their crops. As the complexity and specialty of this farming machinery increased, so has the cost of such machinery.
This increased cost has resulted in problems for many smaller U.S. farmers and farmers in developing countries. Quite often, today's farm equipment is so specialized that it can perform only one or possibly two functions. This situation mandates that farmers, in order to maintain competitiveness, buy multiple pieces of equipment to accomplish all the tasks associated with running a farm. As would be expected, this requires the farmer to go deeply in debt, which often results in farmers overextending themselves and going bankrupt. In response to the need by smaller farmers for a multi-purpose agricultural vehicle, several companies have started to manufacture multi-purpose vehicles which combine the features of a dump truck and a tractor. One such vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Design patent application 29/050,237 now U.S. Pat. No. D386,769. These vehicles usually incorporate a tilting dump body, but generally do not have a three point hitch assembly which can be attached to standard plowing, seeding, and other implements. On the other hand, the three point hitch assemblies traditionally incorporated into standard farm tractors are large, complex, specially- manufactured devices which include numerous hydraulic lines, control valves and mechanical linkages. Such three point hitch assemblies are generally not removable from the vehicles upon which they are mounted. In addition, if a three point hitch assembly is needed on the front as well as on the rear of the vehicle, a second hitch assembly would have to be purchased and permanently attached to the other end of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,441 discloses a self-contained three point hitch adapted to be attached to the rear of a vehicle and which could be attached to the front of the vehicle with some modification to the hitch and the vehicle. Still, no art that we know of specifically discloses a self contained three point hitch easily mounted on either the front or the rear of a vehicle.

Low profile transferrable hydraulic three point hitch


An exemplary method to measure propagation of a signal between a first end data input transmit system and a first end transmit air frame detector, of the signal between a second end receive air frame detector and a second end data receive system, of the signal between the second end data receive system and a second end data input transmit system, of a time the signal is received by the second end data transmit system and a signal is received at a second end transmit air frame detector, of the signal between a first end receive air frame detector and a first end data receive system, and of a time when the signal is in the first end data receive system and when the signal is received by the first end data input transmit system, and determine a performance of the signal across a wireless link based on the measurements.

1. Field of the Invention(s)
The present invention(s) generally relate to transceiver communications. More particularly, the invention(s) relate to systems and methods for phase determination over a wireless link.
2. Description of Related Art
Terrestrial networks, which are composed of wires typically buried underground, transfer frequency from one end to the other. Phase transfer across terrestrial networks typically relies on one or more estimations of the phase. For example, the far side of a terrestrial network may estimate the phase of the signal received from the near side.
Terrestrial phase estimation techniques are impractical over wireless networks due to changes in the wireless link. Wireless networks often have dynamic links where performance varies over time. As a result of such dynamic links (e.g., fading caused by environmental factors or interference caused by other electrical systems), terrestrial techniques to estimate phase may lead to errors. Further, correcting the phase (e.g., based on further estimations) based on terrestrial phase estimations may be insufficient and/or may compound error.

Systems and methods for phase determination over a wireless link


An optical tomographic apparatus is provided and includes a light source portion, an interferometer, and a signal processing portion. The light source portion including two low coherent light sources capable of simultaneously emitting light having wavelength bands different from each other. The emitted light is divided in two of a light flux irradiated to a subject by a probe and a light flux irradiated to reference mirrors that is divided by a dichroic mirror into light fluxes for respective wavelength bands. The reference light from the reference mirrors is combined with detected light from the subject to provide interference light. An optical detector detects the interference light for respective wavelength bands by a spectroscopic optical system, and a signal processing portion processes the detected light to provide optical tomographic images with regard to different portions of the subject for respective wavelength bands.

In recent years, in a field of taking an image of a subject for medical use, industrial use or the like, particularly, in a field of an electronic endoscope, there is known an apparatus of taking a tomographic image of a subject by using a method of OCT (optical coherence tomography).
According to the tomographic apparatus by OCT, light is used as a detecting probe and therefore, there is not posed a problem that a subject is exposed to X-ray irradiation as in an X-ray imaging apparatus of a related art, and the apparatus is extremely preferable particularly when the subject is the human body. Further, a large-sized apparatus of CT, MRI or the like is not needed, the subject can simply be inspected and therefore, a burden of the subject in view of cost or a burden in view of a physical strength thereof can be alleviated and the apparatus is preferable also in this respect.
Further, according to the tomographic apparatus using OCT, by utilizing low coherence of light having a spectrum width in a wide band, interference wave information at respective positions in a depth direction of the subject is provided and therefore, reflected light from an inner portion of the subject can be detected by a spatial resolution of μm order, and a measurement resolution can considerably be promoted in comparison with that of the X-ray imaging apparatus of the background art.
The tomographic apparatus using OCT having a number of excellent characteristics in this way is disclosed in, for example, Optics vol. 32, No. 4 (2003): Manabu Sato, Naohiro Tanno. Further, there is specifically proposed a tomographic apparatus using OCT which is technically devised variously (refer to, for example, JP-A-2003-329577 or the like).
However, it is a current state that an apparatus which is satisfactory in a speed of acquiring image information with regard to a subject, an amount of information thereof or the like has not been necessarily proposed and reduced into practice and a further improvement has been desired.
Particularly, when an optical tomographic apparatus is used for medical use, it is necessary to make a physical or spiritual burden on a subject in accordance with inspection as small as possible and for that purpose, there is desired an apparatus capable of acquiring a tomographic image with regard to a number of affected portions by a number of times of irradiation as small as possible.


A game paddle and a game combination wherein the paddle reacts with an impacting aerial object to cause the same to rebound along an axis generally approximating the axis of impact.

This invention pertains to game apparatus, and more particularly, to a unique game paddle and to a combination thereof with an aerial object such as a ball and the like.
Paddles, rackets, aerial objects and various games associated therewith have existed in myriad forms for many years--witness the tennis racket and tennis ball, badminton racket and birdie, squash racket and squash ball, ping pong paddle and ping pong ball, and so on, to form a long list of familiar entries. There is even in the known prior art patent literature a proposal for a baseball practice fielding bat wherein a stretch of taut rubber spans a hoop in a paddle frame--see U.S. Pat. No. 3,048,399.
An important characteristic of all of these devices in the prior art related field is that a selected paddle or racket is intended to produce highly controlled rebound of a related impacting aerial object. In particular, in the known art, what might be thought of as the rebound expanses in paddles are designed whereby rebound after impact approximates a performance where the axis of rebound is generally substantially a mirror image of the axis of impact (relative to a line which is normal to the usual nominal plane of the rebound expanse). It is this widely used rebound characteristic which enables, in each of the specific paddle/aerial object areas of interest, controlled, highly predictable play.
Proposed by the present invention is a unique game paddle which offers a performance that largely defies the predictable rebound performance proffered by prior art apparatus. More particularly, I have discovered that it is possible to create a game paddle, wherein a rebound expanse is formed by a low-modulus-of-elasticity material which reacts to impact of an aerial object, such as a ball, to promote rebound generally "back along" the axis of impact. This surprising behavior offers a highly entertaining and generally unpredictable type of paddle/object play activity.
Also proposed by the present invention is a novel paddle/aerial object combination for play wherein the impact interaction between the paddle and the object leads to unique play consequences. While I have found that the paddle embodying the present invention reacts with substantially all ball-like aerial objects to create the unique rebound performance, which I refer to as retro-rebound, certain kinds of ball-like aerial objects, particularly those which, upon impact, respond by significant configurational collapse, tend to rebound more precisely along the particular axis of impact. One form of such an aerial object takes the form of multiple, elongate, floppy, elastomeric filaments that radiate in substantially all directions from a dense core, very much like an object currently made available by OddzOn Products of Campbell, Calif., sold under the registered trademark KOOSH.RTM. ball.
As mentioned, a paddle constructed in accordance with the invention, employed in combination with substantially any ball-like aerial object, offers the unique performance discussed above, and in the broadest sense of the contribution of this invention, the paddle is not limited for use with a KOOSH.RTM.-ball-like object.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the paddle takes the form of a two-piece molded paddle frame, including a handle and an extension thereof forming a generally circular, or slightly ovate, hoop. Mounted on the frame, and spanning the area defined by the hoop, is an expanse, which may be either a single-layer expanse or a double-layer expanse, of an interlock, bi-axially stretchable material, such as the well-known fabric sold under the trademark LYCRA.RTM.. This familiar fabric is a product manufactured by E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co. Other similar materials may also be used for this expanse.
The exact phenomena explaining what one experiences with this paddle vis-a-vis retro-rebound are not known. However, observation clearly shows that the material chosen for and in the paddle's rebound expanse tends to minimize lateral roll of an impacting object. Lateral friction appears to build. A consequence of this seems to be that appreciable lateral (retro-rebound) force-loading occurs in the expanse. This can be represented as a lateral force vector which is directly opposite the incoming lateral impact force vector. Thus, an object tends to be returned generally along its incoming axis.
Various other objects and advantages which are offered by the invention will become more fully apparent as the description which now follows is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.