The present invention is a system for distributing the reconnection attempts of multiple system users in a CDMA telephone system over a broad time window. The present invention allows either the base station or the mobile station to process data to determine an appropriate reconnect time. The data may include resource capability, priority, client connects pending, and timing and amount of data on pending connection requests. Using this data information, a more efficient reconnection scheme may be developed. The number of requests required to successfully connect can be reduced while increasing the utilization of resources and reducing the delay until connection. Under an intelligent reconnection scheme, the probability of system users attempting simultaneous reconnection is reduced, thus reducing the likelihood of reconnection collision.

The use of wireless communication systems is growing with users now numbering well into the millions. One of the popular wireless communications systems is the cellular telephone, having a mobile station (or handset) and a base station. Cellular telephones allow a user to talk over the telephone without having to remain in a fixed location. This allows users to, for example, move freely about the community while talking on the phone.
Cellular telephones may operate under a variety of standards including the code division multiple access (CDMA) cellular telephone communication system as described in TIA/EIA, IS-95, Mobile station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual-Mode Wideband Spread Spectrum Cellular System, published July 1993. CDMA is a technique for spread-spectrum multiple-access digital communications that creates channels through the use of unique code sequences. In CDMA systems, signals can be and are received in the presence of high levels of interference. The practical limit of signal reception depends on the channel conditions, but CDMA reception in the system described in the aforementioned IS-95 Standard can take place in the presence of interference that is 18 dB larger than the signal for a static channel. Typically the system operates with a lower level of interference and dynamic channel conditions.
A CDMA base station communicates with a mobile station with a signal having a basic data rate of 9600 bits/s. The signal is then spread to a transmitted bit rate, or chip rate, of 1.2288 MHz. Spreading applies digital codes to the data bits, which increase the data rate while adding redundancy to the CDMA system. The chips of all the users in that cell are then added to form a composite digital signal. The composite digital signal is then transmitted using a form of quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation that has been filtered to limit the bandwidth of the signal.
In a code division multiple access (CDMA) spread spectrum communication system, a common frequency band is used for communication with all base stations within that system. If two or more mobile users simultaneously contend for an idle packet-data channel in a system using IS-707, the system will only allow one access to the channel. Mobile users unsuccessful at accessing the channel must repeat the transmission of the data packet until it is accepted by the system. The system users transmitting data packets to mobile users also contend for the downlink by being placed in a queue.
Under the current IS-707 standard, when a system user is unable to access the channel, the system user reattempts connection after a predetermined wait. The length of the wait is defined by the IS-707 standard, and is the same for each system user. After each subsequent unsuccessful attempt to connect to the system, the length of the wait is increased until a maximum value is reached. However, if the system users were denied access to an idle channel because multiple users attempted to simultaneously access the channel, each user will attempt to re-access the channel at the same time, causing further collisions.
What is needed is a system that allows the system users to wait for a free channel to connect to the system while reducing the probability of reconnection collision with other system users.
The present invention is a system for distributing the reconnection attempts of multiple system users in a CDMA telephone system over a broad time window. The present invention allows either the base station or the mobile station to process data to determine an appropriate reconnect time. The data may include resource capability, priority, client connects pending, and timing and amount of data on pending connection requests. Using this data information, a more efficient reconnection scheme may be developed. Under an intelligent reconnection scheme, the probability of system users attempting simultaneous reconnection is reduced, thus reducing the likelihood of reconnection collision.
One aspect of the invention is a method of determining the length of time between connection requests in a wireless communication system. The method comprises collecting data regarding connection requests and calculating reconnection timing for each connection request based on the collected data. The method may further comprise transmitting the collected data or a subset thereof to a mobile station. The collected data comprises, among other things, an amount an distribution of connection requests, a number of available resources, an expected duration of a connection, an expected duration of current connections, a priority indicator of the connection requests, and an expected number of new connection requests.
Another aspect of the present invention is a timer setting circuit for use in a mobile communication system. The timer setting circuit comprises a reconnection timer and a timer setting circuit. The timer setting circuit sets the reconnection timer to a value after a failed connection attempt between a mobile station and the mobile communication system. The timer setting circuit determines the value of the reconnection timer is based on a set of data regarding connection requests.
Another aspect of the invention is a method of intelligently managing the reconnection timing in a wireless communication system. The method comprises determining a number of available resources and estimating an expected release time of unavailable resources. The method further comprises determining the number of refused connection attempts and calculating a reconnection timing for each of the refused connection attempts based on the number of available resources and the expected release time of unavailable resources. The method further comprises establishing a priority of each of the refused connection attempts and adjusting the reconnection timing for each of the refused connection attempts based on the priority.
Another aspect of the invention is a mobile communication system comprising a transceiver and a reconnection control device. The reconnection control device determines the timing of a connection attempt between a mobile station and the mobile communication system. The reconnection control device determines the timing based on a set of data regarding connection requests. The set of data may include, among other things, an-amount of connection requests, a number of available resources, an expected duration of a connection, an expected duration of the current connections, a priority indicator of the connection requests, and the expected new connection requests. The reconnection control device may be located within a base station or a mobile station.
Another aspect of the invention is a mobile communication system in which the base station can efficiently manage contention of a common access resource. The access resource is shared and is not dedicated to a particular mobile station. Therefore, even if multiple traffic channels are free, the mobile stations are not requesting the resources at the same time.

Efficient resource management for packet data services


The invention relates to an illumination module for color display, preferably for use in data or video projectors as well as rear projection television sets, in which the light from at least three luminescent diodes (LEDs) or LED arrays of the base colors red, green and blue is collimated at a point provided for connection to a display unit and ranged on an optical axis of the illumination module. An LED or an LED array of a base color with a beam path (Lr) oriented in the direction of the display unit is arranged on the optical axis of the illumination module. For the purpose of color mixing, the LEDs and LED arrays of the other base colors are attached in such a way tat their beam paths (Lg, Lb) are laterally input in sequence under input angles (α, β) of <90 degrees into the beam path (Lr) of the first base color.

Currently, only high-pressure lamps are used as illumination modules for "optical engines" of data and video projectors, for projection monitors, as well as television sets these lamps emit a continuous spectrum in both visible light and the adjacent ranges (UV, IR). However, only narrow wavelength ranges of the colors red, green and blue are needed to produce an image. For sequential coloration, these colors are utilized individually and sequentially, with the use of a color wheel. The wavelengths not needed in this process are filtered out.
Disadvantages result from the use of high-pressure lamps in connection with the sequential generation of the colors red, green and blue, especially for small, mobile projectors, due to the size and limited serviceable life of the lamp, as well as the required use of a color wheel and UV and IR filters, so that such arrays are very cost-intensive. In addition, light efficiency is low.
To overcome these disadvantages, various light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been proposed as light sources. When using three modulated LEDs in the colors red, green and blue, the color wheel can be eliminated. Instead, an optical array must be found that, as efficiently as possible, collects, bundles, mixes and homogenizes the light emitted by the LEDs in a large solid angle and displays it on an imager.
Also known in the art are glass prisms for connecting multiple light sources, which are provided with special optical layers (color mixing cubes). Disadvantages include absorption losses and relatively high spatial requirements, as well as high costs.
To connect multiple colored light bundles, arrays of plane mirrors are known which possess dichroitic layers that are adjusted to the colors used, wherein the mixing of two colors into the beam path of the third color normally occurs below 90 degrees, that is, the plane mirrors are positioned at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the optical axis of the beam path of the third color.
In DE 102 37 202.0, a solution is described in which multiple LEDs are arranged directly on the entry surface, on the lateral surfaces or in proximity to the entry surface of a light-mixing rod, such that the bulk of their emitted light is mixed in the integrator and supplied to the light exit surface.
In addition, EP 125148 shows a beam transformation of the light coming from the LEDs by means of fibers, wherein each of the individual fibers is assigned to an emitter. The light from the LEDs is transferred to an integrator through the optical fibers or through fiber arrays. Color management is achieved by switching the individual color LEDs on and off in accordance with the generated color signals. A display computer synchronizes switching the LEDs on and off to correspond to the image data supplied by a computer.
Color combiners for superimposing the individual colors, for example, are proposed for a multi-channel application.
The disadvantages of the known solutions lie, for the most part, in the inefficient use of the light flux emitted by the LEDs during mixing into fibers or a light-mixing rod. Color mixing using dichroitic prism arrays also has its limits in terms of the size and efficiency of the illumination module.
Based on the above, the underlying goal of the invention is to further develop an illumination module, using LEDs as light sources, in such a way that, while minimizing the size of the module, the light efficiency of each of the three base colors of the LEDs, allowing for the technically available light flux, is increased.


A covered vehicle accessory such as a vanity mirror visor includes a socket for receiving at least one pivot axle of the cover. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a generally C-shaped spring compressibly engages a mirror frame on one side and a cam extending from the cover on a side opposite the front of the frame. The C-shaped spring includes first and second legs which respectively engage the frame and cover. The spring is locked in place in part by a tab formed in the frame and an aperture formed in the spring for receiving the tab and mating inclined walls of the frame and leg segment of the spring. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, also, the cover includes at least one pivot axle having an extension with an electrical contact which engages an electrical contact associated with the frame to define a switch which allows the application of operating power to a lamp associated with the illuminated vanity mirror structure upon opening of the cover.

The present invention relates to the mounting of a cover to a vehicle accessory such as an illuminated vanity mirror visor.
Vanity mirrors in vehicle visors are typically covered by a decorative and protective cover such that when the visor is in a lowered use position for sun blocking, the vanity mirror is covered when the mirror is not in use for safety reasons. The cover can be pivoted to a snapped-open position, typically activating lights for illumination of the vanity mirror for use. The cover, therefore, provides not only a safety function, but also a decorative function preventing reflections from the vanity mirror when not in use from distracting the vehicle operator. U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,150 issued on Mar. 24, 1992, discloses an illuminated vanity mirror visor of this type.
Covers for vanity mirrors and other vehicle accessories typically have been molded as a single polymeric member. They usually include some form of bias means such that the cover will conveniently move to a snapped-open or snapped-closed position for ease of operation. There is a variety of manners by which this has been achieved in the past, including providing a cam directly on the pivot sockets for the visor cover as taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,169, issued in July, 1980. Separate springs anchored to a vanity mirror frame and engaging a cam member on the visor hinge have been used for many years by Daimler-Benz in commercially-available visors as well. U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,150 also teaches the use of a spring clip which extends between a visor core and a visor cover to provide snapped-open and closed visor cover operation as does U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,445, issued Jan. 7, 1992. A difficulty with some of the prior art spring-type cover controls is that they require the springs to be either integrally molded within the mirror frame or require a special and somewhat complicated mounting structure for the frame and/or the cover for holding the spring in place when subjected to the various forces encountered in use. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a spring-biased, snapped-open and snapped-closed cover for vehicle accessories such as a vanity mirror visor in which the cover and supporting frame are readily manufactured and assembled with the spring being easily added to the combination of the cover and frame and providing the desired control for the cover.


A recommendation system generates customized recommendations for social network members. The outputs for recommended content are personalized based on members' explicit and implicit interests derived from user actions, content selections, etc.

Recommender systems are well known in the art. In one example, such systems can make recommendations for movie titles to a subscriber. In other instances they can provide suggestions for book purchases, or even television program viewing. Such algorithms are commonplace in a number of Internet commerce environments, including at Amazon, CDNOW, and Netflix to name a few, as well as programming guide systems such as TiVO.
Traditionally recommender systems are used in environments in which a content provider is attempting to provide new and interesting material to subscribers, in the form of additional products and services. In some cases (see e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,703 incorporated by reference herein) recommenders have been employed for the purpose of informing members of an online community of content and/or preferences of other members. Nonetheless the use of recommenders has not been extended fully to such domains and other online areas, including social networks, which could benefit from such systems. Only recently for example have recommenders been proposed for generating user to user recommendations in a music related community. See e.g., US Publication No. 2007/0203790 to Torrens, incorporated by reference herein. Similar systems which recommend content/users are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,703 to Knight et al., also incorporated by reference herein.
Multi-dimensional recommenders have also been recently introduced. For an example of such systems, please see U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0103092 to Tuzhilin et al. and an article entitled "Incorporating Contextual Information in Recommender Systems Using a Multidimensional Approach" to Adomavicius et al., both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. In such systems, however, the extra dimensionality arises from additional content related to items which are nonetheless still traditional commerce items, such as movies.

Content recommendations for social networks


A combination jarring tool and disconnect device is disclosed in which the jarring events may be followed by separate disconnect event, or in which the jarring events may coincide with disconnect events. The tool generally comprises a housing and a sleeve in concentric arrangement and a disconnect interface. A plurality of axial and rotational locks is used to prevent premature energization of the jarring and disconnect events.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a tool useful in the oil and gas industry to free and/or disconnect from equipment stuck in a subterranean well, and more particularly to a tool for jarring loose stuck equipment and/or disconnecting from equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is not surprising that tools and equipment used in drilling subterranean oil and gas wells sometimes become stuck downhole. Generally, as a well's depth increases so does its deviation from straight or at least from the intended path. When a tool or other piece of equipment becomes stuck downhole, the art provides various devices to unstick the tool or, oftentimes as a last result, to disconnect from the stuck tool.
This application for patent discloses and claims an improved combination jar or bumper tool and disconnect device.


A simulation system is provided for simulating behavior of a device for implementing an algorithm using a software model and a hardware model which are converted to a common programming language and mathematical notation. The simulation system uses the same input user interface for the software model and the hardware model. Further, the simulation system uses the same output user interface for generating the simulation results for both the software model and the hardware model in the common programming language and mathematical notation, thereby allowing a user to easily verify and analyze the software and hardware simulation results for optimization of the device.

The present invention relates generally to software and hardware designs and more particularly to the verification of software and hardware designs.
Electronic Design Automation (EDA) is a computer-based tool configured to provide designers with automated tools for designing and verifying user""s custom circuit designs, such as integrated circuit or printed circuit board designs. EDA is used for creating, analyzing, and editing any electronic design for the purpose of simulation, prototyping, execution, or computing. EDA technology can also be used to develop systems that will use the user-designed subsystem or component. The end result of EDA is a modified and enhanced design that is an improvement over the original design.
The use of software simulation and hardware simulation for a design is commonly known as cooperative design, or co-design, and is recognized in various industries that use and benefit from EDA technology. To optimize a co-design, it is desirable to perform software and hardware simulation and verification at the same time. This would allow a designer to consider the tradeoffs between the software and hardware simulations simultaneously. However, current software and hardware co-design simulations and verifications are cumbersome for the user because of the separate and independent nature of two processes. One problem is that most software designs and its simulation results use the floating-point environment (data format) while most hardware designs and its simulation results use the fixed-point environment. Since the simulation results of the software designs and the corresponding hardware designs are in different environments, it is difficult to verify or compare the software and hardware simulation results.
Another problem is that most software and hardware co-design tools in the market are inflexible. Specifically, it is difficult to integrate the tools of one supplier into the products of another. To avoid the problem of integrating tools from various suppliers, users often purchase both software and hardware co-design tools from one supplier. As a result, the users"" choice for upgrading either the software tool or the hardware tool is limited.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and an apparatus that allow for the co-verification of software and hardware designs and the integration of software and hardware co-design tools manufactured by different suppliers.
The present invention provides a simulation system for simulating behavior of a device for implementing an algorithm using a software model and a hardware model which are converted to a common programming language and mathematical notation. The simulation system uses the same input user interface for the software model and the hardware model. Further, the simulation system uses the same output user interface for generating the simulation results for both the software model and the hardware model in the common programming language and mathematical notation, thereby allowing a user to easily verify and analyze the software and hardware simulation results.
The present invention further provides a simulation system which allows the integration of design tools from multiple suppliers. This would permit a user to mix and match the design tools to provide an optimized simulation system for an optimized device design.
The present invention further provides a simulation system which generates both software simulation results and hardware simulation results in a fixed-point data format to allow for easy verification and analysis of the software and hardware simulation results.
The present invention further provides a simulation system which uses ANSI-C programs and a fixed-point C library in the software model and Verilog Files and PLI-C programs in the hardware model to generate software simulation results and hardware simulation results in a fixed-point data format. The use of a common data format allows the generation of the software simulation results and the hardware simulation results using a common output user interface. This also allows a user to easily verify and analyze the software and hardware simulation results.
The present invention still further provides a simulation system which includes an output user interface that can be configured to generate algorithm simulation results for the software model in a fixed-point data format. This would allow the algorithm simulation to use the same output user interface as the software model. By using a common output user interface a user can easily analyze the software simulation results, the hardware simulation results, and the algorithm simulation results.
The above and additional advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Method and apparatus for adaptive co-verification of software and hardware designs


A component is adapted for assembly to a panel at a desired location. The component includes a body and at least one fastener threadingly received in the body, the fastener having a head and a threaded shaft, the head extending outwardly from the body a predetermined distance and adapted to be received through an aperture in the panel. The head is adapted to temporarily hold the component on the panel before final assembly, and the threaded shaft is adapted to be driven by a tool which turns the shaft in a direction causing the head to draw toward the panel. A locating member is disposed on the body at a predetermined position and is adapted to couple with a complementary member disposed on the panel when the component is at the desired location.

Automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are continually improving quality at competitive cost and weight. Automotive assembly plants strive to improve productivity per production line worker in order to achieve a competitive edge. High speed production line rates may have cycle times of one minute or less. During each cycle, an operator may perform several tasks. Some of these tasks may include retrieving a part from a part bin/rack, retrieving appropriate fasteners from another part bin/rack, aligning and seating the part in the proper location, retrieving a fastening tool, and securing one or more fasteners to the proper torque. In addition, some or all of these tasks may be performed while the operator keeps pace with the vehicle as it moves along the assembly line.
Various drawbacks in performing these tasks may in some instances occur. For example, if the operator needs to hold the part in place while securing it, he/she may inadvertently drop the part while retrieving the fastening tool. In some cases, the dropped part may need to then be scrapped and replaced. Further, the operator may misalign the part while securing it to the vehicle. Another potential drawback is that it may become undesirably time consuming for the operator to choose between various fastening tools which may be necessary for various fasteners.
As such, it would be desirable to provide a component assembly which allows temporary hands free operation, aligns relatively easily, and may be secured by standard tools.

Method and apparatus for assembling a component to a panel


Methods and systems are provided for initiating an SMS-message-forwarding function on a mobile device. In one embodiment, the mobile device detects a first command to direct a wireless-service-provider network to initiate a call-forwarding function for the mobile device. Responsive to detecting the first command, the mobile device initiates an SMS-message-forwarding function on the mobile device.

As the use of mobile devices increases, forwarding services related to mobile-device use have become more widespread. As examples, call forwarding and Short Message Service (SMS)-message forwarding have become increasingly popular.
Call forwarding is a feature that allows incoming calls to a user's mobile device to be redirected (or forwarded) to an alternate mobile device or to a landline device, as examples. Typically, a user uses call forwarding for a mobile device when the user cannot—or does not want to—be reached at the user's mobile device, but can be—or prefers to be—reached at an alternate mobile device or at a landline device. In some implementations, the user's mobile device will ring once to remind the user that an incoming call is being forwarded to an alternate mobile device or to a landline device. In other implementations, the user's mobile device will give no indication of a call being forwarded.
Similar to call forwarding, SMS-message forwarding is a feature that allows incoming SMS messages sent to a user's mobile device to be redirected to an alternate mobile device or to an e-mail address, as examples. A user of a mobile device may use this feature when the user needs to or prefers to receive incoming messages at an alternate device or e-mail address, as examples. Note that the SMS-message-forwarding function may be implemented on the network side or by the user's mobile device. That is, in some implementations, once SMS forwarding has been activated, messages addressed to the user's mobile device may be delivered to the forwarding device or address without ever reaching the user's mobile device. In other implementations, however, the user's mobile device may receive the messages, and then forward them on to the forwarding device or address.

Methods and systems for initiating forwarding of SMS messages


A method of extending user profile. A user specific data related to an application is received and stored for integration with a user profile. A template for the application is received and stored. The template tailors the user specific data based on aesthetic preferences of the user to generate a tailored user specific data. The user profile is extended based on the user specific data for the application and the template for the application. The user profile including the tailored user specific data may be provided for rendering. Local information, e.g., geographical location, of the user may be determined to tailor the user profile based on the local information. The user specific data and/or the template may be in a markup language format. Update to the user specific data and/or template may be pushed when available.

The widespread use and increasing development of the Internet has allowed exchanges of information in ways previously not possible. The Internet has allowed social networks to now be made available online. Social networks enable users to publish and share information, e.g., their name, school, metropolitan groups, events, activities, interests, etc., with the people they care about and to interact with other users online. For example, commercial social networking sites such as MySpace™, Facebook™, Orkut™, etc., are now a common place for online users, especially among the younger generation.
In general, users of social network sites can publish and customize their profiles based on the capabilities and limitations of the social network site. For example, users can publish information by filling in specific boxes provided by the social network site. Furthermore, users can rearrange how the entered information is being published and rendered, thereby tailoring the published profile to their personal preferences given the capabilities of the commercial social networking sites.
Unfortunately, users are unable to customize their profile beyond the limitations provided by the social network site. For example, users that wish to publish their latest result, e.g., their score and level completed, in playing a set top console game device such as, for example, X-Box™, PlayStation™, Nintendo™, etc. are unable to do so if the social network does not provide an input mean for entering and publishing that information. In other words, applications to be rendered and published by a given social network site is limited to the specific implementation of the site and is non-extendable. As such, it is difficult to aggregate additional information, beyond what is offered by social network sites, to become part of the user profile.
Publishing to a typical user profile requires the user to manually enter the information to be published as part of the user profile. For example, a user is required to manually enter information about a given application to be published as part of the user profile, e.g., level and score achieved in a particular game. In other words, there is no automatic mean of capturing information related to a given application to be published and rendered by the social network site except by requiring the user to manually enter that information.
Moreover, a user is required to manually enter updated information in order to reflect new developments in order to update the user profile. For example, the user is required to manually enter new results for a given game, e.g., completed level 4 with the score of 613, in order to update a previously accomplished result, e.g., completed level 3 with the score of 200. In other words, updating user profile is performed manually as new information becomes available.


A method and system for forwarding information, such as a message waiting indicator (MWI) message, to a telephone number corresponding to a foreign network (e.g., a wireless network) and a shared NPA/NXX—The invention evaluates individual telephone numbers of shared NPA/NXXs to determine to what networks to send messages. A representative embodiment of the invention uses a service control point and service package application to deliver an MWI message from a messaging service provider to a wireless (i e., foreign network) telephone number of a shared NPA/NXX, Shared NPA/NXXs are marked as “portable” in a signal transfer point for forwarding to the service control point, which determines whether the shared NPA/NXX telephone numbers require local number portability global title translation or should be forwarded to an inter-switch voicemail routing (ISVMR) service package application. The ISVMR service package application determines the point code to which the MWI message should be routed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of switched telephony, and more particularly, to a method and system for integrating wireless telephones into a wireline messaging environment.
2. Background of the Invention
With the proliferation of wireless communication networks, many telephone customers now use a combination of wireline and wireless telephones to meet their communication needs. Indeed, it is not uncommon for a single user to have more than one telephone line at home, more than one telephone line at work, and at least one wireless telephone. Telephone customers have come to depend on the flexibility of this combination to communicate irrespective of location.
However, having multiple wireline and wireless telephone numbers presents problems retrieving telephone messages. Usually, a caller who calls a user who subscribes to multiple telephone lines dials one of the user's telephone numbers. If the user is away from the particular device that is called and does not answer the call, the caller typically leaves a message on a voicemail system. In the past, such voicemail systems have been isolated on the network of the particular telephone line that is called. Thus, to retrieve all messages, a user had to check the voicemail system of each network separately.
Recognizing the trouble of constantly checking multiple voicemail systems, messaging service providers (MSPs) developed voicemail systems that integrate incoming messages across different networks. Thus, for example, a user could direct all messages for her wireline and wireless telephone lines to a single voicemail box. Consequently, the user would need only to check a single voicemail box to retrieve all messages.
According to these standard voicemail systems, a voicemail platform is in communication with a central office switch. The central office switch is in communication with the wireline and wireless networks. Unanswered calls to a subscriber's wireline and wireless telephone numbers are routed to the voicemail platform through the central office. Thus, regardless of the particular telephone number the caller dials, all voicemail messages end up in the same voicemail platform.
Despite providing centralized voicemail boxes, these integrated voicemail services present difficulties in notifying a user of the receipt of a message. Specifically, because all unanswered calls are forwarded through the central office to the voicemail platform, the voicemail platform is responsible for activating message waiting indicators on all of the associated telephones (e.g., a stutter dial tone, an illuminated light, or a displayed icon). Thus, for example, if a user away from his work office receives an unanswered call to his wireline office telephone, and the call is forwarded to the voicemail platform, which records a message, then, ideally, the user would want to receive a message waiting indicator on his wireless telephone to report to him that he has received a new voicemail message. This notification would avoid the burden of constantly checking the voicemail for messages received through a remote telephone. Similarly, if the user is in his office and receives a message through an unanswered call to his wireless telephone, which is turned off or out of range, the user would want to receive an indication of the message on his office wireline telephone.
To provide message waiting indicators on all of a user's associated telephones, wireline network providers developed methods for supporting messaging from the voicemail platform to a "foreign network." As used herein, "foreign network" refers to a network that is not local to the network including the central office switch that serves the message provider. This local central office switch is sometimes referred to herein as the host switch.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical method and system for providing messaging from a voicemail platform to a foreign network. Messaging service provider 100 contains a telephone list 102 indicating telephone numbers that a subscriber to the messaging service has associated with her voicemail box. An unanswered call to any of the listed telephone numbers is routed to messaging service provider 100 for the recording of a message and the indicating of the recorded message. In this example, the subscriber has associated with the messaging service a wireline telephone number, 404-332-212X, and two wireless telephone numbers, 404-792-123X and 404-792-100X.
Telephone list 102 also contains an activation flag indicating whether the subscriber has subscribed to the message waiting indicator (MWI) feature for the particular telephone number (device). In some instances, for example, on a seldom-used mobile telephone, a subscriber might not care to have nor want to pay for an MWI displayed on the telephone. In this example, the subscriber has opted for the MWI feature on two telephone lines, 404-332-212X and 404-792-123X.
Once messaging service provider 100 receives an unanswered call to one of the three telephone numbers and records a message, messaging service provider 100 sends an MWI message for each of the activated telephone numbers on list 102, For the wireline telephone number, messaging service provider 100 transmits an MWI message to a host switch 104 using Inter-switch Simplified Message Desk Interface (ISMDI). Host switch 104 is a central office switch. ISMDI is a signaling interface used by a messaging service provider to support incoming call and message waiting integration between all supported switches in a Local Access and Transport Area (LATA). Simplified Message Desk Interface (SMDI) defines signaling between a messaging system and a central office switch, which defines the original intended destination of a forwarded call.
After receiving an MWI message for the wireline telephone number 404-332-212X, host switch 104 determines if it "owns" (i.e., is associated with) the NPA/NXX (NPA—Numbering Plan Area/NXX—a specific central office) corresponding to the telephone number, and further, if it owns the particular number (last four digits). In this example, host switch 104 does own 404-332-212X. Therefore, host switch 104 activates an MWI on the subscriber's wireline telephone 106, which could be a stutter dial tone, for example.
For the wireless telephone number 404-792-123X, messaging service provider 100 forwards to host switch 104 an ISMDI MWI message that references the wireless telephone number. Host switch 104 determines that it does not own 404-792, and in response, forwards to a signal transfer point 108 an MWI message using a non-call-associated Signaling System 7 (SS7) signaling protocol, such as Transaction Capability Application Part (TCAP).
Wireline network signal transfer point 108 contains a table 110 that cross-references NPA/NXXs with network point codes. Point codes identify every node in the SS7 network in the format NKN CCC XXX, where NNN is a network identifier, CCC is a cluster identifier, and XXX is the node identifier. In this example, table 110 shows that 404-792 corresponds to point code 001.002.052. With this routing information, wireline network signal transfer point 108 transmits a TCAP message to wireless network signal transfer point 112, which services the wireless network 114 corresponding to point code 001.002.052. In this example, wireless network 114 is the foreign network.
Within wireless network 114, protocol gateway 116 translates the TCAP MWI message to a signaling protocol compatible with the wireless network, for example, Interim Standard 41 (IS41). After the translation, protocol gateway 116 transmits an MWI message through mobile switching center 118 and antenna 120 to the subscriber's wireless telephone 122. In response to the MWI message, wireless telephone 122 indicates that a message has been recorded in messaging service provider 100 by, for example, displaying an icon on its screen.
According to the conventional method shown in FIG. 1, routing is based on the 6-digit NPA/NXX, relying on the fact that the networks to which the foreign network telephone numbers belong (which, in this example, are wireless telephone numbers of a wireless network) can be identified based solely on the NPA/NXX. In other words, the method assumes that each NPA/NXX, as a block of 10,000 telephone numbers, is wholly owned by a single foreign network carrier (e.g., a single wireless carrier). Under this assumption, the host wireline telephone network can route all calls for a NPA/NXX to a particular trunk group of a foreign network carrier.
Unfortunately, not all NPA/NXXs are wholly owned by a single carrier. In fact, within a block of 10,000 telephone numbers in a NPA/NXX, some numbers may be assigned to the wireline network, some may be assigned to a wireless network, and still others may be assigned to other wireline and wireless networks. As used herein, a "shared NPA/NXX" refers to this situation, in which the block of 10,000 telephone numbers in an NPA/NXX is assigned to more than one entity. Therefore, to forward message waiting indicator messages to the proper foreign network carrier of a particular foreign network telephone number, the routing network must distinguish the foreign network telephone numbers from the other network numbers on a more granular basis. In other words, the routing network must identify the different networks to which individual telephone numbers within a single shared NPA/NXX belong.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

BellSouth Intellectual Property Corporation


An R—Fe—B base sintered magnet having a composition of 12–17 at % of R (wherein R stands for at least two of yttrium and rare earth elements and essentially contains Nd and Pr), 0.1–3 at % of Si, 5–5.9 at % of B, 0–10 at % of Co, and the balance of Fe, containing a R2(Fe,(Co),Si)14B intermetallic compound primary phase and at least 1% by volume of an R—Fe(Co)—Si grain boundary phase, and being free of a B-rich phase exhibits a coercive force of at least 10 kOe despite a reduced content of heavy rare earth.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to R—Fe—B base sintered magnets containing silicon as additive element.
2. Background Art
Prior art R—Fe—B base sintered magnets, for example, those described in Japanese Patent Nos. 1,431,617 and 1,655,487 are utilized in a variety of applications for their excellent magnetic properties. Typically Nd and Pr are used as the rare earth R, but as such, temperature characteristics are undesirable. Then partial replacement of R by Dy or Tb is employed for increasing the coercive force at room temperature as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 1,802,487.
R—Fe—B base sintered magnets are structured such that a hard magnetic phase of R2Fe14B is present as a primary phase, and grain boundary moieties surround primary phase grains. The grain boundary moieties are composed of an R-rich phase (a phase containing 80–98 at % R) and a phase represented by the composition R1+εFe4B4 (ε=0.1 in the event R=Nd) or R2Fe7B6, known as B-rich phase. The structure further includes oxide, carbide and other phases which are inevitably introduced by the manufacturing process.
It is also known that various elements when added form compound phases such as RM2, R3M and R5M3 wherein M is an additive element.
One of the additive elements commonly added to Nd magnets is silicon. See Japanese Patent Nos. 2,138,001, 1,683,213, 1,737,613, and 2,610,798, JP-A 60-159152 and JP-A 60-106108. In these patents, silicon is added mainly for the purposes of improving temperature characteristics or oxidation resistance.
As to the addition of Si to Nd magnets, it is known that the extent of improvement is not so great when added in trace amounts, whereas addition of 1% or more can degrade the magnetic properties such as Br and iHc.
As mentioned above, heavy rare earths are often used for increasing the coercive force. Since the heavy rare earths such as Dy and Tb are present in less reserves in the crust than light rare earths, their cost is very high as compared with Nd. The coercive force increases with the increasing amount of Dy or Tb added, but the material cost increases at the same time. As the magnet market will expand from now on, magnets containing high concentrations of Dy and Tb will become in short supply, which poses a problem.
A study is thus made on additives other than Dy and Tb as another means for increasing coercive force.
Of other additives, V, Mo, Ga and the like have been reported to have a coercive force increasing effect. However, they belong to the rare metal family and offer little advantages as the replacement for Dy.
In order that R—Fe—B base magnets adapted for high-temperature use find a large market in the future, it is requisite to have a novel method or magnet composition that can increase the coercive force while minimizing the amount of Dy added.


A method for call distribution is disclosed, where an incoming call is forwarded by a switching device to a call distribution device via dialing information input by the caller. The call distribution apparatus device checks whether the dialing information contains permissible inquiry information. If this is not so, the caller is requested to input inquiry information by an interactive voice response device. The call distribution apparatus causes the call to be switched to an agent responsible for the specified inquiry via the switching device via the inquiry information contained in the dialing information or interrogated by the voice response device.

Call centers are gaining increasing significance in the considerable expansion of communication capabilities currently taking place. As a rule, such a call center has a call distribution device via which incoming calls are switched to a multiplicity of so-called agents who or which process the incoming calls. As a rule, agents are persons, but they also can be other information sources such as a database, a voice dialog system, a voice response device, recorded announcement machines or fax machines. Call centers can be used in many different ways; e.g., for customer service by telephone or for other services which can be provided by telephone.
A call distribution device of a call center is frequently called an ACD (Automatic Call Distribution) unit. Such a call distribution device essentially has the task of accepting the incoming calls and either forwarding them to a free agent or, if no agent is available, entering the call into a waiting loop.
Up to date call centers frequently have an interactive voice dialog or voice response device which accepts an incoming call in order to interrogate the caller for inquiry information on the purpose or the type of intended inquiry. Such a voice dialog device is frequently called an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) device. Such inquiry information can specify, for example, a certain process, task, agent, a request or a serving or processing category. Such inquiry information is frequently called ticket number. Depending on the inquiry information interrogated, the incoming call is subsequently switched to an agent responsible for the specified inquiry.
According to the prior art, if no responsible agent is currently available after the interrogation of an inquiry information item, the caller must remain in a waiting loop until a responsible agent becomes available. Since the waiting takes place with the connection established, call charges are continuously incurred during the waiting time and, as a rule, debited to the caller. In addition, existing connections in the waiting state occupy information data channels and other system resources of the call center in a nonproductive manner.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to specify a method for call distribution in a call center which permits incoming calls to be distributed more efficiently. It is also an object of the present invention to specify a call distribution apparatus for implementing the method according to the present invention.

Method for call distribution in a call center and associated call distribution apparatus


A patient gurney with adjustable hand holds for easy carrying. The hand holds are spaced from the plane of the bed of the gurney and are arranged so that one set may above that plane and one set below so that the device may be readily carried down stairways. A locking device contained within a tubular collar on a rail of the gurney is used to hold the hand holds in position.

This invention pertains to a gurney or stretcher adapted to carry a disabled patient from one place to another, ordinarily from the locale of the disablement to an ambulance.
In most cases of sudden disablement whether by illness such as stroke or heart attack or by sudden accidental injury, it is necessary to transport the patient from the locale where the disablement occurred to an ambulance and then to a hospital or similar facility. Present gurneys or stretchers are adequate in many instances where the patient and the ambulance are near the same level. However, where it may be necessary to go up or down stairs, the use of a current type of device may be difficult. The carrying of a stretcher having only a straight rod for a handle when that rod must be carried at a considerable slope is difficult enough. Further, the patient in some cases is apt to be tilted more than may be desirable.
By the present invention a gurney is provided having handles placed and adapted to give the handlers a much easier and more convenient device to use on stairways and steep slopes. The handles are moveable between positions to make the device adaptable to carrying uses.

Patient gurney with adjustable hand holds


A hexagonal head wrench having a body, six sides and six corners. A protuberance is formed on each corner. Each protuberance has two oppositely oriented flank members angled at a predetermined angle outwardly and away from each corner. Engagement of the wrench with a fastener occurs on a portion of each respective flank member distal from the corner. Continued application of torque progressively radially engages each flank member with the fastener.

The present invention relates to a hex head wrench and in particular to a hex head wrench which has angled flank surfaces which progressively engage a fastener.
The hex head wrench is widely used with fasteners having a hexagonal opening in the head of the fastener. The commonly used wrench has six driving surfaces which engage the sides of the opening in the fastener and which imparts high stress on the corner portions of the wrench when torque is applied. In order to reduce this problem, U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,075 to Strauch et al disclose a screwing tool having flank sections which are convex in a circumferential direction and in which the central region of each flank has a non-convex intermediate section. Another approach to the problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,083,092 to Richer. A screw and a cooperating wrench have a series of alternating concave and convex arcs tangentially joining one another so as to form a plurality of equispaced inflections. Goss et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,190 disclose a torque transmitting arrangement for a fastener drive system. The externally configured and the internally configured components are both provided with a series of mating, elliptically curved flutes and lobes.
The applicant is also aware of the following U.S. Patents which disclose tools for driving a fastener.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,105 Burt et al PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,246 Larson et al PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,835 Simons PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,598 Wolfram PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,279 Strauch
However, none of these patents disclose a wrench, and especially a hexagonal wrench, with a driving portion which has flank surfaces and radial surfaces to reduce stress and to transmit torque.


A master slave architecture includes a common power supply on a common distribution bus that is used by the master to provide a separate alarm power bus to all of the slaves for powering their individual alarm monitoring circuits for providing the capability to detect an open circuit or loss of power to the slave, and to eliminate hot signals which might otherwise result in CMOS latchup in the slaves; individual slaves having alarm conditions may be individually identified by using an alarm inventory bus.

In developing a termination system of the type described in the cross-referenced application, a need developed to detect alarms relating to a loss of power in a plug-in unit. Because of the plug-ins limited number of input/output pins, power and cost considerations, previously used methods were not a good choice. For example, previously used methods included using a supervisory resister which would draw a current in the event of an open circuit downstream thereof. The prior art of a current source to a resistor cannot identify which unit fails. A similar technique will be used on the line side of a fuse in a printed circuit board to detect an open therein or some other open circuit condition.

Alarm collection architecture with redundant bus


An apparatus for magnetic therapy of eye conditions such as cataracts, eye floaters, chronic glaucoma, age-related maculopathy, diabetic retinopathy, dry eyes, watery eyes and myopia is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a combination of two bi-polar magnets enclosed in a supportive cover that saddles the upper rim of regular eyeglasses. The magnets are placed in a proper position in front of the affected eye and their polarity can be changed at any time without any difficulty. The magnets are preferably solid discs of Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) with a surface strength of 1300 to 1800 gauss.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a simple magnetic apparatus for the treatment of cataracts and other eye conditions.
2. Description of Related Art
Cataract is the leading cause of blindness in the world today, while age-related macular degeneration is responsible for the majority of new cases of visual impairment in the western world. It is estimated that in 2004, 1.75 million U.S. residents have significant symptoms associated with age-related macular degeneration. The challenge is awesome: More than 160 million people have visual impairment, with three quarters of the cases related to cataract and two thirds of them avoidable. Sixty percent of world blindness occurs in China, India and Sub-Saharan Africa; blindness numbers are estimated to be increasing at the rate of more than 2 million cases annually; and as the population ages, the number of people older than 45 years is expected to double by the year 2020.
Cataract is treated with surgery because no other medical treatment has been found to prevent or to reverse senile cataract. However cataract surgery involve certain risks. Park and Kim reporting on 35 eyes of 35 patients they found that tear occurred during phacoemulsification in 51.4% of cases, during irrigation and aspiration in 34.4%, and during capsulorrhexis or lens implantation in the remainder. After the tear had occurred, careful and adequate vitrectomy, attention to lens positioning and anterior chamber reconstruction allowed a final vision of 0.8 or better in 60% of eyes, and 0.5% or better in 77.1%.
Furthermore cataract surgery increases the risk for late age-related maculopathy (ARM). The Beaver Dam eye study found an association of cataract and subsequent risk for early ARM.
Nevertheless surgical removal remains the standard treatment for cataract now and in the foreseeable future. Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgery in the United States, with over 1.5 million cataract surgeries done each year. Nine out of 10 people who have cataract surgery regain very good vision, somewhere between 20/20 and 20/40. The worldwide burden of this problem is immense. While results for the treatment of cataracts are excellent today, improvements in safety and refraction precision are needed. Other approaches are desperately needed to stem the worldwide tide of cataract related ocular dysfunction.
Alternative approaches to the treatment of cataracts exist. Among the alternative approaches is the use of magnetic therapy. Magnetic therapy is the application of magnetic fields on parts of the body to speed healing, relieve pain and inflammation, and improve bodily function. Possible beneficial effects on blood flow in and around the optic nerve head and on direct protection of retinal ganglion cells, so-called neuroprotection, may be attained by the use of magnetotherapy.
In recent times, the biological effects of magnetic fields have been studied in Japan, the Soviet Union, Europe and the United States. Most of the Japanese products used in magnetic therapy are bipolar in the sense that when they are used, they apply both North and South pole magnetic energies to the body. Numerous theories and hypothesis have been proposed to explain the observed effects, but at this time there is still no single explanation, which is accepted as definitive.
A U.S. researcher, Albert Roy Davis, is credited with the discovery of that the two poles of a magnet have different and essentially opposite effects on both living and non-living systems, and contrary to the action of most of the Japanese devices, the energy from essentially one pole or other is used. These polar effects are deemed monopolar for one pole. The poles spin in opposite directions and have opposite properties. Specifically North Pole energies rotate in a counter-clockwise direction and have been found to cause mass to contract and condense. On the other hand, South Pole energies rotate in a clockwise direction and cause mass to expand and dissipate.
McLaughlan at Oxford University reported effects by very weak magnetic fields on chemical reactions and suggests that they are influencing the spin state of electrons in such a way to slow down their reaction.

Magnetic apparatus for the treatment of cataracts and other eye conditions


An optical film having an optically-transparent substrate, and a low refractive index layer having a thickness d on one side of the optically-transparent substrate, a polarizing plate and a display panel provided with the same, and a display provided with the same.

It is required for an image display surface of displays of, for example, TVs, PCs, mobile phones, GPS (global positioning system), car navigations, graphics tablets, CAD (Computer aided design system), handheld game machines, portable audios, etc. to decrease reflection from light ray irradiated by external light source such as fluorescent light, sunlight, etc., and increase its visibility. Conventionally, by providing an antireflection film on the display surface of a display utilizing the phenomenon that the reflectiveness decreases when a surface of a clear object is covered by a clear film (low refractive index layer) having low refractive index, the reflectiveness of display surface is decreased and the visibility is improved.
As one way of lowering refractive index, there is a method of containing air having a refractive index of 1 inside of a low refractive index layer. For example, in Patent Literature 1, hollow particles, the inside of which are porous or hollow, are used to decrease the refractive index of a refractive index layer.
In such a low refractive index layer containing hollow particles, the hollow particles are effective for lowering refractive index, however, there are problems that the hardness of the hollow particles is low since the inside of the hollow particles are porous or hollow, thus, the hardness and abrasion resistance of the low refractive index layer itself is low. Particularly, if the hardness or abrasion resistance is low, the surface of the low refractive index layer is easily damaged when a sharp object contacts the surface, and when the surface is damaged, the visibility of the antireflection film decreases and it leads to the deterioration of the appearance.
With respect to this problem, Patent Literature 1 suggests using solid particles, the inside of which is neither porous nor hollow, having superior hardness to hollow particles, and further modifying the surface of the hollow particles and the solid particles with crosslink-forming groups having similar structure. Thereby, Patent Literature 1 mentions that the cross-linked hollow particles and solid particles are uniformly and densely filled in a low refractive index layer, and by the crosslinking, the abrasion resistance of the low refractive index layer (anti-reflection laminate) can be improved.
However, such an anti-reflection laminate of Patent Literature 1 can have a good anti-reflective property, but has problems such as increase in cost and decrease in adhesion due to increase in the amount of solid particles to be used, since hollow particles and solid particles are uniformly and densely filled in the low refractive index layer.
In addition, an optical film (anti-reflection laminate) excellent in hardness and abrasion resistance besides having high anti-reflective property is required.


A joint unit such as for mounting the vehicle control arm of a motor vehicle, is provided with a control arm-side housing (1), in which a pivot pin (2) is mounted pivotably by means of a spheroidal bearing surface (3), wherein the joint unit has a securing unit against the separation of the housing (1) from the pivot pin (2). The securing unit includes a securing bolt (9), arranged within the pivot pin (2) essentially in parallel to the central longitudinal axis of the pivot pin (2) and with a blocking element (12) at a free end. A securing mount (13) is located within the housing (1) or the pivot pin (2) and in this the blocking element (12) is mounted in a contactless manner in the mounted state of the joint unit. The securing mount (13) is part of the securing unit, and the securing bolt (9) is fixed to the component of the joint unit (housing (1) or pivot pin (2)) that is not provided with the securing mount (13). Redundant securing of a joint unit against separation of the housing (1) from the pivot pin (2), which is not visible from the outside and is thus advantageous from both a safety engineering viewpoint and a visual viewpoint is achieved.

Wheel suspensions in motor vehicles have different bearings and joints in terms of function depending on the requirements. The joints are used, for example, to make possible a relative motion of two components in a plurality of degrees of freedom. Moreover, joint units that possess special damping properties for vibrations introduced via the wheels of the motor vehicle are known as well.
The joint units used in chassis components are predominantly highly stressed safety components, which are designed usually according to the SafeLife principle, i.e., with multiple safety in a reliably operating manner for the entire service life of a motor vehicle. Nevertheless, events or highly unfavorable causal relationships are conceivable, in which total failure of the joint units usually used may occur.
For example, special wear of the bearing shell or of the pivot pin is conceivable, which may occur due to failure of the sealing systems used in such joint units, because dirt or water enters the interior of the joint. Complete separation of the unity between the housing and the pivot pin of the damaged joint unit would be the most serious consequence of such failure of the joint units. Such a case of separation of the essential components of the joint must be ruled out altogether for safety reasons.
Securing units that prevent complete separation of the housing from the pivot pin have become known from the state of the art for preventing such cases, so that a joint thus damaged still has an emergency running function, which offers the possibility for the vehicle to be transferred to the nearest workshop.
For example, DE 10 2004 055 961 A1 discloses a joint unit having the features forming this class, which is provided with a securing unit called a catching device there, in which at least one flexible catching belt or at least one securing strap with a recess is provided, into which recess a catching pin of the housing protrudes in a contactless manner during normal operation. Such a catching device can definitely prevent separation between the housing and the pivot pin, but it is inevitably always arranged in the outer area of the joint unit in question because of its structural dimensions, which are dictated by the design. However, the visual presence of the objectively desirable and necessary securing system causes a joint unit to be subjectively present for the user, which may not necessarily suggest, owing to its special embodiment, the safety of a joint unit, which would be provided with a redundant securing unit invisible from the outside.

Joint unit, preferably for mounting the chassis control arm of a motor vehicle


An improved high-fanin multiplexer that is highly-scalable, fast and area-efficient. In one embodiment of the present invention, multiple logic “legs” are attached to a common output line. Each leg comprises one pMOS pull-up transistor and one nMOS pull-down transistor. The gate of the pMOS transistor in each leg is connected to the output of an And-Or-Invert (AOI) gate whose inputs are connected to a plurality of select lines and a plurality of data lines. The gate of the nMOS transistor in each leg is connected to the output of an Or-And-Invert (OAI) gate whose inputs are connected to a plurality of select lines (the logical complements of the select lines for the AOI), and a plurality of data input lines. The high-fanin multiplexer of the present invention offers numerous advantages over the prior art. In particular, the high-fanin multiplexer of the present invention has very small self-loading allowing a large number of inputs while also maintaining a high fan out speed. In addition, the small input capacitive load allows the driving gates to be small, thereby conversing surface area within an integrated circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of multiplexers used in integrated circuits. More specifically, the method and apparatus of the present invention provides a fast, highly-scalable and area-efficient implementation of a high-fanin multiplexer for use in integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
The multiplexer is one of the most common circuits implemented in modern integrated circuits. In its most basic form, one of two input signals is selected as an output signal based on the value of a control signal. In more complex multiplexers, a plurality of control signals turn transfer gates on and off in accordance with predetermined rules to enable various data signals to be generated as outputs. Although it is possible for a multiplexer to accept a large number of input signals, it is generally difficult to scale a multiplexer and, therefore, there are practical limits to the number in inputs that can be accepted.
Multiplexers that accept a large number of inputs are often referred to as "high-fanin" multiplexers. There is often a need to implement high-fanin multiplexers in complex integrated circuits. One of the problems encountered with high-fanin multiplexers, however, is a significant increase in size and a significant decrease in speed as the number of inputs increases. The speed and area issues increase at a rate that is more than linear with the number of inputs. Most designs, therefore, limit the implementation to static multiplexers of six inputs or less. These smaller fanin multiplexers are then connected in series to provide a multiplexer module with the desired number of inputs.
It would be desirable, however, to have a high-fanin multiplexer that provides a larger number of inputs with a speed and area advantage over comparable multiplexers that are implemented by connecting a plurality of smaller fanin multiplexers in series. Such a high-fanin multiplexer is provided by the method and apparatus of the present invention, as described in more detail below.


Systems and methods for providing tissue-interfacing surface layers with increased roughness can be attained by providing a metallic powder to a machined or previously machined tissue-interfacing surface of a porous foam structure. The metallic powder can have sizes and characteristics such that the porous structure can have an increased roughness at the tissue-interfacing machined surface while inhibiting the occlusion of the open pores in the porous metallic foam structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to surface layers with increased roughness, and more particularly to a method for increasing the roughness of a tissue-engaging outer surface of a porous structure without altering the pore size and porosity of the structure, and to medical implants incorporating said porous structure with increased surface roughness.
2. Description of the Related Art
Especially in the medical fields, the surface of an implant, device, or other implement can significantly affect function. For example, attempts have been made to improve bone implant stability by increasing the roughness of the implant. Other attempts have been made to improve bone implant stability by providing pores in the implant for bone ingrowth.
One method of achieving bone ingrowth in implants that contact bone (e.g., orthopedic implants) includes sintering metallic bead surfaces onto a substrate. Other methods of achieving bone ingrowth in implants includes using a reticulated foam porous coating fabricated from titanium that incorporates an electrical discharge machined (EDM) surface treatment, an EDM surface with axial grooves, an EDM surface with cross-hatching, or a photo-etched surface. Foam metal implants have been shown to achieve greater bone ingrowth than sintered bead implants. See, Urban, Robert M. et al., "Biomechanical and Histological Response to a Novel Foam Metal Porous Coating with Comparison of Two Methods for Measuring Bone Ingrowth," Transactions of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society, p. 1854, Mar. 2-5, 2008.
However, production of a porous metallic foam ingrowth structure (e.g., one created by applying fine metal powder particles to all surfaces of a porous structure) can require a secondary machining step to obtain the desired shape and dimensions (e.g., tolerances) of the machined metal foam structure. Such machining can cause a loss of roughness on the machined surfaces (e.g., tissue-engaging outer surfaces). The roughness can be maintained or recovered using textured molds during sintering to pressure-sinter particles to a substrate without sacrificing texture for porous bead-coated implants. Alternatively, the roughness for a metallic foam can be maintained or recovered using electrical discharge machining ("EDM"), creating a cross-hatch pattern and, upon implantation, gaps between the grooves in the coating and bone. These mechanisms have thus far proved unsatisfactory in increasing the roughness of machined tissue-engaging outer surfaces of a porous metallic foam ingrowth structure while maintaining the pore size and porosity of the structure.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved method for providing a porous metallic foam structure with improved bone ingrowth characteristics that avoids the drawbacks discussed above.

Porous surface layers with increased surface roughness and implants incorporating the same


A heat rejection system for a solar power collector having an array of heliostat mirrors, the heat rejection system having a rail system supporting the array of heliostat mirrors, the rail system having a plurality of thermally conductive pipes, a reservoir positioned underground and connected to the rail system, a condenser connected to the thermally conductive pipes and the reservoir, and a coolant means circulating through the thermally conductive pipes, condenser and reservoir the heat rejection system operates as closed systems without the consumption of water and returns solar heat to the environment.

A solar power collection system is basically a heat based engine. For any heat based engine, heat is supplied and heat is exhausted. The usable work generated by an ideal heat engine is the difference between the heat supplied and the heat exhausted. In a heat engine, work is extracted during the flow of heat through the engine from a hot supply side to a point of lower thermal energy called a cold side. While heat supplied is considered the fuel of the system, heat rejection is imperative to avoid heating up the cold side to the point that it matches the hot supply side, causing the engine to cease operating. The efficiency of a heat engine is the percentage of how much initial supply side heat is converted into useful work, with the remainder to be exhausted, or rejected.
For a typical heat engine, fuel is brought in and converted into thermal energy for supply heat must be pushed beyond the heat engine, or the engine will heat up and cease to operate. Most heat rejection systems employ water to accomplish this, such as steam evaporation. Cooling of the steam from a vapor to a liquid requires significant heat rejection and is typically handled by using a cold water source. Traditionally, lakes and rivers were used to reject this heat because they provide an enormous capacity to accept and remove heat. However, water consumption, and the adverse effect thereof, is a concern in such heat rejection systems.
Some designs employ a radiator-like serpentine of pipes and heat fins that carry exhaust steam within, while sprinklers spray water mist over their outer surface, thereby cooling the steam and heating the environmental water. The supplied cooling water, which is now heated, cools naturally by accelerated evaporation that places large amounts of steam and humidity into the air. Again, the consumption of water is also an undesirable aspect of such designs.
In a solar power collection system, the supply heat is an indigenous component to the environment and is a natural component of the solar power collection system. The surface area of the solar power collection system, which is used to collect solar thermal energy as a source to a heat engine, is sufficient to accept and hold any rejected heat. More importantly, the eco-system of the area which supports the solar power collection system depends upon it.
An example of a heat engine may be found in a current method for the large scale collection and concentration of solar thermal energy. The heat engine uses an array of heliostat mirrors to reflect the sun's rays to a central receiver. By utilizing multiple heliostat mirrors in the array, each one reflecting to a common point, concentration of solar thermal energy is achieved.
In these known systems, heliostat mirrors are set in a fixed position surrounding the tower. The mirror surfaces are typically controlled in two degrees of motion to position the surface of the mirror with respect to the tower. Each heliostat mirror has a control system which tracks the motion of the sun with respect to the centrally located receiver. The mirror is continuously moved to maintain the solar reflection from the surface of the mirror onto the receiver. The purpose of positioning the heliostat mirrors being to reflect and direct the sun's rays to a designated central collection point, known as a central target receiver or a power tower. In order to accomplish this, the heliostat mirror requires a surface area of reflective mirror, two axes of motion, a servo motor for each axis of motion and a control system for positional calculation and motion control of the two axes.
There is a need for a solar power collector that is capable of sustaining the rejection of heat.

System and method for heat rejection in a solar power collection system


A portable computer includes a monitor, a base, and a hinge. The hinge includes a shaft sleeve, a rotary shaft, a driven element, and a resistance structure. The shaft sleeve is fixed to the base. The rotary shaft is fixed to the monitor and disposed in the shaft sleeve. The driven element is connected to and driven by the rotary shaft. The resistance structure is disposed adjacent to the driven element, wherein the driven element does not contact the resistance structure when the rotary shaft is rotated in a first angular range, and the driven element contacts the resistance structure and sustains a resistance when the rotary shaft is rotated in a second angular range.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hinge for a portable computer, and in particular relates to a hinge for a portable computer requiring less torque to open and greater torque to close.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a portable computer has a monitor 32 and a base 31 connected by a hinge (not shown). The hinge allows the monitor 32 to rotate with respect to the base 31. Currently, the torque required for operating a hinge of a portable computer is constant. Operation of a conventional hinge is described via a torque curve in the following:
FIG. 2 depicts a torque curve of a hinge for a portable computer, wherein the hinge does not maintain the monitor in a closed position. Rather, the monitor is locked in the closed position via a latch (not shown). To open the monitor, the latch must be released. As shown in FIG. 2, the required torque T is a constant A1 as the monitor is opened (θ=0°−180°) and a constant "A" as the monitor is closed (θ=180°−0°), wherein A1=0.7A−0.75A.
FIG. 3 depicts a torque curve of another hinge for a portable computer, wherein the hinge is capable of maintaining the monitor in a closed position. In this case, no latch is provided for locking the monitor in the closed position. It is noted that the torque is not zero at θ=0° for the hinge to position the monitor. Furthermore, the required torque T remains constant through most of the process of operation. Specifically, the required torque T is a constant A1 during opening of the monitor (θ=15°−180°) and a constant "A" during closing of the monitor (θ=180°−15°). In FIG. 3, A0=1.2A.
Different designs may have different structural specifications for hinges, although the performance of hinges in portable computers is similar. Thus, only the torque curves of the hinges have been described and structural descriptions of the hinges have been omitted.
To meet design requirements, the battery in a typical portable computer is generally disposed at the rear of the base and near the hinge. The battery is a heavy element in the portable computer. Such an arrangement concentrates the weight of the portable computer at the rear. As a possible result, the base is raised when the monitor is opened. Alternatively, after the monitor is rotated to an angle, the base may accidentally fall and collide with a table or be raised along with rotation of the monitor. Thus, the monitor must be opened with both hands.


A boot process security system includes a processing system including a plurality of registers, and at least one memory system that includes instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to provide a BIOS. During a Driver eXecution Environment (DXE) sub-process that is included in a boot process and that occurs prior to passing control of the boot process to any third-party drivers, the BIOS programs at least one of the plurality of registers in order to configure at least one secure subsystem. The BIOS then verifies, during the boot process, that the at least one secure subsystem has been configured to provide a predetermined configuration, and locks the at least one secure subsystem. The BIOS then confirms that the at least one secure subsystem has been locked prior to passing control of the boot process to any third-party drivers.

The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to a Basic Input Output System (BIOS) that is configured to ensure that boot operations are securely performed early in a boot process for the information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Security standards for information handling systems such as, for example, server devices, continue to become more and more stringent. For example, it is desirable to implement high security standards for the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) flash memory in the server device that is utilized to store BIOS code, System Management Mode (SMM) code, and/or other boot and runtime code known in the art, as without such security, the SPI flash memory, SMM runtime services, and/or other critical elements of the server device may be compromised. However, due to the large variety of different host processing systems (which may be provided by Central Processing Units (CPUs), chipsets, Platform Controller Hubs (PCHs), and/or other host processing system components known in the art), and their associated host processing system reference code that must be supported in order to provide the high security standards discussed above, the possibility arises that a boot process for the server device may provide for the misconfiguring or incorrect programming of security-related registers in the host processing system in a manner that can expose security holes or otherwise fail to meet the high security standards required by some server devices.
For example, the misconfiguration of an SPI flash memory descriptor in a register in the host processing system of server devices during its boot process can produce an associated security vulnerability in those server devices, and when such misconfigurations are provided as part of the boot process for server devices during the development of their associated server device platform, it requires a replacement of the BIOS in each server device that belongs to that server device platform in order to remedy that security vulnerability. Furthermore, the SPI flash memory descriptor provides a key component of the firmware write protection hardware features for the host processing system, and its misconfiguration further undermines the security of other secure subsystems in the server device in a manner that can allow, for example, arbitrary overwrites of the SPI flash memory that can operate to "brick", or otherwise render unusable, its associated server device. Conventional server devices sometimes include tools that are configured to perform basic checks on particular BIOS security features, but those tools operate subsequent to the completion of the boot process (e.g., in a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) shell, or within the operating system (as performed via CHIPSEC, Firmware Testing Suites (FWTSs), and/or other security testing subsystems known in the art)), which does not allow for the identification of security vulnerabilities that are exposed during the boot process (e.g., during the Power On Self Test (POST)), particularly those that may be exploited via the execution of option Read Only Memory (ROM), third party drivers, and/or other third party code
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide for improved boot process security.


The invention provides three human Rab proteins (RABP) and polynucleotides which identify and encode RABP. The invention also provides expression vectors, host cells, agonists, antibodies and antagonists. The invention also provides methods for treating disorders associated with expression of RABP.

Vesicle trafficking is defined as the vesicular transport of materials between different subcellular compartments of eukaryotic cells. Vesicles bud from a donor membrane and fuse with a recipient one carrying internalized materials from one site to another. Rab proteins, low molecular weight (LMW) guanidine triphosphatases (GTPases), belong to the Ras superfamily; they help regulate vesicular transport by directing the vesicles to and from the correct membrane surfaces (Novick, P. and Brennwald, P. (1993) Cell 75:597-601).
Rab proteins assist the binding of a transport vesicle to its proper acceptor membrane and initiate the membrane fusion process using the energy derived from the hydrolysis of GTP. Rab proteins have a highly variable amino terminus and a prenylated carboxy terminus. The amino terminus contains signal sequences, and the carboxy terminus determines the target membrane to which the Rab protein binds. The targeting process is assisted by a series of escort proteins (Khosravi-Far, R. et al. (1991) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 88:6264-6268).
In the medial Golgi, it has been shown that GTP-bound Rab proteins initiate the binding of VAMP-like proteins of the transport vesicle to syntaxin-like proteins on the acceptor membrane triggering membrane fusion events. After transport, GTPase-activating proteins in the target membrane convert the Rab proteins to their GDP-bound state, and guanine-nucleotide dissociation inhibitor helps return the GDP-bound proteins to their membrane of origin.
To date, more than 30 Rab proteins have been identified, and each may have a characteristic intracellular location where it functions in distinct, tissue-specific transport events. For example, Rab2 is important in ER-to-Golgi transport; Rab1 and Rab6 are localized to the Golgi apparatus; Rab3 transports secretory vesicles to the extracellular membrane; Rab5 and Rab7 are localized to the early and late endosomal fusion events, respectively; and Rab 10 mediates vesicle fusion from the medial Golgi to the trans Golgi.
Structurally, the Rab proteins display features characteristic of LMW GTP-binding proteins. Four sequence regions, motifs I-IV, are conserved in the Rab proteins. Motif I, the most variable region among the four, has a signature of GXXXXGK, and the terminal lysine residue interacts with the .beta.- and .gamma.-phosphates of GTP. Motifs II, III, and IV are highly conserved and function in regulating the binding of .gamma.-phosphate, GTP, and the guanine base of GTP, respectively.
In addition to the conserved motifs, the arginine residue following the second GTP-binding domain, the phenylalanine residue adjacent to the fourth GTP-binding domain, and the carboxy terminal cysteines are highly conserved. The cysteines are particularly important in that they are essential for membrane localization. The Rab proteins also have an effector region located in between Motif I and Motif II which has been characterized as the interaction site for GAP, a regulatory protein which stimulates the intrinsic GTPase activity.
Experimental evidence has established the essential role of Rab in vesicle trafficking, cell function, and cell differentiation. Human Rab1, Rab2, Rab3B, Rab4, Rab5, and Rab6 genes isolated from a human pheochromocytoma cDNA library exhibit GTPase activities when produced in E. coli (Zahraoui, A. et al. (1989) J. Biol. Chem 264:12394-12401). Although differentially expressed, two isoforms of Rab28, hRab28S and hRab28L, exhibit comparable GTPase-related activities in rat tissues (Brauers, A. et al. (1996) Eur. J. Biochem. 237:833-840). Localization of murine Rab24 in endoplasmic reticulum/cis-Golgi region of Semliki Forest virus and the vaccinia T7 vector systems indicates that Rab24 may be involved in autophagy-related processes (Olkkonen, V. M. et al. (1993) J. Cell. Sci. 106:1249-1261). Over expression of Rab proteins significantly enhances the function of Rev, a viral gene essential for processing HIV-1 (Fridell, R. A. et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 93:4421-4424). A deficiency in the prenylation of one particular Rab is associated with choroideremia, a form of retinal degeneration that causes blindness (Seabra, M. et al. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 270:24420-24427). Interaction between Rab protein and Cdc2 protein kinase in vitro inhibited vesicle fusion and implicated Rab protein function in mediating cell cycle events (Toumikoski, T. et al. (1989, Nature 342:942-945). Thus, Rab proteins appear to be involved in the complex and critical processes of vesicle trafficking for the directed release of various molecules.
The discovery of three new human Rab proteins and the polynucleotides encoding them satisfies a need in the art by providing new compositions which are useful in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of inflammation and disorders associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis.


An ice scoop is disclosed and has a scoop section and a handle section. The scoop section includes a bottom with a forward end, a rear end, and opposed side edges, two opposed side walls extending up from the side edges of the bottom, and a back wall connecting the side walls and connected to the rear end of the bottom. A scoop cavity is defined within the scoop section. The handle section extends rearward from the back wall and has two elongate, opposed, and spaced apart rails. First and second grips extend laterally between the two rails. The first grip is spaced from the back wall. The second grip is spaced from the first grip further from the back wall. The handle section is oriented at an oblique angle relative to the bottom and angles upward away from the back. The handle has an offset step formed in the side rails. The forward end is a reinforced edge. The scoop has a hand shield at the back wall and spaced from the first grip.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure is generally directed to scoops, and more particularly to a scoop with a handle with two grips.
2. Description of Related Art
Ice scoops and other such scooping devices are known in the art. Most of these devices are smaller devices for use with one hand. Such devices are typically limited as to the amount of ice or other food product that can be scooped and carried per scoop-full. Because these devices are also operated using only one hand, a user may not be able to easily break ice chunks or plow through a large volume of ice when inserting the scoop into a large container of ice. One handed scoops also can require more reaching and bending for the user when scooping.
A two-handed product is known for scooping ice within a commercial kitchen environment. However, this device is essentially identical to a conventional shovel, but is smaller and made of molded plastic. The device has a linear elongate handle and a shallow shovel head, One problem with such a device is that, when transferring larger amounts of ice from an ice machine to a bucket or container, lots of ice tends to spill from the shovel head and hit the surrounding floor. Melted ice on a floor of a commercial kitchen can create a safety hazard. This also results in wasted ice. Another problem with the known shovel-like device is that the mouth or leading edge of the shovel head is very wide, making it awkward or difficult to insert into ice machines with smaller openings. Yet another problem is that the sides of the shovel head are shallow and do not readily contain large amounts of scooped ice or other food product. Additionally, the handle angle, which generally extends horizontally rearward from the shovel head, is awkward for shoveling ice out of ice machines. A user cannot adequately operate the shovel-like device from a comfortable, efficient angle, and cannot get a good grip on the handle when inserting the shovel head into the ice. A user may try a variety of hand positions, thereby increasing the possibility of cross contamination. Also, the front edge of this known shovel-like device has a thin, knife-like leading edge. When the leading edge is shoved into the ice, the leading edge may be cut, chipped, or damaged. Over time, this can reduce the shovel's effectiveness and can potentially result in plastic chips and fragments being left behind in the ice.


A camera module is provided. The camera module comprises: a lens; a holder having a lower portion, the holder holding the lens; a circuit board; and an image sensing and processing unit including an image sensing device and an optional signal processing device stacked on and electrically connected to the image sensing device, the image sensing and processing unit being packaged on one side of the circuit board; wherein the holder is fixed on the circuit board, the image sensing and processing unit inside the lower portion of the holder. Further, if the circuit board is a flexible circuit board, then a hard plate can be disposed on the other side of the flexible PCB corresponding to the image sensing and processing unit in order to enhance the mechanical strength.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a camera module, and more particularly to a packaging structure of a camera module.
2. Description of Related Art
Digital cameras have been widely used in our daily life. Because more and more customers are purchasing the digital cameras, how to simply the packaging process is an important issue for mass production.
The cost and quality of the digital cameras partially depend on the structure and method of packaging. FIG. 1 shows a traditional camera module. As shown in FIG. 1, a traditional camera module includes a holder 100 to hold a lens member 102 on its upper portion. The holder 100 also has a lower portion. There is an image sensing device 106 such as a CMOS image sensing device on the printed circuit board (PCB) 104 and inside the upper portion of the holder 100. CMOS image sensing device 106 is connected to the PCB 104 via the conducting line 108 by wire bonding. The holder 100 is fixed on the PCB 104 via a fixing member 112. If the PCB is a flexible PCB, then a hard plate 110 can be disposed on the other side of the flexible PCB corresponding to the image sensing device 106 in order to enhance the mechanical strength.
Another conventional method is to use the ball grid array (BGA) to package the chip on the circuit board. FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional view of the image sensing device and signal processing device packaged on the circuit board by BGA. Referring to FIG. 2, the image sensing device 196 and the signal processing device 108 are packaged on the two sides of the circuit board 104 by BGA 114 and 116. The circuit board 104 covers the bottom of the holder 100.
FIG. 3 shows the cross-sectional view of the image sensing device and signal processing device packaged on the circuit board by BGA and wire bonding. Referring to FIG. 3, the image sensing device 106 is connected to the circuit board 104 via the conducting line 110 by wire bonding. The image sensing device 106 is packaged on the circuit board 104 by BGA.
During the packaging process, the particles or dust are easy to fall to the surface of the image sensing device 106, those particles will affect the quality of the image. To prevent the particles from attaching the image sensing device, a glass cover including a glass layer 120 covers the image sensing device 106 as shown in FIG. 4.
However, the glass cover will increase the packaging cost. Further, the image sensing device 106 and the signal processing device 108 have to be packaged on the two sides of the circuit board. This packaging process is costly and complex. How to simplify the packaging structure and to prevent the particles from attaching the image sensing device 106 is an important issue to the camera module manufacturers.