In a distributed network system, resilient virtual fault tolerant service sessions are conducted between a host application program and a telnet client user over an end-to-end link including a telnet server, a messaging protocol process, a network driver, and a communication link. The telnet server establishes a tty type structure in response to a service request from a telnet user/client. This invention includes a service control block which controls the establishment of a tty and associated request control blocks and buffers for processing I/O requests. The session is functionally partitioned into an upper half session involving the host application program and the telnet server, and a lower half session involving the remainder of the network components leading to the telnet client. When an interruption in a session occurs due to a fault originating in those portions of the network devoted to the lower half session, the telnet server continues to operate the upper half session by accepting I/O requests from the host application program and queueing these requests in the request control buffers, up to a maximum number of permitted queued requests. The host file system determines the handling of requests that exceed the maximum.

This invention relates to distributed network systems in which a host computer is linked to a plurality of clients over a network for information interchange.
Systems are known in which a host computer is linked to a plurality of system clients over a network. In a typical configuration, a host server, termed a telnet server herein, is linked to a plurality of telnet clients via a multi-branch local or wide area network using the telnet protocol. At the host end of the system, the telnet server is coupled to the network via a transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) process which provides information transport services; while at each telnet client site a client is coupled to the network via a similar TCP/IP process. The telnet server functions to note requests for specified services from telnet clients and to service those requests. A plurality of application programs are provided at the host installation, and appropriate ones of these programs are selectively coupled to the telnet server in response to telnet client requests.
The procedure whereby a point-to-point link is established and information is exchanged between a host application and a telnet client application is termed a session, and a session typically commences by the generation of a service request by a telnet client at a client workstation. In response to the receipt of a request for service, the telnet server establishes a memory structure using host system memory for controlling the service procedure and for retrieving, storing and forwarding information pertaining to the request for service. For example, in a unix based system, the telnet server establishes atty unix structure and associated control buffers in response to the receipt of a request for a session. Typically, an authentication routine is initially called to determine whether the telnet client requester is authorized to participate in the requested service, with the routine typically providing the client user ID and password at the client workstation which is then checked by the telnet server at the host installation using an authentication application program routine. After the requester has been cleared by the authentication routine, the service requested is carried out in conjunction with the appropriate one or more application programs. Once the service is completed, the session is terminated.
During a session, either hardware or software failures (or both) can occur at the host location, at the client location or over the physical link therebetween. When such a failure occurs, the results of all session processing up until the time of failure are lost, and the session must be restarted from the beginning. This loss of session processing results is undesirable since valuable processing time is wasted and since the network must now be reoccupied for that additional length of time required to achieve that same stage in the service session prior to interruption of the link.

Network system with resilient virtual fault tolerant sessions


A magnetooptical disk focus servo and tracking servo which remain stable and which make various servo control gains uniform even when the amount of light detected in a photodetecting portion changes. An operator outputs a sum signal by adding signals corresponding to an amount of light detected in at least two photodiodes among a plurality of photodiodes of the photodetecting portion. A first divider divides a focus error signal by the sum signal. A second divider divides a tracking error signal by the sum signal. A focus servo portion controls a focus actuator using the output of the first divider, and a tracking servo portion for controlling a track actuator with the output of the second divider.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetooptical disk servo device, and more particularly, to a focus servo and a tracking servo for a magnetooptical disk which remain stable, and which make various servo control gains uniform even when the quantity of light detected at a photodetecting portion changes. The present application is based upon Korean Application No. 96-2450, which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, when the received quantity of light in a photodiode of a photodetecting portion changes, the servo device of the magnetooptical disk can become unstable since the entire gain of the servo is affected, and thus the control system can become unstable. When the change in the quantity of light received is severe, the servo can even oscillate.

Magnetooptical disk focus and tracking servo for a magnetooptical disk servo device


According to one embodiment, a speech translation apparatus includes a first input unit configured to input a first speech of a first speaker; a second input unit configured to input a second speech of a second speaker that is different from the first speaker; a first translation unit configured to translate the first speech to a first target language sentence; a second translation unit configured to translate the second speech to a second target language sentence; a first output unit configured to output the first target language sentence; a second output unit configured to output the second target language sentence; a speech detecting unit configured to detect a first speech duration from the first speech and detect a second speech duration from the second speech; and an output timing adjustment unit configured to adjust at least one of the first output unit and the second output unit, when the first speech duration and the second speech duration overlap each other.

With progress of speech processing and natural language processing in recent years, a speech translation apparatus is being developed. In communicating different languages, the speech translation apparatus translates a source language sentence spoken by a source language user to a target language sentence and synthesizes a target language speech to a target language user.
The conventional speech translation apparatus outputs the synthesized speech, regardless of inputting another speech or not. And the output of the synthesized speech and the other speech are overlapped. Therefore mistakes of communication between users occur. The mistakes are frequently encountered in cases of non-face-to-face communication, for example, by telephone with the conventional speech translation apparatus.

Speech translation apparatus, speech translation method and program product for speech translation


A system and method for receiving services is presented. The system comprises a first splitter having an input, a first output and a slaved output receiving a first signal at the input having a single polarization including a first service and a slaved service, wherein the first signal is directed to the first output and the slaved output and selected by a first control signal applied at the input, a first tuner receiving the first output and tuning the first service and a slaved tuner receiving the slaved output and tuning the slaved service. The method comprises generating a first control signal to select a first signal, receiving a first signal including a first service and a slaved service, wherein the first service and the slaved service are at the same polarization, splitting the first signal with a first splitter to a first output and a first slaved output, tuning the first service from the first output with a first tuner and tuning the slaved service from the slaved output with a slaved tuner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for transmitting services, and in particular, to systems for broadcasting multiple services to subscribers via satellite.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional direct broadcast satellite (DBS) systems broadcast signals including a range of different channels over a wide coverage region. The signals are then received by users with an antenna having a low noise block converter (LNB) and communicated to an integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) which receives and decodes the channels based upon user selections or other criteria. In such conventional systems the broadcaster sends most channels or services on one frequency and tunes each of these services independently. Additionally, services which must be continuously monitored and/or acquired, are typically sent on all frequencies and received in conjunction with other services.
To expand such systems to provide additional services that must be continuously monitored and/or acquired, while maintaining compatibility with legacy equipment, would normally require simply appending the new services on all frequencies as the existing services. However, such a system and method quickly and inefficiently consumes the available data rate of the frequencies.
There is a need in the art for systems and methods which use available frequencies more efficiently to deliver services to users. There is further a need for systems and methods which do not require additional cabling by the user for expanding services.

Simultaneous tuning of multiple satellite frequencies


Disclosed is a method an apparatus for selectively providing additional inputs into a logic block, such as a LAB of a PLD, carrying out a logic function requiring a relatively high number of inputs. A PLD in accordance with the present invention includes at least first and second LABs. A plurality of signal lines are capable of driving the second LAB and a plurality of output lines are driven by the first LAB. The PLD also includes a swap multiplexer (MUX) having a first selectable input capable of being driven by the output lines and a second selectable input capable of being driven by the signal lines. An output of the swap MUX is capable of driving the first LAB.

Programmable logic devices (PLDS) (also sometimes referred to as CPLDs, PALs, PLAs, FPLAs, EPLDs, EEPLDs, LCAs, FPGAs, or by other names), are well-known integrated circuits that provide the advantages of fixed integrated circuits with the flexibility of custom integrated circuits. Such devices typically provide an "off the shelf" device having at least a portion that can be electrically programmed to meet a user's specific needs. Application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) have traditionally been fixed integrated circuits, however, it is possible to provide an ASIC that has a portion or portions that are programmable; thus, it is possible for an integrated circuit device to have qualities of both an ASIC and a PLD. The term PLD as used herein will be considered broad enough to include such devices.
PLDs may include blocks of smaller logic elements (LEs) which typically have a number of inputs. The blocks containing LEs are sometimes referred to as logic array blocks (LABs; also referred to by other names, e.g., configurable logic blocks, or CLBs). LEs, in turn, may contain components to programmably carry out different types of logic functions. LABs containing LEs may be arranged in a two dimensional array in a PLD.
In order to input and direct logic signals to LEs, PLDs can include a number of types of signal lines. A first type of line, referred to herein as a global line, can carry signals between LABs. Other lines can be driven by global lines to carry signals into a particular LAB. These lines are referred to herein as LAB lines (LAB lines can also be referred to as logic input MUX or "LIM" lines). LAB lines 14 typically include between 20 to 40 individual lines, though greater or fewer lines may also be included. The architecture of a LAB may also include LE output lines which can be routed back to drive the inputs of either the LE that drove the particular output or a different LE, typically within the same LAB. Thus, it is not necessary, and typically not the case, that a LAB is driven by enough LAB lines to drive every input of every LE in the LAB.
However, it is sometimes that case that a logic function which could otherwise be carried out by a single LAB cannot be because the particular logic function requires more inputs into the lab than are provided by the LAB lines. In such a case, in configuring a PLD to carry out the logic function, it may be necessary to split the logic function between two or more LABs in the PLD. Such configuration, though, can cause inefficient use of physical resources and increased timing delays.

Swap MUX to relieve logic device input line stress


The combination of a case enclosed sprinkler and shut-off valve having the dual function of shutting off the flow of water to a case enclosed sprinkler so that case enclosed sprinkler can be removed from the case enclosed sprinkler system or zone for replacement, repair, maintenance and the like and the insertion and removal of the case enclosed sprinkler operates to open and close the shut-off valve. The shut-off valve has infinite settings so that it can be utilized as a metering valve to limit the flow of water entering the case enclosed sprinkler. In another embodiment, an adapter mechanism can be utilized in combination with the shut-off valve to obtain water from the system when desired.

This invention relates to valve mechanism and more particularly to a shut-off valve for an in-ground sprinkler system that is typically utilized to water or irrigate lawns and the like.
As is well known to those skilled in the irrigation system technology, sprinkler systems as utilized to irrigate and water lawns, golf courses, athletic fields, and the like and comprise typically in-ground sprinklers that are of the type that are embedded into the ground and pop-up when deployed or rest above the ground and are connected to a water source and are grouped in zones. Typically, an activating system automatically turns the system on and water is directed to one or more zones that comprise a plurality of individual sprinklers. As is well known in the repair or maintenance of each of the sprinklers, the operator has to either work on an individual sprinkler in a given zone with the water on or alternatively, shut-off the system in that zone in order to repair or maintain or replace an individual sprinkler. Obviously, shutting off the water by turning the system or zone on and off is cumbersome and time consuming since the controls are usually remote from the sprinkler being worked on and requires several trips to the remotely mounted shut-off control or valve. At times, two people are required to perform this function, one for controlling the on/off of the water and the other doing the repair.
I have found that I can obviate this problem noted in the immediate above paragraphs, by including a valve at each of the sprinklers and by virtue of and in accordance with this invention the removal of the sprinkler or sprinkler head turns the valve to the closed position and the insertion of the sprinkler or sprinkler head turns the valve to the on position. Thus, the operator merely has to remove the sprinkler while the system is in the xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d position and while water is flowing to the sprinklers in the zone and the valve of my invention will turn the water off of that individual sprinkler so that the repair, replacement or maintenance can be performed. After the work is completed the sprinkler is returned and screwed into the shut-off valve which is attached to the piping and the shut-off valve of my invention is automatically turned on.
An option that is provided with the shut-off valve is that since the shut-off valve has infinite positions and hence, can change the flow area, the shut-off valve can be utilized as a metering valve to limit the amount of water flow into the sprinkler and hence, in a sense, control the flow out of the sprinkler. This affords the advantage of regulating the output of the sprinkler where in situations the throw of the water emitted from the sprinkler is further than is desired and needs to be shortened. This is accomplished by adjusting the shut-off valve to a position that is less than full opened.
An adapter is contemplated by this invention which serves to turn on and off the sprinkler and can be utilized to provide water at the cite where it be used for cleaning purposes or to connect a hose thereto to provide water in nearby locations.
An object of this invention is to provide a valve mounted to the sprinkler in the water line that is capable of shutting off the flow of water when the sprinkler is removed and allowing the flow of water water when the sprinkler is inserted into the line via the shut-off valve.
A feature of this invention is the combination of a sprinkler and shut-off valve where the shut off valve includes infinite settings to vary the flow area to limit the flow of water being delivered to the sprinkler.
Another feature of this invention is the design of the shut-off valve so that it is utilized in an in-line water line that permits the flow of water to sprinklers mounted downstream thereof or where the shut-off valve is mounted on an individual sprinkler that does not flow water to a downstream sprinkler.
Another feature of this invention is to provide an adapter and shut-off valve combination that shuts-off the flow of water when mounted in the place of a sprinkler and opens the shut-off valve to provide the flow of water for uses other than the normal sprinkling systems""s use.
The foregoing and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.


The invention relates to a device for deterring birds from landing in a defined area, for example on maritime vessels, without causing physical damage, said device comprising a vertically positionable rotary actuating shaft whereon a retractably connected pair of rods (3) is arranged at the top by means of a hinged joint, such that said two rods (3) are able to extend horizontally and perpendicularly in relation to the actuating shaft and opposite each other, said actuating shaft (2) being mounted on a support (4) provided with hinge means in the lower part, that can angularly fold down said support (4) in relation to a base body (5). The lower part of said actuating shaft (2) is in contact with a spherical region arranged inside said support (4).

It is well known that birds cause damage and create dirt with their droppings and feathers. In fact, the effects and damage caused by waste from marine birds such as seagulls on leisure, sport and professional maritime vessels, or even on the maritime environment or ports, is visible to the naked eye. The usual consequences of bird waste are oxidisation and premature corrosion, which lead to more cleaning and maintenance operations in order to prevent the deterioration of vessels, which in turn increases economic cost and time spent.
In order to prevent the damaging consequences caused by birds, different static and/or mobile methods and devices that seek to prevent birds from landing in a defined area have been developed. One example of a bird-repelling device is one made up of a vertical rotary shaft from which two horizontal rods project, such that air currents make the vertical shaft rotate. However, in the particular case of maritime vessels, it has been found that in strong or intense wind conditions and/or over a long period of time, the vertical shaft rotates at such a speed that it causes the same to break, this potentially being dangerous for users or causing damage to some regions of the vessel.
Furthermore, none of the bird repelling or deterring apparatus and devices known about by the applicant consider the existence of an invention provided with the features described in this specification.


An apparatus for providing uniform illumination to a surface includes a chamber defined by a wall, the wall having an opaque wall portion and a partially transparent wall portion. A light source such as a flash lamp, is mounted in the chamber. The interior surface of the chamber wall is light-reflective. The partially transparent wall portion has transparent apertures which permit light to exit the light chamber. The partially transparent wall portion has a first section with a first average transparency and a second section with a second average transparency. In operation, the apparatus completely covers a target surface while light generated by the light source either directly exits the light chamber through the transparent apertures or is reflected off the reflective interior surfaces of the light chamber before exiting the light chamber through the transparent apertures, uniformly illuminating the target surface.

This invention relates to an apparatus for providing uniform illumination to a surface during the electronic imaging/optical scanning process, particularly a surface having information contained thereon in either a code or alphanumeric format.
Electronic imaging/optical scanning devices were developed to electronically recreate an image of the surface of an object. The electronic image is created by holding the imaging/scanning device directly over the surface to be imaged/scanned. Typically, appropriate lensing focuses the image on a CCD array. The image is converted to electronic data. The electronic data is then stored or transmitted to an appropriate data processing apparatus.
To expedite the processing of routine information, electronic imaging/optical scanning devices are used to retrieve data or information printed on or affixed to the surface of an object in code or alphanumeric format. A common example is a bar code label affixed to the surface of a package. The bar code label contains information about the package's origin, destination, order number, and the like. To retrieve the information from the bar code label, an electronic imaging/optical scanning device electronically creates a digitized image of the bar code label and transfers that image to a processing computer. The processing computer then deciphers the desired information from the digitized image. Electronic imaging/optical scanning devices can be either machine mounted or hand-held. Portable hand-held devices are especially useful when processing is required at remote locations.
The ability to retrieve data or information from the surface of an object depends largely on the quality of the digital image obtained by the electronic imaging/optical scanning device. Glare, shadows and non-uniformity in illumination on the surface during the imaging/scanning process can result in degradation of the digital image. A poor digital image can lead to loss of data. Uniform illumination over a surface is especially important when reading information on an alphanumeric label or in a two-dimensional encoded format. For example, it may be desired to obtain an electronic image of an address label for transmission to optical character recognition devices.
Known electronic imaging/optical scanning devices seek to reduce non-uniformity in illumination by using an internal light source in conjunction with a series of mirrors or reflectors. Such devices, as represented by the patents discussed below, use internally mounted mirrors or reflectors to redirect or concentrate the light generated by the internal light source onto the target surface. The redirected or concentrated light is therefor sufficient to illuminate the target surface and strong enough to overwhelm and block out ambient light during the imaging or scanning process.
Examples of these various electronic imaging/optical scanning devices include U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,317 entitled "Transposition Device and Document Processor in Character Sensing," issued to Nail on Nov. 9, 1965; U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,302 entitled "Bar Code Scanner Using Non-Coherent Light Source," issued to Robillard on Jun. 12, 1982; U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,976 entitled "Optical Mark Recognition Apparatus," issued to Fetzer, et al. on Aug. 5, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,159 entitled "Optical Read Out Apparatus Using a Roof Mirror Lens Array," issued to Inokuchi on Apr. 19, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,159 entitled "Image Transmitting Element and Process For Producing Same," issued to Hamanaka on Sep. 3, 1991; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,343 entitled "Instant Portable Bar Code Reader," issued to Chadima, Jr., et al. on Jan. 14, 1992. These patents all disclose the use of internally mounted light sources where light is redirected or concentrated onto the target surface by use of internally mounted mirrors or reflectors. U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,159 discloses the use of a transparent substrate with multiple photo-transmissible holes for receiving light energy, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,343 discloses the use of a flash lamp light source.
None of these patents, however, provide an apparatus for uniformly illuminating a target surface. By redirecting or concentrating light onto the target surface through mirrors or reflectors, these devices can frequently produce glare and/or shadows on the surface resulting in loss of data during the electronic imaging/optical scanning process.
Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an electronic imaging/optical scanning device lighting source that provides uniform illumination across the surface to be imaged or scanned.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of a preferred embodiment set forth below.

Apparatus for the uniform illumination of a surface


A system and method is disclosed for improving the audible output of a vehicle radio based upon the particular type of vehicle in which the radio is installed. A vehicle radio includes a data table, which is accessible by a radio controller. The data table stores a plurality of unique sets of alignment parameters. Each set of alignment parameters corresponds to a vehicle model in which the radio may be installed. The alignment settings are used to adjust various signal-processing techniques—such as “blend”, “roll-off”, “noise blank”, etc.—as well as other parameters. The radio controller receives information indicative of the type of vehicle in which the radio is installed. The radio controller accesses the data table and applies the alignment settings that correspond to the type of vehicle. Listener-specific preferences can also be stored in the data table. The vehicle identification information can be provided to the radio controller through a variety of mechanisms, including an external vehicle diagnostic device, an internal vehicle body controller, or a radio face place.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of audio systems for automotive vehicles, and, more specifically, to a programmable audio system wherein various signal processing settings in the radio receiver of the audio system can be customized to the particular vehicle in which the audio system is installed.
2. Background of the Invention
Virtually all modern automotive vehicles include an audio system that incorporates a radio receiver. A primary function of a radio receiver is to receive (through an antenna) radio signals transmitted over the airwaves, and then process and transform those radio signals into audio signals that can be provided to speakers, which in turn convert the audio signals into audible sounds. The nature of the audio signals provided by the receiver to the speakers determines, in large part, the audible sound output from the speakers. It is desirable for the radio receiver to optimize the audio signal so that the speakers produce the best possible audible sound.
Various well-known signal-processing techniques are applied to process and optimize the radio signal received by the receiver. For example, receivers typically employ a "blend" process to the input signal. "Blending" involves evaluating the strength of the radio signal received by the receiver and converting the audio signal supplied to the speakers from a stereo signal to a mono signal when the strength of the radio signal is relatively weak, which may occur when driving under a bridge, for example. After a given time constant, the receiver causes the audio signal to return to stereo. Receivers also typically employ a "roll-off" process to the radio signal, which involves phasing out higher frequencies in the radio signal so as to reduce the amount of undesirable noise produced by the speakers. Receivers also typically include a "noise blanker" process, which reduces the amount of noise/interference in the radio signal resulting from various vehicle noises, such as engine noise and stray reflections and signals. Several other signal-processing techniques are commonly employed by radio receivers to optimize the audio signal output to the speakers.
To achieve optimal audible sound from the vehicle audio system, it is desirable that the various signal-processing techniques of the receiver be adjusted to match the characteristics of the vehicle in which the radio receiver is installed. This is because many different vehicle-specific factors can affect the nature and quality of the radio signal received by the radio receiver and ultimately the quality of the audible sound produced by the speakers. Depending on these vehicle-specific characteristics, different degrees of "blending", "roll-off", "noise blanking", and other signal-processing techniques may be desirable. For example, the shape of the vehicle body and the particular engine used in the vehicle may affect the quality of the radio signal received by the receiver. Similarly, the shape of the interior passenger compartment and the number and placement of speakers therein affect the quality of the audible sound heard by a passenger. Furthermore, person-specific listening preferences affect the perceived quality of the audible sound produced by the speakers. For instance, younger people tend to prefer to listen to higher frequency signals, whereas older people tend to prefer that the higher frequency signals be filtered out. As a result of these vehicle-specific characteristics and person-specific preferences, different degrees of "noise-blanking, "blending", "roll-off", and other signal-processing techniques may be desirable.
It is common to install the same radio receiver model in many different types of vehicles, each having different vehicle-specific characteristics that affect the quality of the audible sound produced by the audio system. Therefore, in an attempt to optimize the audible sound produced by the speakers, it is known to modify the various signal-processing algorithms in radio receivers during manufacture of the radio receiver to complement the particular vehicle in which the receiver is to be installed. Under this method, because the signal-processing techniques of radio receivers are optimized for each type of vehicle, each vehicle model may have a slightly different radio receiver associated with it, even though the same basic kind of radio receiver is installed in several vehicle models. The process of manufacturing several different versions of the same basic radio receiver results in an undesirable inventory of multiple part numbers. Therefore, this is a logistically-difficult and expensive solution to optimizing audio systems.
As a result, it is common to manufacture radio receivers used in different vehicle models such that their signal-processing algorithms are adjusted to complement the "average" characteristics of the various vehicles into which the receiver is to be installed. Thus, the radio receivers, while performing adequately for the various vehicle models, are not optimized for any particular vehicle model.
The inventors have recognized that the practice of optimizing radio receivers for the "average" vehicle characteristics across many different vehicle models, each having different vehicle-specific audio characteristics, does not produce optimal audio response for any of the vehicles. Instead, it is desirable to be able to optimize the signal-processing algorithms of radio receivers to complement the specific vehicle characteristics of the particular vehicle in which it is installed. Furthermore, the inventors have recognized that the known methods of optimizing the signal-processing algorithms do not provide for the ability to adjust the signal-processing algorithms after the radio receiver is installed in a vehicle to account for listener-specific listening preferences. Therefore, the inventors have recognized the need for a new system and method for optimizing the quality of radio signals for different vehicles that address the shortcomings of the prior art.

Programmable audio system for automotive vehicles


A driving unit for a washing machine, and method for controlling the same. The driving unit includes a bearing housing fixedly secured to an outer tub. A motor is mounted on the bearing housing. A ring gear shaft is rotatably mounted to the bearing housing and is coupled to an inner tub. A carrier shaft is rotatably mounted in the ring gear shaft, with a driving shaft rotatably mounted in the carrier shaft. The driving shaft is coupled to the motor. A reduction gear is positioned between the ring gear shaft and the carrier shaft to reduce a speed of the ring gear shaft. A one directional holding device that holds the carrier shaft when the driving shaft rotates in a first direction, and holds two of the carrier shaft, the ring gear shaft, and the driving shaft when the driving shaft rotates in a second direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to washing machines, and more particularly, to a washing machine which enables simplification of a structure of a driving unit and which provides an adequate driving torque even if a small sized motor is utilized therein, and a method for controlling the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, washing machines wash laundry by action of circulation of washing water, and a chemical action, such as detergent, and the like.
In the washing machines, there are top load type washing machines, and front load type washing machines. In the top load type washing machines, there are tub rotating type machines, and pulsator type washing machines, and in the front load type washing machines, there are drum type washing machines.
For washing and spinning, a driving unit is provided to the washing machine. The driving unit generally has an induction motor applied thereto.
The induction motor does not have a brush and commutator, and no magnets are provided to a rotor thereof. The induction motor has no burning of the brush and the commutator, and no demagnetization of the magnets, accordingly. The induction motor generates a rotation force by interaction of a rotating magnetic field generated by a current flowing through a line wound on a stator and a current induced at the rotor.
The induction motor is coupled to a washing shaft, and the washing shaft is coupled to a reduction gear unit. The washing shaft has a clutch coupled thereto for increasing/decreasing a speed of an inner tub by using a reduction gear unit.
The drum type washing machine washes laundry at a low rotation speed of the inner tub by the reduction gear in a washing cycle, and extracts water from the laundry as the inner tub spins at a higher rotation speed in a spinning cycle.
However, conventional driving units of the washing machine have several problems.
First, if the driving unit has the induction motor applied thereto, even though a unit cost of the motor can be lowered, there has been a problem in that a structure of the driving unit becomes complicated because a clutch and a speed reduction device are required additionally for regulating a rotation speed of the motor.
Second, since the driving unit moves together with devices, such as clutch, mechanical, and electrical noise increases.
Third, because a torque on the inner tub increases in proportion to the speed reduction by the reduction gear in the washing cycle, the washing cycle can be started, directly. Opposite to this, at an initial stage of spinning, there is shortage of the torque on the inner tub as the torque is not increased by the speed reduction of the reduction gear. Particularly, in a case of small sized motor, such a problem is distinctive.
Fourth, for starting the spinning cycle, the inner tub is rotated in regular/reverse directions to distribute the laundry evenly, and, then, the torque is increased to a certain level to start a spinning mode. However, this method prolongs a spinning time period due to the longer starting time period, and increases power consumption.
Fifth, the regular/reverse direction rotation of the inner tub for starting the spinning causes heavy mechanical and electrical noise.

Driving unit for washing machine and method for controlling the same


A color filter array substrate is disclosed. The color filter array substrate includes a glass substrate, a first metal layer, an insulating layer, an active layer, an ohmic contact layer, a second metal layer, a first passivation layer, a color filter layer, a second passivation layer, and a pixel electrode layer. In the color filter layer, channels are formed at locations where color resists overlap, a common electrode line is disposed on the first metal layer corresponding to the channels and a metal line is disposed on the second metal layer corresponding to the channels. The present invention can effectively shield light leakage, and can also increase liquidity of the PI and LCD.

The present invention relates to a field of display technology, and more particularly to a color filter array substrate and a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel.
Black column space (BCS) or BM (Black Matrix)-less technology applied to LCD panels can reduce a process using BM, and thus cost can be saved. In the BCS technique, black materials are used in periphery to have an effect of being directly substituted for the BM to function for light shielding. Besides, another effect is to support a thickness of a cell of an LCD panel when the black materials are used in an AA (active area). The light shielding for a scanning line and a data line in the AA relies on mutuality of color resist stacking and metals to carry it out. The stacking of color resists generally employs a red color resist and a blue color resist to be overlapped since the spectrums of these two colors are not overlapped. In this manner, the optical effect would be better.
Current display products applying BCS/BM-less technology on the market use IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology. A layer of planarization layer (PFA) is used in the IPS technology to flatten out a projection generated by overlapping of color resists. However, costs will increase for display products applying BCS/BM-less technology in HVA (high transmittance vertical alignment) mode if the planarization layer is used. Consequently, the planarization layer is not employed in HVA technology. The problem, in which projections around sides are generated due to overlapping of color resists when the HVA-mode display products apply BCS/BM-less technology, is raised, so that a phenomenon is generated about irregular Polyimide (PI) and liquid crystal flow during the processes of PI coating and liquid crystal filling due to the retaining projections around sides and thereby display performance is affected.
Therefore, it is necessary to propose a new technical solution to solve the foregoing technical problems.

Color filter array substrate and liquid crystal display panel

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd.


An external optical modulator is linearized to reduce second order distortion. An optical carrier is modulated in the modulator by a pilot signal. The modulated optical carrier is sampled and an error signal is generated indicative of a phase difference between a second harmonic of the pilot signal and second order harmonics thereof present in the sampled modulated optical carrier. The error signal is fed back to the modulator to adjust the bias thereof to minimize the phase difference and thereby minimize second order distortions produced by the modulator. Where a plurality of external modulators are operated in series, each is provided with a feedback loop to minimize the second order distortions produced therein.

The present invention relates to optical modulators, and more specifically to a technique for linearizing the output of an external optical intensity modulator.
Recently, there has been a growing interest in the development of analog, amplitude modulated optical communication systems. In comparison with digital systems, analog communication systems provide an efficient use of bandwidth. This is particularly useful in cable television (CATV) transmission system applications, where it is necessary to transmit a large number of video channels through an optical fiber. Compatibility with existing equipment is achieved by using the same signal format for optical transmission that is in use for coaxial cable signal transmission.
In order to transmit an information signal (e.g., a television signal) over an optical fiber, a light beam ("carrier") must be modulated with the information signal. The "electrooptic effect" has been advantageously used to provide modulators for this purpose. For example, electrooptic modulators using miniature guiding structures are known which operate with a low modulating power.
In electrooptic modulators, the electric field induced linear birefringence in an electrooptic material produces a change in the refractive index of the material which, in turn, impresses a phase modulation upon a light beam propagating through the material. The phase modulation is converted into intensity modulation by the addition of polarizers or optical circuitry. Ideally, an electrooptic modulator should have a linear relationship between its output optical power and the applied modulating voltage.
In a "Mach Zehnder" type electrooptic modulator, an optical carrier (laser beam) is split into two paths. At least one path is electrically phase modulated. The two signals are then recombined in an interferometer to provide an intensity modulated carrier. Typically, lithium niobate (LiNbO.sub.3) is used as the electrooptic material. Waveguides in such materials are readily formed by titanium indiffusion.
The output power curve of a Mach Zehnder modulator is nonlinear. Practical analog optical communications systems, however, demand a high linearity. See, for example, W. I. Way, "Subcarrier Multiplexed Lightwave System Design Considerations for Subscriber Loop Applications", J. Lightwave Technol., Vol. 7, pp. 1806-1818 (1989). Modulator nonlinearities cause unacceptable harmonic and intermodulation distortions. When it is necessary to communicate a large number of channels, as in a CATV application, intermodulation distortions ("IMD") can impose serious limitations on the system performance.
The problem of intermodulation distortions, and particularly second order distortion, is complicated by the fact that lithium niobate is an inherently unstable material. Thus, it is not possible to simply bias a Mach Zehnder modulator (e.g., to operate at its quadrature point) and then expect the modulator to continue to run at the desired operating point. In fact, the bias condition will dynamically change due to factors such as temperature, photorefractive instability, and displacement currents within the lithium niobate material. Thus, additional steps must be taken to ensure that the external modulator will run over time without an increase in second order distortion.
It would be advantageous to provide a technique that dynamically tracks the second order distortion performance of an external optical modulator and maintains such performance at an acceptable level. It would be further advantageous to provide such a technique that can be used with a single optical modulator or a plurality of such modulators cascaded in series. The present invention provides a method and apparatus enjoying the aforementioned advantages.

Apparatus and method for linearizing an external optical modulator


A paper feeding apparatus includes a housing accommodating a plurality of papers, a pickup unit, a rotation transmitting member and a torque transmitting member. The pickup unit has a pickup lever, a driving shaft rotatably supporting the pickup lever, and a pickup roller rotatably provided on an end of the pickup lever. The rotation transmitting member transmits a rotating force of the driving shaft to the pickup roller. The torque transmitting member is provided between the driving shaft and the pickup lever. The torque transmitting member selectively rotates one of the pickup lever or the pickup roller depending on a torque acting on the driving shaft. The pickup roller is rotated while being pressed against the papers, thereby feeding the papers one by one out of the housing.

The present invention relates to a paper feeding apparatus for a printer.
Currently, there have been used paper feeding apparatuses for printers which have various configurations. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, there has been known a paper feeding apparatus in which a pickup roller 202 is rotatably provided on the rocking tip side of a pickup lever 201. The pickup lever 201 has a base end side supported rotatably on a housing. The pickup roller 202 is rotated to feed paper where a rolling contact surface (rubber lining surface) of the pickup roller 202 is pressed against a top paper or sheet S of a paper bundle accommodated and held on a paper guide wall 203 by the rotation of the pickup lever 201.
In a paper feeding apparatus of this type, the pickup roller 202 is urged in the direction of the paper bundle by a spring, which is not shown, and the pressing force of the pickup roller 202 against the paper bundle is set by the spring force of the spring.
In the paper feeding apparatus of this type, moreover, when the paper S is gone and the rolling contact surface of the pickup roller 202 comes in contact with the paper guide wall 203 as shown in FIG. 22, a large frictional force is generated between the pickup roller 202 rotating in a paper feeding direction (a direction of an arrow A) and the paper guide wall 203. By the frictional force, a force for moving in an opposite direction (a direction of an arrow F) to the paper feeding direction is generated on the pickup roller 202, and there is a possibility that the pickup roller 202 might be locked.
In order to avoid locking the pickup roller 202, there has been proposed a paper feeding apparatus which prevents an unnecessary frictional force from being generated. In the paper feeding apparatus, as shown in FIG. 23, a free rotating roller 205 urged by a spring 204 is provided in the paper guide wall 203 opposed to the pickup roller 202. When the paper S is gone, the rolling contact surface of the pickup roller 202 is pushed against the peripheral surface of the free rotating roller 205 so that the pickup roller 202 is rotated together with the free rotating roller 205. As a result, the pickup roller 202 can be thus prevented from being locked (for example, see JP-A-8-259013).
When a pressing force against the paper bundle of a pickup roller is set by a spring force, however, there is a problem in that the pressing force of the pickup roller becomes large when unused paper is pulled out, and it becomes difficult to remove the paper. More specifically, in some cases when the pressing force of the pickup roller against the paper bundle is too great, the pressing force of the pickup roller is greater than a force for feeding the paper by the rotation of the pickup roller so that the pickup roller is locked and the paper cannot be fed out.
Moreover, the amount of flexure of the spring is changed in accordance with the thickness of the paper bundle. For this reason, there is also a problem in that a force for pressing the paper bundle by the roller is changed. For example, when the number of the papers is large, the amount of contraction of the spring is large. Therefore, the spring force is increased so that the pressing force of the roller is increased. On the other hand, when the number of the papers is small, the amount of the contraction of the spring is small, and the spring force is reduced so that the pressing force of the roller is decreased.
As in the paper feeding apparatus described in JP-A-8-259013, moreover, when the free rotating roller 205 urged by the spring 204 is opposed to the pickup roller 202 in the paper guide wall 203, when a second paper S(2) from the last is fed as shown in FIG. 24, the last paper S(1) is held on the paper guide wall 203 side with difficulty since the last paper S(1) comes in contact with the free rotating roller 205 and is thus urged toward the pickup roller 202. As a result, there is a possibility that a so-called "double feed" might occur, that is, two sheets might be fed together.
Also, with the free rotating roller 205 and the spring 204, the number of components is increased.


A system includes a plurality of watchdog components. Each watchdog component is configured to receive a kick signal from its monitored function to determine whether the monitored function is active. Each watchdog component is further configured to receive a respective token from all watchdog components that the each watchdog component is connected to. The respective token determines whether its respective watchdog component has timed out. Each watchdog component is further configured to generate a token responsive to the kick signal and further responsive to the respective token from all watchdog component that the each watchdog component is connected to. Each watchdog component is further configured to transmit the generated token to the all watchdog components that the each watchdog component is connected to.

Typically, watchdogs are used to monitor whether a system or a component within a system is active or is inactive. Generally, a function that is monitored periodically indicates to its watchdog whether the function is still active. Once the watchdog receives an indication that the function is still active, it resets its timer and restarts counting until the next activity indication is received. If the activity indication is not received within the given period or if the watchdog receives an indication that the monitored function is inactive, then the watchdog alerts the system that the activity of the function being monitored has been hindered. Typically, watchdogs in a distributed system are implemented independent from one another, requiring a top-level supervisory function to manage all the watchdogs. The top-level supervisory function checks the status of each watchdog and alerts the system if any of the watchdogs indicates that its associated monitored function has been hindered.
Unfortunately, having a top-level supervisory function creates a security risk, by creating a single point of failure/attack at the top-level supervisory function, by an attacker. Moreover, using a top-level supervisory function to monitor all the watchdogs underneath it places a heavy burden, from a resource standpoint as well as processing, on the top-level supervisory function. Additionally, a top-level supervisory function does not check whether the watchdogs themselves are operational.

Distributed watchdog timer and active token exchange


A test packet transmitting apparatus transmits respective test packets including different pieces of identification information to a repeating installation. The repeating installation makes a predetermined number of copies of each test packet received from the test packet transmitting apparatus to be transmitted to a test packet receiving apparatus, and determines the predetermined number of copies as a population to measure a communication quality. The test packet receiving device counts the received test packets according to each type of identification information.

When adding a new service such as Voice over IP (VoIP) in an Internet Protocol (IP) network, it is important to previously perform confirmation of communication and of a quality between multiple sites, or a high-load test for estimation of the number of connections enabling telephone calls and to verify a quality of the network, e.g., specification of a location of failure in the network or check on the number of connections causing degradation of a quality.
To realize such a quality test between multiple sites by using a small number of test tools (measuring instruments), a method of transmitting a test packet from a test packet transmitting apparatus provided outside a target section by using a multicast address to measure a communication quality in the target section is utilized. According to a Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode (PIM-SM), a multicast protocol, a repeating installation (router) set at a Rendezvous Point (RP) can execute multicast distribution.
In light of this function, the repeating installation is set as the RP for a test packet at a starting end of the target section where a communication quality is measured. The test packet transmitted from the test packet transmitting apparatus provided outside the target section is relayed by the repeating installation at the starting point of the target section and is received by a test packet receiving apparatus at an end point of the target section. As a result, a communication quality in the target section can be measured even if the test packet transmitting apparatus is not provided in a subnet at the starting point of the target section.
However, in the conventional technology, when the test packet transmitted from the test packet transmitting apparatus provided outside the target section is not received by the test packet receiving apparatus, it is difficult to distinguish a situation where the unreceived test packet is lost before reaching the target section from the test packet transmitting apparatus from a situation where the unreceived test packet is lost in the target section after reaching the target section.
Therefore, when the communication quality of the target section is calculated based on the number of the test packets transmitted by the test packet transmitting apparatus and the number of the test packets received by the test packet receiving apparatus, losses of test packets that occur between the test packet transmitting apparatus and the target section are included in a communication quality calculation result. Therefore, there is a problem that the communication quality of the target section cannot be accurately measured.

Measurement managing apparatus and communication system


A first storage system in one illustrative embodiment is configured to participate in a replication process with a second storage system. Each of a plurality of storage nodes of the first storage system comprises a plurality of storage devices and a set of processing modules configured to communicate with corresponding sets of processing modules on other ones of the storage nodes. In conjunction with the replication process, a first one of the processing modules is configured to generate a request message for transmission to a second one of the processing modules requesting that the second processing module transfer designated replication data to the second storage system. The request message comprises a unique message identifier that the second processing module incorporates into a subsequent response message transmitted back to the first processing module to indicate a result of the requested transfer of the designated replication data to the second storage system.

Many information processing systems are configured to replicate data from a storage system at one site to a storage system at another site. In some cases, such arrangements are utilized to support disaster recovery functionality within the information processing system. For example, an enterprise may replicate data from a production data center to a disaster recovery data center. In the event of a disaster at the production site, applications can be started at the disaster recovery site using the data that has been replicated to that site so that the enterprise can continue its business. Data replication in these and other contexts can be implemented using asynchronous replication. For example, asynchronous replication may be configured to periodically transfer data in multiple cycles from a source site to a target site. Conventional approaches to data replication can be problematic under certain conditions. For example, in clustered storage systems implemented using multiple distributed storage nodes interconnected by one or more networks, replicating data between source and target sites separated by long distances can lead to excessive round-trip messaging latencies, thereby undermining the efficiency of the replication process. This can in turn make it difficult to achieve a desired recover point objective within the information processing system.

Storage system with asynchronous messaging between processing modules for data replication


The present invention provides an expansion system for luggage comprising an upper frame, a lower frame, an expandable section attached between the upper and lower frames, and expansion mechanisms. Each expansion mechanism comprises an upper member attached to the upper frame, a lower member attached to the lower frame and two arms, wherein each arm is pivotally connected to the upper member at one end and is pivotally and slideably connected to the lower member at the other end.

Expandable luggage are well known. Many expandable luggage use a zipper expansion system comprising two frames, an expandable section of fabric attached between the two frames, and a zipper running along the perimeter of the luggage between the two frames. In other expandable luggage, the expandable section is located at the edge of the luggage without framing, in which case the expansion is soft. The zipper is closed to decrease the volume of the luggage by pulling together the two frames or expansion fabric and folding the expandable section into the interior of the luggage. The zipper is opened to expand the volume of the luggage by allowing the two frames to move apart and the expandable section to unfold.
The zipper expansion system has several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that the zipper expansion system does not enable a person to adjust the volume of the luggage to intermediate volumes between the zipped closed and zipped open configuration. This is because all of the fabric of the expandable section is loosened when the zipper is opened. Another disadvantage is that the expandable section does not provide a semi-rigid support to protect articles inside the luggage from external forces exerted on the luggage, such as other luggage placed on top of the luggage.
Another type of expansion system comprises two frames, plates attached to the frames, and a locking mechanism. The volume of the luggage is adjusted by sliding the plates attached to one of the frames along rails on the other frame. The locking mechanism is used to lock the plates into place at a desired volume. A disadvantage of this expansion system is that strong external forces exerted on the luggage, such as shock, can break and/or damage the locking mechanism.
Therefore, there is a need for an expansion system that enables a person to adjust the volume of luggage to intermediate volumes depending on the person's travel needs, provides semi-rigid support, and is not prone to break when strong external forces are exerted on luggage.


A virtual workspace is provided for a user with a number of electronic devices, in which information can be exchanged among the electronic devices through a number of connections between the electronic devices. The virtual workspace is provided by determining where services are located and the type of the services, determining one or more data formats associated with data accessible by one or more of the electronic devices. A portion of the data has a given one of one or more data formats. An electronic device is selected based at least in part on predetermined criteria and the given data format. A route through the connections to the selected electronic device is determined, where the route may comprise a given one or more of the connections. At least the portion of the data associated with the given data format is routed to the selected electronic device. The portion of the data is utilizable for presentation by the selected electronic device when received by the selected electronic device.

Today, people tend to have multiple electronic devices. For instance, a person might have a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a laptop computer, which may or may not all reside in the same location. These electronic devices typically work in stand-alone modes and may synchronize with a single other electronic device, generally upon user request and intervention. There is, however, a trend toward providing more connectivity between many electronic devices For example, some electronic devices are designed to communicate with multiple electronic devices. However, the data sharing is done typically between predetermined sets of the electronic devices and between electronic devices that share the same format for the data
Additionally, when two or more people, each carrying his or her own set of multiple electronic devices, wish to use electronic devices to communicate, a conventional way to perform the communication is between two of the same type of electronic device. For instance, one person can transfer a file from one PDA to a PDA owned by another. If, however, a user wants to share information between two randomly selected electronic devices, it is not so straightforward to configure the selected electronic devices to communicate with each other, unless the two electronic devices are running common programs and common physical links. Thus, even though the number of electronic devices used by a single individual continues to increase, problems still remain when trying to enable communications between electronic devices.
Thus, what is needed are improved techniques sharing information between electronic devices for enabling electronic devices to communicate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Techniques for providing a virtual workspace comprised of a multiplicity of electronic devices

International Business Machines Corporation


A main board assembly for being equipped with at least one of a standard expansion card and a low profile expansion card includes a base board, a first expansion slot, a second expansion slot, a third expansion slot and a switching circuit. There is a first distance between the second expansion slot and the first edge, and there is a second distance between the second expansion slot and the third expansion slot, which are greater than the width of the standard expansion card. There is a third distance between the first expansion slot and the third expansion slot, which is two times greater than the width of the low profile expansion card.

Server is a computer, which is connected to other computers, receiving requests from the computers and responding to the computers. The requests from the computers, for example, are storage requests, print requests and application operation requests. The server, which is similar to a personal computer, includes a CPU, a memory, an input device and an output device. The CPU, the memory, the input device and the output device are connected by a bus. In detail, a north bridge chip in the bus connects the CPU and the memory, and a south bridge chip connects the input device and the output device. The server is accommodated in a case, and a development of the case has gone through three stages which are a tower type case, a rack mount type case focusing on integration and a blade type case minimizing the use of physical space and energy.
In detail, the rack mount type case is a standardized case which is adapted to a standardized frame. The rack mount type case, as a tower type case optimized in structure, is featured in occupying less space in the frame. The conventional internet servers, such as the network switches, the routers and the firewalls, are located in the rack mount type case and can be pushed in or pulled out from the frame as a drawer. A height of the case is measured in a unit of "U". 1U equals to 1.75 inches or 44.45 millimeters. The conventional cases have the heights from 1U to 7U, wherein the cases having the height of 1U and 2U are most common. In general, the 1U case and the 2U case match main boards with a first specification and a second specification, respectively.
In addition, big data analytics have become important in the IT industry. The big data means the data set is too large or complex to be acquired, processed and analyzed by traditional data processing servers. As a result, the capability of the servers needs to be promoted for timely processing the data sets such as the commercial trend, the research result, the spread of disease, the hotspots of crime and the traffic analysis.

Main board assembly and server including the same


Improvements to personal vehicles including self-propelled and balancing personal vehicles. Ready detachability of a seat, footrest, seat back, control unit, wheels and caster assembly is provided using quick disconnect mechanisms.

Personal vehicles, such as may be used by handicapped persons, may be self-propelled and user-guidable, and, further, may entail stabilization in one or more of the fore-aft or lateral planes, such as when no more than two wheels are in ground contact at a time. More particularly, such vehicles may include one or more clusters of wheels, with wheels in each cluster capable of being motor-driven independently of the cluster in its entirety. One example of such a vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,965, which is incorporated herein by reference. Since personal vehicles operate under stringent constraints of weight and power, the features of such vehicles are typically limited to those essential to the propulsion of the vehicle, with safety left largely in the hands of the operator, and comfort largely foregone. Vehicles of this sort may be more efficiently and safely operated employing mechanical features supplementary to those described in the prior art.

Mechanical improvements to a personal vehicle


An air-fuel ratio controlling apparatus includes an internal pressure detector for detecting an internal pressure of a combustion chamber of the engine. The apparatus estimates a motoring pressure of the engine and determines a start-of-combustion time, a time point when a difference between the internal pressure and the motoring pressure exceeds a predetermined value in a compression stroke and a combustion stroke of the engine. Firing delay for each cylinder is calculated from as a duration from sparking to the start-of-combustion time. Air-fuel ratio of each cylinder is estimated based on the firing delay and fuel injection amount for each cylinder is calculated to make the air-fuel ratio of plural cylinders uniform.

The present invention relates to an air-fuel ratio controlling apparatus for an internal-combustion engine, and in particular it relates to an apparatus for estimating an air-fuel ratio of each cylinder using an internal cylinder pressure sensor to make air-fuel ratio of each cylinder substantially the same.
Sometimes, errors are produced in the amount of intake air into multiple cylinders of an engine with respect to a desired amount due to aging of an air intake system and/or parts of a valve-actuating system and others. Such error differs for each cylinder because the error depends on mechanical factors. A command value for a fuel injection amount to be transmitted to each cylinder is the same for all cylinders because a control is carried out such that air-fuel ratios for all cylinders are the same. Thus, although each cylinder receives the same control command value, unevenness of air-fuel ratio is produced among the plural cylinders.
When air-fuel ratio unevenness is produced among the cylinders, a catalyst purification rate may decrease resulting in poor emission performance. When the unevenness of the air-fuel ratio becomes excessively large, misfiring may take place in the cylinder that is in an excessively lean or rich state. Even when the misfiring does not take place in such a state, drivability will deteriorate as idling vibration, surging or the like may be caused when a significant stepwise torque difference is produced among the cylinders.
The Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H2-99745 discloses a technique comprising detecting a crank angle when internal cylinder pressure reaches maximum as detected with a pressure sensor disposed in each cylinder and estimating an air-fuel ratio of each cylinder based on the crank angle at the time of ignition, thereby controlling an air-fuel ratio of each cylinder. An actual air-fuel ratio is controlled to match a desired air-fuel ratio based on a correlation between variation of an air-fuel ratio in a cylinder and a combustion time.
However, the duration from ignition to firing of air-fuel mixture and the duration from start of firing of air-fuel mixture to the time when the internal pressure reaches a maximum vary depending on fuel characteristics (volatility) and/or an internal temperature of the cylinder. For this reason, if the air-fuel ratio is estimated based on the duration from ignition to the time the internal pressure reaches the maximum, precision of the estimation would be poor, leading to a wrong air-fuel ratio control.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus for performing an air-fuel ratio control with a good precision.

Air-fuel ratio controlling apparatus for an engine


A method and system is provided for optimizing the digital filter compensation coefficients of a digitally controlled switched mode power supply within a distributed power system. A power control system comprises at least one point-of-load (POL) regulator having a power conversion circuit adapted to convey power to a load and a digital controller coupled to the power conversion circuit though a feedback loop. The digital controller is adapted to provide a pulse width modulated control signal to the power switch responsive to a feedback measurement of an output of the power conversion circuit. The digital controller further comprises a digital filter having a transfer function defined by plural filter coefficients. The digital controller periodically stores a successive one of a plurality of samples of the feedback measurement. A serial data bus operatively connects the POL regulator to a system controller. The system controller retrieves each successive stored sample from the digital controller via the serial data bus. After retrieving a pre-determined number of the samples, the system controller calculates optimized filter coefficients for the digital filter and communicates the optimized filter coefficients to the digital controller. The digital controller thereafter uses the optimized filter coefficients in the digital filter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to power supply circuits, and more particularly to digital power control systems and methods for optimizing and programming filter compensation coefficients of switched mode power supply circuits.
2. Description of Related Art
Switched mode power supplies are known in the art to convert an available direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) level voltage to another DC level voltage. A buck converter is one particular type of switched mode power supply that provides a regulated DC output voltage to a load by selectively storing energy in an output inductor coupled to the load by switching the flow of current into the output inductor. It includes two power switches that are typically provided by MOSFET transistors. A filter capacitor coupled in parallel with the load reduces ripple of the output current. A pulse width modulation (PWM) control circuit is used to control the gating of the power switches in an alternating manner to control the flow of current in the output inductor. The PWM control circuit uses signals communicated via a feedback loop reflecting the output voltage and/or current level to adjust the duty cycle applied to the power switches in response to changing load conditions.
Conventional PWM control circuits are constructed using analog circuit components, such as operational amplifiers, comparators and passive components like resistors and capacitors for loop compensation, and some digital circuit components like logic gates and flip-flops. But, it is desirable to use entirely digital circuitry instead of the analog circuit components since digital circuitry takes up less physical space, draws less power, and allows the implementation of programmability features or adaptive control techniques.
A conventional digital control circuit includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that converts an error signal representing the difference between a signal to be controlled (e.g., output voltage (Vo)) and a reference into a digital signal having n bits. The digital control circuit uses the digital error signal to control a digital pulse width modulator, which provides control signals to the power switches having a duty cycle such that the output value of the power supply tracks the reference. The digital control circuit may further include a digital filter, such as an infinite impulse response (IIR) filter having an associated transfer function. The transfer function includes compensation coefficients that define the operation of the IIR filter. It is desirable to have the ability to alter or program these compensation coefficients in order to optimize the operation of the digital filter for particular load conditions.
Since electronic systems frequently need power provided at several different discrete voltage and current levels, it is known to distribute an intermediate bus voltage throughout the electronic system, and include an individual point-of-load ("POL") regulator, e.g., a switched mode DC/DC converter, at the point of power consumption within the electronic system. Particularly, a POL regulator would be included with each respective electronic circuit to convert the intermediate bus voltage to the level required by the electronic circuit. An electronic system may include multiple POL regulators to convert the intermediate bus voltage into each of the multiple voltage levels. Ideally, the POL regulator would be physically located adjacent to the corresponding electronic circuit so as to minimize the length of the low voltage, high current lines through the electronic system. The intermediate bus voltage can be delivered to the multiple POL regulators using low current lines that minimize loss.
With this distributed approach, there is a need to coordinate the control and monitoring of the POL regulators of the power system. The POL regulators generally operate in conjunction with a power supply controller that activates, programs, and monitors the individual POL regulators. It is known in the art for the controller to use a multi-connection parallel bus to activate and program each POL regulator. For example, the parallel bus may communicate an enable/disable bit for turning each POL regulator on and off, and voltage identification (VID) code bits for programming the output voltage set-point of the POL regulators. The controller may further use additional connections to monitor the voltage/current that is delivered by each POL regulator so as to detect fault conditions of the POL regulators. A drawback with such a control system is that it adds complexity and size to the overall electronic system.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method for digitally controlling a switched mode power supply that overcomes these and other drawbacks of the prior art. It would further be advantageous to provide a system and method for controlling and monitoring the operation of a digitally controlled switched mode power supply within a distributed power system. More particularly, it would be advantageous to provide a system and method for optimizing the digital filter compensation coefficients of a digitally controlled switched mode power supply within a distributed power system.

Method and system for optimizing filter compensation coefficients for a digital power control system


Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed for determining payers of cost events in a billing environment. A biller may provide billable services or goods for its customers. At least one participant may be involved in rendering the services or goods, or a service or good related thereto. The payer for each invoice may be determined depending on one or more factors, such as the type of service or good provided and/or the relationships between the involved participant. Additional features may be provided, such as issuing an invoice to the identified payer to request payment.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to billing methods and systems, including electronic billing methods and systems implemented through computer hardware and software. More particularly, the invention relates to systems, methods and articles of manufacture for determining payers of cost events and for presenting invoices to such payers by, for example, electronic presentment or other means.
II. Background and Material Information
In the marketplace, service providers, merchants and other entities supply services and goods to customers. Such services and goods are typically offered in exchange for a predetermined monetary value or payment amount. In exchange for delivering the services or goods to a customer, service providers and merchants (collectively "billers") will request payment by issuing an invoice to a customer. As used herein, the term "customer" broadly refers to any person, business, institution, agency or other entity that receives services or goods from a biller. Further, the term "biller" is not limited to service providers and merchants, but broadly refers to any person, business, vendor, institution, agency or other entity that is capable of providing services or goods, including for example, individuals, small and medium-size companies (SMEs), financial institutions including banks and credit agencies, universities, colleges, schools, government agencies, utilities, wholesalers, retailers, etc.
Invoices may be issued to customers using various techniques, such as mailing a printed invoice or statement to a customer based on, for example, the customer's mailing or billing address. In recent years, other methods have become widely available, such as electronic presentment. With electronic presentment, an invoice from a biller is electronically presented to the customer. This may be achieved by, for example, an e-mail communication, a remote dial-up connection, or a web site on the Internet. Also known are electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) systems, which electronically present invoices and permit customers to electronically pay such invoices through one or more payment processing services or features.
Various types of EBPP systems are known. In one type of EBPP, the biller directly generates electronic invoices and electronically presents the same to its customers. Direct EBPPs may be implemented through, for example, an Internet web site that is maintained by or for the biller. In such systems, customers of the biller may log onto the web site (e.g., by entering a username and password, etc.) to review and pay invoices on-line.
Another type of EBPP is a consolidated EBPP. Typically operated by a "biller consolidator," such as a bank or bill service agency, these systems permit customers to access and view electronic invoices from several billers. In a consolidated EBPP, a secure bill presentment site on the Internet, or other type of network, may be provided to allow each customer to review and pay invoices from a plurality of billers. Customers may be charged for services rendered by the biller consolidator. Further, the biller consolidator may charge each biller for the service, but such costs are usually less than a self-maintained site and thus beneficial to billers. Consolidated EBPPs are also attractive to customers, even if they involve service charges, because consolidated EBPPs provide a single site through which invoices from several different billers may be reviewed and paid by a customer.
Often, a number of participants may be involved in rendering services or goods to a customer. For example, a service provider or merchant may engage one or more partners to provide a particular service or good for a customer. In some cases, the customer may not be aware of all of the participants involved in providing the final services or goods, such as where the customer only has a direct contractual relationship with the main service provider or merchant. Further, it is possible that the main service provider or merchant is not totally aware of all participants, particularly where a business partner or other participant has engaged a third party to provide assistance in its operations or where the other participant has no direct contractual relationship with the main service provider or merchant. Moreover, even where some or all of the participants are known, the number of participants and/or the relationships between the participants can cause confusion and/or uncertainty as to which entities are responsible for costs incurred in rendering particular services or goods.
Such billing environments create challenges for most conventional billing methods and systems. For example, conventional methods and systems are not capable of flexibly determining payers for billable events, such as where the responsible payer is a participant other than the customer or where multiple participants are involved in rendering the services or goods and there is difficulty in identifying the responsible payer. Further, existing EBPPs are not capable of effectively processing billable events where the participant(s) may not have a direct contractual relationship with the customer or the main service provider or merchant.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved systems, methods and articles of manufacture for determining payers in billing environments, including complex billing environments. There is also a need for improved billing methods and systems for flexibly determining payers for billable events based on one or more factors, such as the type of services or goods provided and/or the participants involved. Moreover, there is a need for improved billing methods and systems for determining payers in billing environments and presenting invoices to such payers by, for example, electronic presentment or other means.

Systems and methods for determining payers in a billing environment


Endoglucanase characterized by a decreased degree of activity inhibition by a lignin-derived aromatic compound, and prepared by substituting tryptophan at position 273 in the amino acid sequence of wild-type thermophilic bacterium-derived endoglucanase with an amino acid other than aromatic amino acids.

In recent years, the production of ethanol or raw materials for chemical products from cellulose, which is a regenerable and carbon neutral resource, has been in strong demand in response to problems such as fossil resource depletion and global warming.
Cellulose is contained in abundance in herbaceous plants and woody plants, which are collectively referred to as cellulosic biomass. The cell walls of cellulosic biomass are mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose is a linear polysaccharide comprising glucose molecules joined by β-1,4 linkages. Hemicellulose is a polysaccharide such as xyloglucan, xylan, or mannan. Lignin is an aromatic macromolecular compound with a complicated structure, intertwined with cellulose and hemicellulose within cell walls to form a three-dimensional mesh structure.
The production of ethanol or raw materials for chemical products from cellulosic biomass requires a step referred to as "saccharification" by which cellulosic biomass is degraded into monosaccharides that can be fermented by microorganisms. Examples of typical saccharification processes include acid treatment and enzyme treatment. Acid treatment involves a large amount of waste water, imposing a great environmental burden. Hence, enzyme treatment, which involves performing a reaction under moderate conditions using cellulase, is currently the mainstream treatment under development.
Cellulase is a generic name applied to cellulose-hydrolyzing enzymes, which are classified into three types based on substrate specificity differences: cellobiohydrolase, endoglucanase, and β-glucosidase. They are believed to act in concert so that cellulose is hydrolyzed.
When cellulosic biomass is saccharified using cellulase, the activity of cellulase is inhibited by various factors such as substrate inhibition, product inhibition, and non-specific adsorption. Furthermore, it is known that the activity of cellulases such as endoglucanase is inhibited by lignin-derived aromatic compounds (R. M. Vohra et al., Biotechnol. Bioeng., 22, 1497-1500 (1980), S. S. Paul et al., Lett. Appl. Microbiol., 36, 377-381 (2003) and E. Ximense et al., Enzym Microb Tech., 46, 170-176 (2010)). However, the mechanisms of inhibition remain unknown.
The enzymes produced by thermophilic bacteria or hyperthermophilic bacteria are highly stable and thus can retain their activity even under high-temperature conditions for long periods of time. Hence, the application thereof as industrial enzymes has been examined. Cellulases produced by cellulose-degrading thermophilic bacteria or hyperthermophilic bacteria have also been studied. It has been revealed that most of the cellulase genes of these bacteria encode endoglucanases.

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


A sensor array includes a plurality of sensors connected to two or more groups of wires such that individual sensors can be addressed. No two sensors are connected to the same two wires. The groups of wires are connected to multiplexers or the like to address particular wires connecting a unique sensor. Dramatically improved accuracy is obtained by connecting rectifiers in series with the sensors to significantly reduce reverse current through a sensor that can lead to significant errors. In some preferred embodiments, the array includes a plurality of temperature sensors, especially for use in measuring temperature at different depths in a body of water

The invention pertains to a sensor array suitable for the simultaneous measurement of parameters, such as temperature, at a series of points connected along a cable. In particular, the invention relates to a sensor array that can perform real time monitoring of a condition measurable with a sensor suitable for the determination of a spatial profile of the condition.
Real time monitoring of a variety of parameters is important in a variety of contexts. For example, real time temperature monitoring of large industrial machinery or integrated systems have many important applications in industry. Significant applications of temperature monitoring include, for example, monitoring of industrial equipment at power plants, air craft testing, evaluation of the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, monitoring of temperature distribution with depth in natural and artificial bodies of water in oceanography and limnology, and control for aquaculture. For some of these applications, the temperature sensors can be spread out over distances of hundreds to thousands of meters. To provide the desired temperature readings, thousands of temperature sensors spread out through the system can be used.
In a first aspect, the invention pertains to a sensor array comprising a power supply with two poles, a plurality of sensors, a plurality of rectifiers, a first multiplexer connected to one pole of the power supply, a second multiplexer connected to a second pole of the power supply, a first group of wires connected to the first multiplexer and a second group of wires connected to the second multiplexer. Generally, each sensor is connected to one wire of the first group of wires and one wire of the second group of wires. Preferably, no two sensors are connected to an identical two wires, and a rectifier is connected in series with each sensor.
In another aspect, the invention pertains to a method of performing measurements with a plurality of sensors, the method comprising selecting an address for a first multiplexer and a second multiplexer to access a single sensor on an array of sensors. Each sensor is uniquely connected to a pair of wires with one wire of the pair from a first group of wires and the second wire of the pair from a second group of wires. The first group of wires are connected to the first multiplexer and the second group of wires are connected to the second multiplexer. In preferred embodiments, a rectifier is connected in series with each sensor.
In a further aspect, the invention pertains to a sensor array comprising a power supply with two poles, a plurality of sensors, a first multiplexer connected to one pole of the power supply, a selector connected to a second pole of the power supply, a first group of wires connected to the first multiplexer and a second group of wires connected to the selector. Each sensor is connected to one wire of the first group of wires and one wire of the second group of wires and wherein no two sensors are connected to an identical two wires. The selector supplies power to a plurality of the wires of the second group while connecting only one wire of the second group to an output line based on an address provided at an address connection.
Moreover, the invention pertains to a matrix sensor array comprising a power supply with two poles, a plurality of sensors, at least three multiplexers with each multiplexer connected to an output of the power supply, a plurality of groups of wires with one group of wires connected to each multiplexer. Each sensor is connected to one wire of one group of wires and one wire of a different group of wires, and no two sensors are connected to an identical two wires.
Furthermore, the invention pertains to an underwater detection grid comprising a plurality of temperature sensors, a plurality of orientation sensors, a first multiplexer, a second multiplexer, a first group of wires connected to the first multiplexer and a second group of wires connected to the second multiplexer. Each temperature sensor is associated with an orientation sensor. Each temperature sensor is connected to one wire of the first group of wires and one wire of the second group of wires, and no two temperature sensors are connected to an identical two wires.


The present invention provides a drum or rotor wheel hub having a cast hub having a machined pilot in a flange portion and a machined pilot in a cylindrical portion, and a cast portion which separates the cylindrical pilot from the flange pilot, whereby a machined radii is not incorporated in the pilot construction.

The prior art includes wheel hubs for vehicles, including medium and heavy-duty trucks, trailers and buses. In one embodiment, the hubs include a stud pilot construction. Studs are passed through a flange of the hub and may be used for centering the brake drum and wheels which are mounted on the hub. In some prior art systems, the studs are used for centering only one of the wheel and drum, typically the wheel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,739,684 C1 issued to Burns and is assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Burns shows a prior art hub with a drum and wheel pilot arrangement. The hub is typically cast or forged and then machined to form a plurality of drum pilots which engage the corresponding pilot on the brake drum, and to form a plurality of wheel pilots which each engage the corresponding pilot on the wheel or wheels. The bolts used to mount the brake drum and wheel are not used to center the drum and wheels, rather the hub pilots are used to center the drum and wheels with respect to the hub. Typically the hub is machined with the drum pilot having a radius which is larger than the radius of the wheel pilot. Pairs of wheel pilots and drum pilots may be longitudinally aligned with one another and form a continuous machined surface having two right angles, the first separating the wheel pilot and the drum pilot. The second right angle separating the drum pilot from the hub flange. In any event, each pilot is associated with at least one right angle.
As suggested before, the right angles in the pilot construction are formed by a machining process. The prior art pilot construction incorporates a machined radius into the part. The machined radii introduce stress risers in the area of the pilots. The stress risers decreases fatigue life of the hub. The stress risers can be compensated by strengthening the hub such as by increasing the thickness of the cylindrical wall of the hub.
Industry trends and recent developments in hub technology have lead to lighter hub construction. Unfortunately, the light weight hub construction impacts adversely on the stress risers associated with the pilot construction.
It is desirable to provide a hub pilot construction which is not associated with a decreased fatigue life. It is also desirable to provide a pilot construction which does not produce stress risers in the area of the pilot construction. It is further desirable to provide a hub construction which does not have the associated stress risers and which is light weight. It is further desirable to provide a casting where pilots are used at the junction where a flange is joined to a cylindrical body and without producing stress risers.

Wheel hub with improved pilot construction and a method for manufacturing


The cap holder with magnet according to the present invention includes a base that serves to place caps, hats, visors, or articles having similar characteristics for their care, display, storage, or to keep them in order. A magnet is attached to the base or bottom section of the base. A protrusion is formed on the back section of the base. Inward curves are formed on the back section of the base. A hook may also be attached to the back section of the base to allow to vertically use the cap holder with magnet.

Several cap holders are known, some of them are used to place caps, hats, visors, or articles with similar characteristics over or inside them, others cap holders that serve to hang them by using tweezers or hooks, and other cap holders shaped as shelves, which include projections or openings in its forms, which are hung or placed on top of them, and a few others with a performance like some of them. They are made of plastic, wood, metal, but none of the known cap holders has the advantage offered by a cap holder having a magnet, as its name says, has a magnet placed on its base or bottom part by means, by which it may be adhered to any surface or metal part on which a magnet can be adhered. In addition, the cap holder includes a protuberance and inward curves on its back section which helps to maintain the cap, hat, visor, or similar article, placed on the cap holder with the magnet even when it is in a vertical position. Also includes an optional hook on the back section, from which may be hung from any attachment or part where you can place the hook and by its general shape helps the cap, hat, visor, or article of similar characteristics to be maintained in good condition by the adopted position and can be used by its shape practically in almost all sizes, styles, models, and other features of the same. The cap holder with magnet may be manufactured in any type of plastic and its derivatives or any other material having similar characteristics or any material that by its physical characteristics may take the form of this attachment and to fulfill its purpose.