In accordance with the present invention a storage device servo control system that positions a head relative to multiple tracks of a storage medium includes a servo signal filter that receives a readback signal from the head and produces filtered servo signal data samples, a servo demodulator that receives the filtered readback servo signal from the servo signal filter and produces a position error signal that indicates the head position relative to a track using a demodulation scheme selected in accordance with a track width profile of the storage device, and includes a servo controller that determines the demodulation scheme to be used by the servo demodulator and that processes the position error signal to maintain the head centered relative to the track.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to storage device servo control systems and, more particularly, to disk drive position control systems that determine the location of a head relative to disk tracks.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional computer data storage system having a rotating storage medium, such as a magnetic or magneto-optical disk, data is stored in concentric or spiral tracks across the surface of the disk. Consumers are demanding disk storage systems with increasing capacity, generally at a rate of 60% greater capacity each year. The most expedient way of providing greater disk capacities has been to increase track density in the disk radial direction, meaning data is stored in increasingly narrow tracks. Greater data density in the radial direction is easier to achieve than increasing data density in the circumferential direction, longitudinally within the tracks. Thus, greater data density is achieved by decreasilg the track pitch to provide more tracks from a same-sized disk. With increasing disk capacity, it is becoming more and more difficult to economically maintain the manufacturing tolerances of read head width and write head width to keep pace with the increasingly smaller track pitch.
The data stored on a disk is represented as a series of variations in magnetic orientation of the disk magnetic material. The variations in magnetic orientation, generally comprisinig reversals of magnetic flux, represent binary digits of ones and zeroes that in turn represent information. The binary digits must be read from and recorded onto the disk surface. A transducer such as a combined read/write head is provided to produce and detect the variations in magnetic orientation of the magnetic material as the disk rotates relative to the head. Conventionally, the read/write head is mounted on a disk arm that is moved across the disk by a servo.
A disk drive servo control system controls movement of the disk arm across the surface of the disk to move the read/write head from data track to data track and, once over a selected track, to maintain the head in a track-following path over the centerline of the selected track. Maintaining the head centered over a track facilitates accurate reading and recording of data in the track. Positioning read/write heads is one of the most critical aspects of recording and retrieving data in disk storage systems. With the very high track density of current disk drives, even the smallest head positioning elTor can potentially cause a loss of data. Accordingly, a great deal of effort is devoted to the design of servo control systems.
A servo control system generally centers a read/write head over a track by reading servo information recorded onto the disk surface. The servo information comprises a position-encoded servo pattern of high frequency magnetic flux transitions, generally flux reversals, that are pre-recorded in data fields reserved for disk servo information. The servo pattern typically comprises bursts of flux transitions formed as parallel stripes in the servo tracks, oriented in the radial direction. When the read/write head passes over the servo pattern flux transitions, the head generates an analog readable signal whose repeating cyclic variations can be demodulated and decoded to indicate the position of the head relative to the track from which the pattern was read. The demodulated servo signal is referred to as a position error sensing (PES) signal.
In a sector servo method for providing servo track information to a disk servo control system, each track of the disk surface includes a sector of servo information interspersed between binary data fields. That is, the tracks on a sector servo disk surface are divided into sectors having a short servo track information area followed by a customer data area. The servo information area typically contains a sector marker track identification data and then one or more servo pattern bursts. The sector marker indicates the beginning of a servo sector to the data detection electronics so the data detection electronics will realize that servo information immediately follows in the track. The servo read head can be the same read head used for reading customer data or can be a separate, dedicated servo head. The PLS signal is used to generate a corrective input signal that is applied to the read/write head positioning servo.
The servo pattern is generally recorded such that a quadrature readback signal is generated. More particularly the servo pattern comprises bursts grouped into A, B, C and D bursts that are offset from each other and repeated at regular intervals in the disk tracks. The servo pattern is demodulated so as to generate two cyclic readback signal components a primary signal component called "P" and a quadrature signal component called "Q", each 90.degree. out of phase with the other. With respect to the readback signal generated when the read head is over the A, B, C or D servo bursts, the primary P signal component is formed from the relationship P=B-A and the quadrature Q signal component is formed from the relationship Q=D-C. The PES signal is generated by alternating between the P and Q components according to which one is more linear to provide a PENS signal with the greatest linearity.
As noted above, consumers are demanding greater disk storage capacities. which are being provided by greater track densities. One aid to achieving greater track densities is the magneto-resistive (M-R) head. The M-R head can generally be made more narrow than the conventional inductive head and therefore permits a "write wide/read narrow" track writing method that is conducive to achieving greater track densities. Unfortunately the relatively narrow M-R head has operating characteristics that produce a PES signal that has poor linearity which can lead to poor servo performance. A non-linear PES signal means that the amplitude of the PES signal does not vary linearly as the M-R head is moved from one edge of a track to the other edge of the track. This makes it more difficult to assess head location based on the PES signal. In addition the physical configuration of the M-R head can include a static offset error between the read and write heads.
The poor linearity of the M-R head signal has been somewhat overcome by recording the servo pattern at a reduced track pitch, typically performing servowriting at a 1/3 or 1/4 track pitch. That is. a single track of the servo pattern is written in increments of 1/3 or 1/4 pitch. This has the effect of increasing the read head width relative to the servo track and increases the linearity of the PES signal. Servowriting at a reduced track pitch also increases the time spent performing the servowriting, which increases manufacturing costs. In addition, alternating between the primary P and quadrature Q components of the readback signal for linearity must occur more frequently. This process is called stitching and can generate signal noise that leads to inaccuracies. The PES stitching also can increase track misregistration (TMR) error which is the error that occurs when the head position otherwise indicated by the PES is offset from the true position of the head relative to the track.
Attempts have been made to provide a more linear PES signal. For example, it has been found that a more linear PES can be provided from high track density disks if an alternative to the P and Q definitions above are used. In particular, rather than use P=B-A and Q=D-C to form the PES signal, a more linear signal can be provided for high track densities by demodulating the servo signal using a difference of sums calculation involving A, B, C, and D, such as primary and quadrature definitions specified by P=(A+B)-(C+D) and Q=(C+D)-(A+B). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,281 to Shrinikle et at.
In the interest of controlling PES signal phase alignment, which can become a problem as the linear density of the PES pattern increases, various seamless servo patterns have been proposed. Such seamless servo patterns are written in one pass at a time without erasure. using a single M-R read/write head, and improve the linearity of the PES signal. More particularly, as the track density increases, the servo pattern frequency must increase to keep the frequency of the servo burst in the highest sensitivity frequency band of the servo processing channel. The increased servo pattern frequency makes phase alignment of the servo pattern bursts during servowriting more difficult. A seamless pattern is easier to record because no phase alignment between adjacent pattern component burst stripes is necessary. Thus, seamless patterns are often used with high track density disks.
Unfortunately because the width of a seamless servo pattern is determined solely by the width of the servowriting head, the width of a seamless servo pattern has a variation equal to the servowrite head width variation. For heads to be used in very high track density applications the tolerances in the read and write head widths are sufficiently variable that it is difficult to select an appropriate PES signal demodulation equation that is optimal for all heads.
Thus, the quadrature P and Q signal components provide a satisfactory PES signal for many applications. In the case of high frequency servo patterns used with high track densities, a difference of sums demodulation scheme has been found to be useful but M-R head manufacturing tolerances make it difficult to know which is better for a given head.
From the discussion above, it should be apparent that there is a need for a disk drive with servo demodulation that can account for differences in track densities and head widths to provide optimal servo demodulation for the track density and head width of the particular disk drive. The present invention satisfies this need.

Method and apparatus for providing a linear position error sensing (PES) signal

International Business Machines Corporation


A communication system is proposed which efficiently performs an interface control of QoS of ATM and QoS of IP and improves the quality and reliability of a network. A QoS information setting part sets QoS information of IP in a packet and sets QoS information of ATM corresponding to the QoS information when an IP-based communication takes place between networks, and sets QoS information of ATM in a cell when an ATM-based communication takes place. An information sending part sends the packet of the cell. An information receiving part receives the packet or the cell. A QoS guaranteed communication part performs a communication control with QoS being guaranteed on the basis of the QoS information.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication systems, and more particularly, to a communication system that performs a communication control.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Amazing popularization of the Internet has stimulated very active information communications such as audio and image. Recently, business users such as companies have positively considered the introduction of IP-VPN (Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network) in order to reduce the communication cost and realize electronic commerce.
The concept of QoS (Quality of Service) is needed to realize the Internet such as a leased line in which the available band is ensured. However, the current condition of the Internet does not guarantee QoS in the network layer (that is, the current condition is the best effort).
Thus, two QoS guaranteed techniques have been proposed, one of which is Intserv (RFC2205), and the other is Diffserv (RFC2475). These techniques have been considered toward standardization in IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). The IETF is an organization for standardizing Internet related techniques and is making up document groups such as various protocols (RFC: Request For Comments).
Intserv (Integrated Service) performs scheduling for each flow using a network router. The flow is a flow of packets having the same source address, destination address, source port number and destination port number. The scheduling is a process for determining the order of packets in packet processing.
Intserv is a way close to the connection type network, but requires the router to handle complex processing such as state management and scheduling on the flow basis. Therefore, as the network scale becomes larger, the load of the router increases. Thus, Intserv has a problem in scalability.
On the other hand, Diffserv (Differentiated service) does not perform the above-mentioned flow-basis control, but is aggregate flow-basis processing in which DSCP (Diffserv Code Point) in the packet header is designated, and the packets having the same DSCP are handled as the same QoS. It has been desired that Diffserv is practiced as a way with high scalability with respect to large-scale networks.
Recent communication networks have complexity and extremely large scales in order to provide various services. For example, a composite network layer structure has been employed in which an IP network is configured on an ATM network.
Also, techniques such as XDSL (x Digital Subscriber Line) or ATM-PON (Asynchronous Transfer Mode Passive Optical Network) have been practiced in the access section (from the user to the carrier station. In the access section, the band is guaranteed using QoS of the ATM.
Although QoS should be guaranteed in the end-to-end section, the conventional art guarantees the band only in part of the access section on the ATM basis in the above-mentioned communication network. Thus, the original effects of QOS are not brought about, and the communication quality and the reliability are thus degraded.
It is therefore necessary to efficiently perform the interface control of QoS between the Diffserv compliant node and the ATM node in communications via the network including IP and ATM and to guarantee end-to-end QoS and the network.

Communication system interfacing control of quality of service (QOS) of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and internet protocol (IP)


An endoluminal prosthetic delivery system provides a delivery sheath possessing a yield strength capable of allowing implantation of the prosthesis with increased efficiency. An endoluminal prosthesis is inserted in a body in a radially compressed condition, and expanded at an implantation site, whereby a delivery sheath or the prosthesis itself possesses a yield strength sufficient to allow radial expansion of the prosthesis. A method of implanting an endoluminal prosthesis is also herein provided.

Endoluminal prostheses are typically used to repair, replace, or otherwise correct a diseased or damaged blood vessel. An artery or vein may be diseased in a variety of ways. The prosthesis may therefore be used to prevent or treat a wide variety of defects such as stenosis of the vessel, thrombosis, occlusion, or an aneurysm.
One type of endoluminal prosthesis used in treatment and repair of diseases in various blood vessels is a stent. A stent is a generally longitudinal tubular device which is useful to open and support various lumens in the body. For example, stents may be used in the vascular system, urogenital tract and bile duct, as well as in a variety of other applications in the body. Endovascular stents have become widely used for the treatment of stenosis, strictures, and aneurysms in various blood vessels. These devices are implanted within the vessel to open and/or reinforce collapsing or partially occluded sections of the vessel.
Stents are generally open ended and are radially expandable between a generally unexpanded insertion diameter and an expanded implantation diameter which is greater than the unexpanded insertion diameter. Stents are often flexible in configuration, which allows them to be inserted through and conform to tortuous pathways in the blood vessel. The stent is generally inserted in a radially compressed state and expanded either through a self-expanding mechanism, or through the use of balloon catheters.
A graft is another type of endoluminal prosthesis which is used to repair and replace various body vessels. Whereas a stent provides structural support to hold a damaged vessel open, a graft provides an artificial lumen through which blood may flow. Grafts are tubular devices which may be formed of a variety of materials, including textile and non-textile materials. Grafts also generally have an unexpanded insertion diameter and an expanded implantation diameter which is greater than the unexpanded diameter.
It is also known to combine a stent and a graft to form a composite endoluminal prosthesis. Such a composite medical device provides additional support for blood flow through weakened sections of a blood vessel. In endovascular applications the use of a stent/graft combination is becoming increasingly important because the combination not only effectively allows the passage of blood therethrough, but also ensures the implant will remain open.
It is also known to provide delivery systems for delivering such prostheses intraluminally. These delivery systems generally include catheters with the prosthesis removably mounted to the distal end of the catheter. Quite often a catheter, introducer sheath, or other similar retaining means, is disposed over the prosthesis to removably support the prosthesis on the catheter. Once the prosthesis is situated in the target site in the lumen, the catheter is removed from the prosthesis.
In order to activate the prosthesis to its expanded implantation diameter, however, it is usually required to pull the sheath or retaining means away from the prosthesis to allow the expansion. The catheter typically retains and delivers the prostheses in a radially contracted state in its unexpanded insertion diameter, and removal of the catheter sheath allows expansion to the expanded implantation diameter.
Delivery and removal of the catheter sheath, however, to implant and/or activate the prosthesis presents several problems. First, catheter movement can disturb or move the introducer sheath at the wound site where the catheter is inserted into the vessel, thereby resulting in premature deployment of the prosthesis. Secondly, in tortuous anatomy, the added friction caused by rubbing the outer catheter against the vessel can make delivery and deployment of the prosthesis difficult. The translation of control movements from the proximal to the distal end of the catheter is imprecise, jerky and in some instances impossible due to the increased friction caused by tortuosity. Thirdly, delivery of the sheathed prosthesis can create trauma to the endothelium over the entire length of the catheter.
It is therefore desirous to provide an endoluminal prosthetic delivery system which delivers and activates an endoluminal prosthesis to its expanded implantation diameter without requiring removal of the catheter sheath in order to expand the prosthesis.

Medical device retaining sheath and medical device delivery system employing same


A coil manufacturing device includes a turret having a spindle which turns a bobbin, a winding unit which winds wire on the rotating bobbin, and a taping unit which tapes the wire wound on the bobbin. A mechanism moves the spindle between the winding unit and the taping unit, and another mechanism changes over the wire supplied to the winding unit so that wire change-over and taping can be performed simultaneously. The winding unit includes a nozzle bar, a nozzle device provided on the nozzle bar for supplying the wire, a clamping device on the nozzle bar for holding an end of the wire and a nozzle displacement device for supporting the nozzle bar and moving it in three dimensions.

Transformers are generally manufactured by winding and taping a wire alternately so as to build up a plurality of wire layers. A coil winding device wherein this operation is performed by a simple system is disclosed in Japanese Tokkai Sho 63-280404 published by the Japanese Patent Office.
This device comprises a nozzle holder and taping device supported by a supporting member such that they are free to move in three dimensions X, Y, Z. The winding operation is performed by rotating a bobbin supported on a spindle, supplying it with wire from a nozzle supported by the nozzle holder, and tying the wire by displacing the nozzle. Tape is then wound on the bobbin by activating a taping device.
If wires of different type or diameter are to be wound on the same bobbin, the wire has to be changed over. In this device, however, the winding position and taping position are the same, and the nozzle holder and taping mechanism are supported by the same supporting member. If it is attempted to install a separate wire change-over mechanism, therefore, the taping device is an obstruction.
Further, even if a wire change-over mechanism can be installed, the winding, taping and change-over of the wire are all performed at the same position. These operations can therefore be performed only sequentially, and the time required to perform the whole process is consequently longer.

Coil winding device having a turret rotatable between a winding position and a taping position


The generation and comparison of a first time stamp and a second time stamp allows for the active operation of a mobile device that is intermittently connected to a middleware system. A document is created with a first stamp, where this document relates to a particular activity associated with one or more objects. Affected object fields are also created to include a second time stamp. The first time stamp is updated to reflect a data request object and the second time stamp reflects when the affected object is adjusted on the back-end system. Until the second time stamp is later in time than the first time stamp, indicating successful processing of the data request object, the mobile device simulates the successful processing of the data request object to reflect the adjustment in a data object value.

The present invention relates generally to processing operations in a mobile device that it is intermittently connected to a business logic service system, i.e., back-end system, and more specifically to a mobile device with intermittent communication simulating data field values for the execution of local processing applications until confirmation of a back-end processing operation.
In mobile processing environments, remote or handheld devices include significant amounts of local processing power to conduct and facilitate various commercial transactions. By way of example, an order handling system may allow a salesperson to place an order on a handheld device using local processing applications. This remote device may or may not be in wireless communication with the back-end processing system.
In these systems, the veracity of the data can be vital. For example, if a person places an order for a particular item, it can be extremely important to know or validate the inventory level or even possibly the naming of the item to insure the accuracy of the original agreement as well as the smooth transaction of any subsequent commercial transaction, including the proper delivery of the requested goods.
The mobile device may not be in communication with the back-end processing system for any number of a variety of reasons. For example, the mobile device may not recognize a wireless signal or may disable the wireless communication to save power. In these existing systems, it is also common to utilize a middleware component to facilitate the interaction of the remote device to the back-end system. As recognized by one skilled in the art, the middleware provides the intermediary, where the mobile device communicates with the middleware component and the middleware component thereupon communicates with the back-end processing device.
As a local document is created on the mobile device, the local object data should accurately reflect the back-end system object data. A document may be one or more of a variety of different types of electronic documents, such as for example an order form where the mobile device relates to procuring sales. In another example, the document may be a reporting document or other type of electronic document reflecting various types of data objects, such as an inventory amount or outstanding ordering amounts for a business transaction. It is recognized that many other varieties of electronic documents may be created on this mobile device, where the mobile device not only displays data object values, but also allows a user to change or suggest modification to these values.
By the mobile device being in intermittent communication with the back-end system, problems can arise regarding correct data object values. An adjustment on the local device is not authorized until verified on the back-end system, but it can be important to accurately reflect these adjusted values on the mobile device. Problems arise in the management of the data itself and these systems include a master back-end system with final authorization and control over the data on the handheld device. As these systems typically include a central back-end system and numerous mobile devices, the central system owns the data that is replicated or made available on the mobile device.
Typically, the mobile device, upon making the data object value adjustment, queues up a data message with the change request (for example an order form with a request for X number of items and thereby reducing an inventory value by a corresponding amount). Upon a first communication, the mobile device sends the message to the back-end system.
As the mobile device does not maintain an active on-going communication and the back-end system does not necessarily immediately process the change request, the mobile device operates for a period of time having incorrect data object information. The mobile device may receive confirmation of the successful processing of the change request upon a later synchronization with the middleware system, but for the intermittent period of time, the data object values are improper. Having the improper information on the mobile device, even for a short period of time, can be problematic as the user continues to use the mobile device and must rely on the accuracy of the information when generating documents or otherwise processing or performing various operations on the mobile device. Therefore, there is a need for a technique for maintaining the accuracy of the object data on the mobile device operating in conjunction with the asynchronous communication technique.

System and method of object simulation in an intermittently connected mobile application


In order to make it possible to align a concrete form while at the same time providing a safe working walkway therealong, a scaffold bracket comprises a generally triangular shaped brace having an attachment leg, a plank supporting leg and a brace leg. The attachment leg is adapted to be secured to an outer surface of the concrete form, the plank supporting leg extends generally transversely of the attachment leg, and the brace leg extends from the attachment leg to the plank supporting leg at an acute angle to both the attachment leg and the plank supporting leg. A first stop is provided on the plank supporting leg at a preselected distance outwardly of the attachment leg to define a waler bracket for accepting a plank of predetermined width for aligning the concrete form. A second stop is provided on the plank supporting leg at a preselected distance outwardly of the first stop to define an outer limit for accepting one or more planks of predetermined width for creating a working walkway. The brace is configured in such manner that the attachment leg can cooperate with one or more spaced fasteners on the outer surface of the concrete form such that the attachment leg is secured to the spaced fasteners with the planks of predetermined width suitably positioned on the plank supporting leg. In a preferred embodiment of the scaffold bracket of the present invention, the second stop takes the form of a guardrail pocket having an opening adapted to accept an upright for forming a guardrail with other such uprights at the outer limit of the working walkway.

In recent years, it is recognized that there have been significant advancements in the field of concrete forming. It is known, for instance, that there are a wide variety of forming systems which are now available for nearly every conceivable concrete forming application. In addition, there have been a number of different types of accessories developed for use with the various concrete forming systems.
As will be appreciated, a variety of forming systems have been specifically developed for particular applications. Among these are forms for bridge piers, beams and large walls, forms for round tanks and curved walls, forms for heavy construction, box culvert travelers, room tunnel forms, bridge deck systems, forms for curbs and gutters, and even specialized designs for unique concrete forming requirements. In addition to these unique types of systems, it is well known that concrete forming is entirely common for pouring walls.
In wall forming systems, it is typical for the panels to be designed for vertical positioning. The panels and fillers are conventionally available in a variety of heights and backing bar configurations for specific applications. When workmen utilize such forming systems, there are oftentimes two seemingly unrelated requirements.
First, a forming system is typically required to have precise alignment. This has conventionally been accomplished by the utilization of waling and, in hand setting applications, waling is usually necessary for alignment only. In other words, the waling usually need not form a structural part of the form work.
In addition to the requirement for waling, a forming system is required to utilize scaffold brackets in many applications. The scaffold bracket must typically provide a safe working platform and, naturally, it should also be capable of quick attachment to form work. In addition, the scaffold bracket should be capable of fitting on a variety of forms in order to provide maximum versatility.
In other words, since forming systems are provided in a variety of different sizes, a scaffold bracket should be sufficiently versatile to quickly attach to any such system.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the foregoing problems and achieving one or more of the resulting objects.


An exemplary aircraft includes a turbine engine having a gas generator spool and a power spool, the power spool operational to drive a rotor, a first generator coupled to the gas generator spool, and a controller operable to increase a load on the gas generator spool when the gas generator spool is on a speed limit thereby increasing a speed limit margin in order to increase power available from the turbine engine.

This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
In gas turbine engines, the rotational speed of the high-speed or gas generator spool varies in a fixed relationship with the turbine engine power. When an engine is limited by gas generator speed the engine power is also limited.

Gas generator speed limit and power recovery


Device assemblies that include one or more optoelectronic devices incorporating one or more polymer-based fiber alignment structures are described. In accordance with some embodiments, the device assemblies can be fabricated using Embedded Wafer-Level Packaging (eWLP) methods. Each of the polymer-based fiber alignment structures operates as a stationary guiding structure for automatically guiding an optical fiber into optical alignment with a light propagating portion of the optoelectronic device when the optical fiber is inserted into a hollowed central portion of the polymer-based fiber alignment structure, the hollowed central portion having sloping sides.

Optoelectronic devices and modules are known in the industry. For example, optical transmitter and receiver modules are used in many types of optical communications systems. As is known, an optical transmitter can convert modulated electrical signals into optical signals for transmission over an optical fiber that is coupled to the optical transmitter. An optical receiver that is coupled to the other end of the optical fiber can receive the optical signals transmitted over the optical fiber and recover information by demodulating the optical signals.
As is also known, coupling the optical fiber to devices such as the optical transmitter or the optical receiver involves the use of various types of connector assemblies and fixtures. However, the use of some conventional connector assemblies and fixtures is not only complicated and time-consuming but can also lead to an undesirable level of insertion loss in the optical signal. The insertion loss can arise as a result of a number of factors, such as, for example, poor alignment between the optical fiber and the optical transmitter (or the optical receiver).
It is therefore desirable to provide mechanisms and structures that allow for relatively easy coupling of an optical fiber to an optical transmitter or optical receiver while also minimizing insertion loss when doing so.

Optoelectronic assembly incorporating an optical fiber alignment structure

Avago Technologies General IP (Singapore) Pta. Ltd.


The microneedle sheet according to an embodiment comprises a plurality of microneedles formed on a sheet generally along a main surface of the sheet; a bending resistance of the sheet as measured in accordance with a 45° cantilever method defined by JIS L 1096:2010 is 4.2 cm to 12.5 cm; and a material of the sheet is a biodegradable polymer. The microneedles rise from the main surface when the sheet is bent, and the raised microneedles pierce the skin.

Microneedles for administering an active ingredient via the skin and devices including the microneedles have been heretofore known. For example, a rotatable microstructure device described in Patent Literature 1 mentioned below has a curved base material and a roller structure including a plurality of microelements affixed to a first surface of this base material. The plurality of microelements have predetermined size and shape in such a way as to pierce the stratum corneum layer of the skin when the microstructure device is placed on the skin and rolls in the predetermined direction.


A backbone network system for a vehicle enables high-speed and large-capacity data transmission between integrated control modules mounted in the vehicle, such that communication can be maintained through another alternative communication line when an error occurs in a specific communication line. The backbone network system enables various kinds of integrated control modules mounted in the vehicle to perform large-capacity and high-speed communications, based on Ethernet communication, by connecting domain gateways of the integrated control modules through an Ethernet backbone network, and provides a fast fail-safe function so that domain gateways can perform communications through another communication line when an error occurs in a communication line between the domain gateways.

(a) Technical Field
The present invention relates to an Ethernet backbone network system for a vehicle and a method for controlling a fail safe of the Ethernet backbone network system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an Ethernet backbone network system for a vehicle and a method for controlling a fail safe of the Ethernet backbone network system, in which high-speed and large-capacity data transmission is possible between integrated control modules mounted in the vehicle, and communication can be maintained through another alternative communication line when an error occurs in a specific communication line.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A chassis integrated control system, a body control module (BCM), and integrated control modules such as a multimedia system integrated with an external interface function, a navigation function and the like are mounted in a vehicle. In particular, the chassis integrated control system integrally controls a suspension system, a steering system, a braking system and the like including a power train unit for controlling an engine, a transmission and the like. The BCM integrally controls various kinds of convenience devices including a vehicle speed sensitive wire, a power window and the like.
As functions related to convenience of a vehicle and safety specifications are increased, an increasing number of various kinds of integrated control modules may be mounted in the vehicle. Accordingly, the integrated control modules are connected through communication networks of various speeds according to a required communication environment.
However, there is a limitation in performing large-capacity data transmission/reception and high-speed communication, using only existing communication protocols (e.g., CAN, FlexRay, Most, etc.) due to an increase in the number of controllers mounted in a next-generation vehicle and an increase in the request for multimedia services.
Accordingly, as a large-capacity/high-speed communication system is required due to an increase in the number of controllers mounted in a vehicle and an increase in the demand for multimedia services, a backbone network technology which can be mounted in the vehicle, based on Ethernet communication, has been developed.

Ethernet backbone network system for vehicle and method for controlling fail safe of the ethernet backbone network system


Modulation of neural activity in the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) or cervical sympathetic trunk (CST) is effective in treating diseases and conditions mediated by thyroid and parathyroid hormones, in particular diseases associated with calcitonin secretion (e.g. osteoporosis) or diseases associated with thyroxine secretion (e.g. hypothyroid syndrome).

Thyroid and parathyroid glands receive dual innervation by sympathetic nerves (cervical sympathetic trunk: CST) and parasympathetic nerves (superior laryngeal nerve: SLN). Blood flow of the glands is reciprocally regulated by this dual innervation. Hormones secreted from the glands are known to be regulated by hormonal factors, and the possibility of neuronal regulation by the autonomic nerves has been suggested by pharmacological and denervation experiments.
Hormones secreted by the thyroid and parathyroid glands, for example calcitonin (CT), thyroxine (T4) and its metabolite triiodothyronine (T3), and parathyroid hormone (PTH), act to homeostatically regulate factors such as the body's calcium and phosphate levels, for example by fixing or releasing calcium from bone through osteoblast or osteoclast activity. Disruption of thyroid and parathyroid hormone levels has been reported in bone conditions such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, Paget's disease of bone, Hashimoto's disease, as well as mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and mania.
Pharmacological treatment of these disorders can include hormone replacement, for example administration of salmon calcitonin. Other approaches include targeting the pathophysiological mechanisms, for example using osteoclast inhibitors such as bisphosphonates in osteoporosis therapy. However, these therapies have disadvantages such as poor pharmacokinetic properties (e.g. the short half-life of salmon calcitonin) or frequent occurrence of side-effects (e.g. bisphosphonates).
There is therefore an unmet need for interventions able to treat disorders and diseases associated with thyroid and parathyroid hormone disruption.

Treatment of diseases mediated by thyroid and parathyroid hormones

TOKYO METROPOLITAN INSTITUTE OF GERONTOLOGY


A knowledge representation system which allows a user to utilize a description language to generate, maintain and access information in a knowledge base is disclosed. The knowledge representation system includes an explanation subsystem which explains where the derived information that is stored for a particular object was obtained from. A first level explanation function will provide a user with an explanation of the immediate source of the pieces of derived information that are stored for an object in the knowledge base. A complete explanation function provides a complete explanation by continuing to explain how the immediate source for each piece of the information itself received the information, until the source of the information is told information or the result of a rule firing. The explanation subsystem also explains subsumption inferences, which explain why a particular concept or rule antecedent is satisfied by a particular object. The explanation that is generated may be limited in a number of ways in accordance with the needs of a user. An error handling subsystem facilitates the detection of the source of real errors. Upon the detection of a real error, an error object is preferably created for the inconsistent object and for every other object that is affected by the error. The error objects, which may be printed out or explained, store all of the information associated with the corresponding object at a time when the data structures include the error information.

Recently, a number of knowledge base management systems have been developed which codify information in a knowledge base and provide a mechanism for users to access and maintain the stored information. For a general introduction to knowledge bases, see Ronald J. Brachman, "The Basics of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning," AT&T Technical Journal, Vol. 67, No. 1, pp. 7-24 (January/February 1988) and J. Sowa, ed., Principles of Semantic Networks: Explorations in the Representation of Knowledge, Morgan-Kaufmann Publishers (1991).
Generally, information for a particular domain is developed through a knowledge engineering process which requires a domain expert to translate his or her knowledge into a collection of declarative expressions which embody the expert's knowledge. In addition, the expert can generate a set of rules and inferences which serve to imitate the expert's reasoning.
An illustrative knowledge base management system is the CLASSIC.TM. Knowledge Representation System, developed by AT&T Bell Laboratories, which allows a user to generate, maintain and access information in a knowledge base using a description language. The information that is stored in a knowledge base for a particular object typically includes "told" information that has been entered by a user about the object, as well as "derived" information that may be ascertained about the object based on the told information and certain inferences that allow information about the object to be inferred.
A knowledge base management system may provide an explanation function which explains the source of each piece of information that has been stored for a particular object. For example, the explanation function may indicate that a piece of information was entered by the user about an object, or that the piece of information was inherited from a concept which the user asserted that the object satisfied.
There are very few knowledge base management systems that include explanation capabilities for explaining the immediate source of a piece of information. Prior versions of the CLASSIC.TM. system did provide an explanation of the immediate source of a piece of information, but did not go the next step and explain how the immediate source of the information itself received the information.
In addition, if a system has no pruning capabilities, then when a user requests an explanation for a particular object, the user is presented with an explanation of the source of all of the information that is stored for the particular object, regardless of the particular needs of the user. Thus, explanation systems, which are unable to limit the scope of the generated explanation, have limited utility because the amount of explanation that is presented to the user is often overwhelming.
One potentially useful application for the explanation facilities of a knowledge base management system is in detecting the source of errors. However, upon the detection of a real error by a conventional knowledge representation system, in other words, where an inconsistency is created in the information stored for an object, the knowledge representation system will automatically discard the piece of information that has led to the error and return the knowledge base to a consistent state by removing all of the information that was added to the knowledge base based on the discarded information. Thus, in a conventional knowledge representation system, it is not possible to request an explanation of an object containing an error, because the knowledge representation system has automatically discarded the information in order to maintain the knowledge base in a consistent state.
Another potentially useful application for the explanation facilities of a knowledge base management system is in providing an explanation of why a particular object does or does not satisfy a particular concept description. If the knowledge base management system classifies objects in the knowledge base in a hierarchy, it would be particularly useful for the knowledge base management system to provide an explanation of why an object is in a particular position in the hierarchy.
As is apparent from the above discussion with prior knowledge base management systems, a need exists for a knowledge representation system that is capable of providing a complete explanation of a piece of derived information by tracing back the source of each piece of information until it reaches the point that the source of the information is told information which has been asserted by the user. A further need exists for a knowledge representation system that is capable of limiting the generated explanation in accordance with the needs of the user. Finally, a need exists for an explanation system that is capable of explaining objects that contain errors, in order to facilitate the detection of the error source.

Knowledge base management system with enhanced explanation of derived information and error objects


A method, computer program product, and system for distributing changes to an application are disclosed. A graphical application modeling tool is provided for displaying a model of a pattern of the application. The model has a plurality of elements, where each element is linked to another element via a port. Each port representing a class that contains information about the pattern qualities of that port as related to the element. A change that is applied to a first element of the plurality of elements of the model is propagated to a second element of the plurality of elements via linked ports associated with the first and second elements.

A structured approach to developing web applications includes a model-driven tool such as SAP's Visual Composer, which allows a developer to compose applications in a flexible way by using patterns. A pattern graphically depicts functional components as drag-and-drop services, and defines a data flow between the components. User interface patterns can be defined at various levels, and can be nested within each other, thus creating hierarchies of patterns. At the top level of the hierarchy, a pattern can act as a model or "floor plan" for a user interface that is designed to help end-users complete a specific business process. The floor plan defines the user interface of the application by specifying an overall screen layout for the user interface and managing and orchestrating any nested patterns.
In current implementations of pattern-based configurations, there is a strict separation of components that are related to data handling (i.e., services) and other component that are focused on user interactions (i.e., scenarios). If a service element is changed, e.g. a new attribute is created, this change is not propagated through the whole model because only a service class is associated with the backend meta data, e.g. business object node meta data.
There is currently no generic code distribution mechanism in pattern-based application development environments. Kit developers thus require code distribution, logic for every kit. This increased need for resources to write a kit makes implementation of distribution by different people too different and not always fitting together. Further, the conventional mechanisms for distribution of code created dependency between different kits. Implementing the logic in the pattern components is also not a viable solution, because such implementation violates the modularization of every component. The distribution logic has to be implemented in a more generic layer.
The pattern idea means that it is possible to create new composition unit and plug in these new components without any changes to already existing components. The consequence is that existing components are not allowed to be edited for a new component. An abstraction layer is needed to define that one component wants to host some other components, but does not make any assumptions about the used components, because the used component is added in a dynamic way.

Distribution of data changes in pattern configurations


A calf rest arranged tiltably about a transverse axis on a heel stirrup or heel part of a snowboard binding or of a snowboard boot has, to limit the tiltability, an adjustable stop arrangement which interacts with the heel stirrup or heel part. This stop arrangement is arranged on the calf-side inner side of the calf rest, so that the stability of the mounting of the stop arrangement on the calf rest is increased by pressure of the calf against the calf rest.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a calf support on a snowboard binding or a snowboard boot, and more particularly to a calf support with a base part extending under the foot of the snowboarder and with a heel stirrup or heel part arranged on the base part and a calf rest that is arranged tiltably about a transverse axis on the heel stirrup or heel part, the tiltability of which is in the backward direction and is limited by a stop, that is arranged on the calf rest and interacts with an edge on the heel stirrup or heel part.
2. Description of Prior Art
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,170, a snowboard binding, with a calf support as mentioned above, is known, which is suitable for soft or flexible boots (soft boots). By way of a base part, this binding has a base plate which can be mounted firmly on the snowboard, and can be used as a tread surface in each case for one boot and is fastened on the snowboard by means of a disk shaped hold-down plate. The hold-down plate can be inserted into a circular opening of the base plate, the underside of which overlaps with a flange-like rim at an annular region of the base plate at the circumference of the circular opening. The base plate can be secured between the upper side of the snowboard and the flange-like rim of the hold-down plate when the hold-down plate is screwed together with or otherwise firmly connected to the snowboard. The flange-like rim of the hold-down plate that overlaps the rim of the circular opening of the base plate, can be provided with a profile designed in the manner of a radial serration, which engages in an oppositely matching profile on the upper side of the rim of the opening of the base plate, so that the base plate can be fixed positively and non-positively on the snowboard by means of the hold-down plate.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,170, the pivot mounting of the calf rest on the heel stirrup is designed adjustably in such a manner that the calf rest can be arranged slightly to the side of the heel or calf center and the lower leg of the snowboarder is supported by a lateral component of greater or lesser magnitude during backward leaning.
Moreover, snowboard boots are also known, which have a base part which is designed as a relatively rigid sole or foot shell and can be inserted into a binding on the snowboard, which is preferably designed as a step-in binding. In this connection, a stable heel stirrup or heel part, which then in turn serves for mounting or fastening a calf rest on the boot, can be arranged or formed integrally on the sole or on the foot shell.

Calf support on snowboard binding or snowboard boot


An electrohydraulic braking system for motor vehicles with a brake master cylinder which can be actuated by a brake pedal. A wheel brake is coupled with at least with one vehicle wheel. The wheel brake can be connected with the brake master cylinder in order to subject the wheel brake to pressurized hydraulic fluid. A hydraulic pump, and a hydraulic pressure accumulator supplied by the pump, form an alternative source of pressurized hydraulic fluid which can be supplied to the wheel brake through a control valve arrangement in a controlled manner in order to subject the wheel brake to pressurized hydraulic fluid. A shut-off valve is arranged between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic pressure accumulator in order to selectively make or shut-off a connection between the hydraulic pump and the hydraulic pressure accumulator to permit the hydraulic pump, in certain situations, to rapidly pressurize the braking system without having to simultaneously recharge the hydraulic pressure accumulator.

The intention relates to an electrohydraulic braking system for motor vehicles with a brake cylinder which can be actuated by a brake pedal and a pressureless reservoir for hydraulic fluid, a braking means which is coupled with at least one vehicle wheel and which can be connected with the brake cylinder in order subject the braking means to pressurized hydraulic fluid, a hydraulic pump and a hydraulic pressure accumulator supplied by same for providing pressurized hydraulic fluid which can be supplied to the braking means through a control valve arrangement in a controlled manner in order to subject the braking means to pressurized hydraulic fluid ("brake-by-wire").
In such an electrohydraulic braking system the braking energy required for braking the motor vehicle is provided by an electrically operated braking system In order to brake the vehicle with a minimum delay in the case of an unexpected failure of the electrically operated braking system, the braking system is additionally equipped with a hydraulic auxiliary braking system for the immediate actuation of the brakes.
The range of application for such an electrohydraulic braking system includes antilock control systems, antislip control systems, electronic brake power distribution, as well as driving dynamics control systems.
Due to the fact that in an electrically operated braking system the driver's request is detected by means of sensors at the brake pedal and is supplied to the electronic control unit in the form of electric signals, such systems are also referred as "brake-by-wire" systems. For the redundant hydraulic emergency system a direct connection between the brake pedal and the brakes must be established in a conventional manner via a brake pressure transducer as well as hydraulic lines, which arrangement is also referred to as "push-through". This requires a changeover means so that under normal operating conditions the brake pressure which is generated in the electrical system, and in the event of a defect or a failure of the electric system the brake pressure which is generated in the hydraulic auxiliary system, is transmitted to the brakes.
The control valve arrangement is usually designed as a slide valve so that escapes and leakages are inevitable. Due to this fact, a pressure drop of the hydraulic fluid accommodated in the hydraulic pressure accumulator, in particular in the case of prolonged stop periods, cannot be prevented. In addition, in this known system the components which are arranged down-stream of the hydraulic pressure accumulator (lines, seals, connections, etc.) are permantently subjected to the pressure prevailing in the hydraulic pressure accumulator. This can result in premature material fatigue, leakages and the like.


A machine or apparatus to capture dog urine and solid waste for generally indoor use by a dog owner that automatically or manually advances fresh pads on a predetermined programming of the machine by the control module.

There are millions of pet dogs in the United States and the rest of North America. Many dog owners even have more than one dog within their residence in Urban and Rural North America. This large number of dogs excretes a large amount of both liquid and solid waste each day of the year. Due to the busy commitments and work schedules of pet owners, the dogs are left in the residence unattended for hours or days at a time to accommodate work and event schedules of the pet owners. Dogs are known to urinate several times a day and excrete solid wastes at least once daily too. Dog owners want to keep their residences clean and without the attendant odor accompanying either urination or solid waste excrement. Pet owners are also known to teach their dogs or pets to eliminate their bodily wastes on paper within their residences or condition their pets to eliminate their waste outdoors when the pet owner takes the pet for a walk outdoors. Many municipalities have adopted "pooper scooper" laws for sanitary reasons that means pet owners are picking up nasty solid waste on their walks with the pet outdoors.
Outdoor elimination of pet waste can become problematic due to extreme weather conditions found by pet owners in the time allotted to daily walk their pet. If the weather is nasty, the walk often gets postponed or delayed that stresses out the pet. Therefore, housebreaking pads are used by tens of thousands of home owners with their puppies and dogs around the country. Dog owners, especially in large cities where dog parks and available yards are at a minimum, generally prefer to "paper" train their pets. Because of work schedules, some owners may not get home to walk the dog on time, so they "paper" train the pet to use the pads to prevent the dog from eliminating indiscriminately in the house or apartment. Many apartment dwelling dogs, especially among the smaller breeds, are "paper" trained exclusively. Whether they are used for housebreaking for puppies or for "paper" training indoor dogs, who will use these pads throughout their lifetime, housebreaking pads are one of the larger expenditures for dog owners.
In U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,662, describes An Apparatus that maintains housebreaking pads for a pet owner, automatically removing and sealing soiled pads and waste and replacing the soiled pad with a clean pad. The apparatus senses when a pet is using a housebreaking pad, and when the pet is finished, removes and seals the pad and the waste automatically, moving the pad into a repository for later disposal and replacing the soiled pad with a clean pad. The apparatus seals the waste and pad with plastic film having low vapor permeability for disposal on a once-daily or less frequent basis. The apparatus minimizes or eliminates odors associated with canine elimination by removing the pads immediately after elimination is completed, and sealing the waste. A control unit, triggered by a sensor, has a single cycle or a multiple cycle operation, operating a motor that rolls the soiled composite pad onto an arbor in the repository.
Another major problem that plagues pet owners is the annoyance of replacing soiled pads. Offensive odors from the soiled pads may permeate the household. Owners need to flush the feces down a toilet or place in a sealed container to decrease the odor. Dogs, especially puppies, when stressed sometimes develop the undesirable habit of eating their own feces. If the dog develops the habit, the dog owner needs to pick up fecal matter quickly to break the habit. Disposing of the fecal matter and the pads is not only a continual annoyance, but also causes dog owners to bend down multiple times a day, often bothering the lower back and stressing the knees. There is also the possibility that the pet owner will end up with urination or fecal matter on their hands, clothing or other residential items when disposing of open faced pads or paper haphazardly rolled up to contain the pet waste. This is especially burdensome to the elderly, physically handicapped, and blind who have companion, assistance, or guide dogs. The handling of pet waste may also affect the overall health of the elderly person who comes in contact with fecal or urination on their hands and clothing and due to poor eyesight or numbness in their fingers does not realize that the pet waste is still on their hands.


In a method for evaporation depositing uniform thin films, a film is deposited on a substrate of a vacuum environment while maintaining a constant deposition rate. A cover is installed on a wall of the evaporation vessel. When the evaporation material is heated to an evaporation state and the interior of the evaporation vessel reaches a first vapor saturation pressure, the vapor of the evaporation material flows towards a pressure stabilizing chamber. When the pressure stabilizing chamber reaches a second vapor saturation pressure which is smaller than the first vapor saturation pressure, the vacuum environment has a vacuum background pressure which is smaller than the second vapor saturation pressure, so that the evaporation material vapor flows from the pressure stabilizing chamber towards the vacuum environment at constant rate due to the pressure difference, so as to evaporate the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of film deposition, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for evaporation depositing uniform thin films, and both method and apparatus maintain a constant evaporation rate to improve the uniformity and quality of the thin films.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vapor deposition is applied extensively in the industry for manufacturing components composed of thin films such as organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and thin film solar cells. In general, the vapor deposition is applied in a vacuum system to place an evaporation material in an evaporation vessel and use a heater to heat the evaporation material, such that the evaporation material is evaporated and volatilized to achieve the effect of forming a thin film on an evaporation material.
In the vapor deposition process, the following issues are confronted frequently: 1. Since the evaporation material is in contact with a vacuum environment system directly through an evaporation source spout. From the related literature "Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2009, 48, 5975-5991, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2009, 48, 5992-5999", the evaporation material gradually decreases with time, and the drop of the level of an evaporated liquid causes a temperature difference between the center and the edge of the evaporation vessel and results in a change of the deposition rate, so that the process cannot be controlled or quantized effectively. 2. To achieve the purpose of mass production, the vapor deposition process usually adopts the design of a linear evaporation source for the film deposition to obtain a large thin film, particularly an absorbing layer of a copper-indium-gallium-selenium thin-film solar cell, and requires a plurality of independent evaporation sources to carry out the mixing and evaporation of the evaporation material as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2010/0285218A1, 2010/0159132A1, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,968,353B2, 8,202,368B2, 7,194,197B1, 2009/0255469A1, 2009/0258444A1, 2010/0087016A1, 2009/0258476A1, 2013/0045563A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,194,197B1. In these mixed vapor deposition processes, different evaporation materials may cause a non-uniformity of the thin film coated on the evaporation material according to the different evaporation distances from the center of each independent linear evaporation source, and the linear evaporation sources may interfere with one another during the mixing and evaporation process of the evaporation material due to the evaporation angle of each linear evaporation source, so that the uniformity of the thin film is reduced significantly. 3. The depth profile of the produced thin film may be non-uniform when the evaporated material moves in a roll-to-roll or flow manner in a direction perpendicular to each independent evaporation source.
In view of the aforementioned drawback of the conventional film deposition, the inventor of the present invention provides a method for stably evaporation depositing uniform thin films to produce the thin films with high stability, uniformity and production quality.

Method and apparatus for stably evaporation depositing uniform thin films

NATIONAL CHUNG-SHAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


Transmitter architectures designed to accommodate both constant and non-constant of envelope modulation schemes and capable of providing local oscillator carrier frequencies within any one of numerous desired frequency bands, thus allowing compliance with many different communication standards. One example of a programmable frequency synthesizer includes a plurality of transmitter components and a microcontroller coupled to the frequency synthesizer and to the plurality of transmitter components. The microcontroller is adapted to provide a frequency control signal to the frequency synthesizer to control a frequency of the local oscillator carrier frequency. In addition, the microcontroller is also adapted to provide digital control signals to at least some of the plurality of transmitter components to turn on and off different ones of the plurality of transmitter components based on an operating mode of the transmitter, such that the transmitter can accommodate both constant envelope modulation and non-constant envelope modulation schemes.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to a programmable transmitter, in particular, a transmitter architecture designed to accommodate multiple types of envelope modulation.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Modern modulation techniques that are part of the transceiver architecture of a wireless communication system can generally be classified as belonging to either non-constant (variable) or constant envelope modulation schemes. One example of a widely used non-constant envelope modulation scheme is the EDGE (Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution) standard that was introduced with the intent to improve the data speed of GSM (Groupe Special Mobile) networks from 270.833 kilobits per second (kbps) to 812.5 kbps. EDGE utilizes a 3π/8 eight-Phase Shift Key (PSK) modulation. Some other examples of non-constant envelope modulation schemes include Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2k), Universal Mobil Telecommunications Systems (UMTS), integrated Digital Enhanced Networks (iDEN), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), and Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) networks as defined by the various 802.11 standards. As an alternative, some communication standards use so-called constant envelope modulation, which generally relies on such schemes as FSK (Frequency Shift Keying), GFSK (Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying), MSK (Minimum Shift Keying), and GMSK (Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying). Although constant envelope modulation is not as bandwidth efficient as is non-constant envelope modulation, it is in world-wide use as part of the GSM wireless communication standard which uses GMSK modulation. Another popular communication standard that also uses constant envelope modulation is the Digital European Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard.
A constant envelope modulator in a wireless communication system may generally use a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) embedded in a phase locked loop (PLL) circuit to achieve the frequency and/or phase modulation of signals. The PLL may typically include a phase frequency detector (PFD), a charge pump, a loop filter, a VCO, and a programmable fractional-N frequency divider. The digital divider is used to select the channel and frequency band of operation. The frequency produced by the PLL must remain precisely controlled, with an accuracy ranging from 0.1 parts per million (ppm) for GSM to 25 ppm for DECT applications. A so-called sigma-delta (SD) modulator may be used to control the fractional-N frequency divider so as to achieve finer tuning accuracy, to generate spurious-free local oscillator (LO) frequencies and to permit faster frequency jumps as the channels are switched. An example of such a frequency synthesizer including a sigma-delta modulator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,700,447 to Nilsson entitled "TRIMMING OF A TWO POINT PHASE MODULATOR," which is herein incorporated by reference.
When using a PLL, the modulation bandwidth is limited by the PLL filter bandwidth. Making the loop filter bandwidth larger to accommodate wider modulation bandwidths has a detrimental impact on the output noise, thus several approaches have been suggested to overcome this limitation. For example, one can pre-distort the high frequency portion of the signal to offset the attenuation of the loop filter. Alternatively, a so-called two-point modulation (TPM) approach can be implemented in which the same signal is applied both to the VCO tuning port as well as to the digital divider circuit.
One example of a phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesizer employing a two-point modulation scheme using a sigma-delta modulator and fractional-N divider circuit is described in U.S. Patent Application 2003/043950 to Hansen et al. entitled "PHASE-LOCKED LOOP FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZER WITH TWO-POINT MODULATION," which is herein incorporated by reference. The '950 application discloses that, in the synthesizer, data are modulated at both the PLL frequency divider and the voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), and that the complementary frequency responses at these two modulation points allow the PLL bandwidth to be sufficiently narrow to attenuate phase noise from the phase detector, frequency divider, and SIGMADELTA quantization error, without adversely affecting the data. Another example of a two-point modulator including a PLL that can be operated at various reference frequencies is described in U.S. Patent Application 2005/041755 to Hammes entitled "TWO-POINT MODULATOR ARRANGEMENT AND USE THEREOF IN A TRANSMISSION ARRANGEMENT AND IN A RECEPTION ARRANGEMENT," which is herein incorporated by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 6,774,738 to Hammes et al. entitled "TRIMMING METHOD FOR A TRANSCEIVER USING TWO-POINT MODULATION," also incorporated herein by reference, describes another example of a transceiver having a PLL circuit that operates on a two-point modulation scheme, wherein the amplitude of an analog modulation signal is selected on the basis of a modulation shift of a defined digital modulation signal. The '738 patent discloses that a predetermined data sequence of the analog modulation signal is applied, the modulation shift of the analog modulation signal is determined, and the amplitude of the analog modulation signal is corrected to match the difference between the modulation shift of the digital modulation signal and the determined modulation shift of the analog modulation signal.
As mentioned above, many communication standards call for non-constant, rather than constant, envelope modulation. In many implementations, a non-constant envelope modulation scheme may use the frequency synthesizer of the transceiver to generate a local oscillator signal that can be applied to a quadrature mixer and RF (radio frequency) amplifier. For non-constant envelope modulation a direct quadrature modulator circuit can be employed. However, these circuits can suffer from several drawbacks. For example, in the well-known simple direct modulation transmitter, translation of the analog signal to a radio frequency signal is done in one or multiple stages, and special care must be exercised in order to ensure isolation between the power amplifier and the VCO (i.e., by minimizing coupling between the stages), otherwise cross-talk and VCO "pulling" may cause signal distortion.
An example of a dual-stage transmitter is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,915,117 to Chominski et al. entitled "MULTISTAGE MODULATION ARCHITECTURE AND METHOD IN A RADIO," which is herein incorporated by reference. The '117 patent discloses a transmitter in which the analog signal is modulated and mixed to produce a radio frequency output, and a separate mixing frequency signal is provided to each stage. A single frequency synthesizer is used and first and second divider circuits each receive the output of the frequency synthesizer and deliver a mixing signal to the first and second stages respectively.

Programmable transmitter architecture for non-constant and constant envelope modulation


Methods and apparatus for generating a code-multiplexed readout value of photocurrents for a photo-detector array of cells are disclosed. Readout values are determined using a multiplexer and current amplifier for each cell and a current-to-voltage converter for each row of cells. The multiplexer multiplexes a photocurrent in an electrical domain for a respective cell using a code and generates electric currents responsive to the photocurrent. The current amplifier amplifies the electric currents. The current-to-voltage converter for each row generates the readout value for that row of the array responsive to the amplified electric currents.

The design of readout circuits for photo-detector array imaging systems is increasingly challenging due to larger format photo-detector arrays with smaller pixels, coupled with requirements for higher sensitivity and lower power dissipation. Traditional readout techniques involve photocurrent-to-voltage conversion at a pixel readout cell level using an integrating capacitor. Once the signals have been converted to voltage, time-multiplexing circuitry is used to transfer the discrete-time voltages to a single serial output. With smaller pixels, the size of the integration capacitor per readout cell is limited, thereby adversely affecting sampling noise. Additionally, larger format arrays require that the electronics multiplexing the discrete-time readout cell voltages operate at faster speeds for a given frame rate. For active imaging systems with moderately large photo-detector arrays, the bandwidth requirements may become prohibitive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,125 to Stann entitled "Code-Multiplexed Read-out for Ladar Systems" (herein Stann), which is incorporated fully herein by reference, describes a readout scheme based on orthogonal modulation of photo-detector signals. In Stann, photocurrents are modulated with orthogonal carriers in the optical domain. Modulating photocurrents with the orthogonal carriers enables signals from an entire row to be read simultaneously, thereby improving the circuit bandwidth in comparison to conventional time-multiplexing schemes. The orthogonal modulation of photocurrents in the optical domain, however, is difficult and subject to losses in optical power. In addition, systems of this type still involve photocurrent-to-voltage conversion at the pixel readout cell level and, thus, have many of the same limitations at time-multiplexing schemes.
There is an ever present need for improved readout methods and apparatus for use with photo-detector arrays that are not subject to the above limitations. The present invention addresses this need among others.

Electronically code-multiplexed readout of photo-detector arrays

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


An array substrate and a display device including the array substrate are provided. The array substrate includes: an upper electrode layer on a base substrate and including a first upper electrode strip and a second upper electrode strip; a lower electrode layer between the base substrate and the upper electrode layer. The lower electrode layer includes a portion that does not overlap the first upper electrode strip and the second upper electrode strip in a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of the base substrate. The array substrate includes a pixel electrode strip and a common electrode strip which are in a same layer and both correspond to a region between the first upper electrode strip and the second upper electrode strip.

Liquid crystal display devices have been widely used in various fields such as monitors, televisions, and notebook computers. The liquid crystal display device includes a common electrode and a pixel electrode, and the deflection of the liquid crystal molecules is controlled by an electric field formed between the common electrode and the pixel electrode.
A liquid crystal display device using an ADS (Advanced Super Dimension Switch) display mode is widely used due to its wide viewing angle. In the ADS display mode, the pixel electrode and the common electrode are respectively in different layers included in the array substrate of the liquid crystal display device, thereby forming a fringe electric field between the pixel electrode and the common electrode.
Alternatively, the liquid crystal display device may employ other display modes. For example, in an IPS (In-plane Switching) display mode, the pixel electrode and the common electrode are in the same layer included in the array substrate, thereby forming an IPS electric field between the pixel electrode and the common electrode.

CHONGQING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A memory card is provided. The memory card comprises a substrate, a plurality of electronic package devices, a molding compound and a plastic forming material. The substrate has at least a plurality of outer contacts and a plurality of inner contacts and the outer contacts are electrically connected to the inner contacts. The electronic package devices are located on the substrate and the electronic package devices electrically connect to the inner contacts, respectively. The molding compound is covering the electronic package devices and the corresponding inner contacts. The plastic forming material is covering the molding compound and the substrate, and the plastic forming material exposes the outer contacts.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device and a method for manufacturing thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a memory card and a method for manufacturing thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, the technology and material for forming the electronic integrated circuit is highly developed. The size of the electronic integrated circuit is getting decrease but the functionality of it is getting powerful. The electronic integrated circuit is commercially used in everywhere and the trend of producing the electronic integrated circuit product is to produce much more small and slim products, such as electronic dictionary, digital camera and other digital products. Moreover, since the chip package technology is getting mature, a single chip or multiple chips can be packaged into a very thin card. By utilizing the property of storing mass of digital data in a chip, a removable memory with a size much less than the currently used magnetic recording media can be produced. This kind of electronic media is so called memory card.
FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of a conventional memory card. According to the Taiwan Patent Number 556908, a memory card 100 as shown in FIG. 1 is disclosed. This memory card 100 is constructed from a substrate 110, a plurality of electronic package devices 120 and a molding compound 130. The substrate 110 possesses at least a plurality of outer contacts 112 and a plurality of inner contacts 114, wherein the outer contacts 112 electrically connect to the inner contacts 114 through through-holes 118, respectively. Each through-hole 118 is filled with a stuffing material 116 to prevent moisture intruding from the through-hole 118. Moreover, the electronic package devices 120 are disposed on the substrate 110 and are electrically connected to the inner contacts 114, respectively. Additionally, molding compound 130 covers the substrate 110 to protect electronic package devices 120 and the inner contacts 114 corresponding to the electronic package devices 120.
As shown in FIG. 1, the molding compound 130 of the conventional memory card 100 covers the entire substrate 110. Because the cost of the molding compound 130 is high, the cost of the memory card is increased. Besides, there is stuffing material 116 filled in each through-hole 118 so that the complexity of the process is increased and the cost is increase as well.

Advanced Flash Memory Card Technology Co., Ltd.


A system comprises first and second Hall-effect sensors and an amplifier. The first Hall-effect sensor has a first bias current direction parallel to a first direction, a pair of first bias input terminals spaced along the first direction, and a pair of first sense output terminals spaced along an orthogonal second direction. The second Hall-effect sensor has a second bias current direction parallel to the second direction, a pair of second bias input terminals spaced along the second direction, and a pair of second sense output terminals connected out of phase with the first sense terminals. The amplifier has a pair of amplifier input terminals coupled to the first and second sense terminals.

Hall sensors are used for current sensing in a variety of applications, such as providing current feedback signals in motor drives. Single Hall effect magnetic sensors sense current but are subject to magnetic field interference, for example, from the Earth's magnetic field and/or from side channels in 3-phase current measurement applications. Differential Hall sensing configurations often include four Hall elements with orthogonal bias current directions and the Hall outputs connect in phase. These circuits provide the same Hall output for the same bias levels, along with reduced resistance and offset cancellation. However, using multiple Hall elements addresses first order interference but does not attenuate gradient interference. Also, the use of multiple Hall sensors adds extra circuitry for duplicating a switching network, preamplifiers and other signal chain components, leading to increased cost, circuit area and power consumption.


An integrally reinforced lineal building component including an elongated member having a substantially constant cross-sectional area along substantially the entire length of the building component and comprised of cellular material forming the body and major cross-sectional portion of the building component, and an elongated reinforcement element having a substantially constant cross-sectional area along substantially the entire length of the building component and disposed inside the elongated member and bonded integrally thereto. The reinforcement element is provided at least two flange-like portions integrally attached and disposed at an angle with respect to one another extending lengthwise of and generally parallel to the elongated member.

Raw material prices for wood have been steadily climbing in recent years with little expectation of a significant drop in the commodity price. Concurrently, a requirement for non-rot millwork-type building components has developed within the window and door industry (as well as within the overall construction industry). In response to these conditions, various manufacturers of window lineal components who previously extruded sash or other profiles of solid PVC have recently developed cellular PVC sash profiles using either the "Free Foam" or "Celuka" foam extrusion process (discrete/single self-skinning PVC foam extrusion).
Structural integrity (as defined by ASTM E330, Procedure A) of such cellular (foam) PVC sash members has so far been less than adequate, and such products have not proven to be able to consistently meet minimum DP grades required by the industry. One possible solution for this could be a co-extruded cellular sash member whose exterior surface has a co-extruded rigid PVC wall and the remaining (interior) profile body is foamed PVC (see FIG. 1); however, the reduced cost benefits inherent to extruded cellular PVC components are largely or even completely lost with this design. Thus, while this design does provide increased structural integrity, there may not be a great deal of other market advantage in producing such a cellular sash with a rigid exterior wall.

Co-extruded integrally reinforced cellular PVC window sash