A method and system for dynamically allocating cache space in a storage system among multiple workload classes each having a unique set of quality-of-service (QoS) requirements. The invention dynamically adapts the space allocated to each class depending upon the observed response time for each class and the observed temporal locality in each class. The dynamic allocation is achieved by maintaining a history of recently evicted pages for each class, determining a future cache size for the class based on the history and the QoS requirements where the future cache size might be different than a current cache size for the class, determining whether the QoS requirements for the class are being met, and adjusting the future cache size to maximize the number of classes in which the QoS requirements are met. The future cache sizes are increased for the classes whose QoS requirements are not met while they are decreased for those whose QoS requirements are met.

Enterprises are increasingly out-sourcing the management of their data and applications to managed hosting services that collocate multiple sites, applications, and multiple customer types on the same host machine or a cluster and provide different quality-of-service (QoS) to them based on various pricing options. Due to the higher achievable utilization of resources and the benefits of centralized management, enterprises are also increasingly consolidating resources and sharing them across applications and users. Sharing and aggregation in storage subsystems is supported by network attached storage servers (NAS) and storage area networks (SAN) that allow access to storage devices from multiple servers.
One of the central challenges in shared environments is to manage resources such that applications and customers are isolated from each other and their performance can be guaranteed as in a dedicated environment. Numerous mechanisms for service differentiation and performance isolation have been proposed in the literature in the context of collocated web servers. Such mechanisms include QoS-aware extensions for admission control, TCP SYN oackets, policing and request classification, accept queue scheduling, and CPU, network, and disk bandwidth scheduling. However, the management of storage resources that takes into consideration workload classes having different QoS requirements has largely remained unaddressed.
The storage system in a shared hosting environment maybe a NAS server (supporting NFS/CIFS based network file access), a block server such as a SAN-based block virtualization engine, or an enterprise storage system such as IBM TotalStorage and EMC Symmetrix. To provide QoS in these storage systems, resources such as CPU and cache at the NAS and block servers, SAN network bandwidth, and disk bandwidth have to be managed. Techniques for allocating CPU, network, and disk bandwidth have been investigated in the literature for web servers and other applications and can potentially be applied to storage systems. However, techniques for allocating cache to provide QoS differentiation have not been adequately investigated and are the focus of this invention.
Caches differ fundamentally from other resources such as CPU and network bandwidth in two aspects. First, if CPU (or network bandwidth) is allocated to a workload class, it can be immediately used to improve the performance for that class. In contrast, the allocation of cache space does not yield immediate performance benefits for a workload class; performance benefits accrue in future only if there are cache hits. Furthermore, unlike a CPU, current cache space allocation for a class can significantly impact the future cache performance of all other classes. With ephemeral resources such as CPU and network bandwidth, adaptation is faster with immediate reallocation, while with cache allocation any adaptation technique requires a window into the future. Second, the performance benefit of cache space allocation depends on the workload characteristics of the class. More cache space does not necessarily imply better performance (e.g., if the workload has no hits). Due to these fundamental differences, techniques for meeting the quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of multiple classes that have been developed for resources such as CPU and network bandwidth cannot be directly applied to caches.
One approach for cache allocation is to statically partition the cache among different workload classes. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing an example of prior art methods for statically allocating the cache. At step 10, the prior art method examines the QoS requirements of the workload classes offline. It then computes the cache size for each workload class based on its QoS requirements at step 11. At step 12, the method allocates the computed cache space to each workload class. As the workloads in a class change, the method would have to recompute the cache size offline at step 13 and allocate the cache space again at step 12. Such an approach in the prior art has two main drawbacks. First, due to the dynamic nature of the workload, it is difficult to determine the appropriate partition size apriori. Second, static partitioning leads to inefficient use of the cache. For example, if at some point in time, if one class has low locality and the other has high locality, then static allocation will underutilize the cache.
Therefore, there remains a need for a storage system and method for efficiently and dynamically allocating cache space among multiple classes of workloads in the system where each class has unique set of quality-of-service requirements to maximize system performance.

System and method for dynamically allocating cache space among different workload classes that can have different quality of service (QoS) requirements where the system and method may maintain a history of recently evicted pages for each class and may determine a future cache size for the class based on the history and the QoS requirements


A read-only-memory cell arrangement comprises memory cells, each having a vertical MOS transistor, in a substrate (21) made of semiconductor material, the various logic values (zero, one) being implemented by gate dielectrics (27, 28) of different thickness. The memory cell arrangement can preferably be produced in a silicon substrate, with a small number of process steps and a high packing density. The memory cell arrangement and a drive circuit for read-out can in this case be produced in an integrated manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a read only memory based in semiconductor technology having a vertical MOS transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Memories into which data are written permanently in a digital form are required for many electronic systems. Such memories are called, inter alia, read-only-memories.
Plastic disks which are coated with aluminium are in widespread use as read-only-memories for storing very large quantities of data. These plastic disks have two different kinds of point-like depressions in the aluminum coating, which are assigned to the logic values zero and one. The information is stored digitally in the arrangement of these depressions. Such disks are called compact disks, or CDs, and are in widespread use for the digital storage of music.
In order to read the data which are stored on a compact disk, a read apparatus is used in which the disk rotates mechanically. The point-like depressions are scanned via a laser diode and a photo cell. Typical scanning rates in this case are 2.times.40 kHz. 4 GBits of information can be stored on one plastic compact disk.
The read apparatus has moving parts which are subject to mechanical wear, occupy a comparatively large spaces and allow only slow data access. Furthermore, the read apparatus is sensitive to vibration and can thus be used only to a limited extent in mobile systems.
Read-only-memories based on semiconductor technology are known for the storage of smaller quantities of data. These are widely implemented as a planar integrated silicon circuit, in which MOS transistors are used. The transistors are selected via the gate electrode, which is connected to the word line. The input of the MOS transistor is connected to a reference line, and the output to a bit line. An assessment is carried out during the reading process to determine whether any current is or is not flowing through the transistor. The logic values zero and one are assigned accordingly. Technically, the storage of logical zero and one values brought about in that no MOS transistor is produced or no conductive connection to the bit line is implemented in memory cells in which the logic value assigned to the state "no current flow through the transistor" is stored. Alternatively, MOS transistors which have different operating voltages as a result of different implantations in the channel region can be implemented for the two logic values.
These memories based on semiconductor technology allow random access to the stored information. The electrical power which is required to read the information from the semiconductor memory is considerably less than in the case of a read apparatus having a mechanical drive. Since no mechanical drive is required to read the information, the problems of mechanical wear and the sensitivity to vibration are illuminated. Read-only-memories based on a semiconductor technology can thus also be used for mobile systems.
The silicon memories described have a planar construction. As a consequence, a minimal surface area, which is about 6 to 8 F.sup.2, is required per memory cell, F being the smallest producible structure size in the respective technology. Planar silicon memories are thus limited to memory densities of about 0.14 bit/.mu.m.sup.2 when using one-.mu.m technology.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,854 discloses the use of vertical MOS transistors in a read-only-memory. The surface of a silicon substrate is for this purpose provided with trenches against which a source region abuts at the base, against which a drain region abuts at the substrate surface and along whose flanks a channel region is arranged. The surface of the trench is provided with a gate dielectric, and the trench is filled with a gate electrode. Logical zero and one values are distinguished in this arrangement by no trench being etched and no transistor being produced for one of-the logic values.
German Patent Document DE 42 14 923 A1 discloses a read-only-memory cell arrangement whose memory cells comprise MOS transistors. These MOS transistors are arranged along trenches such that a source region abuts the base of the trench, a drain region abuts the surface of the substrate, and a channel region abuts the flank and base of the trench both vertically with respect to the surface of the substrate and parallel to the surface of the substrate. The surface of the channel region is provided with a gate dielectric. The gate electrode is designed as a flank covering or (spacer). The logic values zero and one are distinguished by different operating voltages, which are brought about by channel implantation. During the channel implantation, the ions being implanted strike the surfaces of the respective trench at such an angle that implantation is carried out, deliberately, along only one flank as a result of shadowing effects of the opposite flank.

Read-only-memory cell arrangement using vertical MOS transistors and gate dielectrics of different thicknesses and method for its production


Polishing slurry has abrading particles dispersed in a liquid dispersant. The abrading particles are composite particles each having a first particle and a plurality of second particles smaller than the first particles attached to the surface of the first particle through a metal oxide membrane. The first particles have average diameter of 0.1–20 μm and the second particles have average diameter of 0.001–0.5 μm. Elastic particles may be used as the first particles such as polymer particles.

This invention relates to polishing slurry to be used for polishing the surface of a metallic as well as non-metallic object.
The surface of a metallic or a non-metallic object is usually polished with free abrading particles. Methods of polishing with free abrading particles are approximately divided into the tape-polishing which uses a polishing tape and the pad-polishing which uses a polishing pad.
The tape-polishing process is carried out by supplying slurry on the surface of the object and running a polishing tape while pressing it on the surface. The pad-polishing process is carried out by rotating a lapping plate with a polishing pad attached to its surface, supplying polishing slurry on the surface of the polishing pad and pressing the surface of the object on it. The polishing tape and the polishing pad used for these methods are produced by cutting a porous sheet of a woven or non-woven cloth or a foamed material into the shape of a tape or a pad. The slurry is obtained by dispersing abrading particles in a dispersant comprising a water-based aqueous solution containing water, glycols or alcohols. Hard particles of a material such as silica, alumina, diamond, cerium oxide, ceramics and glass are used as the abrading particles.
Besides the two polishing technologies mentioned above, a new polishing technology has recently been developed whereby no polishing pad is used and slurry is directly supplied to the surface of a lapping plate. The object is pressed onto the lapping plate and the surface of the object is polished as the lapping plate and the object are moved with respect to each other. According to a published method, micron-sized elastic particles and smaller hard particles are mixed together and a substrate surface is polished during a polishing process by the hard particles which are provisionally attached to the elastic particles. Since no pad is required by this method, the elastic particles each functioning as a pad, this polishing technology is sometimes referred to as the padless polishing. In this method, the hard particles become adhesively attached to the elastic particles electrostatically, by the van der Waales force or by a mechanical force, become separated and again become reattached. This condition of the hard particles separably attached to the elastic particles is sometimes referred to as "virtual attachment."
For polishing an object such as a magnetic hard disk substrate, a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal glass substrate which must be prepared to be extremely smooth and flat, polishing slurry with very small abrading particles with average diameter of 0.001–0.5 μm are used in any of these polishing technologies. This is because it is believed that the number of particles per unit surface area that act on the object surface increases if the abrading particles for the slurry are made smaller and hence the object surface can be polished more accurately.
If the size of abrading particles to be mixed to the slurry is reduced, however, the stock removal rate of individual abrading particles becomes smaller and hence it takes longer for the polishing work and the throughput is adversely affected. The current problem, therefore, is that object surfaces cannot be polished quickly and accurately "simply" by reducing the size of the abrading particles in the slurry.


A headset equipped with one or more materials that can change in size to facilitate the wearing experience by the user. The change in size may provide for a more accurate fit for the user to prevent or reduce the likelihood of the headset inadvertently moving away from the user's ear (e.g., falling out from the ear canal). The changeable size may also be used to convey aspects of the received sound to provide a more powerful listening experience. The material may be constructed from an electroactive polymer that changes in size when stimulated by an electric field. The headset includes a controller with an input for a user to control the size of the material.

Headsets are becoming more popular today as society continues to integrate electronic devices into everyday life. Headsets are worn in a variety of different contexts, including but not limited to when a user is on a call, when listening to music, and when the user is listening to a program through the Internet or television. Further, persons may use headsets in a variety of different settings, including but not limited to at their office at work, in their homes, when at a restaurant or coffee shop, when driving in their car, and when walking or running.
One issue with existing headsets is they are sized to be generic to fit a wide variety of users. This often results in the earpieces that go into or over the user's ears while not properly fitting the user. This results in the earpieces being uncomfortable when on the user's ears, or possibly even moving away from the user's ears (e.g., an earpiece falling out of the user's ear canal). This is particularly problematic when the user is actively moving, such as when the headset is worn while the user is exercising at a gym or walking.
Another issue with existing headsets if they are passive devices that simply fit onto the user's ears and contact against the user. Because headsets are a conduit for conveying the sound to the user, the headsets could be configured in a manner to enhance the listening experience. This is particularly applicable when the user is wearing the headset while listening to music or a movie.

Headset equipped with material that can change in size


Ambient light analysis methods, imaging devices, and articles of manufacture are described. According to one aspect, an ambient light analysis method includes emitting light using a source, first filtering the light of the source providing first filtered light, first receiving the first filtered light using an imaging device, providing a first response of the imaging device to the first filtered light, second filtering ambient light providing second filtered light, second receiving the second filtered light using the imaging device, providing a second response of the imaging device to the second filtered light, and determining information regarding a spectral power distribution of the ambient light using the first response and the second response.

The quality, sophistication and features of imaging devices and image reproduction systems have continued to evolve and improve. The more recent popularity of digital images and digital cameras has lead to significant improvements in digital imaging systems and techniques.
Following capture of images digitally or on film, some imaging devices or systems may process the images in an attempt to improve reproductions of the images. Processing of image data following capture may be implemented for example to provide image reproduction which produces images which more closely resemble original scenes. One example of processing which may be used or performed is color balancing which attempts to adjust colors of images to correct for distortions in color appearance resulting from acquisition under a different illuminant than that used for rendering the image.
Some systems use illuminant estimation algorithms to perform color balancing. Although an estimation of illuminant may provide some improvement in the results, some of the techniques estimate an ambient illuminant using collected light. In other systems, the spectral power distribution of ambient light is determined using a spectroradiometer and a white card at the location of the scene wherein images are to be captured.
At least some aspects of the disclosure provide improved apparatus and methods for processing image data for reproducing images.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


Methods and systems provide automated testing of computer-generated displays. The proper functionality of a memory storage device on a computer video card and the proper functionality of software for generating computer-generated displays may be tested by storing a display image to a first memory device context while displaying the same image on a computer screen viewable by a user. The image displayed to the computer screen is captured into a second memory device context. The image in the first memory device context and the memory in the second device context are compared on a pixel-by-pixel basis to determine whether the two stored images match. If the second stored image does not match the first stored image, an indication is presented that the video memory of the computer memory card does not operate properly or that software responsible for displaying the image to the computer display screen is not operating properly.

In the modern computing environment, a variety of images are displayable to users including pictures, text, and 3-dimensional objects. Additionally, modern computers may display a video portion of an audio/video output where an audio output device such as a speaker presents the audio portion. Users may modify the presentation of computer-generated displays including altering color, brightness, intensity, and resolution of displayed images. In prior art systems, manufacturers or others interested in testing the ability of computer hardware or computer software to properly display an image often required interaction with a human user. That is, testing of various display characteristics was most commonly performed by providing a user a known display and requiring input from the user in response to the display. For example, the user may be provided a display colored red followed by a query to the user to describe the color of the display. If the user's response indicated that the display was not as intended by the tester, the test failed. In other tests, the user may be asked to indicate whether a displayed image changed after the tester changed the resolution in the displayed image. If the user responded affirmatively the test passed. If the user detected no change in the resolution, the test failed. Accordingly, a number of different display tests could be provided to a user where the user would be asked to detect characteristics of the display in order to ensure that the display was received by the user as intended by the tester. Such prior art testing systems lack efficiency and are costly because of the requirement to utilize human test subjects. Moreover, because human test subjects may only respond to displays within the visual range of the tester, the breadth of tests that may be performed by a human test subject is limited.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the various embodiments of the present invention have been made.

Video testing via pixel comparison to known image


An apparatus for cleaning the inner wall surfaces of an aquarium tank includes a pair of magnetic assemblies adapted for mutual magnetic engagement. Both assemblies include an outer housing of waterproof material, and a planar surface adapted to impinge on the aquarium walls. A scrubber pad is laminated to at least one planar surface of the assemblies, and a strong permanent magnet is secured within the protective enclosure of each housing. One assembly impinges its scrubber surface on the inner surface of an aquarium wall, and the other assembly is disposed directly adjacent to the inner assembly and in magnetic engagement therewith. Translating movement of the outer assembly causes concomitant movement of the inner assembly, whereby the scrubber surface of the inner assembly is translated across the inner surface of the aquarium wall for cleaning purposes. A float is secured by a line or cord to the magnetic assembly disposed within the aquarium. If the inner assembly disengages from the outer assembly, and falls to the bottom of the aquarium, the float will remain at the surface of the water in the aquarium, and the inner assembly may be retrieved by grasping the float and pulling the line and inner assembly from the water. The float permits the inner assembly to be retrieved without requiring any exposure of the hands or clothing to the aquarium water, and with minimal disturbance to the fish within the aquarium.

The present invention relates to aquarium cleaning, and, more particularly, to cleaning devices for removing algae and other foreign matter from the inner surface of the walls of an aquarium.
Aquariums are generally designed to sustain aquatic life in an enclosure that sustains the life forms and presents them in the most attractive and natural manner. Ironically, aquariums require regular care, cleaning, and maintenance to achieve these goals. In particular, aquariums are intended for viewing the aquatic fish and plants, and good viewing requires clean glass or plastic walls. The inner surfaces of the walls typically become coated with a film of algae, dirt, and accumulated scum. Due to several factors, these inner surfaces are the most difficult to clean. Generally, cleaning must be carried out first by removing the fish and other aquatic life and draining the container. This is a major undertaking.
There is known in the prior art a few devices for cleaning the inner surfaces of an aquarium container without draining and removing the life forms therefrom. One device, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,090, provides paired magnetic components, one disposed at the inner surface of the aquarium walls and having a scrubbing surface impinging on the inner surface. The other magnetic component is disposed at the outer surface, directly adjacent to the inner component and in magnetic engagement therewith. Moving the outer component causes the inner component to translate along the inner surface of the glass, whereby the scrubber surface translates across the inner surface to remove algae and scum therefrom.
If the two components disengage magnetically, the inner component falls to the bottom of the aquarium, and necessitates capturing and repositioning the inner component. This can be difficult without disturbing the fish and exposing the aquatic life to unknown toxins and microbes. To overcome this problem, the cited patent describes a string attached to the inner component and adapted to hang over an upper edge of an aquarium. However, a suddenly released inner magnetic component may very likely pull the string into the water as it falls to the bottom of the aquarium, neutralizing the advantage of the string tether.


Disclosed is an olefin polymerization catalyst comprising (A) a transition metal compound represented by the formula (I) R.sup.1 R.sup.2 MX.sub.2 (wherein M is a transition metal atom, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are each a cycloalkadienyl group having an aryl group and a saturated hydrocarbon group as substituents, and X is a halogen atom or the like) and (B) at least one compound selected from (b1) an organoaluminum oxy-compound, (b2) an ionized ionic compound and (b3) an organoaluminum compound. Also disclosed is a process for olefin polymerization comprising polymerizing an olefin in the presence of the above-mentioned catalyst. According to the present invention, an olefin copolymer having a crystallization temperature and a melting point both lower than those of the conventional copolymers can be prepared in the case of that the feeding amount of comonomer is smaller than those conventionally used.

Olefin polymers such as ethylene copolymers have been conventionally used as materials for hollow molded articles, extrusion molded articles, films, sheets, etc. One well known olefin polymerization catalyst for preparing these olefin polymers is a catalyst comprising a transition metal catalyst component such as zirconocene and an organoaluminum oxy-compound (aluminoxane). As the transition metal catalyst component used for this catalyst, for example, ethylenebis(indenyl)zirconium dichloride is known. Olefin copolymers obtained by using this transition metal catalyst component are characterized in that their molecular weight distributions are narrow and films formed from the copolymers are free from tackiness.
The properties required for the olefin polymers vary according to the use and the molding process thereof. In order to adjust the properties, the ratio between the comonomers has been conventionally controlled so as to alter the crystallization temperature, the melting point, etc. of the resulting copolymer.
In the use of the conventional catalysts, however, there is a limit to the alteration of the crystallization temperature and the melting point.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,999 discloses a catalyst composition obtained by contacting (a) a Group IVA metal compound of the general formula EQU (Cp).sub.p MeX.sub.4-p
(wherein Cp is, independently, cyclopentadienyl groups substituted with one or more hydrocarbyl groups, and at least one cyclopentadienyl group is substituted with a single, optionally substituted, aryl group. Me is a Group IVA metal, X is one or more non-cyclopentadienyl substituents attached to the Group IVA metal, wherein the substituents are hydrocarbyl groups, hydrocarboxy groups, hydrocarbamide groups, hydrogen or halogen, and p is an integer of from 1 to 4.) and (b) an aluminoxane for (co)polymerizing olefins.

Olefin polymerization catalyst and process for olefin polymerization


A bicycle hub transmission includes a hub axle, a driver rotatably mounted to the hub axle, and a slave rotatably mounted to the hub axle. The driver includes a first driving member and a second driving member axially aligned with the first driving member and nonrotatably coupled to the first driving member, wherein the slave is at least partially disposed within the second driving member. At least one of the first driving member and the second driving member define a housing space, and a power transmitting mechanism is disposed at least partially in the housing space for changing a rotational speed of the driver and for communicating rotational power from the driver to the slave.

The present invention is directed to bicycle transmissions and, more particularly, to a bicycle hub transmission using a planet gear mechanism for switching gear ratios.
Small bicycles (referred to as "BMX bicycles") having 20-inch wheels are used in off-road motocross racing. A fast start is an important element of BMX motocross racing. Thus, downshifting to a slightly lighter gear ratio than during normal riding is recommended during startup in order to achieve higher startup acceleration. For this reason, BMX bicycles used in motocross racing are equipped with an external shifter comprising a rear derailleur and a hub cog having two cross-ratio sprockets, wherein a shifting lever is linked by a cable to the rear derailleur. Installing an external shifter, however, makes it necessary for the rider to control this shifter by operating a shifting lever. Since BMX motocross racing involves navigating a course having a succession of small bumps and curves, the rider is busy steering and does not have much time for shifting. Consequently, it is very difficult to shift gears during a race.
To overcome this problem, the rear wheel may be equipped with an internal shifter hub, and the gears may be shifted automatically by changing the speed of the internal shifter hub in accordance with the bicycle speed. Such an internal shifter hub comprises a hub axle, a driver capable of rotating about the hub axle, a hub shell, a planet gear mechanism for changing the speed of rotation of the driver and transmitting the result to the hub shell, a clutch mechanism for transmitting the output of the planet gear mechanism to the hub shell or stopping such transmission, and a clutch-switching mechanism for switching the clutch mechanism by centrifugal force, for example.
Bearing components are provided between one end of the driver and the hub axle, between one end of the hub shell and the other end of the driver, and between the other end of the hub shell and the hub axle, thus allowing the driver and the hub shell to rotate about the hub axle. The planet gear mechanism comprises an inner-tooth gear, a sun gear, a plurality of planet gears for meshing with the inner-tooth gear and the sun gear, and a planet gear carrier for supporting the plurality of planet gears. The clutch-switching mechanism switches the clutch mechanism between an engaged state and a disengaged state using centrifugal force created by the rotation of the hub shell.
When the gear ratio of an internal shifter hub thus constructed is lowered slightly (that is, when the rotation of the hub shell remains mostly unchanged in relation to the rotation of the driver), the number of teeth of the inner-tooth gear must be fairly high in relation to the number of teeth of the sun gear. Consequently, the gap between the inner-tooth gear and the sun gear is increased, as is the outside diameter of the planet gears. The outside diameters of the planet gears are sometimes also increased when the gear ratio is raised. When, for example, a planet gear consists of two gear elements (a large element and a small element), the sun gear is caused to mesh with the small gear element, and the inner-tooth gear is caused to mesh with the large gear element. In either case, the outside diameter of the driver often must be increased when, for example, an inner-tooth gear is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the driver, and a downshift is performed by inputting motive force from the inner-tooth gear and providing an output from a carrier via the planet gears. Increasing the outside diameter of the driver results in a corresponding increase in the outside diameter of at least one of the bearing components provided at the two ends of the driver. This, in turn, results in an overall increased outside diameter of the internal shifter hub.

Bicycle hub transmission having a two-piece driver


A backfilling device for backfilling an open trench and padding a pipe within the trench has a lateral earth moving device and a sifting device. The backfilling device is attached to a tractor that moves the lateral earth moving device into a backfill spoil pile adjacent to the trench with the sifting device located above the trench. The lateral earth moving devices moves the backfill spoil material laterally into a rotating drum of the sifting device. Smaller particles of the backfill material fall through the rotating drum, which is also vibrating to backfill the trench and pad the pipe with backfill fines. The oversize debris in the backfill material continues to move laterally and falls out the end of the rotating drum to form a pile of large piece backfill material on the side of the trench opposite from the backfill spoil pile.

Pipes, conduits, and wires are commonly buried underground so that they are not visible, do not use valuable above-ground space, and are insulated from the elements. These pipes, conduits, wires, and the like may generically be referred to in this application as buried elements. In order to bury the buried elements a common method is to dig a trench, lay the element being buried within the trench and then backfill the excavated material into the trench on top of the element.
In many instances is it desirable to "pad" the buried element by making sure no large rocks or other large pieces of excavated material are adjacent to the buried element. Generally this is accomplished by making sure the backfill material surrounding the buried element is smaller than a specified diameter. Padding helps protect the buried element by assuring that the fill material is tightly packed and avoids contact between the buried element and larger articles that might damage the buried element as the soil shifts, or the buried element expands or contracts, especially in reaction to changing temperatures. Commonly building regulations, best practices guidelines, and construction contracts will specify a depth and size of particle that must be used to pad a buried element. According to a common standard a buried element will need to be padded with "one inch minus backfill" (i.e., all particles in the backfill are less than or equal to one inch in diameter) to a depth of one foot above the buried element. Other maximum sizes for the backfill and depths of the padding backfill may also be specified.
There are several known devices and methods for padding a pipe within a trench. However, these known devices and methods are not as efficient or reliable as desired. The present invention provides an improved apparatus and method for backfilling a trench and padding a buried element in a single operation.

Backfill device and method with rotating drum


A touch display device includes a timing controller to generate a sync signal for controlling timing of a touch sensor driving period and a display driving period, where the display driving period comprises a first phase to drive odd signal lines according to a first polarity and to drive even signal lines according to a second polarity, a second phase to drive the odd signal lines according to the second polarity and to drive the even signal lines according to the first polarity, and a charge share period between the first phase and the second phase. A set of charge sharing switches couple the odd and even signal lines together during the charge share period and couple the odd and even signal lines together during the touch sensor driving period.

1. Field of the Invention
The described embodiments relate to a display device having touch sensors embedded in a pixel array and a data driving circuit thereof.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A User Interface (UI) enables a person (i.e., a user) to easily control various electrical and electronic devices as he or she wants through communication between the user and the devices. Representative examples of the UI may include a keypad, a keyboard, a mouse, an On Screen Display (OSD), and a remote controller having an infrared communication or Radio Frequency (RF) communication function. UI technology continues to develop toward higher user sensibility and manipulation convenience. In recent years, the UI evolved into a touch UI, a voice recognition UI, and a 3D UI.
The touch UI is essentially adopted in portable information devices, such as smart phones and expanded to laptop computers, computer monitors, and home appliances. There has recently been proposed a technology in which touch sensors are embedded in the pixel array of a display panel (hereinafter called an "in-cell touch sensor"). In the in-cell touch sensor technology, touch sensors can be installed in a display panel without an increase in the thickness of the display panel. Such touch sensors are connected to pixels through parasitic capacitance. In a driving method, in order to reduce mutual influences attributable to the coupling of the pixels and the touch sensors, a 1 frame period may be subject to time division into a period in which the pixels are driven (hereinafter called a "display driving period") and a period in which the touch sensors are driven (hereinafter called a "touch sensor driving period").
In the in-cell touch sensor technology, an electrode connected to the pixels of the display panel is used as the electrode of the touch sensors. For example, the in-cell touch sensor technology may include a method of segmenting a common electrode for supplying a common voltage Vcom to the pixels of an LCD and using segmented common electrode patterns as the electrodes of the touch sensors.
Parasitic capacitance connected to the in-cell touch sensors is increased due to coupling between the in-cell touch sensors and the pixels. If parasitic capacitance is increased, touch sensitivity and touch recognition accuracy are deteriorated.
If an AC voltage having the same phase as a touch driving signal is supplied to the data lines of the display panel during the touch sensor driving period, parasitic capacitance of the touch sensor can be reduced because the amount of charges of the parasitic capacitance is reduced. In such a method, the data voltage of an input video is supplied to the data lines during the display driving period, and the AC voltage is supplied to the data lines during the touch sensor driving period. To this end, there is proposed a method of adding switch elements for switching the data voltage and the AC voltage in each output channel of a data drive Integrated Circuit (IC). However, such a method increases the chip size of the data drive IC and causes an increase in the IC cost.

Display device and data driving circuit thereof


Collapsible orthopedic fixation assemblies and related methods are disclosed. A collapsible fixation assembly includes end frames that are coupled with one or more cross beams. The fixation assembly is reconfigurable between a collapsed configuration in which the end frames are substantially aligned with the one or more cross beams and a deployed configuration in which the end frames are oriented transverse to the one or more cross beams and in which relative movement between the end frames and the one or more cross beams can be inhibited. The fixation assembly is configured to support at least one bone-interface component, which is configured to constrain a bone of a patient. In the collapsed configuration, the fixation assemblies is more compact than in the deployed configuration, thereby making it more easy to store and transport as compared to a comparable non-collapsible fixation assembly.

The present invention relates to orthopedic fixation systems, assemblies, devices and related methods for reduction of a fractured bone of a patient.
Reduction is a medical procedure to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment. When a bone fractures, the fragments lose their alignment in the form of displacement or angulation. For the fractured bone to heal without substantial deformity the bony fragments must be re-aligned to their normal anatomical position. Orthopedic surgeons attempt to recreate the normal anatomy of the fractured bone by reduction.
Fractured bone reduction or treatment can include use of fixation methods that can reinforce the fractured bone and keep it aligned during healing, including use of external devices or casts as well as internal devices such as rods, bone plates and/or fasteners. Under certain circumstances, a physician may decide that external fixation is the best treatment for a patient. Fixation with external devices and assemblies includes surgical techniques for setting bone fractures and/or for limb lengthening that was first used more than a century ago. Since that time, the technique has evolved from being used primarily as a last resort fixation method to becoming a main stream technique used to treat a myriad of bone and soft tissue pathologies.
In some cases, external fixation can be accomplished by placing pins or screws into the bone of a patient and securing the pins through the use of an external frame assembly positioned at least partially outside the body. During the treatment, the external frame can hold bone fragments at adjustable spacing and angles to create a desired overall bone length and angular disposition of the bone fragments. To connect the external fixation device to the bone, pins can be placed, for example, on either side of the break in the bone and pass through the skin and sometimes the muscles. Sometimes wires can also be used with the pins, or in place of pins, to secure the bone pieces. The pins and/or wires can hold the bone in place and anchor the fixator securely, while also avoiding damage to vital structures, allowing access to the area of injury, and meeting the mechanical demands of the patient and the injury. Treatment using external fixation can take about 6 weeks for a simple fracture, and up to one year or longer for a more complicated fracture.
As compared to other fixation methods, external fixation devices can provide numerous advantages. When compared with internal plates and intramedullary nails, for example, external fixators can cause less disruption of the soft tissues, osseous blood supply, and periosteum. Accordingly, external fixation devices can be useful for soft tissue management in the setting of acute trauma with skin contusions and open wounds, in chronic trauma where the extremity is covered in thin skin grafts and muscle flaps, and in patients with poor skin whose healing potential is compromised as in the case of rheumatoid disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and Charcot disease. In addition, the temporary nature of the pins and wires can provide bony stability in the setting of osteomyelitis where the presence of internal implants make eradication of infection more challenging. The ability to avoid putting fixation into the infected area is equally beneficial.
Unlike internal plates and intramedullary nails, external fixators also provide postoperative adjustability. This allows the extremity to be manipulated in the operating room to gain exposures to fracture fragments. In the situation of limb lengthening or deformity correction, gradual manipulation is possible with frame adjustment over time. As a result, external fixations have found use in pediatric fracture care where open physes preclude intramedullary nailing. Leg length discrepancy can also be reliably treated with circular and monolateral design fixators.
Despite these advantages, existing external fixation devices and assemblies still remain limited in their application for treatment of bone fractures. For example, while the devices known in the prior art can help provide valuable treatment of fractures, particularly in the surgical setting, existing devices can be somewhat cumbersome and limited in versatility. Thus, there is continued interest in providing improved external fixation devices that are more versatile and can be used, for example, as more ambulatory or portable devices.


The present invention relates to a crane vehicle with an overload safety unit, with a jib, preferably a telescoping jib, hinged to its superstructure which jib can be luffed by means of a luffing ram which is hinged to the jib and the superstructure, with extending sliding beams which are positioned at the end parts of the longitudinal sides of the carrier which face each other and which are provided at their ends with extending stabilizer bases, and with a unit measuring the swing angle of the jib the signals of which unit are fed to a processing unit of the overload safety unit, where the overload safety unit generates a warning signal and/or stops the crane operation when the crane reaches or exceeds limits which endanger its stability. In accordance with the invention a monitoring unit which detects the extension state or extension length of the sliding beams is provided which feeds the signals corresponding to the corresponding extension length of the individual sliding beams to the overload safety unit and the processing unit of the overload safety unit determines the stability of the stand rectangle resulting from the extension state of the sliding beams for every angle of swing of the jib from the signals of the monitoring unit for the extension length of the sliding beams and from the signals from the unit which measures the angle of swing of the jib.

The present invention relates to a crane vehicle with an overload safety unit, with a jib, preferably a telescoping jib, hinged to its superstructure which jib can be luffed by means of a luffing ram which is hinged to the jib and the superstructure, with extending sliding beams which are positioned at the end parts of the longitudinal sides of the carrier which face each other and which are provided at their ends with extending stabilizer bases, and with a unit measuring the swing angle of the jib the signals of which unit are fed to a processing unit of the overload safety unit, where the overload safety unit generates a warning signal and/or stops the crane operation when the crane reaches or exceeds limits which endanger its stability.
The stability of a crane vehicle with telescoping jib depends in addition to the size of the load hanging from the telescoping jib among other things on the luffing angle, the extension length of the telescoping jib, on the sag of the telescoping jib and in particular also on the angle of rotation of the superstructure with the telescoping jib relative to the carrier and on the stand rectangle defined by the stabilizer bases of the sliding beams. With regard to the stand rectangle defined by the extended sliding beams and stabilizer bases the stability of the crane is greatest when the jib points in the direction of the sliding beam extended the furthest. When the sliding beams are retracted and the stabilizer bases extended the stability is greater in the longitudinal direction of the carrier than in the direction of its transverse axis. The overload protection must therefore always take into account the extension state of the sliding beams, which is difficult to the extent that the stability also changes with different extension lengths of individual sliding beams.

Crane vehicle with an overload safety unit


A method denoises a noisy image by, for each pixel in the noisy image, first constructing a key from a patch, wherein the patch includes locally neighboring pixels around the pixel. A function is selected from a function library using the key. Then, the function is applied to the patch to generate a corresponding noise free pixel for the pixel.

The goal of image denoising is to reconstruct a "noise free" enhanced image from an image corrupted with noise. Many image processing methods exist for image denoising.
The first group of methods uses local methods where a noise free estimate of a target pixel is reconstructed as a weighted average of pixel values within a small spatial neighborhood of the target pixel. One such method convolves the noisy image with a smoothing filter such as a Gaussian kernel function where weights decrease with distance from the target pixel according to the function. Due to the linear filtering operation, which is insensitive to the local image structure (pixel values) within the neighborhood, the resulting image usually has blurry artifacts.
To overcome the blurring artifact, other local methods attempt to make the filters "edge-aware" by using non-linear filters. A median filter reconstructs a pixel value as a median value of the pixel values within the neighborhood.
Another method uses anisotropic diffusion, where a shape of the filter can be adapted to local image structure as a result of a diffusion process, which is sensitive to image discontinuities.
A sigma filter identifies pixels that are similar to the target pixel within its neighborhood by thresholding the absolute pixel value difference between the target pixel and other pixels within the neighborhood. The target pixel is then reconstructed by an average of only the similar pixel values (pixels with difference within the similarity threshold) within the neighborhood. The weights in that model can be considered as being 0 or 1 according to similarity criteria.
Several extensions to sigma filter are known. For example, one can use a bilateral filter where, instead of a hard thresholding operator (0 or 1 weights), the weights are continuously varied according to a multiplication of two kernel functions, one in spatial domain, and one in range (pixel value) domain.
Another method examines different local image areas around the pixel of interest, and determines a noise free estimate for each local area. The estimate for the pixel of interest is then determined as some weighted average of the local area estimates.
Another method determines a noise variance for each pixel value, which is stored in a lookup table. A similarity threshold and weights are then adjusted based on this noise model.
Local denoising methods benefit from spatial locality, which allows fast computation. However, those methods fail to use global statistics of an image, such as repeating patterns, which is an important cue for image denoising.
The second group of methods uses non-local denoising methods. The non-local method retrieves image patches similar to the target image patch by searching all patches within the image. Then, the target patch is replaced by a weighted average of the similar patches.
Alternative non-local methods include sparse reconstruction of image patches using a learned dictionary from the same image, and transform domain non-local filtering. The non-local search step of those methods makes them difficult to use in systems with computational and memory constraints.
Alternatively, non-local denoising can be achieved by performing inference on a Markov random field (MRF) using graph cuts or belief propagation. To achieve fast performance, the number of iterations is small, leaving considerable noise in the result.

Image denoising using a library of functions

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, inc.


There is provided herein a system for weaning a patient from mechanical ventilation (MV), the system comprising a ventilation device and a controller comprising an interface module configured to receive two or more measured patient parameters, wherein at least one measured patient parameters parameter comprise a CO2 related parameter, wherein said controller is further configured to compute an Integrated Pulmonary Index (IPI) value based on the two or more measured patient parameters and to provide a signal to the ventilation device, based on the computed IPI value, wherein said signal adjusts one or more weaning related parameters in said ventilation device.

Patients are placed on mechanical ventilation for a variety of medical dysfunctions. These include such conditions as: pulmonary distress, chest trauma, cardiac failure, paralysis, neuromuscular failure, multiple organ failure, sepsis leading to pulmonary complications, post-operative management and other conditions. Mechanical ventilators are typically adapted to do two things, provide for ventilation and oxygenation. Ventilation generally includes delivering controlled minute ventilations using sets of tidal volumes and respiratory rates. This can be provided using set pressure or set volume of gas supplied under to the lung. Oxygenation is generally controlled by delivering a level of prescribed oxygen and or positive end expiratory pressure (PEEP) used to increase functional residual capacity (FRC).
Even though the ventilation technology is constantly improving, ventilator dependence is still a serious medical and economic problem. It is well known that severe and sometimes lethal complications may develop the longer a patient is on ventilator support. In addition, as ventilator therapy is provided in specialized and very expensive Intensive Care Unit environments, there is a need to minimize ventilator dependency. Weaning the patients from artificial ventilation is among the most difficult challenges of the regarding intensive care ventilation.
Prior art ventilator weaning monitoring methods are not efficient enough and are often depending on subjective impressions of clinical fatigue or distress and/or arterial blood gas derangements that of necessity measure failure after the failure has already developed. More modem monitoring techniques such as the ratio of Tidal Volume to Respiratory Rate are still relatively crude indices of weaning performance. Weaning from ventilator dependency is potentially hazardous due to unexpected precipitous ventilatory failure, and early warning by appropriate monitoring means is imperative for patient safety. Further, controlled stress of weakened respiratory muscles is imperative in order to recondition these muscles, but in addition to not over-stress these recovering muscles and therefore cause further damage. It is often difficult to safely define the proper degree of weaning stress clinically.
Moreover, when a caregiver (such as a doctor or a nurse) considers weaning a patient from a ventilation machine and/or wishes to monitor the progress of the weaning process, he or she has to take into consideration and often even analyze a great deal of patient related parameters (data). These various parameters may each have different units and occasionally, different units may be used for the same parameter. Moreover, the absolute values of the parameters may not always be intuitive for understanding/interpretation and neither are they linearly proportional to severity of the condition. In addition, some parameters may have different meanings as to the condition of the patient when increasing and/or when decreasing, that is, for some parameters, decrease in the value indicates improvement while with other parameters, decrease in value may indicate deterioration of the patient condition. Thus the complexity and multiplicity of parameters also add to the existing difficulty of weaning initiation and monitoring.
There is thus a need in the art for systems, devices and methods that would allow straightforward monitoring the constantly changing condition of a patient undergoing weaning from ventilation.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the figures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Integrated pulmonary index for weaning from mechanical ventilation


A folding trailer which includes a slide-out room movable from a retracted position within the trailer to an extended position which adds additional living space to the inside of the trailer. The slide-out room includes a front wall, a rear wall and an exterior wall, with the floor attached therebetween and spaced above the trailer floor. A pair of lateral roller supports attached to the trailer floor along the front wall engages a roller track attached to the inside surface of the front wall. Similarly, a pair of lateral roller supports attached to the trailer floor on the other side of the slide-out room, and adjacent the rear wall, engages a roller track on an inner surface of the rear wall. A plurality of vertical roller supports attached to the trailer floor supports and contacts the lower surface of the slide-out floor. A catch clip attached to the lower surface of the slide-out floor near each corner thereof and adjacent the interior end of the slide-out room opposite the exterior wall functions to engage the innermost lateral roller supports and stop the slide-out room from moving further out from the main body of the trailer.

1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the camping area and, in particular, to folding trailers with an extendable room.
2) Description of the Prior Art
The use of camping trailers and recreational vehicles is well known and continues in its popularity today. Recreational vehicles are driven down the road in a self-contained unit and camping trailers are towed behind a car or other towing vehicle. Due to road limitations and the like, the width of recreational vehicles and camping trailers is restricted to certain maximums when the unit is traveling down the road. One solution for adding width to a recreational vehicle or camping trailer when set up at a campsite is to provide one or more slide-outs or movable rooms which can be extended laterally outwardly from the unit and then moved back into one or both sides thereof. Examples of prior art units including a slide-out or movable room are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,941,414; 4,049,310; 4,480,866; 4,500,132; 4,930,837; 5,154,469; 5,237,782; and 5,280,687.
The use of a laterally movable slide-out room is also known in connection with a tent camper or folding trailer as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,003 to Gill. However, the particular slide-out structure shown in the Gill patent has a number of deficiencies which make it not suited for the environments in which tent campers are typically used. The arrangement shown in the Gill patent utilizes a pair of guide tubes that are attached under the chassis or framework of the trailer. Each tube carries a horizontally disposed support shaft that is attached at one end to the slide-out and which provides straight line guidance for lateral motion of the slide-out and provides support until the slide-out can be stabilized in its final position. A problem with this arrangement is that the tubes and support shafts are totally exposed and are vulnerable to damage from rocks and other road hazards which would render the slide-out difficult or impossible to operate. The support shafts must also be heavily lubricated and will likely need constant attention to maintain adequate lubricity. In addition, when the slide-out is in the extended position, the greased areas on the support shafts are exposed to damage and dirt. In fact, the axle grease on the support shafts acts like a magnet, attracting dirt and road grime that will eventually cause binding and difficulty in operation. With the arrangement in the Gill patent, there is a serious risk that the slide-out mechanism (tubes and support shafts) would be bent or otherwise damaged either when the trailer is in the folded position, and then the slide-out could not be extended, or when the trailer is in the extended position, and then the slide-out could not be retracted back into the trailer and the trailer could not be further moved. In addition, separate stabilizer bars are needed at the outer edges of the slide-out to provide adequate support. If the slide-out is not equally stabilized in the extended position, the slide-out mechanism could bind in the extended position. Moreover, in the arrangement shown in the Gill patent, roller wheels are provided on the bottom of the slide-out and directly engage the floor of the trailer. These roller wheels tend to leave impressions on the trailer floor and scratch, crease or crack the floor when the slide-out is moved into and out of the trailer. Furthermore, the design of the Gill patent requires a large pulling force to extend the slide-out from the trailer and a large pushing force to retract the slide-out back into the trailer.


A system for communicating heart health of an individual to the individual, comprises an input device useable to enter data relevant to the health of the individual an expert system including a knowledge base populated by a plurality of facts and rules for assessing heart health using the relevant data and an output device useable to communicate one or both of current heart health of the individual and a change in heart health that exceeds a threshold. At least some of the relevant data are biographical data and at least some of the relevant data are measurement data.

According to the 2011 National Center for Health Statistics report, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States in men and women of every major ethnic group. It accounted for nearly 616,000 deaths in 2008 and was responsible for 1 in 4 deaths in the U.S. in the same year. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease and in 2008, 405,309 individuals died in the U.S. from this specific etiology. Every year, approximately 785,000 Americans suffer a first heart attack and another 470,000 will suffer an additional myocardial infarction (MI). In 2010, CAD alone was projected to cost the U.S. $108.9 billion including the cost of health care services, medications, and lost productivity. Cardiovascular diseases claims more lives each year than the next four leading causes of death combined—cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, accidents, and diabetes mellitus.
Individuals experiencing symptoms including chest pains, palpitations, and fainting spells, individuals with family histories of heart disease, and individuals of advanced age are typically advised to consult a clinician in order to assess overall heart health, and to diagnose heart disease or the potential for heart disease. A clinician typically performs a physical exam on an individual and asks about personal and family medical history before performing any tests. The clinician may also ask about the individual's lifestyle and habits, and may ask other questions that address known or suspected risk factors associated with heart health. The tests needed to diagnose heart disease can vary depending on the condition the clinician suspects the individual to have, and can include but is not limited to blood tests, chest x-rays, electrocardiograms (ECG), and echocardiograms. More advanced tests or diagnostic techniques can include but is not limited to cardiac catheterization, heart biopsy, cardiac computer tomography (CT) scan, and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
The preliminary and advanced tests can become time consuming, costly and invasive to the individual and results typically need additional time in order for the clinician to review and make a diagnosis based on the results of testing, and together with the data collected from the physical exam and queries, make an assessment of the individual's overall heart health. Communicating the assessment to the individual and communicating changes in the assessment over time can be challenging in that the individual may feel a certain abstraction about an assessment without an understanding of heart health relative to the individual's peer groups, relative to the general population, and/or relative to the individual's own history. Individuals can therefore benefit for improved techniques for communicating heart health with the provider and monitoring heart health over time using a time saving, cost-effective and non-invasive method.

Device and methods for assessing, diagnosing, and/or monitoring heart health


In a load control unit, three R, G, and B LED chips that constitute each light source (33a-33d) of reading lamps (25-31) and a connector (35) with a built-in controller are mounted on a circuit board (37) to thereby eliminate the connection of a controller (35b) built into the connector (35) with the built-in controller and the respective light sources (33a-33d) by signal lines. In addition, the controller (35b) and a lighting ECU (43) are connected by a multiplex communication line (39), and the multiplex communication line (39) is routed in pillars (15, 17) of a vehicle (1). Consequently, the number of wires can be reduced compared with when individual wires connected to the respective light sources (33a-33d) are passed through the pillars (15, 17), and thereby making it possible to effectively use limited spaces within the pillars (15, 17) through which many other wires are passed.

A controller is essential for the drive control of loads. In connection, there is a known constitution where a connector having a control unit built in to function a part of the controller is connected to a main control unit through a multiplex communication line, and the connector with the built-in control unit is connected to respective loads through wires for controlling the driving of the respective loads (see PTLs 1-5).
According to such a conventional constitution, as the built-in control unit of the connector performs the drive control of loads, it is possible to reduce the burden of the main control unit because its role of directly performing the drive control of loads becomes unnecessary. Further, as it has only to connect a wire extending from each load to the connector with the built-in control unit, which is connected to the main control unit through the multiplex communication line, instead of directly connecting respective wires extending from the respective loads to the main control unit individually (in parallel), it is possible to reduce the number of wires to be routed, thereby realizing weight saving of the whole constitution.


A method and apparatus for updating personal information in a communication system supporting a Converged Address Book (CAB) service are provided. The method and apparatus includes subscribing to external personal profile information from a non-CAB system, and updating personal information in accordance with a user preference-based synchronization method using the external personal profile information.

A Converged Address Book (CAB) service, a common single network-based address book service, is a service provided to store a single network address book in a network and improve the user's experience and abilities for the stored single network address book. Specifically, the single network address book is provided such that it can be accessed anytime anywhere on a variety of devices that can be manipulated by a user, and is synchronized for this purpose.
In a communication system supporting the CAB service, if a document, in which personal information used by a CAB user is changed due to its modification, deletion, addition and the like, needs to be updated, there is a need for a way to allow the user to easily update the document.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

Method and apparatus for updating personal information in communication system


There is here disclosed a manual paper feeder attached to an image forming apparatus including at least an image data receiving portion and an image forming device, and the manual paper feeder comprises a manual feed unit for supplying a paper sheet by mounting the paper sheet by a user; and a paper sheet release unit including at least a paper feed roller for carrying the paper sheets mounted in the manual feed unit; a frictional separation member for carrying the paper sheets by the frictional force while holding the manually supplied paper sheets between the frictional separation member itself and the paper feed roller; and a frictional force variable mechanism for changing the frictional force for holding the paper sheet between the paper feed roller and the frictional separation member.

The present invention relates to a manual paper feeder in an image forming apparatus such as a color plain paper copy machine (which will be abbreviated to PPC -Plane Paper Copy machine-) or a printer which prints and records information from an image information supplying apparatus such as a personal computer (which will be abbreviated to PC-Personal Computer-) or a digital camera on paper sheets such as manually supplied plain paper sheets or OHP sheets having different paper qualities and paper thicknesses.
In the manual paper feeder provided in an image forming apparatus for forming images on the paper sheets, various contrivances have been heretofore made in order to smoothly carry the manually supplied paper sheets to an image forming mechanism such as a photosensitive drum or a transfer roller. Any particular problem does not occur when the number of the manually inserted paper sheets is one, but when a plurality of paper sheets are superimposed on each other in a paper feed portion, the paper sheet to be normally supplied drags another paper sheet under the above paper sheet and it is inconveniently fed together with the lower paper sheet on occasion. As a countermeasure, various separation mechanisms for the paper sheets are provided in the next stage of the paper feed portion of the manual paper feeder, as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2655916, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2585428 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 24516/1991.
As the separation mechanism for the manual paper feeder, a combination of a frictional separation member made of a felt material and a rubber roller is used, but when a paper feed rubber roller having a high friction coefficient is used in order to give a carrying frictional force to the paper sheets to be carried, a friction coefficient xcexc1 between the paper feed rubber roller and the paper sheet to be carried and another friction coefficient xcexcp between the paper sheets to be carried are larger than a friction coefficient xcexc2 between the frictional separation member formed of a felt material and the paper sheet to be carried, so that the paper sheets to be carried cannot be separated from each other one by one and so the plurality of paper sheets are often fed together.
Furthermore, when the frictional separation member is formed of a rubber material in order to prevent the feeding of the plural paper sheets due to the above-described frictional separation member made of the felt material, a friction coefficient xcexc2xe2x80x2 between the frictional separation member made of the rubber material and the paper sheet to be carried is larger than the friction coefficient xcexcp between the paper sheets to be carried and the friction coefficient xcexc1 between the paper feed rubber roller and the paper sheet to be carried, so that there sometimes occurs a problem that the carrying frictional force deteriorates to cause a feeding failure.
In order to eliminate the above-described problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a manual paper feeder which can prevent the feeding of plural paper sheets or a feeding failure by enabling the variable adjustment of a frictional force between a paper feed roller and a frictional separation member.
To achieve the above object, a manual paper feeder according to a basic concept of the present invention is directed to a manual paper feeder attached to an image forming apparatus comprising at least an image data receiving portion and an image forming device, and this manual paper feeder comprises a manual feed unit for supplying a paper sheet mounted by a user; and a paper sheet release unit including at least a paper feed roller for carrying the paper sheet mounted in the manual feed unit; a frictional separation member for carrying the paper sheet by the frictional force while holding the manually supplied paper sheets between the frictional separation member itself and the paper feed roller; and a frictional force variable mechanism for changing the frictional force for holding the paper sheet between the paper feed roller and the frictional separation member.
Furthermore, a manual paper feeder according to a different aspect of the present invention is directed to a manual paper feeder attached to an image forming apparatus comprising at least an image data receiving portion and an image forming device, and this manual paper feeder comprises a manual feed unit for supplying paper sheets mounted by a user; and a paper sheet release unit including at least roller paper feeding means for carrying the paper sheets mounted in the manual feed unit; frictional separating means for carrying the paper sheets by the frictional force while holding the manually supplied paper sheets between the frictional separating means itself and the roller paper feeding means; and frictional force variable means for changing the frictional force for holding the paper sheet between the roller paper feeding means and the frictional separating means.

Manual feed apparatus in image forming system


A level-sensing probe positioned in a tank is divided into sections with each section including (i) a fluid-level capacitive sensor disposed along the length thereof, (ii) an inductor electrically coupled to the capacitive sensor, (iii) a sensor antenna positioned for inductive coupling to the inductor, and (iv) an electrical conductor coupled to the sensor antenna. An electrically non-conductive housing accessible from a position outside of the tank houses antennas arrayed in a pattern. Each antenna is electrically coupled to the electrical conductor from a corresponding one of the sections. A magnetic field response recorder has a measurement head with transceiving antennas arrayed therein to correspond to the pattern of the housing's antennas. When a measurement is to be taken, the measurement head is mechanically coupled to the housing so that each housing antenna is substantially aligned with a specific one of the transceiving antennas.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems for measuring levels of fluid substances in a tank. More specifically, the invention is a wireless fluid level measuring system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fluid levels in large tanks (e.g., a filling station's gasoline storage tanks) are typically monitored by manual measurement using a dip stick. This involves removal of a tank's cover which can pose a risk to nearby personnel in terms of toxic fumes and/or the potential of an unwanted reaction/combustion of the fumes.

United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


An anti-theft device, comprising at least one spool (2) made of electrically insulating material that is mounted rotatably on a support (3); a cable-like element (4) that can be wound onto, and unwound from, the spool or a respective spool and has a free end (5) that can be detachably anchored to an item (6) to be restrained, elastic loading means for the or each spool in order to ensure the automatic tensioning and rewinding of said cable-like element on its own spool, detachable engagement means for an item to be restrained which are located at the free end of said cable-like element or of each cable-like element and are suitable to open or close an electrical contact, and a control unit (8) that is meant to act in response to the opening-closing of the electrical contact.

The present invention relates to an anti-theft device particularly but not exclusively suitable for use in association with displays of goods for sale, such as for example eyeglasses, jewels, watches, items of clothing, tools, and many others.
It is known that it would be desirable to be able to allow customers of a sales center or shop to pick up, handle, and possibly try goods before deciding whether to buy them or not, but this generally clashes with the need to ensure that the goods are not stolen and taken away without paying. Anti-theft tags have already been proposed; however, they are suitable only for indoor environments, where it is possible to provide adequate verification on the part of assigned personnel, but they can give no assurance against theft in open-air exhibitions, for example on a shop frontage. Moreover, anti-theft tags are constituted in many cases by devices that must be broken in order to release the item on sale, and this forces the retailer to continuously acquire new devices, with an increase in sales costs.

Anti-theft device particularly for point of sale displays


A splicing tape for splicing a leading edge portion of the outer turn of a roll of sheet material to a second sheet material. A typical application is to join the outer turn of a replacement roll of paper to the end of depleted roll of paper while the paper remains in motion through some handling apparatus. The splicing tape comprises a first tape component, and second tape component, and a layer of adhesive separably joining the first and second tape components. The first tape component includes a first backing, a first layer of adhesive on a first surface of the first backing, and a first barrier layer on a second surface of the first backing. The second tape component includes a second backing, a second layer of adhesive on a first surface of the second backing, and a second barrier layer on a second surface of the second backing. Alternatively, the splicing tape may include only one barrier layer between the joining adhesive layer and one of the first and second backings. The layer of adhesive separably joins the first and second tape components at their respective barrier layers. Also disclosed are methods of manufacture and methods of use of the inventive splicing tape.

The present invention relates to splicing tapes suitable for splicing a leading edge portion of the outer turn of a roll of sheet material to another sheet material, and methods of making and using such splicing tapes.
Splicing tapes can be used for preparing a joint between two sheet materials such as, for example, between the leading edge portion of the outer turn of a roll of sheet material and another sheet material. The splicing operation can be performed in a static or a dynamic mode.
In the static mode, the first and second sheet material first may be positioned in the desired configuration relative to each other, and one or more splicing tapes are then applied to join the two sheets together. It is also possible to apply the splicing tape or tapes to one of the sheet materials first. Then the second sheet material is provided, positioned in the desired configuration and the two sheet materials are joined. Splices which are obtained in a static mode of preparation are often referred to as permanent splices. Some typical configurations of static splices are butt splices, overlap splices and staggered overlap splices. These configurations are shown and discussed in FIGS. 1A-1C of WO 95/29115.
It is often desirable, however, to prepare splices in a dynamic mode. This allows, for example, in the printing industry, joining the leading edge of the new roll of paper sheet material to the trailing edge of the old, depleting roll of paper sheet material without requiring interruption of the continuous production process. Splices which are obtained in a dynamic mode of operation are usually referred to as flying splices. A conventional way of making a flying splice tape uses destructible nose tabs as is described in WO 95/29115. In a first step the new roll is appropriately prepared or xe2x80x9cdressedxe2x80x9d for splicing, as is shown in FIG. 1a herein, which was taken from FIG. 3A of WO 95/29115. The leading edge 35 is formed by applying a double-sided adhesive tape in the form of a W or V or in another appropriate shape to the outermost turn 32 of the new roll of sheet material 30. The outermost lap 32 is then torn back against the tape to form the leading edge portion 35 which is releasably adhered to the next-to-the-outer turn 31 by the nose tabs 23. The new roll of sheet material 30 is then accelerated to the same speed as the running web sheet of the previous, depleting roll. The running web sheet is then pressed against the new roll 30 and pasted to the double-sided adhesive tape 25 on the outermost turn 32 of the new roll 30. The previous roll is typically cut off from the running web sheet. The nose tab is then subjected to the tractive force exerted by the running web sheet. The nose tab breaks thereby releasing the temporary joint between the outer turn 32 and the next-to-the-outer turn 31 of the new roll of sheet material 30. Another known configuration for applying a flying splice is shown in FIG. 1b herein which is adapted from FIG. 3B of WO 95/29115. Other splicing tapes useful for flying splices and static splices are discussed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,692,699 and 5,996,927.
Another useful splicing tape useful in preparing a flying splice is shown in EP 0 941 954. The ""954 reference discloses a splicing tape which uses a non-tacky polymer layer in contact with a carrier layer. The materials are chosen so as to control the separation force between the non-tacky polymer layer and the carrier layer. An optional adhesion controlling layer may be applied between the non-tacky polymer layer and the carrier layer.
Another known type of splicing tape includes a central paper layer or tissue layer which splits in use. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,901,919 shows an adhesive tape for flying reel change in paper finishing machines or the like, having a paper backing and a water-soluble self-adhesive composition, characterized in that the paper backing is coated on one side with a water-soluble self-adhesive composition while part of the reverse side of the paper backing is provided with a double-sided adhesive tape, which in turn has a readily splittable splicing paper backing which is provided on both sides with water-soluble self-adhesive composition.
When it is almost time to splice the new roll to the depleting roll, it is desirable to bring the new roll up to a rotational speed equal to the speed of the web from the depleting roll. Typically, this may be done by either driving the core on which the new roll is mounted, or by contacting a drive belt against the outer periphery of the new roll. When using a drive belt, it contacts against some portion of the width of the new roll, as illustrated at B in FIG. 1c. This typically occurs after the adhesive on the splicing tape has been exposed for bonding to the depleting web. It is undesirable for the drive belt to contact a significant portion of the exposed adhesive 21, as there is a chance that the splice tape could bond to the drive belt with sufficient strength to separate the splicing tape which could cause the new roll to rip or begin to unwind. One known method for minimizing this is to place bridge 29 over a portion of the exposed adhesive 21 of the splice tape for a width sufficient to protect the splice tape in the area B in which the drive belt could contact it. The bridge 29 may be a piece of adhesive tape, in which case it is applied adhesive face down, leaving the backing of the bridge tape exposed to contact the drive belt. The bridge may be a piece of paper or other material that may be conveniently adhered to the exposed adhesive 21, in which case the bridge 29 need not have any adhesive of its own. The bridge 29 may include holes that allow some of the adhesive 21 to remain exposed to strengthen the splice in the area of the bridge. It is also known to leave a small portion of the adhesive 21 exposed by placing the bridge a short distance back from the front of the adhesive 21. U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,924 discloses an alternative arrangement, in which portions of release liner extend along the length of the splicing tape, that is across the full width of the roll of material. The portions are separated from one another leaving lengths of splicing adhesive exposed.
A nose tab which is suitable for preparing a flying splice is described in GB 2,294,235. The ""235 reference discloses a nose tab for temporarily interconnecting the leading and trailing ends of the outermost turn of a could of sheet material. The nose tab has a first layer to be in use adhesively attached to the under surface of the leading end. The nose tab is characterized in that it has a second layer to be in use adhesively attached to the trailing end and/or to the leading end of the next to outermost turn. The first and second layers are bonded to one another across their mutually abutting faces in a manner permitting them to be peelingly separable in use. Double sided adhesive tape may adhere the trailing inner end of the old coil and leading outer end of the new coil.
Both permanent and flying splices should provide a flexible, strong connection between the two sheet materials or webs and should maintain substantially all of the properties of the sheet material; for example, if the sheet material is paper which can be printed or coated, the splice is preferably thin, flexible, printable, coatable and also repulpable. When using configurations like those of FIGS. 1a and 1b for preparing a flying splice, it is important that air cannot enter beneath the leading edge 35 of the outer turn 32 which would result in the roll unwinding itself at very high speeds thus interrupting the continuous production. To prevent air entering beneath the leading edge 35 of the outer turn 32, small destructible adhesive tabs 27 are sometimes applied not only at the noses of the leading edge 35 but, for example, also along the diagonal edges of the leading edge 35 in FIG. 1a or over the lateral edges of the leading portion of the outer turn 32 to the sides of the roll 30. Configurations like those of FIG. 1a and 1b are time consuming to apply and require the application of double-sided adhesive tapes and destructible nose tabs.
Other fields outside splicing tapes also provide internally delaminating articles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,985 discloses a laminated construction having differential release characteristics which will yield a self-detackifying adhesive surface upon delamination. The laminate is produced by coating a film of a polymeric material onto one side of a face stock material and then laminating this construction to an adhesive which has been coated onto a release liner. The release liner is removed and the remaining portion of the laminate is affixed to a suitable substrate utilizing the exposed adhesive surface. The polymeric material is chosen so that upon delamination of the face stock from the substrate, it remains affixed to the adhesive coating. This results in a self-detackified adhesive surface on the substrate. The abstract of the ""985 reference states that such laminate constructions are useful for tags, labels, stickers, and the like as well as for sending credit, business, or membership cards on preprinted mailers to ultimate users. Because of the unique self-detackifying surface produced, both the face stock and substrate can be used and further handled or processed by hand or automated equipment.
Although the commercial success of available splicing tapes has been impressive, it is desirable to further improve the performance of splicing tapes.
One aspect of the present invention provides a splicing tape for splicing a leading edge portion of the outer turn of a roll of sheet material to a second sheet material. The splicing tape comprises a first tape component, a second tape component, and a third layer of adhesive separably joining the tape components. The first tape component includes a first backing, a first layer of adhesive on a first surface of the first backing, and a first barrier layer on a second surface of the first backing. The second tape component includes a second backing, a second layer of adhesive on a first surface of the second backing, and a second barrier layer on a second surface of the second backing. The third layer of adhesive separably joins the first barrier layer and the second barrier together.
In one preferred embodiment of the above splicing tape, the first and second backings comprise repulpable backings. More preferably, the first and second backings comprise cellulosic backings. Most preferably, the first and second backings comprise paper backings.
In another preferred embodiment of the above splicing tape, the first and second barrier layers prevent significant penetration of the third adhesive layer into the first and second backings. Preferably, at least one of the barrier layers comprises a lacquer.
In another preferred embodiment, at least one of the barrier layers comprises a filled barrier layer to control the bond strength between the filled barrier layer and the third adhesive layer. Preferably, the filled barrier layer comprises a silicone filled barrier layer. In another preferred embodiment, the barrier layer comprises a UV curable barrier layer.
In another preferred embodiment of the above splicing tape, the third layer of adhesive comprises a water-based adhesive. In another preferred embodiment, the third layer of adhesive comprises a synthetic resin emulsion based adhesive.
In another preferred embodiment of the above splicing tape, the third layer of adhesive comprises a gradient in the direction along the width of the tape.
In one embodiment, the above splicing tape, when in use, separates by cohesive separation of the third adhesive layer. In another embodiment, the splicing tape separates by delamination between the third adhesive layer and either of the first and second barrier layers.
In another embodiment, the splicing tape also includes a release liner on at least one of the first and second adhesive layers. Preferably, the release liner comprises a first portion and a second portion, each being independently separable from the splicing tape.
In another embodiment, the release liner comprises a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The first portion extends along the length of the splicing tape adjacent a first edge of the splicing tape, the third portion extends along the length of the splicing tape adjacent a second edge of the splicing tape, and the second portion extends along the length of the splicing tape between the first and third portions. The second portion of the release liner includes a plurality of weakened lines extending across the width of the second portion.
In any of the above embodiments, the splicing tape may include only a single barrier layer rather than first and second barrier layers. The splicing tape may include the barrier layer between the third adhesive layer and either of the first and second backings. In this embodiment, the splicing tape, when in use, preferably separates between the third adhesive layer and the barrier layer.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of making a splicing tape for splicing a leading edge portion of the outer turn of a roll of sheet material to a second sheet material. The method comprises the steps of: a) providing a first tape portion including a first backing and a first layer of adhesive; b) applying a first barrier layer on the first backing opposite the first layer of adhesive; c) providing a second tape portion including a second backing and a second layer of adhesive; d) applying a second barrier layer on the second backing opposite the first layer of adhesive; e) applying a third adhesive layer to either of the first and second barrier layers; and f) laminating the first and second tape portions together with the third layer of adhesive between the first and second barrier layers. In one preferred embodiment of this method, steps b) and d) each further comprise curing the barrier layer with UV light. In another preferred embodiment, steps b) and d) are performed concurrently.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a method of preparing a roll of web material for a flying splice. The method comprising the steps of: a) adhering a separable splicing tape to a roll of web material, wherein the splicing tape includes a release liner facing away from the roll and a layer of adhesive covered by the release liner; b) removing a first portion of the release liner along the length of the splicing tape to expose a first portion of the layer of adhesive, while maintaining a second portion of the adhesive tape along the length of the splicing tape covered with a second portion of the release liner; c) adhering the leading edge portion of the roll of web material to the first portion of the adhesive; and d) removing a first lengthwise segment of the second portion of the release liner while maintaining a second lengthwise segment, to thereby expose a first lengthwise segment of the second portion of the adhesive layer and to thereby maintain covered a second lengthwise segment of the second portion of the adhesive layer.
In one preferred embodiment of this method, it further includes the step of removing a third portion of the release liner along the length of the splicing tape, with the second portion between the first and third portions.
In another preferred embodiment of this method, step d) includes separating the second portion of the release liner along a weakened line.
In another preferred embodiment of this method, step d) includes removing a first and second segment of the second portion of the release liner from opposite sides of the second segment.
Certain terms are used in the description and the claims that, while for the most part are well known, may require some explanation. The term xe2x80x9cdelaminationxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to an adhesive separation mode of the splicing tape 10 whereby the splicing tape 10 separates between two adjacent layers so as to leave exposed the surfaces of the adjacent layers which had been in contact with each other previously. The term xe2x80x9csplittingxe2x80x9d as used herein refers to a cohesive separation mode of the splicing tape 10 whereby the splicing tape 10 breaks through one of its layers so as to leave exposed two inner surfaces of such layer.

Tape for flying splice, method of use, and method of manufacture


This application discloses a method for upgrading an energy storage system, and an energy management system. The method includes: obtaining a to-be-upgraded file of the energy storage system; controlling the energy storage system to disconnect from high voltage when a current operating status of the energy storage system allows a program upgrade; detecting status of high voltage connection of the energy storage system; receiving a notification sent by a battery management system in the energy storage system indicating completion of disconnecting the energy storage system from the high voltage; and sending the to-be-upgraded file to the battery management system to perform the program upgrade according to the to-be-upgraded file.

A battery management system (hereinafter referred to as "BMS") is a link between a battery and a user, and can improve the utilization rate of the battery, prevent the battery from overcharge and overdischarge, extend the battery life, and monitor the battery status. However, once a program defect or version problem of the BMS occurs, it directly affects the service life of the battery, or even incurs serious consequences. Therefore, high requirements are imposed on software management of the BMS.
Currently, to upgrade a program of the BMS in the energy storage system, a host computer needs to establish physical communication with different nodes manually on site before the program upgrade. However, to perform a program upgrade for a large-scale energy storage station, such an upgrade method requires a lot of human resources and time, and requires the BMS to have an external interface reserved for upgrade, thereby failing to use the same line for both upgrade and communication, and increasing hardware costs.

Method for upgrading energy storage system remotely, energy management system, and battery management system

CONTEMPORARY AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY CO., LIMITED