A method of PSA gas separation for a gas mixture containing hydrogen and hydrocarbon impurities. The gas mixture is put in contact with silica gel and activated carbon so as to adsorb the impurities in the gas mixture. Hydrogen rich and waste gas flows are produced. The waste gas flow may be sent to the combustible network of a petrochemical site, without having to make a pressure adjustment to the waste gas.

The present invention relates to a PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) method for separating a gas mixture containing hydrogen (H2) and hydrocarbon type (CnHm) impurities, in which the gas mixture to be purified is contacted with an activated charcoal and silica gel in order to adsorb the impurities present in the gas mixture to be treated, and to produce a hydrogen-rich stream, and further to produce a waste gas stream at a regeneration pressure between 2 and 10 bar absolute.
The PSA method is very frequently used for separating and for purifying gases.
In the case of the treatment of hydrogen-rich gases, this method is suitable for generating a pure hydrogen stream, typically with purity above 99% by volume, and a hydrogen-poor waste gas concentrating the other species present in the initial gas mixture to be purified.
Any PSA method is characterized by two main steps, as follows:                an adsorption phase in which the feed gas is contacted with one or more beds each containing one or more adsorbents, at an adsorption pressure (P) at which the compounds other than hydrogen are adsorbed and hence retained on the solid adsorbent(s). The gas leaving the bed is purified hydrogen which is produced at a production pressure (P′) close to the adsorption pressure (P); generally, the difference between these pressures P and P′ is less than 1 bar.        a desorption phase in which the adsorbent(s) is(are) scavenged by an elution gas other than the feed gas at a regeneration pressure (P″), such as: P″<P, at which the adsorbed compounds are desorbed, then recovered downstream of the adsorbent bed at this regeneration pressure (P″). On completion of this desorption step, the adsorbent can undergo a new adsorption step.
The lower the regeneration pressure (P″), the more efficient the desorption of the undesirable compounds. This regeneration pressure (P″) therefore has a strong impact on the purity of the hydrogen produced, on the hydrogen recovery rate, and on the quantity of adsorbent needed.
In practice, the adsorbents generally used for treating H2/hydrocarbon mixtures require a regeneration pressure (P″) between 1.5 and 2 bar absolute, but always less than 3 bar absolute. This is because, if the regeneration pressure exceeds this maximum value, the species heavier than propane, which are always present in the gas stream to be purified, are permanently adsorbed on the adsorbent and rapidly poison it.
Moreover, at all petrochemical facilities, the hydrocarbon-rich waste gases from all the units, and in particular those from the hydrogen purification units, cannot be released to the atmosphere. They are collected on a fuel gas network which supplies the various burners of the facility.
The pressure of this network (P″′) is generally between 4 and 7 bar absolute, that is, always above 3 bar absolute in practice.
This explains why, due to the difference in pressure that exists, the waste gases from PSA units can never be sent directly to the fuel network of a petrochemical facility.
Many alternatives have already been proposed to try to solve this problem.
According to one known solution, the waste gas leaving the PSA unit is compressed by a rotating machine, such as a gas compressor, thereby raising the pressure of this waste gas from the pressure P″ to the pressure P″′ in order to introduce it subsequently into the fuel network of the petrochemical facility.
According to another known solution, the burners of several furnaces are replaced to permit the combustion of the gas at the pressure P″, which avoids having to compress it, as in the previous case.
However, these two known solutions are very costly because they generally increase the total cost of hydrogen purification by a factor of 1.5 to 3.
The problem which accordingly arises is to be able to purify the hydrogen-rich gases economically, in particular those containing at least one heavy hydrocarbon species of the C3+ type, that is, in which the number of carbon atoms is 3 or more, and without facing the problems encountered in the prior art.

Treatment of hydrogen/hydrocarbon mixtures on adsorbents regenerated at high pressure

L'Air Liquide Société Anonyme á Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procédés Georges Claude


An electrolyte composition, a lithium battery using the electrolyte composition, and a method of manufacturing the lithium battery are provided. The electrolyte composition contains: a lithium salt; an organic solvent containing 15-50% by weight of propylene carbonate based on the total weight of the electrolyte composition; a nitrogen-containing compound; and cyclohexylbenzene. The lithium battery manufactured using the electrolyte composition has improved stability even when overcharged and improved cycle characteristics.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-57275, filed on Aug. 19, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrolyte composition, a lithium battery using the same, and a method of manufacturing the lithium battery, and more particularly, to an electrolyte composition with improved stability in the case of overcharging, a lithium battery using the electrolyte composition, and a method of manufacturing the lithium battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an increasing number of electronic devices, especially, portable devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, notebook computers, etc. spreads widely and become used in more application fields, there has been intensive research on batteries as driving sources for such devices with the need for smaller, thin design, lightweight, high-performance batteries.
Among various kinds of batteries lithium batteries have been used as typical driving power sources for portable devices due to the lightweight and high energy density thereof. A lithium battery consists of a cathode, an anode, a separator, and an electrolyte solution interposed between the cathode and the anode to provide a path of lithium ions. The lithium battery produces electrical energy by oxidation/reduction reactions occurring when the intercalation/deintercalation of lithium ions occurs at the cathode and the anode.
However, when the lithium battery is overcharged due to a malfunction of a charger, thereby causing a rapid rise in voltage, a large amount of lithium ions may be separated at the cathode while the intercalation of a large amount of lithium ions occurs at the anode. This thermal instability between the cathode and the anode leads to decomposition of an organic solvent contained in the electrolyte solution, rapid generation of heat, and eventually a thermal runaway phenomenon, thereby raising safety concerns.
To solve this problem, there has been tried to suppress the overcharging of the lithium battery by changing the composition of the electrolyte solution or by adding an additive to the electrolyte composition. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,834 discloses a method of enhancing the safety of a battery by using a biphenyl substance as an additive that can be polymerized at a voltage when the battery is overcharged and thus raise internal resistance. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. hei 9-17447 discloses a benzene compound that can reversibly oxide and reduce at a potential that is higher than a positive electrode potential when overcharging occurs. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. hei 5-36439 discloses the use of an electrolyte solution containing at least one of a chain carbonic ester, a cyclic carbonic ester, polypropylene carbonate (PC), and alkyl benzene in a battery system with a current cutoff device for preventing an interval voltage increase in the battery. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. hei 9-106835 discloses a non-aqueous, rechargeable lithium battery using a polymeric aromatic additive such as biphenyl, 3-chloro thiophene, franc, etc. as an additive for the electrolyte solution and a method of improving the safety of the battery. Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-15155 discloses the use of an alkyl benzene derivative with a tertiary carbon near a phenyl group or cyclohexylbenzene. Hydrogen bound to the tertiary carbon is unstable and thus is easily decomposed into hydrogen gas at a high voltage, thereby initiating the operation of a current cutoff device and thus suppressing overcharging.
However, the biphenyl compound leads to accumulation of a conductive polymer inside the electrodes and on the separator when the battery is charged and discharged and an increase in the thickness of the battery, thereby causing internal shorting out during the charging/discharging cycles.
In the case of using the benzene compound, which has to be simultaneously oxidized and reduced at the cathode and the anode, a large amount of additive is required to prevent overcharging of the battery. However, the cycle lifetime or high-temperature storage characteristic of the battery deteriorates due to side reactions.
In the case of using the alkyl benzene compound to prevent overcharging, where the current cutoff device is operated by hydrogen gas produced as a reaction product, a more complicated battery system is required because overcharging cannot be prevented using the alkyl benzene compound alone.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2001-15155 discloses that the amount of an additive preferably ranges from 1-5% by weight. In a polymer battery using a polymer electrolyte in which mobility of the additive is lower than in an electrolyte solution of a lithium ion battery, the amount of the additive has to be increased. However, when the amount of the additive, for example, cyclohexylbenzene, is increased above 5% by weight, the overcharging characteristic, lifespan characteristic, and swelling characteristic of the battery deteriorate.

Electrolyte composition, lithium battery using the same, and method of manufacturing the lithium battery


The invention relates to a tank with an inner and/or outer cladding or lining, consisting of a tank wall and a double-walled cladding adhering to the latter and consisting of a double pile fabric which is reinforced by a curable impregnated resin and in which an upper and a lower fabric are connected so as to be spaced from one another by means of webs formed by pile threads, and with a closing-off laminate ply, the webs of the cladding forming, between the upper and the lower fabric, web walls extending linearly in one direction and consisting in each case of a multiplicity of pile threads arranged next to one another, and the web walls extending parallel to one another with small web heights of about 2.5 to 3.5 mm and with web wall spacings, greater than these of about 5 to 8 mm and, together with the upper and the lower fabric, delimiting individual cavity ducts.

The invention relates to a tank with an inner and/or outer double-walled lining.
Tank walls of this type with a lining have the advantage of improved corrosion resistance and make it possible to monitor leaks in the double-walled lining so that, in the event of a leak, harm to the environment is largely avoided.
So that, in the vent of a leak, the double-walled lining can withstand the pressure load which may possibly occur on the inside or outside of the tank wall, the latter must have sufficient compressive and shearing strength. On the other hand, the shearing strength of the lining should not be too high in order to avoid the lining adhering incompletely to the tank wall and/or coming loose from it.

Tank with an inner and/or outer double-walled lining

Parabeam Industrie-En Handelsonderneming BV


Systems, apparatuses and methods for circulating and agitating algae ponds or reservoirs are described. Inflatable or floatable masses resident in the algae ponds are cyclically or rhythmically moved thereby causing propagating waves to advance along ponds. Waves encourage increased equilibrium of oxygen and carbon dioxide between ambient air and growth medium and thereby improved growth of algae and increased production of biomass. With relatively little energy input, large quantities of algae or biomass may be grown in relatively large ponds and on an economically viable commercial scale.

A massive quantity of carbon is available in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. Within the past 150 years, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased substantially. Whatever the cause, atmospheric carbon dioxide could be an economical, industrially viable and successful source of fuel, food, building materials and the like if combined with other constituents. One way of processing atmospheric carbon dioxide is to capture it through photosynthesis. Algae is one medium through which photosynthesis can be put to use.
Algae has many advantages over other plants. Plants as used herein include organisms capable of performing or facilitating photosynthesis. Advantages of algae include fast growth, high sequestration of solar energy, ease of processing and good nutrition. Over the last two decades, algae has become a popular focus of research for engineers and scientists. Various aspects of algae have been studied. For instance, algae can be used as a food substitute, a medium for carbon sequestration, an agent for generating oils and converting the oils into biodiesels for use as an energy source.
Therefore, it is important for scholars, researchers and producers to quickly cultivate massive quantities of algae to serve as a raw material for further processing. Algae cultivation is often the bottleneck for producing products on a viable or economic scale. Algae cultivation requires sufficient light, carbon dioxide and nutrients. Sunlight and carbon dioxide are in abundance. However, efficient and effective delivery of light, carbon dioxide and nutrients to a substantial quantity of growing algae cells is tricky.
One popular and relatively inexpensive location for cultivating algae is in ponds or reservoirs. Ponds and reservoirs can be of any size; large ponds could be a source of large quantities of algae. However, to effectively use light energy in a pond cultivation process, light must reach the cells of the algae. Cultivation ponds suffer from several drawbacks. As algae grows at the surface of cultivation ponds, newly formed algae creates a barrier to and throws a shadow on other algae found slightly lower in the medium. Carbon dioxide is captured by the top layers of the algae and a decreasing concentration of carbon dioxide is available for algae growing deeper in the medium.
Over the years, many systems and devices have been proposed to overcome these and other limitations associated with algae ponds. For example, transparent tubes and open-air circulation troughs have been proposed to more efficiently expose algae to light. Other solutions have suggested the use of jets, paddle wheels, etc. to circulate the growth medium (e.g., water) or to circulate the algae in container (e.g., ponds, troughs, tubes). However, nearly all of these inventions are prohibitively expensive or are incapable of producing relatively large quantities of algae. One problem with these systems is that jets and other components are too vigorous for most forms of algae because algae is relatively fragile. Algae does not contain or require substantial amounts of cellulosic fibers that are necessary to support non-aqueous plants such as trees and land-based crops. Another problem associated with efficient circulation is that mechanical energy input into the system is quickly damped and circulation is thwarted. Pond photosynthesis reactors have been used at various stages in algae cultivation. Photosynthesis occurs near the surface of the reactors. Growth is initially fast, but growth rapidly declines over time. One reason is that sunlight fails to reach more than about one-half inch of the algae in the water in stagnate or circulated algae ponds. Further, algae tends to sink as it grows.
Canal style photosynthesis reactors have been proposed as an improvement over ponds. In a canal type photosynthesis reactor, the cultivation liquid is flowing, and a turbulent current produced between the fluid and the channel walls can provide effective mixing or agitation of the cultivation liquid (medium) and suspended algae cells. Thus, a cell growth curve of a general channel type photosynthesis reactor shows much better results for canal type photosynthesis reactors as compared to pools or ponds. However, both pond and canal style reactors suffer some disadvantages such as a propensity for contamination by other organisms, dust and other pollutants.
These and other disadvantages can be overcome with the teachings provided herein.


A base station subsystem (BSS) and a method are described herein for improving an Access Grant Channel (AGCH) capacity when a downlink Temporary Block Flow (TBF) is established for at least one mobile station and used for sending the respective downlink payload. Plus, a mobile station (MS) and a method are described herein for improving the AGCH capacity when the mobile station is sent information required for establishing a downlink TBF on which it receives its respective downlink payload.

In the wireless telecommunications field it is anticipated that there will be an ever increasing Common Control Channel (CCCH) congestion as a result of downlink transmissions from a base station to mobile stations (e.g., smart phones). Various solutions to address the CCCH congestion problem and other problems are the subject of the present invention.


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for the efficient implementation of a totally general convolutional interleaver in a discrete multi-tone (DMT)-based digital subscriber line (xDSL) system, such as a modem or the like, that uses forward error correction (FEC) and convolutional interleaving to combat the effects of impulse noise and the like. More specifically, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for implementing a general convolutional interleaver, with no constraints, in an efficient manner, using (D−1)*(I−1)/2 memory locations for the interleaved data in all cases.

Conventional high-speed communications on copper media (e.g. standard telephone lines) and the like utilize DMT technology and are bundled under the umbrella of xDSL. Several variants of this technology are currently deployed, namely asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), asymmetric digital subscriber line 2 (ADSL2), asymmetric digital subscriber line 2 plus (ADSL2plus), and very high-speed digital subscriber line (VDSL). Some of these technologies are standardized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Geneva, as follows: "ITU-T Recommendation G992.1, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)," "ITU-T Recommendation G992.3, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line Transceivers 2 (ADSL2)," "ITU-T Recommendation G992.5, Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) Transceivers—Extended Bandwidth ADSL2 (ADSL2plus)," and "ITU-T Recommendation G993.1, Very High-Speed Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) Transceivers." Future technologies are the subject of ongoing standardization efforts.
One key feature of such xDSL systems is the use of FEC to combat the effects of impulse noise and the like. To enhance the effectiveness of FEC, a convolutional interleaver is utilized to spread error patterns over a plurality of DMT symbols, thus allowing for the correction of errors without introducing excessive redundancy, and hence overhead. The convolutional interleaver is defined by the following relationship:Δj=(D−1)j, j=1, . . . , I−1,where Δj is the distance between two interleaved bytes, D is the interleaver depth in bytes, and I is the interleaver block size in bytes.
A necessary condition of such a convolutional interleaver is that D and I must be co-prime (i.e. have no common divisor). This is enforced in several different ways:in ADSL D=2n, I=N=odd integer, andin VDSL D=M·I+1, with N=q·I, where q is an integer. A generalized form of the above VDSL convolutional interleaver has also been considered where:in any DSL D=M·I+x, with N=q·I, x=1, . . . , I−1,with the constraint that x is chosen such that D and I are co-prime.
The VDSL form of the convolutional interleaver wherein:D=M·I+1, with N=q·I has been referred to as "triangular" due to an implementation known to those of ordinary skill in the art utilizing shift registers of varying sizes in a triangular pattern. Such a convolutional interleaver needs only (D−1)*(I−1)/2 memory locations. However, in all other cases, and in the most general case where there is no structural relationship between N and D (for example, when N and D are co-prime, or when N is prime and is greater than D), this method cannot be applied.
Thus, what is needed is an improved method and apparatus for implementing a general convolutional interleaver, with no constraints, in an efficient manner, using (D−1)*(I−1)/2 memory locations for the interleaved data in all cases.

Method and apparatus for the efficient implementation of a totally general convolutional interleaver in DMT-based xDSL systems


A ferromagnetic thin-film based digital memory having a substrate supporting bit structures that are electrically interconnected with information storage and retrieval circuitry and having first and second oppositely oriented relatively fixed magnetization layers and a ferromagnetic material film in which a characteristic magnetic property is substantially maintained below an associated critical temperature above which such magnetic property is not maintained. This ferromagnetic material film is separated from the first and second fixed magnetization films by corresponding layers of a nonmagnetic materials one being electrically insulative and that one remaining being electrically conductive. Each bit structure has an interconnection structure providing electrical contact thereto at a contact surface thereof substantially parallel to the intermediate layer positioned between the first contact surface and the substrate. A plurality of word line structures located across from a corresponding one of the bit structures on an opposite side. Electrical current selectively drawn through each of these bit structures and its interconnection structure can cause substantial heating of that bit structure to raise temperatures thereof while being above temperatures of at least an adjacent said bit structure because of sufficient thermal isolation.

The present invention relates to ferromagnetic thin-film structures exhibiting relatively large response magnetoresistive characteristics and, more particularly, to such structures used for the storage and retrieval of digital data.
Many kinds of electronic systems make use of magnetic devices including both digital systems, such as memories, and analog systems such as magnetic field sensors. Digital data memories are used extensively in digital systems of many kinds including computers and computer systems components, and digital signal processing systems. Such memories can be advantageously based on the storage of digital symbols as alternative states of magnetization in magnetic materials provided in each memory storage cell, the result being memories which use less electrical power and do not lose information upon removals of such electrical power.
Such memory cells, and magnetic field sensors also, can often be advantageously fabricated using ferromagnetic thin-film materials, and are often based on magnetoresistive sensing of magnetic states, or magnetic conditions, therein. Such devices may be provided on a surface of a monolithic integrated circuit to provide convenient electrical interconnections between the device and the operating circuitry therefor.
Ferromagnetic thin-film memory cells, for instance, can be made very small and packed very closely together to achieve a significant density of information storage, particularly when so provided on the surface of a monolithic integrated circuit. In this situation, the magnetic environment can become quite complex with fields in any one memory cell affecting the film portions in neighboring memory cells. Also, small ferromagnetic film portions in a memory cell can lead to substantial demagnetization fields which can cause instabilities in the magnetization state desired in such a cell.
These magnetic effects between neighbors in an array of closely packed ferromagnetic thin-film memory cells can be ameliorated to a considerable extent by providing a memory cell based on an intermediate separating material having two major surfaces on each of which an anisotropic ferromagnetic memory thin-film is provided. Such an arrangement provides significant "flux closure," i.e. a more closely confined magnetic flux path, to thereby confine the magnetic field arising in the cell to affecting primarily just that cell. This result is considerably enhanced by choosing the separating material in the ferromagnetic thin-film memory cells to each be sufficiently thin. Similar "sandwich" structures are also used in magnetic sensors.
In the recent past, reducing the thicknesses of the ferromagnetic thin-films and the intermediate layers in extended "sandwich" structures, and adding possibly alternating ones of such films and layers, i.e. superlattices, have been shown to lead to a "giant magnetoresistive effect" being present in some circumstances. This effect yields a magnetoresistive response which can be in the range of up to an order of magnitude or more greater than that due to the well known anisotropic magnetoresistive response.
A memory cell based on the "giant magnetoresistive effect" can be provided by having one of the ferromagnetic layers in the "sandwich" construction being prevented from switching the magnetization direction therein from pointing along the easy axis therein in one to the opposite direction in the presence of suitable externally applied magnetic fields while permitting the remaining ferromagnetic layer to be free to do so in the same externally applied fields. In one such arrangement, a "spin-valve" structure is formed by providing an antiferromagnetic layer on the ferromagnetic layer that is to be prevented from switching in the externally applied fields to "pin" its magnetization direction in a selected direction. In an alternative arrangement often termed a "pseudo-spin valve" structure, the ferromagnetic layer that is to be prevented from switching in the externally applied fields is made sufficiently thicker than the free ferromagnetic layer so that it does not switch in those external fields provided to switch the free layer.
An alternative digital data bit storage and retrieval memory cell suited for fabrication with submicron dimensions can be fabricated that provides rapid retrievals of bit data stored therein and low power dissipation by substituting an electrical insulator for a conductor in the nonmagnetic layer. This memory cell can be fabricated using ferromagnetic thin-film materials of similar or different kinds in each of the magnetic memory films used in a "sandwich" structure on either side of an intermediate nonmagnetic layer which ferromagnetic films maybe composite films, but this intermediate nonmagnetic layer conducts electrical current therethrough based primarily on a quantum electrodynamic effect "tunneling" current, or spin dependent tunneling.
Operating magnetic fields imposed externally can be used to vary the angle of the magnetization vector with respect to the easy axis in the ferromagnetic films of these various kinds of memory cell devices, particularly the free layers. Such operational magnetic fields imposed externally can be used to vary the angle to such an extent as to cause switching of the layer magnetization vector between two stable states which occur for the magnetization being oriented in opposite directions along the easy axis of the layer, the state of the cell determining the value of the binary bit being stored therein. One of the difficulties in such memories is the need to provide memory cells therein that have extremely uniform switching thresholds and adequate resistance to unavoidable interjected magnetic field disturbances in the typical memory cell state selection scheme used. This externally applied operating fields scheme is based on selective externally imposed magnetic fields provided by selectively directing electrical currents over or through sequences of such cells so that selection of a cell occurs through coincident presences of such fields at that cell. Such a coincident interjected magnetic fields memory cell state selection scheme is very desirable in that an individual switch, such as that provided by a transistor, is not needed for every memory cell, but the limitations this selection mode imposes on the uniformity of switching thresholds for each memory cell in a memory make the production of high yields difficult.
Such memory cells, whether based on being operated by coincidently provided magnetic fields only or operated with supplemental switching transistors, can be modified to use Curie point or Néel point data storage, or writing, techniques based on the thermal pulse accompanying a current pulse provided in or near the cell. If such storing currents are established that are sufficient to heat these storage layers to the Curie temperature thereof, then much less magnetic field strength would be needed to change the magnetic states of the storage layers and the values of the storing currents could be much reduced to effectively avoid significant magnetization rotation thresholds in the device magnetic material layers.
Another alternative for "sandwich" structure magnetoresistive memory cells is to switch between the magnetic states of such memory cells operated by switching transistors to control the supplying of spin polarized electrical currents thereto to reverse the magnetization direction of a soft magnetic material layer therein in the absence of any externally applied magnetic field coincident therewith. A spin polarized electrical current has therein electrons flowing with their spins aligned in one direction predominating the number of electrons therein with spins in the opposite direction. Such spin injection currents with the spins of electrons therein predominating in one direction or the other lead to a corresponding spin injection torque on the device magnetic material layer magnetization sufficient to reverse the direction thereof as a device magnetic state change.
With or without the use of such thermal pulse techniques or the use of spin polarized electrical currents, however, as the dimensions of magnetoresistive elements in memory cells shrink in size to be on the order of a few nanometers, the problems that must be overcome become more difficult in order to make successful operating magnetoresistive memories having long data retention times and low error rates. These problems include (a) the increasing thermal instability of those cells therein intended not to have the magnetic states thereof switched in current operations because less thermal energy is needed to upset the magnetic states of smaller memory cells, (b) the needing of larger electrical current densities to overcome the greater demagnetization fields of smaller cells in operations to store information therein through switching between the magnetic states thereof which risk damage to the device or become impractical to generate in the device, and (c) the greater stray field interactions between adjacent memory cells on a common substrate.
A small magnetic material memory element with uniaxial anisotropy generally tends to preferentially align its magnetization with the uniaxial anisotropy axis in the absence of an externally applied magnetic field. As a function of the angle between the direction of the magnetization, and the direction of the easy-axis, the energy of the small element may be described as E=Keff sin2 where Keff is a constant related to the properties of the element ferromagnetic material and to the shape of the element, and t is the angle between the easy-axis and the direction of the magnetization in the element as shown for an elliptically shaped element in FIG. 1. The magnetization direction of the element can be reversed by applying an external magnetic field Ha=2Keff/Ms. The energy barrier needed to be overcome to reverse the magnetization of the element is related to the volume of the element by ΔE=Keff V. Note that application of a magnetic field less than Hc lowers the energy barrier by an amount 0.5* (2Keff/Ms−Ha)V if switching into the direction of the applied field. This reduction of the energy barrier in the direction of the applied field is useful for reducing the current required to reverse the free layer of a memory device using the spin-momentum transfer effect. At nonzero temperature, there is a finite probability that the magnetization of the element will spontaneously reverse. In a finite time interval Δt, the probability an element will reverse due to thermal activation is P(Δt, T, ΔE)=P0e−Δt/τ where an Arrhenius law relates the relaxation time constant to the energy barrier and temperature,
  τ  =            1              f        0                                ⅇ                  Δ                                                                          E            /                          k              B                                          T                    .      Here f0 is an attempt frequency of ˜109 Hz that is often considered a constant, and τ is a relaxation time. The energy barrier defining the thermal stability or data retention time of the element is labeled ΔE in FIG. 1, and it represents the amount of energy needed to be applied in the absence of thermal fluctuations (at absolute zero) to the ferromagnetic material element to reorient the magnetization from 0° to 180° or from 180° to 0°.
The expected probability to switch in a finite time period is illustrated in FIG. 2. The ratio ΔE/kBT=S is often called the stability factor, and it relates the zero temperature energy barrier to the thermal energy of the system. It is clear that S≧ln(f0τ) in order for the memory element to retain data for a time period of τ. For τ=10 years, this value is S=40 as shown in FIG. 2. Because the energy barrier is proportional to the volume of the element, maintaining a large stability factor with a small fixed volume requires an increase in Keff.
However, increasing Keff also increases the externally applied magnetic fields needed to be used for selecting the desired magnetic state in the memory element to represent current data therein, and so also the associated electrical currents by which the memory element is operated through generating such external fields, to impractical levels as indicated in FIG. 3. This figure shows, for an elliptically shaped, ferromagnetic material memory element with an arbitrarily selected size of 75 nm by 50 nm to thereby be a single domain element, the switching energy or stability factor versus the element layer thickness (and so effectively versus volume) and the resulting magnetic coercivity of that layer versus that thickness. A horizontal line in the figure at a switching energy value of 40 intersects the plot of the Keff V stability curve at a memory element layer thickness of about 2.5 nm which is shown by a vertical arrow to the plot of the coercivity curve and a subsequent horizontal arrow to result in a coercivity of about 200 Oe. Thus, an externally applied magnetic field on the order of this value is required to accomplish reversing the magnetization direction in the element. This shows the difficulty in using only an externally applied magnetic field to provide such switching as generating a field in excess of 100 Oe is difficult in monolithic integrated circuit based magnetoresistive memory devices. Thus, there is a desire for alternative, or supplemental methods, for storing information in magnetoresistance based memory cells.

Thermomagnetically assisted spin-momentum-transfer switching memory


In accordance with the teachings described herein, system and methods are provided for a GPS PRN code interpolation scheme with a reduced memory requirement. An example GPS receiver system may include a memory, a local PRN code generator, and an interpolator. The memory may be used to store GPS PRN code received from a global positioning satellite. The local PRN code generator generates a replica PRN code having a repeating code that includes at least a first epoch and a second epoch. The interpolator determines an offset point in the first epoch of replica PRN code and interpolates the replica PRN code at a predetermined sample rate to generate an interpolated replica PRN code for use in correlating with the GPS PRN code.

GPS satellites broadcast signals enabling GPS receivers on the earth's surface to calculate position. GPS satellites transmit data along an L1 frequency and an L2 frequency. The L1 frequency is known as the course acquisition (C/A) code. The C/A code is available for civilian use and is a 1.023 MHz pseudorandom noise (PRN) code, which repeats its 1023 bits each millisecond. Each satellite transmits a unique PRN code so that GPS receivers can identify each satellite based on the PRN code received from a given satellite. 1,023 PRN codes exist, but presently only 32 PRN codes are used—one for each of the 32 GPS satellites in orbit.
FIG. 1a illustrates a typical process for determining position on the earth 14 via GPS. The satellites 10 orbit the earth 14 and constantly transmit PRN codes. Object 12 is located on or near the earth's surface and may include a vehicle, such as an airplane, automobile, motorcycle, ship, or train or a mobile device, such as a cell phone, smartphone, camera, computer, personal navigation device, or video game player. The object 12 is equipped with a GPS receiver that can receive and demodulate incoming GPS signals. In the example shown in FIG. 1a, at least four satellites 10 are used to determine the location of the object 12. The GPS receiver on object 12 utilizes the unique PRN code transmitted by each GPS satellite to determine parameters including (i) which signal the GPS receiver is receiving and (ii) at what time delay the GPS receiver is receiving each signal. With these parameters, the location of the object 12 may be determined.
In order to determine the delay for a received PRN code, a GPS receiver must correlate the received GPS PRN code with its own locally generated copy (or replica) of the PRN code. The correlation process attempts to align the received GPS PRN code with a locally generated replica PRN code, so that the GPS receiver can determine the time delay of the satellite's signal, which is used to calculate position. However, because the receiver does not know the code phase or Doppler information of the satellite signal, the correlation process typically requires thousands of correlations to be performed in order to determine a match.
FIG. 1b demonstrates a typical delay between a received GPS PRN code 20 and a replica PRN code 22. The offset 24 represents the delay that a GPS receiver calculates in order to correlate the replica PRN code 22 with the received GPS PRN code 20. To determine the correct code phase, a receiver typically tries all possible code phases of its replica PRN code 22 to determine a match. This process is typically performed by shifting the replica PRN code 22 through each possible 1,023 bits of code and correlating the replica PRN code 22 with the received GPS PRN code 20 at each shift. The GPS receiver then determines if there is a match after performing each of the correlations.
To determine the correct code phase, a receiver must try all possible code phases of its replica PRN code to find the offset and determine a match. Further complicating the correlation process is the possible Doppler shift. Rather than the phase of the code being off by an exact integral number of milliseconds, the Doppler shift may cause the PRN code to differ by fractions of a pulse width.
Typical approaches to the correlation process may involve the use of Doppler bins. A Doppler bin represents a fixed offset for each possible code phase adjusted for the Doppler shift. For each Doppler shift, there will be at least 1,023 corresponding phase shifts that must be accounted for during the correlation process. This process requires extensive amounts of memory to store the epochs of PRN code at all of the Doppler shifts.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a typical correlation process for a GPS receiver utilizing Doppler bins. The process includes GPS PRN code 202 and locally generated Doppler PRN codes 204 and 206. The GPS PRN code 202 is received from a satellite at a GPS receiver. Because there is some delay associated with the orbit of the satellite and the movement of the GPS receiver, an offset 208 may be present. Depending on the number of Doppler bins used, there may be over 500 different offsets to match with the frequency of the incoming GPS PRN code. Accordingly, Doppler PRN codes 204 and 206 represent only two examples of different offsets. For Doppler PRN code 204 an offset 208a is present. This offset 208a represents the difference in frequency between the GPS PRN code 202 and the locally generated Doppler PRN code 204. In order to properly correlate the GPS PRN code 202 with locally generated PRN code, the offset 208 should be near zero. Doppler PRN code 206 represents a smaller offset 208b, however, it is still not a close enough match to utilize for correlations. A GPS correlation process typically processes epochs of locally generated PRN codes at each possible Doppler offset to find a match.
The correlation process utilizing Doppler bins requires extensive amounts of memory because the correlation process requires storing each possible epoch of code for each Doppler bin used in the correlation process.

Zero delay reduced memory GPS PRN code interpolation


A method and device for maintaining environmental audio awareness in a simplex communications system includes the steps of determining if a minimum functionality necessary (10, 11, 12, 22, 30) for environmental sampling in a simplex communications unit (1) is already on (500) and, if the functionality is on, then beginning to sample audio of the environment (700) with the functionality for a sampling time period (800, 900), and, if the functionality is off, then turning on (600) only the functionality and beginning to sample environmental audio (700) with the functionality for the sampling time period (800, 900), and determining, throughout the sampling time period, if an interruption occurs (715) during the sampling time period and, if not, completing the audio sampling (800), turning off (1000) the functionality if communication is not being performed with the unit, and calculating environmental parameters (1100) for adapting communications with the unit, and, if so, turning off (745) the functionality when communication is not being performed with the unit.

1. Field of the Invention:
The invention lies in the field of electronic communications. The invention relates to a method and device for maintaining environmental audio awareness in a simplex communications system.
2. Description of the Related Art:
Two general types of electronic audio two-way communications are used, simplex and duplex. In simplex communications, transmission and reception are communicated over a single communications channel. This means that when one user is transmitting over the channel, if another user transmits as well, neither can hear the other. A typical example of simplex communications is a two-way radio. In duplex communications, transmission and reception are each communicated over a separate communications channel; thus, transmission and reception do not interfere with one another. This means that two users can simultaneously talk to and receive from one another. A typical example of duplex communications is a cellular telephone.
Due to the portability of electronic transceiver units, the surrounding environment plays a significant role in overall quality of transmission and/or reception because the units can be taken, very quickly, from one kind of environment to another. Also, environmental conditions can change rapidly. With regard to reception, if the environment is noisy, then the user has difficulty hearing the, typically, low volume speaker output. To compensate for such an environment, therefore, the speaker can be adjusted by increasing volume or by equalizing the output signal towards frequencies easier to hear with high background noise in general or with the specific kind of background noise actually detected. As for transmission, a noisy environment plays an even greater role, in that, the background noise can, sometimes, completely overtake the communication message (i.e., user's voice), resulting in the receiving user primarily hearing the background noise or, even, only hearing the background noise.
Complex audio processing algorithms are employed to compensate for and/or reduce background noise. To perform such compensation and for correct performance, these algorithms require information relating to current characteristics of the environmental noise. Typically, this information is acquired by periodically sampling the environment. Specifically, the information is acquired by activating the input device in the transceiver unit (i.e., microphone) and measuring the audio environment. The detected audio environment at the input device, then, is used for regulating not only transmission, but also audio output from the receiving speaker of the same device.
Audio processing algorithms require a relatively continuous measurement of the audio environment at each end of a two-way communications link in order to provide environmental audio conditioning. In a duplex system, the microphone path is enabled continuously and can, therefore, provide a constant update of a possibly changing audio environment. In a typical two-way radio simplex system, however, only one path is running. Because the user enables the microphone path (and, therefore, the environmental detection functionality) manually in a simplex system, the environmental conditions of a simplex system are based on the last instance that the microphone path was on. Such manual activation is typically referred to as push-to-talk or PTT. It is, accordingly, possible for user to not enable their microphone path for a long period of time. Such a condition is risky for adequate audio environment compensation because the environmental conditions could have changed significantly since the last time the microphone path was enabled. In such a case, the audio-processing algorithm being employed loses track of the environmental conditions in which the unit is being exposed. Without relatively current information, the audio-processing algorithm will have a decrease in performance and, in some cases, will not be able to perform at all. A result of such behavior is a processing system that performs worse than the problem the algorithm was designed to prevent.
Another drawback to measurement of the audio environment is power usage. In a simplex communications system, power usage is critical because such a system typically uses batteries for the supply of power. If the audio environment were to be measured more often, then, as the monitoring uses up more battery power, less battery power is available for communications.

Method and device for maintaining environmental audio awareness in a simplex communications system


A data storage system includes a controller and a non-volatile memory array having a plurality of blocks each including a plurality of physical pages. The controller maintains a logical-to-physical translation (LPT) data structure that maps logical addresses to physical addresses and implements a first data protection scheme that stripes write data over the plurality of physical blocks. In response to a read request requesting data from a target page stripe, the controller detecting errors in multiple physical pages of the target page stripe. In responsive to detecting errors in multiple physical pages of the target page stripe, the controller scans the LPT data structure to identify a set of logical addresses mapped to the target page stripe and triggers recovery of the target page stripe by a higher level controller that implements a second data protection scheme, wherein triggering recovery includes transmitting the set of logical addresses to the higher level controller.

This disclosure relates to data processing and storage, and more specifically, to management of a non-volatile memory system, such as a flash memory system, to support data recovery in the event of multi-page failures.
NAND flash memory is an electrically programmable and erasable non-volatile memory technology that stores one or more bits of data per memory cell as a charge on the floating gate of a transistor or a similar charge trap structure. In a typical implementation, a NAND flash memory array is organized in blocks (also referred to as "erase blocks") of physical memory, each of which includes multiple physical pages each in turn containing a multiplicity of memory cells. By virtue of the arrangement of the word and bit lines utilized to access memory cells, flash memory arrays can generally be programmed on a page basis, but are erased on a block basis.
As is known in the art, blocks of NAND flash memory must be erased prior to being programmed with new data. A block of NAND flash memory cells is erased by applying a high positive erase voltage pulse to the p-well bulk area of the selected block and by biasing to ground all of the word lines of the memory cells to be erased. Application of the erase pulse promotes tunneling of electrons off of the floating gates of the memory cells biased to ground to give them a net positive charge and thus transition the voltage thresholds of the memory cells toward the erased state. Each erase pulse is generally followed by an erase verify operation that reads the erase block to determine whether the erase operation was successful, for example, by verifying that less than a threshold number of memory cells in the erase block have been unsuccessfully erased. In general, erase pulses continue to be applied to the erase block until the erase verify operation succeeds or until a predetermined number of erase pulses have been used (i.e., the erase pulse budget is exhausted).
A NAND flash memory cell can be programmed by applying a positive high program voltage to the word line of the memory cell to be programmed and by applying an intermediate pass voltage to the memory cells in the same string in which programming is to be inhibited. Application of the program voltage causes tunneling of electrons onto the floating gate to change its state from an initial erased state to a programmed state having a net negative charge. Following programming, the programmed page is typically read in a read verify operation to ensure that the program operation was successful, for example, by verifying that less than a threshold number of memory cells in the programmed page contain bit errors. In general, program and read verify operations are applied to the page until the read verify operation succeeds or until a predetermined number of programming pulses have been used (i.e., the program pulse budget is exhausted).
Enterprise-class data storage systems employing all flash storage media often organize data within a flash card or solid state disk (SSD) into page stripes in which physical pages of flash memory from different channels/lanes are grouped together to add data redundancy and/or optimize parallel processing of write requests. For example, a page stripe may be formed across a set of blocks of memory from physical pages having common page indices. The integrity of the data forming the page stripe may be improved by appending a parity page to the page stripe, thus implementing a parity scheme similar to RAID 5/6.
In at least some cases, a flash card is faulted when a multi-page failure occurs in the same page stripe because the selected RAID parity scheme cannot correct such an error. For example, RAID 5 can correct single page failures, but cannot correct errors in two or more pages of the same page stripe, while RAID 6 can correct double page failures, but cannot correct errors in three or more pages of the same page stripe. A typical response to the flash card being faulted is to reconstruct the entire contents of the flash card. Reconstructing the flash card not only limits performance of the data storage system while the contents of flash card are being recovered, but also exposes the flash array to the additional fatal risk of encountering another flash card failure during the reconstruction process, which can result in unrecoverable data loss.

Recovery of multi-page failures in non-volatile memory system

International Business Machines Corporation


A photographic camera comprises a camera body, and an electronic flash unit having a flash lens and light-emitting means capable of being separated to change the illumination angle of the flash unit. According to the invention, the flash unit is supported to permit the flash unit to be increasingly extended from the camera body, and regulating means connects the camera body with one of the flash lens and the light-emitting means for continuously separating the flash lens and the light-emitting means to vary the illumination angle of the flash unit as the flash unit is increasingly extended from the camera body.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of photography, and in particular to a photographic camera having an electronic flash unit capable of changing its extension from the camera body and its illumination angle in accordance with a change in the focal length of the taking lens.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A current trend in most camera design is to incorporate an electronic flash unit in the camera body and yet make the camera body relatively small in order to improve its ease of storage, portability and handling. As a consequence of making the camera body small, however, the separation between the built-in flash unit and the taking lens is reduced, which possibly creates an undesirable effect commonly known as "red-eye". When a flash unit is used with color print film to take pictures, red-eye is typified by the pupils in the eyes of a person being photographed coming out red-tinted on a color print made from the negative. This phenomenon is attributable to the incidence into the taking lens of the red light reflected from the retinas in the person's eyes illuminated by the flash light.
As is known, red-eye may be substantially prevented by increasing the separation between the flash unit and the taking lens. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,989, issued Dec. 18, 1990, suggests popping up the flash unit from a lower position relative to the camera body to a higher position relative to the camera body in accordance with an increase in the distance between a person to be photographed and the taking lens. Presumably, then, the light emitted from the flash unit will reach the eyes of a person being photographed at too great an angle to be reflected by his or her retinas into the taking lens.
Alternatively, red-eye may be substantially prevented by changing the separation between the flash lens and the light-emitting means, i.e. the flash tube and/or the flash reflector, of the flash unit to change the illumination angle of the flash unit in response to a change in the focal length of the taking lens. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,647, issued Jul. 11, 1989, suggests first flipping up the flash unit from an inoperative storage position folded against the camera body to an operative erect position elevated above the camera body and then increasing the separation between the flash lens and the light-emitting means of the flash unit to decrease the illumination angle of the flash unit as the focal length of a zoom lens is changed from a shorter one, e.g. 35 mm, to a longer one, e.g. 70 mm.

Photographic camera with flash unit capable of changing illumination angle and separation from taking lens


A dental treatment system used to treat (e.g., bleach) a person's teeth. The inventive system includes an inner dental treatment tray having a tray configuration so as to fit over at least a portion of a person's upper or lower dental arch. The inner dental treatment tray is sufficiently thin and flexible so as to at least partially conform to a person's teeth without heating when used in combination with a dental treatment and/or adhesive composition. The dental treatment system includes an outer support tray positioned adjacent to the inner dental treatment tray so as to maintain the inner dental treatment tray in the tray configuration prior to placement of the inner dental treatment tray over the person's teeth. The dental treatment system also includes temporary adhesion means (e.g., a weak adhesive) for maintaining the outer support tray adjacent to the inner dental treatment tray prior to and during placement of the inner dental treatment tray over the person's teeth.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of dental tray shaped devices used to provide a desired dental treatment to a person's teeth. The device can be used for dental treatments such as bleaching, administration of fluoride, or application of other medicines.
2. The Relevant Technology
Virtually all people desire white or whiter teeth. To achieve this goal, people have veneers placed over their teeth or have their teeth chemically bleached. A common bleaching method involves the use of a dental tray that is custom-fitted to a person's teeth and that is therefore comfortable to wear. One type of customized tray is made from a stone cast of a person's teeth. Another is customized directly using a person's teeth as a template (e.g., "boil-and-bite" trays). Non-customized trays that approximate the shapes and sizes of a variety of users' dental arches have also been used. A dental bleaching composition is placed into the tray and the tray placed over the person's teeth for a desired period of time.
Ultimately, the main impediment to successful bleaching is the failure of users to complete the prescribed bleaching regimen. If the bleaching apparatus is difficult to install over a person's teeth, or is uncomfortable to wear, the user may simply give up and prematurely abort the prescribed bleaching regimen.
In view of the foregoing, there is an ongoing need for improved bleaching apparatus and methods that are comfortable and easy to use and that reliably remain in position over the user's teeth so as to reduce diffusion of bleaching composition into a user's oral cavity. Such improvements would be expected to improve or encourage compliance by the user.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dental tray system with releasable hold inner and outer dental trays


A coaxial cable connector includes a pin having a first end, a second end, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced support arms terminating at the second end. The support arms have inward facing surfaces defining an internal cavity. A guide is axially received in the internal cavity. The guide has tabs at a first end of the guide and a radially extending flange at a second end of the guide. The radially extending flange has an electrically conductive contact surface that contacts the inward facing surface of each of the support arms.

Some coaxial cables, typically referred to as hard line coaxial cables, include a center conductor constructed of a smooth-walled or corrugated, metallic (e.g., copper, aluminum, steel, copper clad aluminum, etc.) tube, the material selection depending on weight, cost, flexibility, etc. Such a center conductor is referred to herein as a tubular center conductor.
A tubular center conductor typically includes a hollow internal portion. Electrical connections to the tubular center conductor may be made within the hollow internal portion, because the electromagnetic signals within the coaxial cable pass using mainly the outer diametral portions of the tubular center conductor. Accordingly, coaxial cable connectors that are designed to work with such hard line coaxial cables typically include contacts that are extended within the hollow internal portion of the tubular center conductor. Such coaxial cable connectors are referred to herein as hard line connectors.
The contacts used in many of these hard line connectors are held against the hollow internal portion by a support arm. Each of these contacts is located at or near an end of the support arm, which is cantilevered from a mounting position within the hard line connector. During installation, each of these support arms, along with its respective contact, is deflected to a smaller effective diameter during installation into the hollow internal portion. The amount of deflection may vary greatly.
Each support arm is designed with a limit of elastic deflection that allows an amount of elastic deflection before the support arm is plastically deformed. The limit of elastic deflection accounts for a range of possible variations occurring within a single tubular center conductor or between different tubular center conductors. These variations are typically small, and may include manufacturing tolerances and design variations. When a tubular center conductor is corrugated, though, the variations within a single tubular center conductor or between different tubular center conductors can be significantly large. The limit of elastic deflection is less able to allow for significantly large variations. It has been observed that many of these significantly large variations cause the support arms to deflect beyond their limits of elastic deflection and become plastically deformed during installation. Once the support arm is plastically deformed, it will not return to its original position after a deflection.
Any plastic deformation of the support arms may result in a poor electrical connection between the contacts and the hollow internal portion of the tubular center conductor. As described above, each contact may be held against the hollow internal portion by a respective support arm. An amount of pressure applied by each contact is determined by the amount of elastic deflection between a free-state position of each support arm and an installed-state position of the support arm. Accordingly, any amount of plastic deformation of the support arm during installation will result in a reduced free-state position and, therefore, a reduced pressure applied by each contact.
Previous attempts have been made to increase the amount of elastic deflection available to each support arm by reducing the cross sectional thickness of the support arm. This reduction in the cross sectional thickness naturally allows for greater elastic deflections before the support arm becomes plastically deformed. It is important to note, however, that this reduction in the cross sectional thickness correspondingly reduces the amount of pressure applied to the contact. Any reduction in, or elimination of the amount of pressure applied to the contact may reduce the quality of the connection and degrade the signal.
Other attempts have been made to increase the amount of pressure applied to the contact by various methods, such as increasing the cross sectional thickness of each support arm and using more resilient materials. This increase in the amount of pressure comes with a strong disadvantage of increasing an amount of moving force required to install the contact assembly into the hollow internal portion of the tubular center conductor. This increased installation force may result in damaged contacts and/or an incomplete installation. Both of these outcomes may reduce the quality of the connection and degrade the signal.
The quality of the electrical connection between the contacts and the hollow internal portion of the tubular center conductor can also be affected by the axial variation of the points of contact. While the helical corrugations provide structural stability during bending of the coaxial cable and the tubular center conductor, the helical corrugations also provide a non-regular surface against which the contacts make contact. Particularly with 1¼ inch or 1⅝ inch cables, but also with other sized helical and/or corrugated cables, one or more contacts around the radius of the center tubular conductor are likely to contact the center tubular conductor at different axial locations along the length of the contact. For instance, one contact might contact the center tubular conductor at a first end of the respective contact, while another contact, or portion of the same contact, might contact the center tubular conductor at a second end of the respective contact opposite the first end in the axial direction. The contact that contacts the center tubular conductor at the second end of the contact can produce an undesirable RF effect on the performance of the connector. A "hanging" reverse path for RF propagation is created, which acts like a resonating stub. This effect can reduce the overall transmission efficiency of the connector, and result in the appearance of a periodic phantom high and low impedance downstream of the contact when viewing the connector and the coaxial cable in a time domain.


An audio amplifier assembly that includes a semiconductor package having a semiconductor power die tuned for class D amplifier applications and a conductive clip used for low inductance integration into the amplifier circuit.

The present invention relates to audio amplifiers and more particularly to class D audio amplifiers.
It is known to use power semiconductor devices in audio amplifier circuits. It is also well known that the characteristics of the power semiconductor device used in the amplifier circuit affects the performance of the circuit. Yet, in many amplifier applications, the negative effects due to the performance of the power semiconductor devices are alleviated by extraneous circuit elements. Such measures lead to the increase in the cost of the amplifier circuit as well as its physical size.
Furthermore, the power semiconductor devices used in prior art circuits as conventionally packaged introduce parasitic parameters such as package related parasitic inductance, resistance, and thermal characteristics.
According to the present invention a power semiconductor device such as a power MOSFET is tuned to be used in a class D amplifier assembly. That is, the characteristics of the power semiconductor device have been optimized for a class D audio amplifier.
In addition, the power semiconductor device, which has been tuned for a class D audio amplifier application, is disposed in a conductive clip and integrated within the amplifier circuit without the use of wirebonds. It has been found that the conductive clip can make a package according to the present invention particularly suitable for class D amplifiers. Specifically, the use of the conductive clip enhances performance in class D audio amplifier circuits by reducing inductance, improving switching characteristics and electromagnetic interference (EMI) rejection. Furthermore, thermal efficiency resulting from the use of the conductive clip enables 100 W operation into 8 ohms without a heatsink. Advantageously, eliminating the heatsink shrinks circuit size and bulk, giving designers more layout flexibility. Such a package is most suitable for use in medium power class D audio amplifier where the electrical characteristics, small size and improved thermal conduction offered by the device result in improved audio performance factors such as efficiency, EMI, and power density.
Such a package preferably has an Rg maximum guarantee for better dead time control, which is an important factor related to THD performance in class-D amplifiers.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.


A method of requesting a relay resource, a scheduling method and a device are provided. The method of requesting a relay resource includes: sending a resource request message to a network device to which a relay device accesses; the resource request message carries at least one of following resource requirements information: backhaul resource requirement information of the relay device, and access link resource requirement information of the relay device.

Relay (Relay) technology is to add one or more relay nodes between a base station and a terminal, the one or more relay nodes are responsible for forwarding a wireless signal for one or more times, i.e., the wireless signal has to go through multiple hops before reaching the terminal. Taking a simpler two-hop relay as an example, a link between a base station and a terminal is divided into a link between a base station and a relay station and a link between the relay station and terminal, so that there is an opportunity to replace a poor quality link with two superior quality links, to obtain a larger link capacity and better coverage.
It is researched to use a wireless relay as a backhaul in 5G technology. Wireless relay backhaul technology also includes adoption of a wireless backhaul link above 6 GHz. The higher a network frequency band is, the shorter the transmission distance of wireless backhaul is. In order to effectively achieve better multiple transmissions, a distance between wireless backhauls will be shorter and deployment thereof will be denser. An integrated access and backhaul (Integrated Access and Backhaul, IAB) device is a relay device in the 5G technology. The IAB accesses a core network through a donor integrated access and backhaul (Donor IAB, DIAB) device. The DIAB may be understood as a base station by which the IAB access the core network. When a new integrated access backhaul (IAB) device is deployed to a network or a UE resource demand of an IAB continues to rise, the IAB needs to request more resources from the donor integrated access backhaul (Donor IAB, DIAB) device. There is no provision for IAB resource scheduling in related art.

Method and device for requesting for and scheduling relay resource


A connection structure is applied to a serial fan assembly, which includes an upstream fan and a downstream fan. The upstream fan and the downstream fan have different sizes. The connection structure connects the upstream fan and the downstream fan so that the upstream fan and the downstream fan are arranged in series. The connection structure has a housing, a base and a plurality of ribs for connecting the base, and the housing is formed with an air guiding passage and a chamber. The upstream fan or the downstream fan is accommodated in the chamber or the air guiding passage is located between the upstream fan and the downstream fan.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a fan and a connection structure thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a serial fan assembly and a connection structure thereof.
2. Related Art
Electronic products have been rapidly developed toward the properties of high performance, high frequency, high speed, thin thickness and light weight, so the heat generated from the electronic product causes the temperature getting higher and higher during its operation. Thus, high temperature causes unstable phenomenon and further influences the product reliability. Accordingly, the heat dissipation has become one of the important subjects in development of current electronic products.
Among the current electronic products, a fan is often used in heat dissipation. However, for the electronic product that generates lots of heat, only one single fan cannot effectively dissipate the heat energy generated therefrom. In addition, multiple fans are provided not only to enhance the air volume but also to prevent the situation that only single fan is applied and this fan has a fault so as to interrupt total heat dissipation.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration showing a conventional fan assembly 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional fan assembly 1 is composed of two fans, such as a first fan 10 and a second fan 11, which are the same and connected in series. When the movable blades 101 and 111 of the fans 10 and 11 rotate, an air flow is generated from the first fan 10 to the second fan 11 and then flows out of the second fan 11. However, because there are typically static blades 102 and 112 respectively disposed at outlets of the first fan 10 and the second fan 11, the flowing direction of the air flow is not perpendicular to a plane of the inlet and is slightly skewed relative to the axial direction of the fan owing to the static blades 102 and 112. So, when the first fan 10 and the second fan 11 are assembled and the air flow outputted from the first fan 10 tends to enter the second fan 11, a portion of the air flow will be offset due to the skewed flowing direction of the air flow so that the speed and the quantity of the air flow outputted from the second fan 11 is reduced. Consequently, when the first fan 10 and the second fan 11 are assembled, the air output efficiency of the first fan 10 and the air output efficiency of the second fan 11 influence each other. Once the arrangement is poor, no synergy effect is obtained or even the negative effect may occur when the fan and another fan are connected in series.
Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a serial fan assembly and a connection structure of the serial fan assembly capable of increasing the air pressure and the air volume of the output air flow effectively and thus enhancing the overall heat dissipating efficiency.

Serial fan assembly and connection structure thereof


A support device for golf bag comprises an elongate attachment means secured to the golf bag, the attachment means including an enlargement on either end; a leg pivotal on either end of the attachment means and including a sleeve having an extension, and a joint including a top coupling member and a recessed portion such that the coupling member is fitted into the enlargement and pivotably secures the leg to the attachment means; a rod including two upper hooks each secured to the extension and a lower pivotal member; a base having a recess on the underside of a cut-out portion; and a support means including a flexible member, an L-shaped member secured to the pivotal member and an abutment member conformed to the recess. Upper part of flexible member is secured between recess and abutment member, while lower part thereof is secured to horizontal portion of L-shaped member.

The present invention relates to the field of golf bag and more particularly to a golf bag support with improved characteristics.
A conventional golf bag with support device comprises a bag, two legs pivotably attached to bag, and a support pivotably attached to legs. In use, user may pull bag outward to form an angle with respect to legs (i.e., inclined) for stably placing bag on the ground. However, the previous design suffered from two disadvantages:
1. It is not an aesthetic design because base is disposed between extended legs and bag.
2. It is not stable due to the flat surface contact between base and ground. In practice, golf bag is susceptible to fall when an object collides with it.
Thus, it is desirable to provide an improved golf bag support in order to overcome the above drawbacks of prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a support device for golf bag comprising an elongate attachment means secured to the back of the upper part of the golf bag, the attachment means including an enlargement on either end, each enlargement having a slot and a wedge inside the slot; a pair of legs pivotably provided on either end of the attachment means, each leg including a sleeve below the top end by a predetermined distance, the sleeve having a side extension, and a joint put on the upper part, the joint including a coupling member on the top having a length about equal to that of the slot and a recessed portion conformed to the wedge such that the coupling member of the joint is capable of fitting into the enlargement and pivotably securing the leg to the attachment means; an extension rod including a pair of flexible hooks on the upper end each secured to the side extension of the sleeve and a pivotal member on the lower end; a base secured to the bottom of the golf bag being substantially a cylindrical member with a cut-out portion, the base having a recess on the underside of the cut-out portion; and a support means including a flexible member, a substantially L-shaped member having two spaced posts for pivotably securing the pivotal member of the extension rod, and an abutment member conformed to the recess of the base, wherein the upper portion of the flexible member is secured between the recess of the base and the abutment member and the lower portion of the flexible member is secured to the horizontal portion of the L-shaped member. The golf bag is stable when standing.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.


The invention relates to a system (2) for producing an optical mask (35) for surface treatment, in particular surface microtexturing, said system (2) comprising: a layer of material (20) which has an outer surface (21) that is exposed to the outside environment; and a generating and depositing device for generating and depositing droplets (30) on the outer surface (21) of the layer of material (20) in which a specific arrangement (31), forming the optical mask (35) on the outer surface (21) of the layer of material (20). The invention also relates to a treatment plant comprising a system (2) of said type. The invention further relates to a method for producing a mask as well as to a method for surface treatment.

Within the scope of the invention, the optical mask is constituted by droplets deposited on a surface exposed to the outside environment. According to a first embodiment, the droplets are used as a focusing optic, to concentrate a luminous flux on the surface. According to a second embodiment, the droplets are used as an occulting optic, to obstruct a luminous flux directed onto the surface.
The field of the invention is that of masking methods, as well as surface treatment methods, in particular surface texturing by photolithography and by laser etching.
Currently, various methods exist for texturing surfaces. These methods may be classified into two categories, namely direct methods on the one hand, and indirect methods involving the use of a mask, on the other hand. In this case, the structure obtained corresponds to the negative of the mask.
Direct texturing methods may implement a UV optical beam, an electron beam (e-beam), a laser beam, Fast Atom Bombardment (FAB) or Reactive Ion Beam Etching (RIBE). These methods enable complex and varied shapes to be obtained by direct ablation of a surface, but are not suitable for structuring large areas and non-planar substrates. Furthermore, these methods are generally expensive. Publications [1] and [2] below relate to such methods.
Indirect texturing methods may implement amplitude masks, phase masks, nanobeads, interferometric lithography, dewetting. However, these methods also have their own disadvantages.
Amplitude masks and phase masks have as a principle a contrast in lighting on the surface to obtain a periodic pattern (diffraction grating) in a photosensitive layer. They may be costly for small periods, of the micron or submicron order (electron beam manufacturing) and are not flexible in terms of dimensions and shapes of the structures obtained. The dimensions of the structures depend on the dimensions of the mask. The structures obtained are highly coherent, that is to say that they have a regular period for the wavelength considered. However, it is difficult to treat large surface areas. Publication [3] below relates to such methods.
Holography uses a laser beam separated into two arms then recombined at the surface of a sample coated in photosensitive resin. The interferogram (periodic intensity fringes) thus formed defines the diffraction grating obtained. Holography makes it possible to act on the period of the structure obtained, but requires the use of a laser and a complex optical assembly. It is possible to treat large surface areas, although this requires sizable equipment. Publication [4] below relates to such a method.
The use of nanobeads (colloidal lithography) focusing the light or used as a mask enables large surfaces to be textured with a periodic structure. The dimension of the beads is, however, fixed in advance. This method requires having a machine enabling Langmuir-Blodgett type films to be deposited. In this case, the pattern is imposed by the size of the beads. Publication [5] below relates to such a method.
Dewetting enables the formation of metallic nanoparticles by acting on the surface tension of a noble metal layer. The surface is covered with a nanometric layer of noble metal (gold, silver) by physical vapor deposition (PVD). At high temperature, the deposited layer forms nanoparticles of noble metals in order to minimize its surface energy. Consequently, dewetting is not suitable for texturing surfaces sensitive to high temperatures or vacuum. Furthermore, the particles formed only measure a few tens of nanometers. Publication [6] below relates to such a method.
Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) uses a template (or mold) to print a shape by pressing onto a layer of malleable resin. The printed shape is then stabilized by exposure under an ultraviolet lamp or by slow cooling of the resin layer. This step promotes curing of the resin by crosslinking the polymer chains. Nanoimprint lithography has the advantage of being low cost, however degradation of the template may be observed after a certain number of uses. The removal step is also sensitive and may lead to the appearance of defects in the structure. Publication [7] below relates to such a method.
The bibliographic references mentioned above are as follows:                [1] Femtosecond laser-induced mesoporous structures on silicon surface, Xianhua Wang, Feng Chen, Hewei Liu, Weiwei Liang, Qing Yang, Jinhai Si, Xun Hou, Optics Communications 284 (2011) 317-321        [2] Processing study of SU-8 pillar profiles with high aspect ratio by electron-beam lithography, Yaqi Ma, Yifan Xia, Jianpeng Liu, Sichao Zhang, Jinhai Shao, Bing-Rui Lu, Yifang Chen, Microelectronic Engineering 149 (2016) 141-144        [3] Interference lithography at EUV and soft X-ray wavelengths: Principles, methods, and applications, Nassir Mojarad, Jens Gobrecht, Yasin Ekinci, Microelectronic Engineering 143 (2015) 55-63        [4] Optical and Interferometric Lithography—Nanotechnology Enablers, S. R. J. BRUECK, FELLOW, PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 93, NO. 10, October 2005        [5] Plasmonic films based on colloidal lithography, Bin Ai, Ye Yu, Helmuth Möhwald, Gang Zhang, Bai Yang, Advances in Colloid and Interface Science 206 (2014) 5-16        [6] Fabrication of hollow gold nanoparticles by dewetting, dealloying and coarsening, Anna Kosinova, Dong Wang, Peter Schaaf, Oleg Kovalenko, Leonid Klinger, Eugen Rabkin, Acta Materialia 102 (2016) 108-115        [7] Recent Advances in Nano Patterning and Nano Imprint Lithography for Biological Applications, N. Vigneswaran, Fahmi Samsuri, Balu Ranganathan, Padmapriya, Procedia Engineering 97 (2014) 1387-1398
The texturing methods described above have various disadvantages. These methods are relatively costly and/or poorly suited to three-dimensional substrates and/or complex to implement. Furthermore, these methods are generally intended for applications requiring regular microtexturing profiles, which have very precise periodicities and alignments. However, this regularity is not essential for all applications. Thus, the over-quality and therefore the over-cost induced by these methods may hinder their use in new applications. Further, certain applications, on the contrary, require a very large spatial distribution (in size and periodicity).

System and method for producing an optical mask for surface treatment, and surface treatment plant and method

Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)


An optical modulation processing section is provided which, in turn, includes a signal carrier-suppressed pulse modulating unit that performs signal carrier-suppressed pulse modulation on a light source signal to thereby create a CS-RZ signal, a phase modulating unit that performs phase modulation on a data signal based on the CS-RZ signal to thereby convert the data signal to a phase-modulated signal, and an optical filtering unit that filters out redundant frequency components included in the phase modulation signal.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical transmitter employed in an optical communications system.
2) Description of the Related Art
In a conventional optical communications system, intensity modulation is commonly carried out by a simple on-off keying method. An intensity modulator enhances not only the transmission speed of each wavelength but also the capacity of transmission by increasing the number of multiplexed wavelengths. As a result, in commercial systems the transmission speed per wavelength has increased to 10 Gbit/s and the number of wavelengths that can multiplexed (hereinafter, "multiplexed wavelengths") has increased to the tune of a few dozens.
In conventional on-off keying, it is necessary that the interval between two wavelengths be set greater than 2.5 times the bit rate, in order to avoid spectral overlap of two adjoining optical wavelength signals. Consequently, the frequency usage efficiency that is defined by the ratio of the wavelength interval and the signal frequency is limited to 0.4.
As a result, the conventional methods of increasing the transmission speed and the number of multiplexed wavelengths to increase the transmission capacity have their demerits. The transmission capacity cannot be improved unless the band of the transmission channel and the optical amplifier are dramatically broadened.
As a means of solving these problems, study results that relate to improvements in the bandwidth and the frequency usage efficiency of the optical fiber used in the optical transmission channel have been reported. Particularly, improved frequency usage efficiency can enhance the transmission capacity of the existing transmission channel and is cost-effective.
FIG. 9 shows the structure of a conventional optical transmitter (See "0.8 bit/s/Hz of Information Spectral Density by Vestigial Sideband Filtering of 42.66 Gb/s NRZ" W. Idler et al., in proceedings of European Conference on Optical communication 2002, 8.1.5. In this conventional optical transmitter, electrical non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signals that are to be transmitted are first converted to plural optical signals by on-off keying modulation process. The optical signals pass through cyclic filters 23-a and 23-b where the side band on one side of these optical signals are suppressed to vestigial side band (VSB), thereby narrowing the bandwidth occupied by each optical signal. Subsequently, an optical wave combiner 24 combines these optical signals and outputs them as wavelength-multiplexed signals.
As a result, for instance, a frequency usage efficiency to the tune of 0.8 bit/s/Hz can be achieved by wavelength-multiplexing an optical signal of 42.7 Gbit/s at an interval of 50 GHz, as shown in FIG. 10C. Further, in this example, the frequency usage efficiency is defined by obtaining a signal wavelength (40 Gbit/s) after deducting from it an error-correcting redundancy bit.
In the conventional optical amplifier, non-return-to-zero on-off keying format that has a relatively narrow bandwidth is used as a modulation format. Consequently, the signal reception sensitivity is low when compared with that of a return-to-zero (RZ) on-off keying format used in a long-distance communications system.
Although the return-to-zero on-off keying format has the advantage of high signal reception sensitivity, due to the high bandwidth of each optical signal, even after their side band is truncated, the bandwidth can still be up to twice that of the non-return-to-zero on-off keying format.


The apparatus of the present disclosure is an improvement on known wheelchairs and other known devices for transporting elderly, infirm, injured, handicapped, disabled, or otherwise mobility-impaired individuals. The present disclosure provides a seat that is adjustable in both height and tilt angle for easy loading and unloading. In some embodiments, the height adjustment is provided via a hydraulic lift cart. Further provided are adjustable horizontal leg supports. A non-confining cage of substantially vertical support bars surrounds the occupant, and straps may be attached around the support bars. This provides support without causing the occupant to feel strapped down and confined to the device. Removing the straps allows easy loading and unloading from whichever side of the apparatus is most convenient.

It is a known problem that elderly, infirm, injured, handicapped, disabled, or otherwise mobility-impaired individuals often have trouble moving or being transported from one place to another. Such people will generally be referred to within this disclosure as "patients," but this term should be understood to include any individual as described above and anyone who may have need of a device to assist in moving from one place to another. Standard wheelchairs have been used for many years to accomplish this, but they have several deficiencies addressed by the present disclosure.
Standard wheelchairs generally have only a single, non-adjustable height. This lack of adjustability may make it difficult to move patients between the wheelchair and a second location, such as a bed, toilet, car seat, or any other place having a disparate height or that is difficult to reach with a standard wheelchair.
Further, standard wheelchairs often have a fixed back. This precludes loading and unloading via the rear side of the chair, necessitating more work and assistance from other people to move the patient to and from the wheelchair.
In addition to standard wheelchairs, other types of transporting apparatuses known in the art also have deficiencies addressed by the present disclosure.
One known apparatus uses a canvas sling that is placed under the patient and then hoisted from above. This device tends to take more than one assistant to operate and be uncomfortable for the patient. As the canvas is lifted from the corners, it tightens around the patient and can cause pain. It has been known even to cause bone problems, for example, in patients with osteoporosis. This type of apparatus may also lead to dropping the patient out of the canvas sling, causing further injury.
These and other limitations are present in known prior art devices having to do with the subject matter of the present disclosure.

Person transporting apparatus and method


A shock absorbing member includes a first member composed of a first tube and a second tube which is located at a center of the first tube. Shock absorbing material is filled between the first tube and the second tube. Two second members are located below the first member and connected to the first member by at least one board. Each second member has a third tube and a fourth tube which extends through the third tube. Shock absorbing material is filled between the third tube and the fourth tube. Four shock absorbing member are connected between a first frame and a second frame. The first members are connected with the first frame which carries power system such as engine, and the second members are connected to a second frame which is connected to wheels.

Conventional three-wheel motor powered vehicles or beach cars include a simple structure with a basic power system and a frame on which the power system is installed. These vehicles are designed to carry goods so that comfortable driving is not a main goal for these types of vehicles. The power system including the engine generates vibration during movement of the vehicles and the severe vibration makes the driver feel uncomfortable. However, due to the consideration of cost, most of these types of vehicles do not have sufficient shock absorbing system to reduce the vibration.
The present invention intends to provide a shock absorbing system which includes a plurality of shock absorbing members composed of a first tube filled with shock absorbing material and two second tubes which are connected to the first tube by two boards. The shock absorbing members are connected between two frames of the vehicle so as to absorb shocks and vibration generated by the power system of the vehicle.

Vehicle frame with shock absorbing system